One of the perks of being an expat in Europe is the ease of travel. I have big plans for the year - trips to Finland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and France. They were all supposed to happen after I'd settled in England, moved into my house, started feeling English. When I received my visa and realized it was for the day after I landed in England, I had one week to plan a trip to leave England after the Feastival and re-enter the country to have my student visa stamped. Paris was the answer.
I've dreamed of Paris since I was a little girl. A cliché, I know. I had a Paris-themed bedroom for most of my adolescence, I took French for six years, I hosted a French foreign exchange student. Yet until a week ago, I'd never actually been to France. This put much pressure on my three-day trip. How does one do Paris in just three days? The answer is one doesn't. But I gave it an effort and checked off a lot of must-do-in-Paris boxes. When I landed I went straight from the airport to the Musée d'Orsay. French Impressionism has always been my favorite art tradition, even before Midnight in Paris. I knew the Louvre would be too much to take on during this short trip, so I went for the museum known for the rooms upon rooms of paintings by the impressionists. I'm so glad I did. Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh - their paintings were always amazing to look at in textbooks, but in person they were overwhelming. When I found a room of Signac, I almost teared up. Paul Signac has been my favorite since I discovered him in middle school and here I was, looking up at a wall sized work of his, The painting of "Le Démolisseur" made the small landscapes by Signac in the Met in New York seem like postage stamps. I sat in the room on a bench and wrote and knew I'd made the right choice to make this Paris journey. From the museum I walked along the Left Bank, browsing at the stands of the booksellers. My goal in Paris was to feel like Jenny in An Education on her first trip to the city of her dreams and I felt like I was pulling it off. After a quick photo-op at Notre Dame I found a poster for a David Hockney exhibit at the Centre Pompidou. I'd missed the Hockney exhibit at the Tate in London so was quite thrilled to find it was now in Paris. I learned much about Hockney's life and work, far more than I knew before going in as a fan. After walking for ages I ended up at my Air BnB to have a bite to eat at home. I found a place in Montmartre with a balcony off the bedroom that looked out at Sacré-Coeur. Basically the dream apartment. I opted for an early night to get the most out of Thursday, my only full day in the city. Thursday started with a croissant, as all the mornings in Paris began, and a train ride out to Versailles. I didn't want to spend all day there - too much to do in the city center still - but I very much wanted to see Marie Antoinette's area of the grounds. I put on a vintage 60s frock I'd picked up in London the day before leaving and walked around the palace gardens like they were my own. It was a grey day but even without the sun shining on the gold adorned palace it looked like a dream. I ate a chocolate eclair and tried to imagine the parties that took place inside. Back in the city I caught a matinee of Funny Face at a small, old cinema called The Brady. My legs were killing me (even with a two hour movie break in the middle of the day I had 28,000 steps by the end of Thursday!) so it was lovely to sit and watch Audrey Hepburn walk around Paris for a couple hours. I took the metro to see the Madeleine, a church that I was not named after. From the outside it looks like something you'd see on the Acropolis in Athens. Inside, I got the chills. I don't know why and can't explain where the emotions came from but they hit me and I left before worrying any of the other visitors. How beautiful is it that a building can do something like that to a person? Next I thought I should walk the Champs Élysées. I did not know how long the Champs Élysées is or that it's basically just filled with shops I can find on 5th Ave in New York. I contemplated going in the Adidas store but I did not need to spend money on more sneakers and I felt I would have looked a bit out of place in my vintage dress. The Arc de Triomphe was pretty spectacular, though, making the walk worth it in the end. The last stop of the day was an obvious one - the Tour Eiffel. It's truly an icon that lives up to the hype. I stopped by to see it in the daylight before heading off for dinner at a restaurant nearby. I'd been wanting my favorite French dish, boeuf bourguignon, since landing so I found a restaurant a few blocks from the Tour Eiffel that was known for it. It was brought out on several plates - the beef, bacon, and mushrooms in a pot, then a dish with mashed potatoes, a dish with polenta, a dish with a noodle & vegetable type thing, and a basket of bread. I made a pretty decent sized dent in it before ordering what was described to me as "a pot of soft cheese with raspberry sauce on top" for dessert. When in Paris, eat til you die, right? Back at the Tour Eiffel it was now dark and I made it just in time for the light show. A light show that was overshadowed at the beginning with a colony of rats. I have never seen so many rats in one place at one time and honestly the vision is still haunting me. Eventually I was able to ignore them by walking in zig zags so they couldn't get me while I looked up at the tower. All in all a magical end to a pretty magical day. The last day was left to explore Montmartre. I did not realize however just how many stairs it would take to get to the top of Sacré-Coeur. After the 28,000 steps the day before my legs were a bit mush and at points I thought I would just have to live on the steps forever but I finally got to the top, ate a croissant, and enjoyed the views over the whole of the city. My legs might say otherwise, but it was worth it. I walked around a bit in the neighborhood but I wasn't finding much I was interested in, so I jumped on the metro and headed back to Le Marais where there were some vintage shops I'd wanted to visit the day before. I hit the jackpot at a store called "Freep Star." I am now well equipped to look like a 60s school girl when classes start this month. There was time for one final meal before heading to the airport, so I ended up back in Montmartre where I figured I'd find a café eventually. While walking past one establishment a very cute waiter said hello so I plopped my bag down and didn't even look at the menu. There was at least one delish thing there. Turns out the food was good, too! I had a chocolate crepe and one last cheeseboard. I even let the waiter pick one of the cheese options and he picked something I'd never heard of but which was the best on the plate! So, found a soulmate? I'll go back for him someday, I'm sure. The last bit of excitement came at the airport. I was walking to the door, jammin' out to my French playlist, texting Mom, when I heard a very loud, very masculine voice yelling in French. I looked up and found myself at the center of a circle of people, grouped around the entrance. The voice was coming from a French police officer with a very large gun and I knew enough French to know I was not to go into the airport. I backed up to the line of people and spent 15 minutes watching countless other headphoned fools make the same mistake as I had. Eventually they let us in and I'm not totally sure what was going on but what I could piece together was that the bomb squad was called in to investigate a bag that was left alone in the terminal. What a way to end my first trip to Paris, one I spent wandering the streets alone, acting like a total tourist and not giving a shit. Photos from the trip can be found here! Here are some highlights from my French music playlist called "Bisou Bisou" Cargo Culte - Serge Gainsbourg Sous le ciel de Paris - Juliette Greco Madeleine - Jacques Brel Je Veux - Zaz To the End (French Version) - Blur Zou bisou bisou - Gillian Hills Le Temps de l'Amour - Francoise Hardy La Belle et le Bad Boy - MC Solaar Je Veux Te Voir - Yelle
2 Comments
Gail Michel
9/8/2017 03:46:18 pm
Wow!!!!! Amazing. Miss you but am living Paris through your words. Merci....miss you
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Kelly King
9/8/2017 11:35:22 pm
I will never forget talking to you AS you were walking to the Eiffel Tower and fighting off the rats! Hahaha. This was a lovely post and one I will read over and over, my dear Madeleine. Xox
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AuthorMadeleine Saaf is an expat in Cornwall and is pursuing a masters in Professional Writing at Falmouth University. ArchivesCategories |