As you all know, Scott and I spent two weeks in Paris, our first real vacation without kids and my first trip outside the country. Well, let me tell you, it was so amazing! It was definitely the coolest thing I've ever done ( having kids is not in the "cool" category). It certainly changed my perception of the world a little and my appreciation for the U.S.A.
We stayed in a teeny tiny studio apartment that is actually typical for a young newly wed couple there (according to Scott anyway). It had a little kitchenette and the smallest bathroom ever! We were in the 6th arrondissement called Saint Germain. I think we chose the perfect area, it was truly the Paris that people typically imagine with all of the old buildings, little cafes and shops and more slow paced than a lot of the other parts of the city we saw. This neighborhood is known for the Orsay museum where a lot of the impressionists art is, including Monet. Manet, Renoir and even has a collection of Van Gogh's work. I loved this museum. St Germain also has some well known churches including Saint Sulpice which was in the Da Vinci code. There are two very famous cafes as well called the Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore. We had hot chocolate at the Deux Magots cafe and sat watching the people go by, it was fabulous (not the hot chocolate, that was gross, just the experience). I really loved our little area and tried to do as much shopping there as I could. I could never get on Paris time so I slept in until 11am or noon. Scott got sick of it and started getting up each morning and going out sightseeing then he'd bring me some fresh pastries from our local patisserie (bakery). I fell in love with the apricot croissants, yum yum!!!
Once I got up and moving we visited many of the attractions of the city using the metro. For all of you Americans that means the subway and it is an experience that I think everyone should have. The trains come and go every five minutes or so depending on the time of day. You can get a single use ticket (all from machines), a daily ticket or a weekly pass which has your picture on it and everything. After a few days of single use tickets we wised up and got a weekly pass. The metro will get you just about anywhere and where it doesn't you just switch to a bus (which takes all the same tickets). Then they have RER trains which are bigger, nicer and are more for long distances in and out of the city. All of the bums sleep in the stations; there doesn't seem to be much regulation of that. They also use it as a toilette, at least for peeing. I will try to describe the smell but I don't know if I can do it justice. Imagine layer upon layer of urine which has dried, passed by people who drink nothing but alcohol. You can smell the wine in it, added with the grimy filth of the metro and the grease of the trains. You can always find your way out of the station by following the fresh air, very faint at first but getting stronger as you get closer. Then you round a corner and wham! Gale force freezing cold wind hits you. I loved it actually.
The first day we went to the church St Sulpice and it was beautiful. The most amazing thing to me was that it was still a fully functioning church building. In the U.S. it would have been revered and kept as a museum but I think the French are too practical for that. It's a perfectly usable and beautiful place that offered so much history it really had a presence that modern buildings don't have. We also discovered the best crepe stand in Paris just down the street from our apartment. I have to admit that I thought crepes were disgusting until this experience. I always felt horrible about it because Scott would work so hard, not to mention the fact that he seriously NEVER cooks. So, when we approached the stand I was very apprehensive. I decided to try a savory crepe instead of a sweet one and had ham and cheese. Holy cow it was good! I couldn't believe it! Later I got brave and had a nutella and banana and fell in love. Scott has always sworn that nutella is nasty but he is so wrong! It is spreadable chocolate! Yum-freaking-yum!
The next day we went to the Eiffel Tower. I have dreamed of that for so long I couldn't wait and had to do it first. It absolutely lived up to my expectations. In fact, we took so many pictures of the Eiffel tower that when we got home and looked at them even we got sick of it! We walked up as far as they let you, 620 steps thank you very much. I nearly died but I did it. Then it was a short elevator ride to the top. The entire thing was spectacular but the view is what made it so amazing. It was freezing up there. Literally. They had some ice sculptures that had been there for a while! It was also windy and I detected no hint of movement from the tower. I've heard other people say that it moves but that was not my experience. We went back several days later so that we could see it at night and that was so fabulous! It was much prettier in person without a doubt! While at the Tower we experienced our first taste of the local con artists. They have actual gypsies there who just go around begging. I swear! They wear long skirts and head scarfs and go up to people and say, "'suse me, you speak eenglis?" If you say yes they start begging but if you act dumb like you don't understand they just go away. They also have a lot of African immigrants there selling overpriced souvenirs. They carried a big ring with metal Eiffel Towers on them and they'd walk around shaking them and harassing everyone. They weren't particularly aggressive but they were everywhere!
We visited two art museums, the Orsay and the Louvre. As I said, I loved the Orsay, even more than the Louvre. The Louvre is immense and it would be insane to try and see every piece of art that's there. We did manage to see close to eighty percent but we didn't do much contemplating, nor did we have the headphone tour to tell us about the art. The Mona Lisa was a bit of a let down actually. The only remarkable thing about it is that she is smiling and no one was ever painted smiling then or for a long time after. In the same room though I found my favorite piece. It's a painting of Queen Esther (from the bible) going to see the king, but what I found remarkable about it is that there is a dwarf who is dressed very well, like a noble man. He is also black. For the most part though it's a whole lot of boobs and naked women or bloody gory stuff. I didn't like too much of it. I know, I'm such a prood! But if you saw as many boobs as I did on this trip you might get a little sick of it too!
After the Eiffel Tower my most favorite thing was the gardens at Versailles. The interior of the palace was a let down for me. I didn't realize beforehand that all of the furnishings were gone. A lot of the art work remained but for the most part it was empty rooms. We didn't get to see much of the palace either, most of it was closed to the public, although we did see the chapel and the royal apartments as well as the hall of mirrors. In that room there was once a massive throne made of silver but now there is (I swear!) a painted facade of what it used to look like. It was so weird I can't even describe it to you. Finally though, we got to go outside and start exploring the acres of perfectly manicured gardens. I was so in heaven! It was beautiful and romantic and peaceful. There were sculptures (Scott's favorite was of a snake biting Cleopatra in the boob), the most detailed fountains all depicting the Greek mythology, and trees, hedges and flowers designed to draw you out further and further. I wanted to walk and walk forever but we got hungry and decided to head back home. I will always remember that place.
Funny enough every stereotype I've ever heard about the French people was proven wrong. First of all they smell great (except the bums of course), they were always very nice and friendly to us (which could be because we never expected them to speak English, I always at least tried French) and since it was winter I can't say for sure about the hairy armpits but I really think that is blown way out of proportion. Just so you all know, I HATE shaving my pits and only do it when I absolutely have to. I went a whole month including the time on my trip! (Some day I am going to get them lasered.) The people there are far better dressers than we Americans are. They are never out in jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes. I kept imagining someone going to the grocery store there in slippers and curlers like I've seen so often here and thinking they'd all die of horror. Even when I dressed up I felt under dressed so now I have a new appreciation for fashion and social appropriateness I guess. I am also grateful that I can wear my jeans and t-shirts at the grocery store here and feel fancy (especially at Wal-mart!).
My advice to anyone who has not gone outside the U.S. borders is to get your butt the heck out there! Anywhere, just go! The United States is without a doubt the best place in the world but that doesn't mean it is perfect or that other places don't have something to offer. There is so much more to the world and I can't wait to discover more of it! I once new a man who was always traveling and I asked him once how he could afford it because he wasn't wealthy by any means. He told me that when you make something a priority you will always find a way. I am taking his advice and I hope that in a year I'll be writing about our next adventure!
