Bonjour Paris!!

Upon learning that I was moving to Rome, I made a list of "must-see" locations. These were places that I had only read about, dreamt about getting to. Places like London, Ireland, Barcelona, Prague, Austria, and more. And which city held the distinguished number one spot? Paris.

 However, since I was having trouble with my visa I didn't feel comfortable traveling. As such, each semester when my students left Rome and spread throughout Europe my heart was inevitably heavy when they returned with their tales and pictures of the City of Lights, the City of Love. Sigh. I wanted to go so bad. So, when I finally received my visa this summer what was the first thing I did? I posted an invitation on Facebook to anyone who was interested in going to Paris with me for a long weekend in October. My friend, Beth Ann, accepted and so the trip I'd been dying to take for well over two years started to take shape.

Each semester we have a 10 day break that hits smack dab in the middle of the term. I get to leave Rome for 5 days of that break. This leaves me enough time to get out and about, to see the sights, to live it up, if you will. Paris in 5 days? Not sure it's entirely doable, but I'll work with what I've got! So, the planning began. Beth Ann and I met 4 times before we left and nailed things down like flights, hotel, what we wanted to see, where we wanted to go, what we wanted to eat, and anything else we could think of. We had a little trouble with the flights and finding a hotel, but once we got all of that set we were good to go. Paris: here we come!

As I began to write this I realized, you don't need (or want for that matter) every single detail of our trip. So, I'm going to try to keep this brief...from this point on. :)

We arrived in Paris on Friday and checked-in to our hotel. We surveyed our surroundings and headed back out into the city in search of a restaurant that was recommended in our guidebook. After a few moments of backtracking and re-situating ourselves on our map, we found the restaurant--Restaurant Polidor. It was supposed to be a more rustic restaurant with family-style dining in that the tables are all put together and you sit with people you don't know. This doesn't mean that you share food with those people, but you do share space. I'm not going to lie, it was a little awkward sitting next to a couple and being a part of their conversation, but not being a part of their conversation all at the same time. Still, the food was ok. I was fairly disappointed when we received our pumpkin soup and all it was was pureed pumpkin---only pumpkin. There wasn't any hint of salt, pepper, or any spice whatsoever. Huh. We then dined on boeuf bourguignon, as seen on Julie and Julia. That was pretty good---hearty and very filling. Finally, dessert. Oh dessert. Say what you will about French cooking--and quite frankly, until our last meal in Paris I wasn't all that impressed by French cuisine---no one, and I mean NO ONE, does dessert like the French. We had an apple pie/cake/tort thingy that was cinnamony, sugary, buttery deliciousness. Heaven really. But, I'm getting away from my promise of brevity....

So, from dinner we meandered to the Seine and looked out over Notre-Dame all lit up in the Parisian night. I loved Paris from that moment. It was all just so....Parisian. The architecture, the sights, the sounds, even the smells were exactly what I thought it would be. All that was missing for me at that point was a musician playing La Vie en Rose on some sort of instrument. We paused for a moment, soaked it all in because we had a lot to get done in the next 5 days...

Saturday: The Louvre. This was our goal for the day, along with Saint-Chapelle, and Musee l'Orangerie. Ha. How naiive could we be? I love art and Beth Ann has her degree in Art History...did we really think that we only needed a 2-3 hours at the Louvre?! Try 4 or 5....and that's not even seeing everything! We did manage to see all of the major pieces--Mona Lisa, Nike/Winged Victory/Cupid and Psyche/the Prisoners, The Wedding Feast at Canna and the Venus di Milo. In between those pieces we saw some other incredible work by Giotto, Botticelli, Bernini, Raphael, and others. We could have spent days in that gallery and still not have seen everything! If you thought the Vatican museum was hectic and crowded...ha! Try the Louvre. I couldn't even get in front of Mona. Nope, I had to settle seeing her from the side...and that was fine with me. She wasn't even my favorite. Nope that's a three way tie between Nike, Cupid/Psyche, and the Venus di Milo.

After we left the Louvre, we hoofed it over to Saint-Chapelle to see the stained glass. Oh.My.Stars. Breathtaking doesn't even begin to describe it. Nor do pictures do it justice...still...here ya go...

Absolutely...amazing....


Next, we tried to get into Musee l'Orangerie...but it was closed. Drat! Then, we tried to get hot chocolate at Angelina's, but there was a line down the block. Foiled again! So, we settled on a corner cafe where we had crepes and hot spiced wine. Yumm. From there, we "hopped" onto the hop on/hop off bus and saw the sights of Paris as the sun set.

Sunday: Versailles. Need I say more? Yes. Ok, I'll try to be brief. A-mazing. Incredible. Opulent. Overwhelming. Over the top. WOW. The Chateau was so wonderful. Such a rich history, furnishings, and sights. We got to see the kings' bedroom, Marie-Antionette's bed, the desk where they signed the Treaty of Versailles, and so much more.

After the Chateau we picnicked on its steps overlooking the massive and impressive gardens. From there, though...we went to my 2nd favorite place in all of Paris. Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found...far exceeded any expectations that I might have had.

Imagine stepping into a picturesque fairy-tale village. Think Beauty and the Beast. A village of small houses with thatched roofs, gardens, window boxes, and lush grounds. Welcome to the Hameau.

As the story goes, MA wanted to know what it was like to live like a peasant. So, she had the village built so that she and her friends could experience life as a commoner. I am sure that that the peasants of that time didn't live like this...

Upon our return to Paris we grabbed dinner and then took a relaxing boat tour up the Seine. A great way to cap off a magical day...

Monday: We spent the day seeing everything that we didn't see the days before...Notre-Dame,  Musee l'Orangerie, and the Eiffel Tower. Notre-Dame was impressive and, again, the stain glass was incredible!

My favorite, though, was Musee l'Orangerie where I was able to sit and stare--literally--at Monet's Water Lillies. I wanted to go to Giverny and see his gardens so badly, but it wasn't possible this trip. I made due with the museum and I wasn't disappointed.

Tuesday:  We took our last day before we returned to Rome to see the rest of the sights. We went to Montmartre to see Sacre Couer, the neighborhood, and Moulin Rouge. The church and the view from in front of the church were stunning. So worth the trip up there! Moulin Rouge....ehhh...but still, it's nice to say that I've seen it...





Overall, the trip was AMAZING! I had the best time with Beth Ann, and would gladly travel anywhere with her again. I loved Paris. I didn't see nearly enough...so I figure that a return trip is necessary. Perhaps this spring....