A Paris Adventure

Duck confit at Cafe Central

I have a good group of close friends. We initially began meeting some 20 years ago to play Bunco. Our relationships with one another have grown so much since then. 

One of our party currently has a son studying abroad in Paris. When she mentioned that she was going to visit him and get him set up in his own apartment, I did a double-take and said, "You mean WE are going to visit, right?" I had been to Paris once before, shortly after getting married. Hubs and I spent a week and a half there waaaaay back in 2002. I loved the idea of a return trip. (At long last!) We hastily put our heads together and came up with some spring plans. 

When some other members of our group found out that the two of us were sneaking off to Paris, they did a double-take and said "You mean WE are going to visit, right?"

And that's how four of us - Shawn, Susan, Caron and myself - ended up chucking everything and escaping to Paris for 10 glorious days. 

Day 1

The Thinker

Susan, Shawn, and I arrived in the city close to the same time, catching an Uber to a great little apartment that we found on AirBnb. (We loved this place. Location was amazing, host was super-easy to work with, we had TONS of room, quiet, comfortable, I could go on and on and on. The only things it didn't have - a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector. When super-safe-Susan learned this, she bought one of each, which we left on the kitchen counter at the unit. So this unit has them now. Heh.)

After unloading our bags, cleaning up a bit and rubbing the tired from our eyes, we grimly acknowledged that the name of the game would be to stay awake as long as possible. While Shawn went to meet her son, Susan and I decided to start with lunch. Duck confit and a warm goat cheese salad at the nearby Café Central seemed a likely match. Perfection! We got a table by the window, placed our orders and soaked up the France of it all while catching our second wind. As I chewed, slowly, I realized how much Paris had missed me. 

Fortified by cheese and browned, crispy duck skin, we went in search of a stellar nearby attraction that was do-able within a few hours. We found it in Musée Rodin. Y'all. I hadn't been here in 17 years, but it was even more wonderful than I remembered. All of the lovely bronzes in the garden, with the dome of Les Invalides rising behind them. The Thinker. The Kiss. Van Gogh's cheery Portrait of Pére Tanguy. We oohed and aaahed and took it all in and counted ourselves incredibly lucky to be strolling among gardens full of Rodin's genius on a sunny spring day. 

Walking through Van Gogh's dreams . . .

When we thought we could no longer keep our eyes open, we shuffled back towards the apartment. Luckily for us, we were staying in Rue Cler - an area known for its food (particularly food shops). Gorgeous little storefronts within a block or two of our apartment were selling beautiful baked goods, cheeses, chocolates, wine and more. (A nearby cheese shop - Marie-Anne Cantin - was absolutely DIVINE. We found the selection and the staff there to be fantastic, and we returned there several times during our stay in Paris.) We had two grocery stores barely a stone's throw away. We stopped in a few shops to pick up some supplies for the apartment and for that evening. We all reunited for a light dinner in that night, and at around 8:30 p.m. Paris time, we gratefully succumbed to sleep.

This history of Paris is all around you at Pere-Lachaise.

Day 2

The next morning, we were up and at 'em early. Susan and I had an easy pastry-and-fruit breakfast at the apartment and made our way to Atelier des Lumiéres. I'd seen some amazing video online about this attraction, which combines music and moving projections of an artist's work to create an immersive world of art for visitors. And we were in luck - they'd recently opened a new exhibit featuring Van Gogh's work. 

We'd pre-purchased a timed ticket, so we bypassed the sizable line and stepped into . . . Van Gogh's dreams? His soul? It's hard to say. All around you, on every surface, his paintings are projected - still, moving, some parts animated, some not, flowing around you, enveloping you. If you stand in certain places, the colors wash over you and shine in your eyes. All the while, evocative music plays. You find yourself breathing in time with it, reaching for the glowing orb of Van Gogh's sun as it descends. 

It's difficult to describe. It's incredibly moving, to see something you thought you knew in a different way. To exist within it. I know many purists will say this experience was not the artist's intention, but I can't help but think he'd be amazed and enchanted by it - his paintings, all come to life so we could walk through them, live inside them for a moment. An utterly unique experience. I'm so glad we went; it was one of my favorite things we did while in Paris.

When we exited this attraction, still slightly dazed, we pointed our feet toward something completely different - Cemetiére du Pére-Lachaise. I'd desperately wanted to visit this cemetery on my last trip to Paris, but I'd been unable to fit it into my schedule. This time, though, we located it with ease and decided on a leisurely stroll.

Soaring ceilings at St. Germain

We couldn't have picked a better day for it. It was March, and there was still a slight chill in the air. The sky was cloudy, and blackbirds cawed from the tops of trees that hadn't put their new green dresses on yet. Instead of trying to locate specific graves (The place is HUGE, and we thought that might be a frustrating errand.), we chose to go where our whims took us. You'll not only find the graves of famous thinkers and artists here, you'll also see generations of Parisians, whole families buried together in the same area. This history of Paris, and those who built it, is all around you.

And the cemetery itself is absolutely lovely. There are treasures of statuary, tombs, tiling and stained glass throughout. Wide boulevards make it easy to get around, and the place is easily large enough to get lost in. We absorbed it all, peculiarly aware of our own heartbeats, for a couple of hours before our growling stomachs sent us in search of lunch. 

We walked out of the cemetery and ducked into a nearby cafe. I wish I could remember the name of it, because the food was a delight. I had steak frites with a glass of red wine, and Susan had a lovely piece of salmon. Tagines were the lunch special that day, and many tables were ordering those. They looked delightful! I ate every bit of my lunch without a shred of guilt, because not only had we been walking all morning, we planned to walk all afternoon as well. 

Later that afternoon, we'd signed up for a literary walking tour of Paris. On our way to the rendezvous point (Café de Flore), we passed by the Abbey of St.-Germain-des-Prés, one of the oldest churches in Paris. We had a little time, so we popped in for a look. Beautiful, soaring ceilings, stained glass, scrolling metal work. A gorgeous, quick, free stop. 

After snooping through the church a bit, we headed to Café de Flore to meet up with our walking tour. We really enjoyed this activity! Our group was small - just us, our tour guide, and 1-2 other people - so we were able to move quickly and ask lots of questions. 

Our guide took us through the Left Bank and the Latin Quarter, telling us all kinds of interesting stories about authors and artists who'd lived and worked in the area. She relayed anecdotes about Balzac, Wilde, Hemingway, and more. We passed by the Pantheon and Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, an absolutely charming, veryvery old street that we pledged to return to before our time in Paris was over. We even saw a Banksy on a nearby wall! 

The jaunt ended at Shakespeare and Company, where we browsed only briefly due to the crowds. Instead, we wandered back toward our apartment to take a load off before dinner. 

That night, we met back up with Shawn, her son, and his girlfriend for a lovely meal at Au Petit Tonneau, which wasn't too far from our apartment. Mmmmmm! We feasted on beef, veal stew and fish, along with plenty of laughter and wine. We chose several desserts that we shared among the table. Then, it was back to the apartment for a well-deserved rest.

More to come . . .