Paris Chronicles 1

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June 20, 2006

Paris Chronicles 1

Well, we haven't had as much time for blogging lately, more on the reasons why later. But in a fit of nostalgia for our big Paris trip last summer, we've decided to share our adventures and misadventures in the city of lights. Believe it or not, this is the meticulously abridged version of our first day!

Paris Chronicles � Episode One

Bon jour,
It�s time to come strolling down the avenues of Paris with Tim and Joanna. If you�ve ever wanted to waltz down the Champs-Elys�es parading your perfectly poofed poodle, if you�ve ever wanted to show off your diamonds and pearls at the Place Vend�me, if you�ve ever wanted to nibble on caviar at Maxim�s - read someone else�s travelogue, you fop! But! If you want to hear about grimacing Gothic gargoyles, cavernous claustrophobic catacombs, and boisterous bustling boulevards, you�ve come to the right place. Don�t worry, we were good. We didn�t paint a moustache on Mona, we didn�t ask Venus to give us a high five, and we didn�t bungee jump off the Eiffel Tower.

You may be wondering how well we did with the French language over there. Well, Joanna has a decent handle on vocabulary and sentence structure and Tim has a decent accent so between the two of us, we spoke perfect broken French. Like seasoned travelers, we focused on the most important question, the vital key to international communication, that Rosetta Stone of a phrase: �Ou est le w.c.?� � �Where is the water closet?� (bathroom) That�s really all you need to know. Once you�ve attained that level of linguistic prowess, the richness of the French language is opened to you.

The plane ride was uneventful and so was the train ride from Charles de Gaulle airport to Paris. We found our hotel on Boulevard Rochechouart in Montmartre and took a little nap to try to lessen jet lag (we flew overnight and got little sleep).

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We were soon on our way exploring the streets of Montmartre. We started walking up the many many steps that lead to the Basilique du Sacr�-Coeur. Every level we went up gave us a grander view of the expanse of Paris. The eye could not take it all in, nor could the camera. We watched some kids rolling down the hill in the grassy sections � what fun! We ventured inside Sacr�-Coeur. All manner of statuary, intricately laid mosaic tile, stained glass, stone work, iron work met our gaze. The inside is cavernous. The outside of the church is made from a certain type of limestone that emits small amounts of calcite (calcium) when it rains. This whitens the stone and makes it essentially a self-cleaning church! Here's a picture of the church, as well as the carousel featured in Amelie

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We wandered the streets up and down, criss-crossing. We came across a mime who took a liking to Joanna. She was so cute with him. His face was painted white and Joanna�s was painted pink!

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Joanna got some ice cream at a little stand�she asked for coco, thinking it would be chocolate, in fact, it was coconut. Oh well�she still said it was good. We walked some more gawking at the magnificent iron-work on the outside of almost all the buildings. There is a wonderful continuity, a symmetry, an affinity between the buildings. Everything fits together so well and simply pleases the eye. You just want to stand there and stare at everything.

We were getting hungry, so our objective was to hunt down an epicerie or a tratteur to buy some picnic food for a picnic by the Eiffel Tower. After half and hour, we had a baguette, Prosciutto, tabouli salad, and Camembert cheese. Tim also got a Leffe Brown beer.

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We found a cozy plot of grass under a tree near the south leg of the Eiffel Tower. What a wonder it is! More on that later when we go to the top! Our picnic was yummy � bread and cheese in Paris is raised to fine art and we were eating that art. There were many people on the Champs de Mars hanging out with Paris�s favorite toy � the Tower. That�s all it is � a big toy. But for people who take playing as seriously as the Parisians do, that toy is important! It sparkles at night!

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We walked to the Seine to board the Bateaux-Parisien boat for a tour of the river. The boat was huge, packed with over 200 people. We sat right on the edge of one of the sides practically with our feet dangling over. We passed under 24 of Paris�s bridges. The funniest thing about it was all the people we saw hanging out on the banks and quais. We would wave at them and they would wave at us. Everyone we saw was having such a good time. There were people dancing, people having picnics, people making out, people drinking wine, etc� It felt like the city was one big happy family celebrating something. There was nothing in particular to celebrate except the fact that we were all in Paris having a great time!

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When we got back to the hotel, we wanted to get some ice to chill our beer. We asked the man at the counter and he went in the back and actually started scraping ice out of the freezer compartment of their small fridge! What dedication to pleasing the customer! So we chilled our beer, sat on our teeny balcony, planned the next day, finished our leftover picnic food, and wrote a few postcards. Our first day in Paris was filled with excitement and wonder. We were in love with the city already!