My Weekend in Paris (Part 4)

After wandering the streets of Paris for hours Saturday night I was exhausted and in no hurry to get up the next morning. As it turned out this was perhaps a good thing because when I woke I realized it was raining. I like most people who live in Maricopa County find falling rain a rare and beautiful sight! I found myself to be very content to stay in my room with the window open, snuggled under my blankie, reading my book. This was in fact a wonderful option as I was also reminded that I am a human barometer and suffer from some pretty gnarly headaches depending on the pressure of the storm. Sunday's headache was no fun but it was not behind my eyes which made reading possible. Rain, cool breeze, blankie, book, and naps. A different type of Parisian bliss.

Eventually the storm began to pass and I took these pictures from my room, so pretty!

Eventually my stomach cried out for dinner so I made my way down to one of the corner cafés. I chose the one called Indiana which is roughly a Tex-Mex restaurant. I hadn't eaten all day and could not decide what I wanted so I went with their combo platter!

From the top you see a beef taco, BBQ ribs, Spanish rice, enchilada, guacamole, and chili. It does not compare to home but it was good! Tried everything but couldn't finish it all. I know that if I move to France I'm going to have to learn to make tortillas and have to have green chilies sent over from home! Trust me... I checked to see what was available!

The one downside to dinner, sitting in any  open air café and something that I find a bit surprising is cigarette smoke. I will address this in a later post but below you will see the stealth picture I took of the offenders that night.

Monday morning I packed my stuff up and went out for the day because my train didn't leave until after 7pm.

I decided to head out to Sacré Coeur because the view is awesome and I like the shops around there.

Beautiful, is it not?? 

Paris is an amazing city. I am so thankful that I was able to spend time there. To be honest I probably could have spent the whole six weeks there and still leave wanting more.

My Paris Weekend (Part 3)

Saturday (July 5th) I left my little room with no destination in mind. The area where my room was located is just off of two very lively streets with many stores, boutiques, cafés and restaurants. So I just started walking. What fun! 

I bought some dish towels. Silly I know but the price was right and it will make doing the dishes a little more pleasent. It was in a small boutique and the lady had time to chat. Eventually she gave me the best compliments I could hope for... I speak great French and have a great accent (not obviously American). I told her she was my new Parisian best friend!

Much of this day was dedicated to just shopping and enjoying the sales. A couple if things to know... In July and January they have the "grands soldes" and the prices are very enticing even by American standards. The second thing you should know is that they have fabulous shoes! Seriously I have become a shoe addict! Because (I assume) they do so much walking here there are shoes that even I can wear! Seriously! It is my own personal addiction!

Here are a few pictures I took either to think about for later or with Bailey in mind! 

Seriously, it is an illness!!

I wish I could tell you those are all the pictures... Sadly, there are more! I need an intervention!

I did find the most beautiful thing on the fantastic pedestrian street behind where my roommate was located. These next pictures will explain everything. And, in case you were wondering it was TOTALLY worth it!!

The finished product! Notice the chubby a Flinstone feet and swollen ankles! Between walking MILES each day in those sandles and the humidity I was quite the sight! But hey! At least my toes looked cute and they matched my fingernails!

After my mani pedi I returned to rest up a bit in my room. Then I left again with no particular destination in mind. I took the metro from the Denfert-Richereau station to Châtlet. There I exited and just began walking. I found myself first at the Louvre.

From there I walked to the Tuilieries Garden where there happened to be a carnival happening.

And I finally are dinner... No fried corn dogs here!

After I left the Tuilieries I followed the River Seine towards the Eiffel Tower.

There I just sat and enjoyed life.

The journey by foot was actually quite long and the journey back to my room ended with a taxi ride. (The explanation why, though comical, is too complicated for this blog. If you really want to know ask me!!)

In the end it was a night to remember.

My Paris Weekend (Part 2)

I was really excited about Friday because I was going to meet one if my students, Madelyn, who happens to be spending the summer with her aunt and uncle here in France.

Of course nothing seems to ever go as planned! We were running late (she was helping with chores and cousins, totally legit). Me, on the other hand was having a glorious morning of errors. First, I left my phone in my room. How dumb is that? Luckily I wasn't too far away when I made this realization but it still cost me time. Then when I went to the metro my ticket wouldn't work! What the heck?! I just bought it. Naturally there was no one to ask about it so I had to walk on to the next station. Not all was lost though as there was a bakery along the way. Yum!

At the next station I pretty much got the "you're an incompetent American" attitude but he let me through. You would think the fun was over... But nope it wasn't! Naturally, the direct route was under construction so I had to navigate a few train changes. The real fun came when it was time to leave the station. I needed to use my ticket again and it didn't work! Gahhh! Eventually I waited at a gate that is used for wheelchairs and strollers and stayed open long enough for me to walk through. Come to find out the ticket was demagnetized. Really dude, you couldn't have checked and fixed that the first time?? Butt head!

The good news is that I finally found Madelyn at the Arc de Triomphe and we were off for our adventure of the day! Our plan was to go to the Musée d'Orsay and then see where the day would take us! Below are some pictures from the museum. Did you know you are not supposed to take pictures at the museum?? Oopsie! Neither did we! 

I have always loved this painting!

The clock that inspired the movie Hugo.

The museum looking very train station-ish.

The beautiful Madelyn!

This picture just does not do justice to the sculpture using two different types of marble to create the look of fabric. It really was just stunning!

This painting is also one if my favorites!

This beautiful guy was just outside the museum entrance and he looked particularly majestic in the rain. 

After our visite to the Musée d'Orsay we decided to go to the Ile de la Cité where, among other things, you will find the Notre Dame Cathedral.

This is such a beautiful site to see. It always takes my breath away when you take time to remember just how long it has been there! The scars she bears and the stories she could tell are undoubtedly some of the great secrets of Paris.

By the time we arrived at the cathedral we were both hungry so we found a café for lunch.

One of the best things about the café was the water (always ask for a carafe d'eau as it is free!) because it was cold! Such a simple joy!

It was so yummy it deserves too pictures!

After lunch we wandered around in the little souvenir shops. We also took the time to enjoy the back side of the Notre Dame Cathedral. There is a small garden park there (clean public restrooms that will cost you a little bit...always good to know where you can find a bathroom!)

The back of the cathedral is stunning. The flying buttresses are an engineering masterpiece! Once again I recommend you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (you can find a link on my post about the Bourges Cathedral).

Naturally I had to get this photo of Madelyn in a French beret! 

What a great day we had!!

My Weekend in Paris (Part 1)

I left finally had the opportunity to go to Paris for the weekend. No sooner had I arrived and the metro workers went on strike. That is soooo NOT when you want to be in Paris! So I waited until after "la grève." (According to my uncle Michel nobody really knew what they were striking for; and here, it is strike first, talk later. My father used to say that, "la grève is the national sport of France!" Although, in the defense of France having been here during the World Cup I can assure you the national sport is definitely soccer followed my cycling and tennis!

I left on Thursday, July 3rd.

The above picture is the little train station in Vallon less than 5 miles from my aunt's house. When my cousins were in high school each day they would come here to take the train to school.

Below is my platform selfie and Aunt Basia (whose real name is Barbara, have I mentioned that??). It seems that every where we go Basia runs into someone she knows!

The train ride to Paris was a little over 3 hours and it is really easy and kinda nice. You can relax and watch the picturesque scenery, read or take a nap. I like the trains. Of course I have an on the train selfie too! (I micht have cheated a little too! It's with fresh makeup!)

I arrived in Paris at the Gare Austerlitz which is very much like being welcomed by an old friend. I bought my 5 day metro pass and was once again reminded that things are not as cheap as they used to be! What used to cost around $30 cost me $50. So sad!

Getting to my room wasn't  hard but let's face it, traipsing around Paris with luggage is not exactly a party either! It would not have been so bad if I'd didn't keep running into these danged obstacles! (See below!)

Unfortunately there they were going up and down! I was reminded to be thankful for my health and ability to be able to conquer the stairs and I was also reminded that when I return in a few weeks with BOTH my suitcases that I will need to be sure to have cash for a Taxi! While I am strong and healthy I am not about to try and do it with ALL my luggage in tow!

I made good time and was EARLY to meet the person with the keys to my room which meant I got to wander around with my luggage for a few hours. Luckily, I wasn't the only one doing that so it wasn't completely awful. I first found my lodgings (with no problem). The room is in a great location, very close to the metro in a lively neighborhood with easy access to shopping and restaurants. I even found the Holy Grail of traveling...

This beautiful beacon of love contained several thing I much desired and needed: a cold, creamy, caffeinated Carmel Frappiccino, a bathroom, and free WiFi! It was, to say the least, GLORIOUS!!

I should perhaps mention that while the weather here has for the most part been fantastic it does have quite a lot of humidity. Parisians take absolutely no notice if that fact and often are dressed as we would be for our Arizona winter. In fact, that is not really a Parisian thing as much as it is just a French thing (a later post on cultural observations is forthcoming). However, being an inhabitant of a dry desert leaves me with zero tolerance for the humidity. So please forgive any picture that clearly depicts my inability to tolerate humidity at any level (sooo not looking forward to coming home in the midst of our humid monsoon season!) which I should mention is most of them!

Thanks to my sister Valerie, I was able to locate a room using www.airbnb.com. The room was called a "studette" and was located on the 6th floor of a little apartment building tucked inbetween another small hotel and a café. The elevator (approximately 18" deep and 30" wide, no way two people could fit in it! With my luggage it was a snug fit!) took me up to the 5th floor and you had to walk up to the 6th floor! 

The room itself was approximately 8ft by 16ft. 

This first picture is looking from the window towards the door.

This second picture is looking from the door towards the window.

This third picture shows the shower which was just to the left as you walk in. The shower had two temperatures: too hot and scalding!

Next to the shower was the kitchenette. The dark panel under the stove top is the refrigerator. 

Beyond the kitchenette on the left there was a cabinet for clothing and a desk where in theory you could use the internet however the WiFi never worked in the room so I wasn't able to post until I got back to the countryside. On the right hand side you can see the couch/sofa/bed thing. This is really just a room for one but if you really liked someone you could potentially have another person on the floor with an air mattress for a few nights but let's face it personal space would be non existent!

This picture shows the "beanbag" chair (a complete waste of space) and the cubbard that held all the kitchen supplies. The lower cabinet was the "pantry."

If you have been paying attention you will notice that I have not mention the location if the toilet. That is because it was not located in the room! Just outside the room right across the hallway was a blue door...

And behind the blue door?? Yep, you guessed it! The potty!

Now, having the toilett across the hall wasn't really that big a deal in the bigger scheme of life. But it was a little weird at night because my room did not have a door knob. It opened by skeleton key so trying to be quiet was next to impossible!

Finally, I took this picture from the window. The view was just so pretty and charming. 

Finally, after getting situated in my roomI got cleaned up and met my beautiful friend Laurence at the café on the corner where I was staying. I had such a terrific time catching up with her! She is so lovely and just has a beautiful soul!


Stay tuned for part 2!