Paris: The Sweetest Part

Reflecting on our 6 days in Paris - the most romantic city in the world known for its incredible architecture, top-notch museums, and scenic river walks - my favorite part had to be...

... the macarons.  

Have you ever had one?  Let me tell you, these little morsels - when done right - are just to die for.  

Actually no, the macarons were not quite my favorite part.  Don't get me wrong, they were good.  In fact, Fritz and I stopped to eat one every time we passed a macaron shop.  You won't believe how much variety you can find in a vanilla macaron.  But the truth is, we couldn't find a single Parisian macaron that could top Laura's macarons.  She is our lovely Berlin friend whose macaron shop is known to be one of the best bakeries in the whole city.  

For those of you who are thinking, "Wait, does she mean macaroons?"  The answer is no, I'm not confusing the two confections.  A macaroon is a yummy coconut morsel.  A macaron is a French, meringue-based pastry made with egg whites, almonds, and sugar.  They are usually made into colorful little sandwiches with some kind of frosting or jelly in the middle.  Generally speaking, they are a perfectly satisfying little treat, but our mission to find The Best Macaron in Paris lead to our discovery that not all macarons are created equal and, in fact, no macaron is better than Laura's in Berlin, Germany.  

In summation, if you are going to Paris for the macarons, you will surely find them and you will undoubtedly enjoy them.  However, if you are seeking The Best Macaron, you might consider Berlin instead.  

So if not the macarons, what was the sweetest part of being in Paris?  

Jardin du Luxembourg

Simple.  Sharing it with Fritz.  

We made a concerted effort to maximize our time and cover the most ground possible while we were there, hitting all the "must see" spots.  But the moments that my heart was just filled to the brim were the times when Fritz and I were sitting quietly in a garden on the little green chairs that seem to furnish every Parisian park.

Jardin des Tuileries with the Louvre in the background

Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Gardens were stunning and it felt only natural to explore them while carrying a French Baguette to supplement our picnic lunch.  

Luxembourg

Fritz and I watched tiny sailboats race around the large fountain at the top of the park.  

We made several trips to the Tuileries - the garden just in front of the Louvre.  

Tuileries

On our first evening in Paris, we settled into a pair of green chairs at the foot of the Tuileries fountain where little ducklings paddled around in circles hoping someone would toss them a piece of bread.  A few vendors were set up behind the fountain where Fritz and I purchased our first Parisian chocolate crepe along with a bubbling glass of champagne.  As we sipped and munched, we listened to the words of Adam Gopnik in his book Paris to the Moon.  Gopnik is one of Fritz's favorite essayist who frequently writes for the New Yorker.  I've referenced him several times already in this blog, which you may take as a sign that he is a writer really worth reading.  Paris to the Moon is a book of Gopnik's reflections as a New Yorker who lived in Paris for 5 years.  

Fritz and I downloaded the audiobook.  With our heads tipped in toward one another and our fingers laced together and dangling between our two chairs, we listened to the first chapter.  Around us people posed for pictures, children tossed crackers to the ducks, a light breeze rustled the spring leaves, and an old man dozed, a golden blanket of sunlight illuminating his wrinkled face.  It wasn't complicated.  It was a bit fancy - we did have champagne after all.  It was simply perfect.  Because right beside me sat the man of my dreams.  

I've always been a girl drawn to fairy tales and happy endings, but I didn't know I'd ever find myself the real Prince Charming.  My life is better because Fritz became a part of it.  And I hope 50 years from now, I will remember how it felt to sit in the Tuileries Garden holding Fritz's hand and sharing these quiet moments with my heart so full of love. 

Tuileries

Paris: The Eiffel Tower, Terrorism, and Love Installment

The Eiffel Tower: a global cultural icon of France reaching over one thousand feet tall and constructed from wrought iron lattice.  It was built in 1889 as the entrance to the World's Fair, an enormous exposition that was held at the 100th year anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, which started the French Revolution. 

I took an embarrassing number of pictures while Fritz and I walk around the structure.  

Although I have seen a million pictures and sketches of the Eiffel Tower, none of them depicted the little park under it.  Who knew there was a duck pond under the Eiffel Tower? 

As I continue to share a smattering of my Eiffel photos with you, I thought I'd include my written correspondence with an old friend from college.  She contacted me knowing I was in Paris and had been traveling throughout Europe.  After EgyptAir Flight 804 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea less than a week ago and bombs were detonated in the Brussels airport two months prior to that, my friend was understandably nervous about flying to France and wanted to hear my perspective on the matter.  I've made a few minor changes to my messages to maintain her anonymity and to fill in any gaps as I am not including the messages she wrote to me.

My dear friend,

It's great to hear from you!  So exciting that you are planning a trip to Paris!  It is my first time here and I have to say, it's amazing!  We are only here for a few more days.  There is so much to do and see, you are going to have an awesome time!

As for safety, I personally feel very safe.  I've been living and traveling throughout Europe for almost 8 months and although I sometimes get a little uncomfortable twinge in my stomach if I start thinking too hard about terrorism, I generally feel much safer in European cities than I do in US cities.  That said, the decision to come or not come is totally up to you.  If you feel like you are going to be scared the whole time, maybe it's not worth it.  I made a conscious decision to keep living my life the way I can live it and the way I want to live it, because if I don't, then I'm basically just another victim of terrorism myself.

Paris has been a targeted spot in the past 2 years, but the chances of being here if a terrorist attack were to occur again and then to be physically affected by an act of terror are sooooo minuscule.  Statistically, I am WAY more times likely to be shot in the US from gun violence than to be a victim of a terrorist attack.  Now, walking around Paris, there is military personnel in every neighborhood carrying machine guns, there is extra security at train stations, there are undercover cops checking IDs on all the trains coming into Paris, and there are metal detectors going into every museum.  Paris doesn't seem to be taking terrorism lightly from my point of view.  Seeing all the guns and extra security is a reminder that scary things have happened here, but it's also a reminder that there are many many people working to keep everyone safe.  I flew through Paris on my way to Poland in the fall and was in the Paris airport just two days after the terrorist attack in November.  I was admittedly nervous, but I'm really glad I didn't stay home.  Some members of my family came to visit us in Germany a month ago and they actually almost canceled their trip because they were scared.  They came anyway and were very glad they did.  

At the end of the day, the decision is completely yours as I said.  You do what makes you comfortable.  If that means skipping some of the super heavy tourist spots in Paris, skip them.  If it means walking to get around the city rather than taking the subway, walk.  If it means saving your trip to Paris for another year, save it.  It's your call.  I won't lie and say I don't ever think about terrorism.  I do.  I suppose there is some risk that I could be in the presence of an attack just like anyone else, but I refuse to willingly let myself be a victim of the past terrorist attacks.  Paris is beautiful and unlike any city I have ever been in!  It's huge and the architecture is amazing.  The weather is great.  The people are friendly and happy.  I'm so glad I'm here!  I feel really really lucky to be here actually.  It might just be my new favorite city in the world!  And my enjoyment of Paris is FAR outweighing any fear I had about coming here.  

I've never flown on the airline you have booked with, but there are undercover US Air Marshalls on every single international flight that is going to or coming from the US.  The security in all airports is so high right now so in some ways, being on the other side of the security check might be the safest place anyone can be at the moment.  I still wouldn't fly to Cairo or countries that are known to be occupied by ISIS, but as I said, I'm very happy to be in Paris this week.  

I hope my long-winded reflection is helpful.  Let me know what you decide to do or if you have any other questions. 

Hugs to you,

Amanda

My friend wrote back saying she was feeling much better about being in Paris.  She shared a quote worth repeating because I think the sentiment rings true for many fellow travelers: "I'm not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world."  Even though my friend was feeling better about being in Paris, the idea of flying and being in the airport made her nervous.  I wrote to her again.

Hello my friend,

I'm so glad to hear that my perspective was helpful and made you feel a bit better about traveling to Paris.  As for the airport and the airline you are flying, from what I can find through internet searches, your airline has no history of many issues so that's a good sign.  It's a French airline which I think is a good thing.  Knowing there is an undercover air marshall on board makes me feel a lot better about flying too.  Security in the French airports is certainly as high as it could possibly be.  The truth is, it's really hard these days to get any kind of weapon in past the security gates.  That's why the last airport attack happened before the attackers could even get all the way into the airport.  And now, every European airport I have been in recently has armed military personnel posted at each entrance into the airport and they walk around the baggage check and the entrance areas in groups of 2 and 3.  Like you, I also have a mild anxiety about flying that kicks in the most during take-off and landing.  During those times, I try to have a really good book that I can get absorbed in so I don't think too hard about my own irrational fears. 

When I flew through the Paris airport after the Paris attacks in the fall, I wrote some reflections if you want to read them.  Anytime I find myself getting nervous, I just try to "find the stillpoint" within myself.  It helps me relax and reminds me that I am the one who is ultimately in control of my own mind.  It's almost like my own little private meditation in the middle of a very public space.  I'm not sure I can say much more than that.  I obviously can't guarantee your safety or mine or anyone else's.  But I will say that the world has been full of problems and dangers since the dawn of time.  Terrorism is the latest topic, although even that is a lot older than people realize.  Paris had some pretty major issues with bombings and attacks back in the 90s, but people seem to forget that and we get so wrapped up in the present beliving that this is the scariest time there has ever been.  It's actually not.  

A really great writer, Adam Gopnik, made the decision to move from NYC to Paris in 1995 for 5 years.  He wrote something along the lines of, "Terrorism is a part of life.  An apartment in Paris is a miracle."  You can substitute the "apartment" for "a weekend" if you want.  That's what I'm doing in my mind.  And even though there has been danger since forever, there is also so much beauty, and joy, and love all over the place.  Paris, in particular, is a place for love.  I have never seen a more beautiful city; nor have I seen a city that is so dedicated to love.  If you do decide to fly to Paris, I hope you will be able to find that stillpoint within yourself so you can fully absorb all the beauty and love the gorgeous city has to offer.  Even in the rain, which is the forecast for today, Paris is shimmering with love. 

Amanda

Paris: The Museum Installment

The Louvre

Have you ever read the DaVinci Code by Dan Brown?  It's a great novel that mostly has nothing to do with our experience in Paris, except that it was my first exposure to the Louvre - arguably the most famous museum in the world.  There are many things to say about the Louvre.  I have never been to a larger "place of looking".  Everywhere you go - outside the museum, inside the museum - people are just looking.  Adam Gopnik once made the observation in his book Paris to the Moon that people in Paris prefer things that have light shining on them (the Louvre) as opposed to light shining from them (Time Square).  Gopnik has spent much of his life living in Manhattan, so that obvious difference was not lost on him when he moved to Paris in the 90's.  It's an insightful observation, I'd say, about Paris as a hole, and the Louvre is a shining example of how Gopnik's statement is true.  

Standing before the Louvre, the first glaring observation we made was that in addition to being very pretty, the building is absolutely enormous.  The second observation was that there were a lot of people staging jumping pictures in front of it.  Most jumpers did their leaps with the famous glass pyramid in the background, most were under the age of 23, and most were actually able to clear the ground.  I'm not going to tell you how many out-takes our photo shoot had, and I still haven't determined if my apparent lack of a vertical is due to Fritz's photography skills or the fact that I'm a 30-year-old white girl with messed up ankles.  Oh well.  We tried.  

Here's another view looking out at the glass pyramid, which serves as the official entrance to the museum, with the Tuileries Garden behind it where you can just make out the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Ferris wheel.  

Touring the Louvre in its entirety could have easily taken us the full 6 days of our Paris trip.  As it is, we spent the better part of a day winding through the colossal museum's numerous galleries.  We did our best to hit the Louvre's most famous installations.  Antonio Canova carved Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss out of marble in 1777, which might have been my favorite piece there.    

One wing of the Louvre contains the preserved apartments of Napoleon III.  He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution and is best known today for his grand reconstruction of Paris.  He was a very influential figure during his time and he lived lavishly at one end of the Louvre. 

Image downloaded from the internet

Now open google in your browser and type in "Mona Lisa".  Or you could just ask Siri to "find images..."  If you do, you'll find something much like the what you see pictured above.  I downloaded that image from the web.  While it is true that in this modern technological age, the Mona Lisa is always at your fingertips, you haven't really been to the Louvre until you have seen the Mona Lisa in person.  It hangs behind a sheet of thick glass surrounded by a ten-foot rope preventing visitors from getting too close.  Even with all of these restrictions in place, a sea of museum guests overwhelms the gallery to peer at Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting every day.  This means that when you try to get your own pic of Ol' Mona, you end up with photos like this...

... because trying to get a clear shot of the portrait without someone's selfie stick in your photo is next to impossible.  Scratch that, selfie sticks are not allowed in the Louvre (thank goodness).  So instead, you can stand and watch as everyone admires "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world" through their 4.5 x 2-inch screens.  

Like these people.  They all are so happy to be eternalizing the most famous piece of art so they can forever carry that questionably lovely countenance of Lisa Gherardini in their pockets.  A few paragraphs ago, I suggested that you google "Mona Lisa" because if you do, there is a very good chance that your view will be just as good, if not better than mine was when I was standing in the Louvre.  And it is certainly better than a cell phone picture taken from 15 feet away.   

Considering all these things, one is led to consider that perhaps visiting the Mona Lisa is less about appreciating art (for many), and much more about "making it," as Fritz puts it, in life.  Every day, people come from all over the globe to see this one painting.  And for this reason, a crummy cell phone picture, even if Siri could produce a higher quality image from a bathroom stall in Maysville, Kentucky, is invaluable; perhaps even as priceless as the Mona Lisa itself.  

It's actually best if you take a Mona Selfie.

The other notable part of the Louvre is that the entire museum is now accessible via a specially programmed 3D Game Boy! 

The Louvre: brought to you by Nintendo.  The interactive map was extremely helpful, allowing us to navigate through the building with ease as we sought out our art pieces of interest, tracked down the bathrooms, and located the nearest in-house café.  

Plus it had hours of commentary and education on all the featured works of art.  We just had to remind ourselves to look up from the hand-held virtual Louvre every now and again so as not to miss the real museum.  These things have a way of sucking up all of your attention.

We were fortunate enough to be in town on Museum Night, a magical evening when the museums of Paris open their doors from 8pm to midnight for free access.  Fritz and I went to the Musee d'Orsay, which is located in a converted railway station on the left bank of the Seine.  It houses the largest collection of Impressionist masterpieces in the world!  

Guests can have a coffee in the attic of the building while looking out through the old clock face to see Sacre Coeur, the elegant white church perched on the distant hill. 

In addition to the incredible collection of art, we heard that there would be live jazz music played all evening in front of famous art pieces.  This trio is playing in front of Monet's depiction of the Tuileries Garden. 

The finale was a 30-minute concert featuring a 15-piece ensemble playing Dave Brubeck!  Gathering with hundreds of people to enjoy art and music was a breath of fresh air, especially considering how many of the guests were in our age range.  It was wonderful to see that in our modern world, art continues to be valued and appreciated.  

Eiffel Tower at night

Fritz and I walked home, hand-in-hand at the end of the night through the illuminated streets of Paris.

The full moon made its presence known, peaking between the clouds above the Louvre as lovers traded secrets in the grass.  

Paris: The First Installment

Notre Dame

Paris.  Possibly the most romanticized city in the world, and rightly so, as Fritz and I learned after our 6-day stay in this gorgeous place.  We arrived in the middle of the day following our overnight train trip, a few hours in Cologne, and then a shorter train ride through Brussels for the final leg.  After checking into our AirBnB, a tiny but charming studio apartment with exposed wooden ceiling rafters on the top floor of a building in the Bastille District (a central area of the city), we wasted no time and set out walking.  

The ground floor entrance to our apartment.

The first thing I realized as we walked through the small streets making our way toward the river Seine, is that Paris really is just beautiful.  Everywhere.  Before coming, when I thought of Paris, the image that came to mind was the Eiffel Tower.  It is certainly a Parisian landmark and graphics of the Eiffel Tower often accompany "Paris" whenever it's printed on a t-shirt or a piece of art, etc.  What I did not realize was that Paris is loaded, and I mean loaded, with one architectural masterpiece after another.  You can't turn a corner without stumbling on a breath-taking church (Notre Dame being one of many beautiful churches), or a fancy government building, or a grand museum, or a stunning bridge, or a romantic garden.  Walking in Paris is like walking around Disney World, only everything is real.  The city has been around since the 3rd century BC and through the centuries, it had the good fortune of being wealthy during important developmental eras like The Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century.  It was a hub for culture, fashion, and art during some of the most prosperous times.

The other thing about Paris is that it's big!  Despite its size, walking everywhere is recommended because the routes in between all the major Parisian landmarks are definitely worth seeing, although we did take the metro a few times.  But the size means that all of the tourists that flock to Paris each week are a bit more spread out and mixed in with the locals.  I don't mind feeling like a tourist sometimes, but I also like the idea of understanding a place from an every-day life perspective.  It was nice to shop at local vegetable markets, sip coffee at a neighborhood café, and enjoy a fresh-baked croissant from a corner bakery.  We could pretend like we belonged - like we were a part of the fabric.  We felt flattered when a merchant mistook us for a Parisian local and initiated a conversation in French rather than English.

Naturally, I took over 400 pictures during our visit.  They aren't all blog-worthy so don't worry, I'm not going to dump them all on you, but prepare yourself for quite a stream.

As I mentioned, our first walk after arriving was along the river toward Notre Dame.  

Lining the river walk are little built-in lockers.  Vendors open them up and sell their wares as the people stroll through admiring the beautiful views.  

Artists set up their easels, doing their best to capture a scene in pastel watercolors as lovers pass by hand-in-hand. 

Notre Dame sits on an island surrounded by the flowing Seine.  This medieval Catholic cathedral was built in 1345.  It is known to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and was one of the first churches to incorporate the flying buttress. 

The ornate gargoyles that line the sides of the building were designed for water run-off.  

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was my first exposure to the cathedral, and I'm guessing it probably is for many Americans.  The Disney movie that I saw as a little girl was based on Victor Hugo's famous novel published in 1831.  He titled the book "Notre-Dame de Paris" but when it was translated to English, the name was changed because, at the time, Gothic novels were more popular than Romance novels in England.  Hugo wrote the novel because he felt that people did not value French Gothic architecture which meant beautiful buildings were being neglected, defaced and replaced with newer styles.  Hugo included long descriptive sections about the cathedral's architechture, but when Disney converted the book to a kid's movie, they made a few family-friendly tweeks negating much of the architectural descriptions and adjusting the ending a bit as well.  

Crepes!  This was a must-do for me.  I was dying to start the first day with a crepe.  We had a little more trouble finding a good crepe than we had anticipated, so our breakfast crepe turned out to be more of a lunch crepe.  Fritz located the "best crepes" in Les Marais (our neighborhood) and we shared one savory and one sweet crepe!  When I reflect on that meal, the word "Yummmmm" comes to mind. 

And while we are on the topic of food, I'll skip over to a totally delicious brunch we had in a hole-in-the-wall cafe on a quiet street.  We were lucky we didn't walk right past it on our hunt for breakfast, considering how unassuming the entrance was.  Inside, the walls were plastered with old french advertisements for performances and events.  Antiques were hanging from the ceiling and it looked a little like someone had been rooting around in your French grandmother's attic to furnish the place.   The waiter was incredibly friendly and took the time to translate each menu item into English for us in his heavy but charming French accent.  Behind my seat was a long counter peppered with one delicious-looking torte after the next.  Fritz and shared a slice of Strawberries and Cream Heaven (my name for it).

A view of the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine. 

We loved seeing all of the roof-top gardens.  Between the architecture and strategically placed flora, the Parisians really know how to beautify their space! 

A perk of staying in an AirBnB rather than in a hotel was having the option to cook at home in our little studio kitchen.  Not that we didn't ever go out.  We weren't about to go to Paris without experiencing the fabulous French cuisine, but we balanced it with a few home-cooked meals.  This meant visiting the little vegetable markets to collect our ingredients.  Paris isn't big on supermarkets, so we got all of our food from little shops and produce stands.   

Fresh thyme to season our portabello mushrooms sauteed with garlic and shallots over a bed of quinoa.  I never knew thyme had little purple flowers!  So pretty!

As I mentioned, Fritz and I walked through the city most of the time, but we did hop on the metro once or twice when it was late or drizzling.  The lighting and the font for metro stations give the public transportation system a kind of spooky vibe at night.  

This is our stop.

It's right next to the Bastille.  The July Column stands in the famous square, the Place de la Bastille, where the Bastille prison stood before July of 1789 when it was destroyed during the French Revolution.  There is virtually nothing left of the former fortress that had been standing there in one form or another since 1357.  The surrounding neighborhood, particularly the Marais, was a really lovely area to call home for our 6 days in Paris!

And here is a quick shot of my love, the brains behind this incredible adventure!  I know that sharing this experience and making these memories with Fritz will stay with me for the rest of my life.  I can't think of a more incredible way to end our European adventure, nor can I think of a more wonderful person to share it with!