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!