April in Paris

Dear friends,

Once again, I am playing the catch-up game.  I suppose it’s not the worst problem to have – to be too busy traveling to write about it?  Then again, I dearly love writing (and being your favorite literary hermit).  Alas, here I am, reminiscing about my weekend in Paris weeks later.

I went for the last weekend of March to celebrate Easter and my birthday, which was on April 1st. I met one of my best friends, Erin, as well as our friend Mariah and Erin’s brother Brady and cousin Katie.  We decided to rent an apartment for the weekend in the Latin Quarter (5eme arrondissement),which is one of my absolute favorite parts of Paris. It is so vibrant, and full of art, neat restaurants, cafes, and lovely Parisian and International culture.  It is also located right by the Jardins de Luxembourg and the Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame from Pont de l’Archevêché

Luxembourg gardens

It was so wonderful to catch up with my friends, as well as to spend time in one of my favorite cities.  Paris certainly has its flaws but it gets in your blood. I’ve yet to meet a person that could honestly look you in the eye and deny that it is beautiful. You simply cannot out-do the architecture, and the depth of its history.  There is something in the Parisian air, and it’s more than pollution and a Paris sniffle.  Not to mention, so many people are quick to denounce all Parisians as assholes.  Yet, the majority of tourists visit Paris during the summer when 99% (don’t hold me to that statistic) leave the city for extended summer vacations.  Thus, if I were Parisian and stuck in the city dealing with a swarm of non-Francophone tourists while everyone and their dog was on vacation, I’d probably be an asshole too.

To further add to my theory – that perhaps Parisians are only assholes in the summer, if at all – let’s backtrack a bit.  My plans upon arriving to Paris were to meet Erin and she would help me locate our apartment. Erin got there the day before me, so she would already know how to get to the apartment from Gare de Lyon, the SNCF train station, and worst case scenario she would talk me through it on the phone. However, when I got off the train, Erin didn’t answer.  I thought that maybe she didn’t hear her phone ring, and then lo and behold, 20 minutes later I was still lacking a response.  I was also wondering if she was alive (kind of kidding) because this type of thing is very un-Erin-like and she knew that I would be arriving at that time.  Regardless, I had the sinking realization that I would be navigating to the apartment alone, with no map, no idea how to get to the Latin Quarter from the train station, and in fact not even a general idea of what direction I was headed in.  All that I knew was that I needed to get to 27 Rue des Boulangers.  I also knew that  I was royally screwed, and I refused to pay the “flat rate” aka idiot fee of 40 euros for a taxi from the station.

So what’s a lone girl to do in the center of Paris with a giant red suitcase, aka a “SPOT THE DUMBEST TOURIST, KICK ME” sign, and no idea where to go? Well, I asked for help.  Though, keep in mind that one his hard-pressed to find decent directions with nothing but an address of a tiny apartment on a tiny side street in a major city. Long story short, the most hilarious and delightful Parisian couple helped me.  In fact, they walked me over ten minutes in the opposite direction from their home to the correct bus stop that would take me to my apartment, explained how to get to my apartment from the stop on the other side, made sure I had the money to pay for the fare, and gave me tons of tips for what to do in Paris.  I was beginning to consider asking if they were interested in adopting me as well – sorry Mom and Dad, though I’m sure you wouldn’t mind letting someone else foot the bill for a while.  It probably would have been an (even more) awesome weekend.  BUT, have no fear: their directions were perfect and I made it just fine and sorted everything out with Erin, who was thankfully alive and more or less well after also having suffered a few minor complications.

I also had pleasant interactions with Parisians throughout the entire trip.  Everyone was very friendly and helpful at restaurants and inevitably when I needed to ask for more directions later on.  I think it’s better now that I speak French well, but nevertheless it was refreshing to experience Paris during the “off-season.”  At the risk of sounding like an outdated advertisement for Disneyland, it’s a magical place.

The weekend went by way too quickly, so I was unable to see everything that I wanted to see. That said, we were able to do a few touristy things as well as making time to simply meander around the city. Notably, we went to the Notre Dame for Easter Mass:

Erin and I before Mass

Easter Mass

We also did more touring of the Luxembourg Gardens:

representing our homeland in the Luxembourg Gardens

And we visited Montmartre;

Montmartre

Erin and I “throwing what we know” over Montmartre

we ate fabulous Macaroons at Laduree, the most famous macaroons in Paris, if not the world;

Laduree

we visited the Pantheon;

inside the Pantheon

and we visited the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysee.

The Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee

I could not have asked for much more. I was such a lucky birthday girl already, and then my friend Jeff – one of my best friends from Elon – was also able to meet us out to celebrate, and he happened to be staying in the same arrondissment!

Jeff and I celebrating my birthday

I will forever love Paris, and I am able to look back on my birthday weekend as one of those times when everything seemed to align.  Sure, life is never perfect, but mine has been pretty darn close lately.  I am so blessed to have been surrounded by so many people who love me, all reunited in one of the greatest cities of the world.

Until next time.

xoxo,

Claire