I Miss Paris

     

In front of the Opera House

Back to Reality.  Sigh . . . 

I am having such a hard time adjusting to being back home after ten marvelous days in Paris, so since I need to start writing regularly anyway, I figured blogging about our trip would be a great place to start. Let me get out of the way the things that took some getting used to. There's quite a bit of smoking in Paris, and being from the U.S. where smokers aren't even able to smoke outside of buildings much anymore, my lungs took a bit of a hit when we first got there.

Skinny Showers

Also, there are a variety of bathroom experiences one could have, including the unisex sink area, pumping the water to the sink with a pedal, and having to use a coin to gain entrance to the restroom. The phrase "curb your dog" doesn't seem to carry much weight there either, so you really have to watch where you step.









Finally, the showers in Paris are not designed for what Alexander McCall Smith refers to in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series as the "traditionally built." Being the fine Amazon that I am, and also, I now know, a bit claustrophobic, I enjoyed quick showers while I was in Paris.

The view from our window.

Where We Stayed:

We stayed in a beautiful place called the Grand Hotel du Palais Royal at 4 Rue de Valois.  It was two blocks away from the Musee du Louvre, and I so enjoyed our stay there.  The views from the windows were beautiful, though, since I have an aversion to heights, I had to brace myself a bit.  It was nice to be able to actually open the windows in a hotel and get some fresh air.  The staff there was very friendly.  

What our room looked like at the Grand Hotel du Palais Royal.

Every morning, Dishon and I enjoyed an exquisite breakfast of a variety of cheeses, cafe creme, or cappuccino, Danone Actimel (a wonderful yogurt drink that is very much like an Indian lassi), pastries, including croissants both with and without chocolate . . . I could go on.  It took me a little while to figure out how to use the hard boiled egg boiler (there was a bit of a weird incident the first day where I ended up with a raw egg all over my plate because the egg boiler wasn't on when I thought it was), but once I figured it out, I was all set.  It became a running joke between me and Dishon about my morning egg :).  

Mills Adventures: 

Paris train station where the incident took place.

We were a little disoriented/jet lagged when we first tried to navigate the Paris subway system.  Two of the young men who were with us went with our friend on a bike tour, but one of the young men didn't want to go, so he spent the day with me and Dishon.  It was a rainy day, and we were disappointed to find out, after Dishon skillfully navigated the maps and got us to the Picasso Museum, that it's actually closed until 2013, so we went to the National Archives where we saw Napoleon's marriage certificate and sobering pictures of Paris when it was occupied by Germany during WWII.  Seing the Nazi flags hanging on the Louvre seemed unreal.

National Archives

So back to the whole disoriented thing - the trains in Paris are different than in NYC and Boston.  On some lines, if you want to get off/on, you have to flip a latch when the train arrives in the station.  On the #1 line, there are the train doors and a set of plastic doors that line up with the train doors.  Very cool for knowing where to stand when waiting for a train.  Not so cool when you get smashed by the train and plastic doors like Dishon did, and he almost lost a shoe, but that's his story to tell.  Those of you who know me well, though, know that while my sweet, sweet husband was being smashed repeatedly, I was absolutely of no help to him.  I'm like a deer in headlights in times of crisis.

The sparkling Eiffel Tower

One of the best nights of the week was after we took a ride on the Seine on a yacht with Dishon's co-workers.  Lots of good food and champagne, wonderful conversations . . . I found out how valued he is by those who work with him, and it inspired me.  Even though my position was cut, like Dishon, I hope to work for folks who deeply value me in my new position.  After the last two traumatic years, it didn't seem possible, but I witnessed it in Paris.

Anyway, the sun doesn't go down until after 10 in Paris, so when we docked, it was just getting dark.  Port Debilly is near the Eiffel Tower.  We walked up the steps of the Trocadero, and there was a huge display of a world cup tournament.  Lots of cheering, crowds, African drummers on the Trocadero plaza . . . and then, in a moment of serendipity unlike any other I've experienced so far, we got to see the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.  We didn't even know that would happen.  It was a perfect night.

Walking Around Paris:

During the day, Dishon was with the rest of the folks from the ArtScience Prize at Le Laboratoire helping the students get ready to present their ideas.  That left me with time to explore the city on my own, which was scary at first.  Having grown up in Brooklyn, I never thought I'd ever leave New York City, let alone explore a city in another country on another continent.  Although I had taken French in high school and college (Brooklyn College before I transferred to Ambassador College/University in Big Sandy, TX), that was a while ago, and I had never really spoken French except to pass oral exams.  Folks were so friendly and helpful.  Many people in France speak English, and most of the restaurants have English translations of the menus, or people who are willing to explain the dishes to you.  They get so excited when you even try to speak a little French, which I did, even though I was nervous.  It was pretty cool. As an educator, it definitely helped me to be more aware of and sensitive to what it's like to be a language learner in a new country.  

Le Lorax

It was really interesting to see movie posters in France.  I took these pictures for the kids because I thought they'd be fascinated by Le Lorax and L'Age de Glace 4 :).  It was also pretty cool seeing all the electric cars and bikes around the city that folks use like we use Zip Cars.

Ice Age 4 in the train station

Electric Bikes like Zip Cars

Electric Cars like . . . um, Zip Cars :)

I took a walk one day and hung out on the Pont Neuf bridge to make sure that I'd know where to get on Les Cars Rouges the next day for the bus tour of the city.  I bought some souvenirs on Quai du Louvre.  The bridge is beautiful, and I also had a chance to see Pont des Arts, which, like other bridges in the city, contains hundreds of locks where people have professed their love for one another, locked the lock, and have thrown the keys into the Seine River.  

Les Cars Rouges

The stops on Les Cars Rouges are: Tour Eiffel, Champs de Mars, Musee du Louvre (where I got on), Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay (I didn't get to visit, but definitely want to the next time we visit), Opera, Champs-Elysees (depicted here where we saw the Arc de Triomphe), Grand Palais, and Trocadero.  I didn't get off at any of the stops, though.  I just wanted to take it all in, and rest my weary feet, since, as I was forewarned, you do A LOT of walking in Paris.  

The Guys:

We traveled with three wonderful young men who were winners of the Boston ArtScience Prize competition.  It was really my first time hanging out with teenage boys, and I don't think I've laughed or learned so much in such a short period of time.  One of the young men reminded me of what Cai might be like when he's 17.  

Where the phrase "One Omar" began . . . 

Things I will always remember:

• Stay calm, calm down and remain calm.
• I hate trees.  I tear down and replace with Green Code.
• Beware of the beehive.
• The dog is the only thing that man has in the world, and you almost killed it.  
• Some of the young men LOVED tartar.
• One of the young men LOVED taking pictures of all of our food.  
• One Omar = one hour

The Album store displayed here was where things got a little intense when one of the young men waited in line for a replica of a key piece of jewelry from The Lord of the Rings for an hour, only to realize that the store didn't accept American Express :(.  I went into the store with him for a while, and it really was cool.  There were Harry Potter wands and horcruxes.  I would've purchased some of that stuff if I had the cash for it. 

Macrons (pistachio is popular)

Where the best macrons in Paris are found

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is another place that is too beautiful for words.  We could've gone into the towers, but it would've been a walk up 400 stairs.  I'm getting old, yall, and I have bad knees.  I couldn't do it.  Going into the actual cathedral was breathtaking, and far more manageable.  

Vive L'Afrique?  They know about me up in Paris, too?  LOL! :)

Musee du Louvre:

Musee du Louvre at night

It's very difficult to capture in words what it was like to spend the afternoon at the Louvre (my favorite section was the Ancient Egyptian art), so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

The closest I could get to the Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Winged Victory

Winged Victory

Food:

I can't believe that I saved this section for last, because it was a big part of why Paris was wonderful, and why I'm having a hard time adjusting.  Who feels like going food shopping and cooking when for ten amazing days, food like this was available everywhere?

Confit de Canard (Roast Duck - a new favorite)

First, I must talk about roast duck (confit de canard).  Before going to Paris, I had never tasted duck.  I had only heard that duck was greasy/oily, and it's rarely available at the restaurants I frequent in Randolph, Dedham, or Boston, so I never really gave it much thought.  One night, Dishon and I went out for a romantic dinner at a restaurant called Pasco on Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg before walking over to the Eiffel Tower.  Dishon had a foie gras appetizer, and I tasted a little, but I wasn't really feeling lit.  For some reason, however, I decided to try the roast duck that night, and I fell in love with it.  So tender and yummy!  Sorry, Daffy and Donald! :(

Pommes Dauphinoise

On our last night in Paris, we ate at a restaurant in the Latin quarter, not far from the Sorbonne called Le Machon d'Henri.  When we arrived, we were told that the restaurant would reopen in about 15-30 minutes while the staff went to purchase fresh food for dinner.  They let us sit and wait, and it was so worth it.  There was this appetizer with goat cheese, crushed black olives, olive oil and fresh french bread.  I'm swooning just remembering it.  I learned to enjoy wine while I was in Paris, too.  When we ordered, of course I chose a duck selection, but it had different potatoes than Dishon and the guys had.  They had pommes dauphinoise, which is like potatoes au gratin, but so much better - a lighter cream and cheese, and it tasted like there was cinnamon the recipe.  The potatoes were perfect - smooth like red potatoes.  I kept trying to take Dishon's potatoes, and he let me, up until a point (I usually try to take his food in restaurants, because he's more of a culinary adventurist than I am).  My only regret while there was not ordering pommes dauphinoise for myself.  I'm going to try to make them, but it won't be the same.

Creme Brulee

I tried other desserts while in Paris, like chocolate mousse, of course, and a couple of recommended pastries.  My favorite dessert was creme brulee, which is far better there than any I've had here.  In fact, one night, I was the envy of our table when we went out for a group dinner.  There were 60 of us from the ArtScience Prize, and the menu was pre-selected.  I am allergic to almost every good fruit there is (ie: bananas, kiwi, watermelon, mango, etc.), so I couldn't eat the fruit salad dessert.  When I asked for a substitution, they asked if creme brulee would be acceptable.  Mais, oui!! :)

I am so thankful that I had the chance to go on this trip, and I'm really looking forward to going back next year.  Hopefully we'll have the same shuttle driver (Abdel) who gave us such a fantastic tour of the city when we first arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport.  Au revoir for now . . .