Paris was, in a word, fantastique!
I’ve been to Paris before, but it was always a brief stop on
my way someplace else. This time, I spent 12 full days exploring what the city
has to offer.
It wasn’t nearly long enough.
Paris is huge, noisy, busy, a city layered with history and
culture—and while I was there, a city of brilliant blue skies and mellow light
that glowingly illuminated the stone buildings. We had nearly perfect weather,
and I can’t help wondering if my impressions would have been different if it
had been cold and gray. I feel lucky to have seen Paris at her fall best—lit up
by the sun, the trees just beginning to change, with blooming flowers
everywhere. Oh, I miss it.
Today I’ll share just a few photos and impressions, because
I’m still sorting through my journal and photos (and thoughts). I feel like
someone picked me up, shook me vigorously, and returned me to earth, everything
still whirling around inside my head. Paris feels like a million years ago, even
though it’s only been a little more than a month (already?) since we touched
down at Charles de Gaulle airport.
Laure Ferlita, of The Imaginary Realm and Painted Thoughts blog, and I flew to Paris a few days before her watercolor workshop started. A
third friend (hi, Claire!) joined us, and we rented an apartment through Airbnb
for the days before we met the rest of the group. That worked beautifully for
us, and our apartment host was outstanding (hi, Helen!). If you will be
spending more than a few days in Paris, renting an apartment is a fun option.
It’s generally cheaper than a Paris hotel, and you get more of a flavor of what
it’s like to live in Paris.
Some highlights from our first days included:
The most delicious savory crepe I’ve ever tasted from a
little restaurant we randomly chose on our way to the metro station our first
morning. It was good, but is there anything as delicious as your
first hot meal and cup of coffee when you’ve traveled to a new place and you’re
really hungry?
Exploring Rue Cler, a popular market street. We enjoyed people watching as much as we
enjoyed the shops and restaurants. I spent a bundle on tea at Mariage Freres.
I’m drinking a cup of Paris Earl Grey as I type this. A highlight for me was a
cup of coffee, a buffalo mozzarella flatbread pizza, and sketching at Café
Central.
Everywhere we walked, we came upon architecture and details
that caught our eyes:
In addition to the larger and more famous parks like the Luxembourg Gardens or the Tuileries, pretty little parks are everywhere—pockets of quiet green-ness in a noisy world:
And, of course, many boulangeries and patisseries where we snapped photos and sampled the baked goods. Heaven!
The adventure will continue...
Stay tuned for more photos and posts about my favorite places in Paris, as well as in our second location, Le Vieux Couvent in Frayssinet.
