Paris

Loves

Where I Stayed: Les Jardins du Marais, situated in the 11th arr., just next to the 3rd

Arrondissement: 18; Montmatre

Restaurant: Chez Clément

Museum: Musée d’Orsay, but to be perfectly honest, it’s the only major museum I had time to visit.

Church: Notre Dame de Paris

Historical Site: Palais Garnier, its opulence is unparalleled

Experience: The walk through Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre at night. There’s a little carnival area set up close by and there were children in these big plastic bubbles in a pool of water, running around like hamsters in wheels, banging into one another until they fell down in their respective bubbles, giggling and scrambling to get up quickly and go again.

Food(s): Ladurée macarons (these are certainly worth their cost and are almost too beautiful to eat!)

What to Know

When people say “mind your pocket”, do it. There are pickpockets all around the major sites (Louvre, Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe) and they are pushy. I know, because I had my cell phone stolen. And immediately afterward, the thieves were gone.

They’re smart–they watch you, feel to see if you have anything available, and call for assistance. When there’s two of them on you–pushing you, feeling you, begging you–it’s all you can do to yell at them and try to push them off, and when they finally do leave you alone, well, they’ve got something that’s yours.  After my phone was stolen, and I sat on a bench to calm down and think of my next moves, I saw some other girls following a man around and touching his pockets, his bag, etc. trying to feel for anything they might get their sneaky little fingers on. So, just be careful. I’m grateful that all they got away with from me was a phone; it could’ve been much worse.

Why Go?

Because it’s freakin’ Paris? If you need convincing, you probably don’t need to go.

Things to do

There are so many things to do in Paris that I can’t possibly cover them all here, so instead, I’ll just list the things I did over a three-day period:

• Notre Dame
• Palais Garnier
• Sainte-Chapelle
• Montmartre
• Sacré-Cœur
• Eiffel Tower
• Moulin Rouge
• Musée d’Orsay
• Arc de Triomphe
• Louvre grounds (didn’t have time to go inside)
• Jardin des Tuileries
• A lot of walking, eating, and visiting with friends

Details

I have to admit that I think I fell prey to Paris Syndrome. I wasn’t so depressed that suicide was imminent (obviously, or you wouldn’t be reading this), but I think I built Paris up to be something that no city could ever be. I really wanted there to be this beautiful glowing magic hour-style sunlit cast over everything at all hours, and there wasn’t. It didn’t mean that Paris wasn’t special or beautiful in its own right, but it’s still a major city–it’s dirty, people are rude, and there are thieves. Yes, even Paris has flaws.

Having said that, Paris is beautiful. And it’s mostly what I expected. I certainly need to go back and spend more time there and see more, but it was a great first taste of the city. One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was going to Montmartre (and I have to thank my Dutch friend, Carlos, for being the guide!).  From the moment we stepped off the Metro and climbed (what felt like) 4,000 stairs to finally hit street level, you could feel something in the air. The walls up the stairs were covered in bright-colored graffiti and you could hear music grow louder by the ascending stair. When we finally hit the street, there was a band playing just outside the exit–accordions and all! After a quick pause to catch our breaths and take in the sites, sounds, and smells, we had a daunting task ahead of us: more stairs. All the stairs to Sacré-Cœur paid off though. There was a lovely little market area with al fresco cafes, artists, and musicians to greet us. I finally felt like I was experiencing the Paris of the movies I’d seen, books I’d read, and music I’d heard.

In Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris, Marion Cotillard’s character says she can never decide if Paris is more beautiful during the day or at night. And while I think they both have their charms, I certainly think it’s more beautiful at night. It is the City of Lights, after all.