On the road: Paris

How cool is this photo? You know it's going to be a great entry...

I've fallen massively behind with my blog posts, unfortunately. I've been fighting off some sort of bug (I assume) because though I haven't gotten sick, I'm horribly fatigued. Sometimes you just have to sit back, relax, and do what you can to catch yourself up. So it's been a weekend of Netflix, taking down Christmas decorations, organizing my Pinterest boards, etc. And laughter -- life with Sergio means lots of laughter.

"Sergio"

You know what else is funny? Odd funny, not "ha-ha" funny: Starbucks cups. I have had "Sarah" spelled as "Sara" before, obviously. On our first full morning in Paris, we stopped by a Starbucks to get Sergio some caffeine. This is how they spelled his name.

Nope. Not even close.

We got off to a bit of an unfortunate start in Paris. We awoke to a bright and sunny day in Arles, caught a train to Avignon, and then a high-speed train to Paris, where Amelia, my dear, lovely, coworker met us to help us navigate to our hotel. Bags on our backs, we boarded the Metro... and then when we got to the hotel, I realized my wallet had been stolen.

Paris, I don't hold it against you because you are a lovely city. I was shocked at how disorganized and non-English speaking the police station turned out to be (thank goodness for Amelia and her beautiful French!). It was a pain in the ass to call and cancel all my cards. More than anything though, I was pissed that I lost that wallet. It was an incredibly cute wallet (Fossil, black with many outlines of giraffes). I didn't have too much cash, so in my heart I hoped the person that stole it was hungry and needed some food. I was thankful that he/she didn't find my passport, which was hidden in a different pocket. Yikes. On the flip side -- Sergio had his wallet intact -- that meant shopping on the house!

Rainy, rainy day in Paris

Okay, not really. I tried to be fair and reasonable. Tried.

It was a rainy stay in Paris, unlike my previous visits -- it also was overrun with tourists, unfortunately. I felt a little disappointed -- I had certainly talked up the city to Sergio and wanted him to see it in its best light. However, as it was his first trip to the city, he didn't have the experiences or expectations that I had, so I think he enjoyed it far more than I did.

We stopped by some of my favorite sites -- can you really call it a visit to Paris without walking through Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame, or Sacre Couer? No -- I don't think that you can.

The Louvre was overrun with tourists (many of the Japanese variety), but it was nice to take a slow stroll along the wide corridors, paintings stretching to the ceiling -- everyone with necks craned. My favorite galleries, the sculpture ones, were still there, and it was a nice reminder to peek into them and see Aphrodite still standing there. We really enjoyed the Musee d'Orsay (also crowded) and were completely immersed in our audio guides. They had opened a new gallery since my last visit (cool!) but had banned any indoor photography (lame). I think that museum was our favorite.

We also made a stop by my very favorite museum -- The Rodin Museum, just a fifteen-minute walk from our hotel. I forgot how much I love that little museum. It's not pretentious -- it's just a simple house with surrounding gardens. Somehow every time I have visited it has been under construction. It seems Europe is always under construction. With a break in the weather, it was a perfect time to stroll the grounds and marvel at the Gates of Hell again.

Sergio in Saint Chapelle

The weather certainly didn't cooperate. We were dodging rainstorms left and right. After we exited Notre Dame, we made a beeline for a nearby cafe and waited for the rain to subside. We bought a cheap umbrella at a little touristy store. Big mistake. We were running from the Eiffel Tower across the Senne as the umbrella fell apart in our hands! The umbrella sellers kept offering us umbrellas, not realizing that we had already wasted our money on the one that was in pieces in our hands! We made it to the aquarium (our destination) to learn that no, it wasn't on the Museum Pass after all. Le sigh.

While we didn't have much sunshine, we did have a few more adventures. We made a stop at the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum with all of the infrastructure (stairs, pipes, misc. parts) exposed externally. It was probably our least favorite stop on the tour because neither of us are modern art fans, particularly (and half of the galleries were closed -- more sick art, I suppose). It was a bonding experience, though, trying to figure out how some of what was displayed was art... My rule remains, "If I can create it, it's not art." Sorry, modern artists. Keep creating, really.

We had plenty of food adventures as well. On our last night we went to a cute little restaurant across the street from our hotel in the Rue Cler neighborhood. Once you let the Parisian sticker-shock wash over you, you can stop and enjoy the experience. This was a fun little restaurant with fresh, French-grown food. The restaurant owners were very kind and food was delicious -- we simply had the misfortune of being seated next to a party of eight well-meaning but ignorant Americans. I'll sing the praises of Rick Steves loud and clear -- unfortunately, a few irritating Americans also purchase his books and follow his recommendations. While not completely culturally illiterate, the biggest faux pas of these eight was their loud volume (why are many Americans unable to observe the lower their voices?) and voices odd cultural assumptions aloud ("Now, why in the world would you eat cheese now?"). I sat there in horror and told Sergio that this is why Europeans dislike Americans.

When they finally left (right before we ordered dessert), I managed to joke about this -- in French, no less -- to the owner. He very kindly switched to English and asked us where we were from. We talked a few minutes about Seattle (he was curious but had never been) and thanked him for a wonderful evening. I wondered then -- for these restaurant owners in Europe, is being recommended by Rick Steves a bane or a blessing? Probably a little of both.

Perhaps that is the perfect metaphor for our trip to Paris -- bane and blessing, pain and pleasure, sunshine and rain. We enjoyed great art and wonderful sites, ate plenty of bread and fresh fruit, and worked through funny and challenging situations together.

Jump! 

You have no idea how long these photos took to get right :)

Our time in Paris, and in Europe, was rapidly drawing to a close. We were both getting a little tired and were craving some of the comforts of home. We packed our bags for two short days in our last city, Amsterdam.

Au revoir, Paris. Don't worry -- we'll give you another chance to charm us.

xo,
Sarah

My favorite photo in Paris: Atop l'Arc de Triomphe! 

Beautiful Sacre Couer 

Sacre Couer

Paris at night -- always charming!