Mon Petit Ami avec Moi a Paris!
Ah, Paris. It's everything a city should be. Breathtakingly beautiful, romantic, cultured, diverse, and oh-so-delicious. I visited Paris with my family in 1997 following our ten-day trip to Israel. And I was incredibly fortunate to return this past weekend for a rendezvous with my beloved Adam. The trip came at precisely the right time. My feet have finally started to heal properly, and I was able to walk around Paris with almost no issue. (Had to sit down and rest from time to time, like all eighty-year-old women) And, it was just the most incredible feeling to be wrapped in the love of my Adam, having not seen him since my January trip home two months ago. I adore the man, I love traveling with him, and it was so delightful to just be together in the City of Lights.
It was an incredible four days, though they were simply not enough. I don't think a lifetime would be enough to explore Paris. But we definitely got a hefty dose of France, and I will attempt to summarize the adventure through the following pictures.
Our trip began at the Eiffel Tower, where all decent Paris trips should. The Eiffel Tower is every bit as romantic and captivating as people say. It's really an amazing thing to behold, and to kiss in front of.
On our final day, Adam convinced me to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. While the view was intense, my fear of heights was almost more so. So I spent a considerable amount of time grasping the rail and breathing heavily. Still, it was pretty gorgeous!
The Seine, which splits Paris in two (Left and Right bank, respectively) is a sight to behold. Almost every single building along the river is ornate and gorgeous, and espouses Parisian architecture.
Here's the River again, postcard-pretty.
The Paris Opera, which, I believe, is the setting for Phantom of the Opera, of which I am not a fan. Still, from the outside, the Opera is freaking beautiful.
This is the Basilica de Sacre-Coeur in Montmarte. It's a really beautiful hilltop church that looks out over all of Paris. It's in an area that's very quaint and lovely and special. We ate dinner there on our final night, at a little hole-in-the-wall called Jardin d'en Face. It was delicious!
This, dear friends, is Notre Dame Cathedral. It's impressive, it's built on an island, and the interior looks like every single European church we've ever visited in our travels. Still, the exterior is pretty awesome, and the famous gargoyles are terrifying.
My partner Adam manages to turn his jumping pictures into works of art. Here, he's jumping at the Musee d'Orangerie, a lovely little museum near the Louvre (which we didn't visit, because it's boring and overrated)
However, you bet we took a picture in front of the Louvre! For the memories, y'all.
Trying to get in on the romance with a statue in front of L'Orangerie.
This is the Musee D'Orsay, one of the coolest and most fantastic museums I've ever visited. It's housed in a former train station, has dozens of different levels, and lots of fantastic art from all different genres. Definitely the cultural highlight of our visit!
Each time Adam and I visit a foreign country, there's inevitably at least one long-lost cousin thrice removed who Adam's mom has been in contact with for years. It's uber impressive! Paris was no exception: here we are with Adrian Bondy, a mathematics professor at the University of Paris, connected to Adam on his mother's side.
Here we are at the Arc de Triomphe at night. I don't know the history of the Arc, and am too lazy to Wikipedia it. So if you're curious, take yourself over there.
This is the Metro, Paris' intricate and incredible subway system. We basically took it everywhere we went, and it was really convenient and easy to use. But what we really liked was observing all the different kinds of Parisians that live in the city. Taking the Metro proved that Paris is an incredibly diverse city: ethnically, financially, stylistically. The subway provides an excellent view on the culture you're visiting.
Adam and his cheese! The fromage flowed like water at every restaurant we went to. Here's Adam at Les Ancetres Galouises, a restaurant on the Ile-de-St.-Louis that gave us one of the most incredible meals of our lives. And just before the dessert course came our cheese, making Adam a happy camper! Too bad I'm just not a cheese fan. But thank goodness for Lactaid!! (For Adam's benefit, and for mine!)
So that was our adventure! It was truly memorable. I'm glad we could share it with all of you. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be finishing up a ton of work, celebrating Pesach with my parents in Israel, then heading with them to Greece for five days, and culminating the travel extravaganza with a trip to Petra, Jordan. It's a definitive highlight as I look to these final two months in Israel.
Until the next adventure, I'm sending all my love from Jlem.
Jaclyn
No comments:
Post a Comment