Paris part one

who needs a waistline anyway?

We are at the ten day countdown left in the city. My heart is full. We have caught up on favorite cuisines of French, Chinese, Japanese and Thai. I have my eye on an Indian restaurant as well. Our minds have been stimulated by fine art and graffiti and ever changing window displays. And then there is the architecture. I feel inspired! I feel full to the brim with inspiration, in fact! And wine of course! And cheese and pastries… We have a winter trip planned to return since there is no way we will work through the list we made to do here. However, in the end we also see that we have moved to the right place for us. The slower pace, the sea, the fresh ingredients…less butter for the waistline. lol

I am in the same writing mindset I was in during last summer’s travels. I should be writing a little bit each day so that I don’t lose the little details of the fun experiences and serendipity we’ve experienced. But when I’m in it I tend to put off the writing so I can savor the experiences and by reflecting while sitting quietly with myself. My daily journaling is more about how I am changed by the experiences than the experience itself. This, to me, is the difference between being a traveler and being on vacation. I have been posting quite a bit on Instagram which falls over into Facebook if you would like to see the beauty of most days we are experiencing here. I do swear, although I take photos of all the tarts, chocolates and eclairs I have not eaten them…not all of them.

One thing we have done that has created a wonderful experience for us is to purchase a yearly membership in the D’Orsay museum. You can pay 79 euro and put the card in a single person’s name. That person can bring a guest with them through the year. It does not need to be the same guest everyday. What we love is that while you get to bypass the main line to enter, you also can go into the museum 30 minutes before the general line. To be able to sit in a room of art with maybe 2 other people and just look at paintings is so worth it! The most people on the early entry so far has been 15 . We have gone three times so far and just concentrated on single areas of the museum. Once the crowds arrive we go to see exhibits that aren’t as popular. We only stay about 2 hours since we know we can go again another day. This pass also allows entry to L’Orangerie, although no early entry. Since this is good through next June we are planning a December trip. Although we have now paid for the card with the number of times we’ve been to each museum. Unlike most tourists here we are not visiting the Louvre. It is so overwhelming. I think if there was something there we really wanted to study we would go and be part of the mobs. We have been twice on past trips. For now that is enough. We always visit the Rodin museum. The gardens are so beautiful and seeing Camille Claudel’s work always is a dance between awe and pain in my heart. Look to her life and work to understand these feelings. Marc also has mixed feelings about Rodin the person, but as a sculptor himself he can not deny the mastery and talent of the artist.

A short list of what we expected to see that just doesn’t seem to be in fashion in Paris this summer: Sancerre wines, Salad Nicoise, salad with duck confit, bad coffee. Not to say these aren’t around, but you really have to seek them out.

Fashion on the streets: lots of eyelet blouses and skirts, floral flowing dresses, longer skirts and dresses, wide leg pants (but not as wide as we wear in Sicily), birkenstock sandals everywhere (a shock), flats more than heels, also chunky wooden sandals I wore in the early nineties, gone are the stilettos for the most part, no french bob haircuts (now that I have a version of one. lol). People watching from cafes to parks is still very much in. Friendliness seems to have made a comeback. I love that very much. The last couple times we were here I wasn’t sure we would ever return. If you know my husband you would be shocked with how much he is enjoying himself.

We love the 2nd Arrondissement, where we are staying! It’s our kind of neighborhood with small shops for cheese, vegetable and fruit, wine, charcuterie, really good coffee and boulangerie. We are going a little father afield for the restaurants we are eating at, but almost all within a walk. Plus the Paris Metro😍 is always near. I love that metro system the most when it comes to Paris. You can get fairly close to anywhere you want to go in this city via metro. I do have to say it isn’t as inexpensive as it used to be. Coming from Sicily 2.50 for a ticket feels a bit high. However, not needing to take an Uber or taxi anywhere certainly puts the price in perspective.

It’s hard to say which meal has been the best. However, there was one that clicked a bucket list item for me. I find the experiences of a bucket list for me tend to be discovered rather than being actively sought out. When we went to a restaurant specializing in poultry it was a wonderful surprise to find Bresse chicken on the menu. If you don’t know anything about this variety I am sorry. I would need to write a whole story of my connection to it…maybe I’ll do that at some point. Suffice it to say it was a simply roasted bird that was the best flavor I’ve ever experienced in chicken.

There are so many more stories from this trip. I’ll have a few more here before we leave and probably after as well. However, the next post is a story from June. I can’t let anymore time go by so I don’t forget the wonderful experience we had on my husband’s birthday. It was a very special time in a village on Mt Etna.

I have been keeping a list of everywhere we’ve been to eat and some little shops. I will post a list soon. Until then I wish you well!

Ciao Amici!