December 12, 2017
Plane from CDG to JFK
I spent most of my computer battery sorting through all my pictures, but I have enough left to get started with a summary of the rest of the trip. I left feeling happy and in some kind of a joyous food and culture coma. Often when I travel I try to save money on food, which is partially because I’ve always been a picky eater and don’t mind going cheap and/or bland sometimes. This was not one of those trips. Paris food is designed for me. I ate so much bread and cheese. Today for lunch I went into a shop that seemed busy with locals on their work breaks, ordered a 3 fromages Panini (totally in French), and was handed a hot baguette with 3 amazing and unidentifiable cheeses. I walked down the street eating my sandwich while failing to suppress my food smile. It was pretty hilarious. I later enjoyed a hot wine (in “girl” size), some of my macrons from yesterday, and some fancy chocolates I bought today. I was also reeling from a great dinner last night at a restaurant off the Seine with good Yelp reviews where I had gratin – a French dish that is just potatoes with cheese and stuff in it (veggies for me). I was deliriously happy.
I’ve got the low battery warning, so I’ll finish up this post covering my last 2 days soon!
And I’m back! Nothing like a few intense work days post-vacation to make me grateful for Saturdays, a warm bedroom, and no plans. My last day and a half in Paris were full of museums and more exploring – I hit the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou, and the Orsay. The Louvre was huge and I managed to see all the famous works pretty quickly, as well as some emptier parts. The Mona Lisa was fun but not especially emotional. Some of the statues were so unbelievably old. The rain was letting up so I left after about 2 hours and went to explore Le Marais, an old part of town that has a Jewish section. I ducked in and out of lots of shops and started spending my money, including on a new umbrella, macrons, and some jewelry. I ate at an excellent falafel shop.
The rain was picking up and quickly got bad, so I walked to the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum. There was tons of really weird modern art, which I enjoy, as well as some paintings from the early 20th Century and some famous art by Picasso and others. I spent a good amount of time there. Next, I walked down to see le Hotel Ville, which is a government building that is just stunning, and continued walking for a while, once again stopping at Notre Dame (and going inside this time). I had my amazing dinner of gratin at a small place with good Yelp reviews (Yelp was very reliable this trip). Feeling stuffed I walked a little more over a bridge and back in for another early night.
On my final day, I stored my luggage and set out for a short boat tour of the Seine, where I got great views of all the major landmarks. My plan for the rest of the day was to explore and go shopping some more, but when the boat passed the Orsay Museum and I saw the ad for the Degas exhibition I quickly decided to go there. I walked over and zoomed through the museum in about an hour, but it was well worth it as I loved seeing the original Degas paintings and sculptures (I had an emotional reaction to the art!), as well as some other famous Monets and Renoirs and Van Goghs. It was lovely. I still managed to have plenty of time to walk around and find great food and chocolate to bring home. Then it was back to pick up my bags and off to the airport! I had a little confusion on the train there (an unexpected transfer in a huge train station where the platform had changed from its normal spot), but I figured it out, and the plane was a little delayed so it all worked out.
My trip to Paris was wonderful! It felt like a good length for a solo winter trip, and while I didn’t come back feeling totally reset and calm, I do have some happy memories to hold on to and keep me going (at least, until the next trip!).
travels.of.tara 