Paris

[I recently discovered that coming home makes it easy to become extremely busy again . . . right away. Sorry it has taken me so long to post these last four entries!]

I have to say, Paris took me by surprise. I was excited to see it, because then I would have seen all three of Europe's three great cities--Paris, Rome, and London. However, I was not sure how I would feel about it. For example, I thought Rome was amazing from a historical perspective, but I found it to lack a distinctive charm that would make me want to return for a more leisurely vacation. Paris, by contrast, was extremely charming. I had a great time walking the streets. Today, on my fourth day there, I had no real agenda, so I woke up, had a cappuccino, took the Metro to a park I wanted to see, and spent the day wandering from there. It was really fun to walk a street, look down 3, 4, or 5 ways from each progressive intersection, and then just walk the way that interested me the most.

Paris really is a city of distinct districts and neighborhoods, and each of the 18 "arrondisements" has a different feel. I stayed in the Montmartre neighborhood near the Sacre Couer, and I found this area, formerly inhabited by many famous 19th- and 20th-century artists, to be very charming.

I was pleased with how I planned Paris--I had roughly four days, so I did not need to rush anything. On the first day, I didn't get far, but that was no big deal, I had plenty of time. I had dinner at a little French bistro in my neighborhood, and having resigned myself to trying the signature regional dishes throughout the trip, I dutifully ordered the escargot with a small glass of rouge, for charity's sake. Soon, a steaming plate of garlic, butter, and parsley-laden snails was before me, and I went to work. To eat escargot, you need to hold the shell in a special gripping tool with one hand while you use the other to extract the flesh with a small fork. Anyway, as I'd heard, snails are not bad at all. They don't have much flavor beyond what they are cooked in, and the texture is totally inoffensive--when cooked, it's quite similar to that of most meats. The main thing is not to overthink it. Don't picture your sidewalk after the rainstorm, just eat it and smile.

After dinner, I walked a couple blocks to shoot the Sacre Couer at night. This is a brilliant white marble cathedral on a hilltop in northern Paris, and it can be seen from all over the city. The cathedral is quite new in relative terms (completed in the early 20th century) and it is stunning on the inside (no photos by request). I was very fortunate to peek in during a late-night Friday mass, and there was a beautiful female voice singing in French while many hundreds of votive candles (the most I had seen in any church in Europe) were illuminating the church's interior. Sometimes you are blessed to stumble upon these things while you're traveling, and even though I couldn't take photos, I will have that image for a long time.

Day 2 was very productive. I woke up and had the most incredible pain au chocolat imaginable. It was so perfect. Pain au chocolat is the flaky pastry dough used to make crescents, but it's folded like a rectangle with little chocolate blocks inside. Browned the French way and totally airy and flaky with delicious chunks of chocolate, this was obscenely delicious and texturally astounding. Ok, France, you do win at some things, just not militarily, I suppose.

After breakfast, I took a train out to Versailles, the elaborate palace built by Louis XIV. The palace is absolutely massive, and the gardens are almost incomprehensibly large. They just go on and on for thousands of feet. You actually have to walk over a mile through the gardens to get to Marie Antionette's smaller estate, which is also part of the property. My high school history teacher, Mrs. Patterson, discussed Versailles quite a bit and peaked my interest in it, so it was fun to finally see the Sun King's grand palace.

Fortunately, Versailles did not take as long as I had planned, so I had time to take advantage of more Parisian offerings during that Saturday afternoon (most museums in Paris are closed on Monday, so if I could fit extra ones in on Saturday and Sunday, I was going to). I rushed back to the city and went to the Musee d'Orsay, a 20-year-old museum housed in a former train station. The d'Orsay is very impressive--I (*gasp*) actually enjoyed myself here more than at the Louvre. For one, having been converted from a large major train station, the structure itself is art. The interior is beautifully done. Beyond that, the art is more relevant to my interests than the Louvre's collections, which tended to be older. While I was there, the d'Orsay had a phenomenal Van Gogh exhibition that pretty much schooled the Van Gogh Museum's collection (note--only the last 3-5 years of Van Gogh's work is actually very interesting). The Van Gogh exhibition was totally captivating, and I found myself staring at many of the pieces for long periods of time. Van Gogh's work really speaks to me for some reason--perhaps because it captures a mood more than reality, and perhaps because he found so much beauty and wonder in nature, as do I. Also, I'm a bit colorblind, and I find the bold, whimsical strokes of bright colors to be very enticing--his paintings seem to dance as you stare at them. Also, I learned that one of my favorites, the Mulberry Tree, is actually in Pasadena, CA, and ironically, one of the d'Orsay's premiere pieces, Starry Night on the Siene, is actually on display at the De Young Museum in SF right now (I'll have to go see that at home). Also, there is a really cool piece by Eugène Burnand showing Peter and John's faces when they first see the tomb on the morning of the Resurrection. The painting is pretty awesome, both in the mood it captures and in its photo-realism. If you visit Paris, do not miss the d'Orsay.

Next, I still had a little time, so I went to the Rodin Museum, which features Auguste Rodin's sculptural works, including his famous "Thinker."

After a day of palaces and art museums, I was ready to clear my head a bit, so I did a large part of the sites walk through Paris. I walked from the Rodin, under the Eiffel Tower, to the Arc d'Triomphe, and then down Champs-Élysées, all the way to Concorde. When I got to the Arc d'Triomphe, there was a large French military ceremony going on--probably to commemorate some important surrender or something.

Finally, I went back to my neighborhood and sat down to dinner. On my second evening, I was going to try a French dish that is a bit more my style: steak au poivre, which is steak with a black pepper sauce made by deglazing the searing pan with whiskey. Most fancy American chophouses offer this as an option, but the meat in those restaurants is typically so good that you don't want to taint it with anything. However, a bistro in Paris presented the perfect opportunity to try this French dish, and I really enjoyed it. With salad, frites (French fries), and a glass of Côtes du Rhône, this was a great meal.

On Day 3, I woke up and had a really amazing cappuccino made for me--the milk and coffee were layered, unmixed, in a glass mug. Nice trick, Ms. Barrista. Also, I had another solid pain au chocolat (how I will miss thee, P.A.C.). Then, it was on to the Louvre.

So, you always hear about how the Louvre is huge. People, the Louvre is *beyond* huge. It's a massive palace that Louis XIV left when he moved to Versailles, and he decided that at that point, it should be used to store the royal art collection. Then the French people went all revolutionary, seized all the royal property, banished the monarchy, and decided that the Louvre would be used as a state art museum. So basically, it's a *massive* palace with four floors of art spread over three wings. It took me over three hours to walk all of the hallways (without stopping much), and in that time I saw Liberty Leading the People, the Mona Lisa, etc. etc. etc. Basically, by the time I left, I feared my head was going to explode.

After the Louvre, I could not handle another museum that day. I needed some time to walk around a bit, so I did some more site-seeing and walked to Notre Dame. ND is pretty cool, but to be honest, some of the Cathedrals in Spain and Italy are far more striking, both inside and out. I guess they just don't have Disney animated features going for them . . . .

Later that afternoon, I went to a wine shop to find a hostess gift to take to Lily in London, and this shop in Montmarte, La Caves de Abbesses, has an awesome little wine bar in back where you can sample many of the wines on the sales floor while munching on mixed plates of French meats, cheeses, and nuts. I tried a great Crozes-Hermitage that I picked up for Lily and had a delicious plate with walnuts, generous portions of two French cheeses, and some French cured ham. Add on a basket of amazing French bread, and this became a nice light dinner.

On my last day in Paris, I checked out of my hotel and took the Metro to Jardin du Luxembourg, an idyllic park south of the River Siene. (Side note--I stayed right off of the Metro's Line 12 and thought that was a really great line for getting around the city. You may want to consider that in choosing accommodations since Paris is quite large and many of the points of interest are spread out.) After that, I grabbed a sandwich and took it to Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris, which more than anything took me back to Washington Square Park in New York. Then I walked the streets, sipped a couple espressos on the sidewalk, and caught my train to Normandy.

I really enjoyed Paris, and I could definitely see myself returning here with Jen to relax and, when I'm a bit further in my career, experience some of the city's many Michelin-star restaurants. Until then, "Vive le France!"

- R