Stirring Memories: Celebrating the Big 5-0 in Europe: Part 2 in Paris

After spending three days in London, I was able to check off 19 of the "50 Things to do to Celebrate Your 50th Birthday in Europe." Next stop: Paris.

Monday, January 20, 2014

It was actually faster to take a train from London to Paris as opposed to flying. My only memory of a train ride is the large black steam locomotive at Dollywood. So, that's what I had envisioned. . . something along the lines of the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Not even close. The train we took was a high-speed Eurostar passenger train. Very sleek and futuristic-looking. Before boarding, we had breakfast in the train station. I had "berry porridge with flaxseed" (aka fancy oatmeal to me). Our train left around 10:30 am, and we arrived in Paris around 2:00 pm.

I must admit we didn't have a very favorable first impression of Paris. We were approached by a taxi driver who offered to take us to our hotel for 95 euros. I was proud of Keely, unlike Miss Naive (me), who recognized his deceit. So instead, we waited outside in a line for a registered taxi. Our final bill was only 12 euros. We arrived at The Hotel Pax Opera around 2:30 pm.

After a quick lunch at Starbucks, we took the underground train to Porte de Clignancourt station. This was where I encountered a second unfavorable impression of Paris. Unlike England's underground transportation system, this one was crazy. After purchasing tickets that didn't successfully unlock the turnstiles, I noticed the majority of the customers simply jumping over them even as uniformed officers looked on. I couldn't believe it. Without another thought, Steve joined the pack by doing whatever it took to get on the other side. I, on the other hand, just don't have it in me to knowingly break rules. When I finally got brave enough to do so, the gate would lock up and slam into me again and again. I even noticed an elderly woman get on her hands and knees to crawl under one of the turnstiles. Really? I was floored. At that moment, I knew we would be finding other forms of transportation during our stay.

This was also my first experience with any kind of language barrier. I admit I was pretty uncomfortable. I had heard so many positive experiences from others about Paris that I was determined to have one myself. On a positive note, everything went mostly uphill from here. I, too, ended up loving this place.

#20 Shop at the Saint Ouen Flea Market.

From the underground train station, we walked to the Saint Ouen Flea Market. This is the largest antique market in the world. It's only open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so we had no choice but to make this stop on this day. Unfortunately, many of the vendors were closed; however, we still enjoyed the atmosphere.

We took the underground train back to the hotel only because we had already purchased the tickets. We avoided it for the rest of our stay.

The most famous flea market in Paris is the one at Porte de Clignancourt, officially called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, but known to everyone as Les Puces (The Fleas). It covers seven hectares and is the largest antique market in the world, receiving between 120,000 to 180,000 visitors each weekend. - See more at: http://www.parisperfect.com/paris-flea-markets.php#sthash.hASYmDW8.dpuf

#21 Try food you have never had before.

Our hotel concierge recommended dinner at Bouillon Chartier. It had a great Parisian atmosphere. Our server highly recommended escargot as an appetizer. Keely and I were brave enough to order it, knowing that it would be something we could at least check off our list. Not Steve. Not a chance. Knowing this was our first experience with escargot, our server instructed us on how to scoop the snails out of their shells and how to eat them with the crusty bread. Thankfully, we did not have the Julia Roberts experience from Pretty Woman where she accidentally flicked one across the room. Escargot was actually very good! My main entree was sea bass, but I didn't expect the whole darn fish, eyeballs and all, staring back at me. Bleh. But, I was hungry. And, I really love sea bass. Once again, our server came to the rescue. He immediately recognized my discomfort, whisked my plate away, and filleted and descaled my fish. Now that's what I call customer service!

As we were walking back to our hotel, we passed a local patisserie. We shared a raspberry/cream filled eclair as well as the best chocolate mini cake we've ever tasted. Oh my, this thing was decadent. This single pastry was all it took to wipe Paris' slate clean from my earlier unfavorable impressions!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

#22 Go see the National Opera (just north of the Louvre).

Our second day in Paris began with a walk to the National Opera. Since we were staying in the Opera district, this was a rather close walk from our hotel. This was such beautiful architecture. I especially loved the carvings on the outside wall featuring musicians such as Bach and Beethovan. These guys bring back fond memories of forced piano lessons as a little girl that today I'm extremely grateful for!

Today was the coldest day so far on our trip. Brrrrrr! As mentioned before, we didn't want to use the underground train, and it was just so cold to walk. Instead, we chose to take a tour bus. The tour actually consisted of head phones with commentary offered in a variety of languages unlike the bus tour we had in London with a real tour guide with a real personality. Oh well. At least it was going to be warm! But, the driver wouldn't take Visa, and we made the mistake of not exchanging dollars for euros prior to our arrival in Paris. Costly mistake. We were charged an exceptionally high service fee and ended up with only 180 euros for $300. But, we made it on the bus!

#23 Visit the Notre Dame.

The architecture here was beautiful, too. I especially loved the stain glass. I was looking forward to seeing the famous gargoyles. I learned that they are used to drain rainwater off the roof, while some are simply decorations. Frankly, I thought they were pretty creepy looking. I was thinking they're really used to scare the devil out of people before entering this historic cathedral.

#24 Eat a Parisian street crepe.

At this point, we had worked up an appetite. We simply crossed the street and had lunch at Ombre de Notre Dame A l'. Keely and I split a delicious savory ham and cheese crepe as well as a cream crepe for dessert. It was very good, but a little plain. Hindsight, we both wish we had ordered the nutella crepe.

After lunch, we walked to The Louvre, hoping to see the Mona Lisa. Closed on Tuesdays. What? It seemed like such a random day to be closed. The Mona Lisa was something we definitely didn't want to miss, so we just added it back on the list for one of tomorrow's activities. We kept walking since our tour bus was nowhere in sight.

#25 Take a walk down the Avenue des Champs Elysées (named after the "Elysian Fields" where happy souls live).

This turned out to be a great, up-scale shopping strip. I didn't realize it until later that we must have walked right by the official residence of the French President. We had a running joke throughout our stay. Whenever we would see an amazing building/statue/whatever:

"What's that?"
"I don't know, but it must be something!"

So, I guess the official residence of the French President was one of these "somethings." :)

#26 Go see the Arc de Triomphe.

By now, we are completely exhausted from all of the walking and very cold temperatures. I was convinced that we just flat wasted those rather costly euros on that darn tour bus. Where is it? But, at the end of this Avenue, we glimpsed what had to be the Arc de Triomphe. This was the last thing we wanted to check off for the day. Since we were so close, we kept walking. The next time I return to Europe, I will definitely pack a pedometer. I would estimate that we easily walked a minimum of ten miles this day.

It was yet another beautiful piece of architecture. We didn't walk through it, though, because an even more beautiful sight was . . . the tour bus! Finally!

"Hurry! Snap the picture! Run! Run! Hurry! Pleeeeease stoppppppp!"

Finally on board, I felt those very costly euros we used earlier on this form of transportation was money well spent. At this point of exhaustion, we could not have cared less what the exchange rate was.

#27 Cross the Alexander Bridge.

As we were riding back to the Opera district, we were all trying hard to stay awake, taking complete pleasure in the warm shelter of the bus. Listening to the pre-recorded commentary, I heard what I thought was "Alexander" in a very thick French accent. My eyes open. In my own (I guess) very thick Southern accent, I shout to the driver, "Is this the Alexander Bridge?"

He immediately shouts right back with complete confusion: "What?"

But I knew it. Yeah! We got to check another item off the list! Oh, what simple pleasures.

We also drove past lots of landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower. I was already looking forward to tomorrow to fully experience it!

Once we were dropped off at the National Opera, we were more than ready for dinner. We spied the restaurant Au General La Fayette, a standard French bistro, and decided to give it a try. Keely and I split a crostini and a salad. Very good. Heading back to the hotel, we walked past the same patisserie from last night. Man, that place was pulling us in. After so much walking today, we completely justified the perfect splurge to end our second day in Paris.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Our last day in Paris. We were looking forward to going back to The Louvre and spending most of our time at the Eiffel Tower. Keely and I were also looking forward to a couple of decadent treats that Steve cared nothing about. I know. I know. I will never understand. As a result, he decided to use this day as a chill day so that he would be completely rested for Rome. He enjoyed watching the Australian Open and exploring some of the city at his own pace. Keely and I, on the other hand, were on a mission. We headed out on foot to take on the city in our own fun, feisty, fearless style.

#28 Eat a macaron at the Pierre Herme patisserie; the chef is called "The Picasso of Pastry."

Although we initially planned on seeing The Louvre first, we noticed a patisserie beautifully merchandised with macarons along our walk. As you can imagine, macarons are everywhere in Paris. However, on our list was to specifically have those made by the "Picasso of Pastry." The best. We knew it was supposed to be somewhere close to The Louvre, but we didn't know exactly where. What a wonderful surprise. "This is it! Pierre Herme! Yeah! We found it!" We purchased an assortment based on their recommendations: caramel, dark chocolate, regular chocolate, hazelnut, lemon, chocolate and mango, blackcurrent, passionfruit and mango.

This was my first time trying a macaron, so I could also list this experience under #21 above. Just seeing pictures, I assumed it was essentially a sandwich-filled cookie. . . much like a colorful Oreo. This was so much better than I had hoped. The meringue-type texture was amazing. What a perfect way to start our last day in Paris!

#29 Drink the best hot chocolate in Paris at Angelina's.

Change of plans. Now that we were distracted from The Louvre, we set out to find the best hot chocolate in Paris next. Keely's research prior to the trip led us to La Charlotte de l'Isle. In our attempt to find it, though, we were led to Angelina's by multiple independent locals. Keely got very good at approaching random locals on the street for help:

"Parlez-vous anglais?"
[Yes]
"Merci"

How did I communicate with the locals?

"Par Lay Voo English?"
[Yes]
"Mur' cee!" :D

Needless to say, Keely served as our primary spokesperson for our stay in Paris.

Well, the locals were right about Angelina. We ordered their signature hot chocolate as well as their white hot chocolate. Both were amazing. While I certainly don't claim to make the best hot chocolate in Paris, I have to say that my creamy crockpot hot cocoa is pretty darn close!

#30 See the Mona Lisa at The Louvre.

With our sugar-high of macarons and hot chocolate, we were ready to explore The Louvre. More accurately, we were simply on a mission to find Mona Lisa. I know so many people who could spend days and days in this place. Not us. Mona Lisa. Her famous smile. No eyebrows and all. That's what we were looking for. We did enjoy some memorable sights along the way:

And then, there she was. It was a pretty surreal moment.

#31 Put the "love lock" on Pont de l'Archevêché.

This was one of my favorite experiences in Paris. Once Keely and I found Pont de l'Archevêché, we felt a little foolish given the fact that it was literally steps behind Notre Dame, yet we missed it yesterday! We fastened our own family's "love lock" to the railing of this narrow road bridge, then tossed both sets of keys into the Seine, securing our family's undying love for each other. I loved the symbolism.

Our last stop in Paris was the Eiffel Tower. We left the rest of the afternoon to fully experience this beautiful Iron Lady. Knowing that we wanted to eat at the top, we purposely delayed lunch until we reached this most famous landmark. So, we started walking. Finally seeing it in the distance, we were inspired to . . . keep walking. We walked the most miles on this day by far . . . easily 15 miles. Although we both felt as if we completed another half marathon, I think it's the best way to experience the city. For example, I really saw the Alexander Bridge (see #27 above) that I missed yesterday from the tour bus.

More walking. Then all of a sudden, it's as if she peaked around the corner. Almost there!

#32 Eat at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

By the time we finally made it, we were so tired and hungry. It's now around 3:00 pm, and we still hadn't had anything to eat since the macarons from this morning. Therefore, it was a no-brainer to pay the few extra euros to ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower as opposed to walk all of the steps to the top. The "tip top" of the tower was closed, so we rode to what they call the second floor. Even on a cloudy day, the views were spectacular.

We were hoping to have a nice sit-down lunch/dinner. Surprisingly, they only had a little concession stand with tall bar tables all around for you to enjoy your food while, yes, standing. Please. Fortunately, we spied a small bench tucked around a hidden corner where Keely and I split a ham and cheese sandwich and a chocolate waffle. The "chocolate" was actually Nutella. Man oh man, it was good. Of course, I'm certain any food would have tasted amazing at this point.

After lunch, we loaded back on the elevator where we saw a sign advertising a cafe on what they call the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Darn! How did we miss that before? So, we wanted to at least see what was on this level. It turns out, not much. Only now we couldn't get back on the elevator. Brilliant. Now we had to climb down stair cases too numerous to count, or perhaps we were just too delirious to count, until we made it to the ground level. Now, we were ready for lots of picture-taking. We had plenty of time to do so because we were going to stay long enough to see the Eiffel Tower light up at night.