Our third and final destination: Paris! We originally had only a day the city of lights but a change of plans gave us nearly a week. Among other things, this meant we hadn’t planned all that much for Paris compared to our other two locations. We figured we’d show up and decide how to spend our time on a day by day basis.
There were some ups and some downs to this approach. The main downside, we found, is that when it’s cold and rainy in Paris, nearly everyone lines up for attractions that are both high-profile and indoors. For example, the line for the Louvre the day after we arrived was around the (underground) block, stretching multiple hours. We discussed whether it was worth finding the time for the line alone, let alone the actual museum, and decided against it. Now that our vacation was in its final days, we really wanted to enjoy every moment, not spend hours waiting in line.
And how, you might ask, did we enjoy every moment? By eating! Truly, I loved every meal in Paris. The food was so good we even stopped bothering to track recommendations. That’s not to say we picked restaurants at random, no no no. We had a very specific requirement to fulfill. Namely, Amy had to be able to have French Onion Soup at every meal.
To those who have never had French Onion Soup (or in Paris… Onion Soup), first of all, consider rectifying that at your earliest convenience. The tangy cheese and warm broth has a way of soothing the soul as it fills the belly during frightful winter weather. It’s found easily enough in the US but you do have to actively seek it out. In the colder months of the year, though, it’s absolutely worth the effort.
Onion Soup is spectacularly simple and cheap to make. However, making it well requires a practiced hand and constant oversight as the onions caramelize. This duality underlies why I love French cuisine so much. Throughout our dining, every dish felt loved and every choice felt intentional. Serving the best possible food felt like a point of pride – As a customer, you feel that pride in every bite.
Speaking of pride in every bite, we haven’t even gotten to the baked goods! It took all the discipline I had not to try one of everything from every bakery we passed. I mean just look at them! Don’t worry, though, we certainly indulged. It can’t be a trip to Paris if you don’t have at least a bundle of croissants in one hand and macarons in the other.
Traveling to Paris also gave me the opportunity to dust off my very rusty french. I was certainly reserved (and our assorted waiters and hotel receptionists had excellent english) but did manage to navigate a few interactions fully in french. While I only had a few words and phrases to use, I was pretty good at understanding long sentences from context alone. (Most notably, a man asked me to watch his guitar while he went to the bathroom. I got “…. guitar” and him pointing to the bathroom, which was enough.) Aside from the general fun of successfully ordering a baguette in another language, I feel that the real value of speaking the native tongue is that it lets you experience a city and its culture more authentically. From our few days in Paris alone I can clearly tell that when we were able to get along with french alone, we were treated differently. Not “better” (or worse), per-se, but more like “one of us.” When I spoke french, I was assumed more competent; people held our hands less and didn’t try to upsell us (both which they did, occasionally, when we were conversing in english). I’m sure our terrible accents still gave away that we were in no way natives of the city, but even still, we felt the difference clearly. At the end of the day, all it cost us was one additional crepe that I didn’t mean to order. Worse things have happened!
Finally, we arrived at our last day. This was the day we actually planned to have in Paris, so it had an actually pre-planned activity. Thinking this would be our only day the city, we booked a running tour of the city. To keep the tour fresh, we deliberately avoided the main tourist attractions up until this point. We met our guide early dark and early in the morning. While the rest of the city slept, we proceeded to run over seven miles in a large loop around the center of the city. We stopped every so often at points of interest to learn about history and snap a few photos. (If you added a lock to the Pont des Arts on a previous trip, heads up: The city had to remove them because the bridge was in danger of collapse. You might just have to go back and add a lock somewhere else!) Overall, the run was a fun way of experiencing the city and a welcome relief after three days filled with various forms of butter, flour, and sugar.
When all was said and done, it was time to bid Paris (and Europe!) goodbye. We stopped by La Grande Épicerie de Paris to pick up edible gifts for our coworkers and marvel one last time at the variety of food, wine, and household goods available in one gigantic store, then made our way to the airport. Despite (or perhaps because of) many warnings from friends and social media, we managed to make it through five days in Paris without being pickpocketed, and our flight departed without a hitch.
This ends my brief stint as a travel blogger – Until next time!
It's Just A Game 