Paris, finally! C’est bon!

Often said, “win some, lose some, and some are rained out.”  Going to Paris, we were rained out, then lost, and finally won. 

Getting to Paris was not our best execution.   “Oh wow, what a good start,” we thought when the Atlanta ticket agent who approved our standby passes offered to check our two carry-ons in addition to the standard two large bags.  “Fantastic, with the carry-on bags gone, we can easily slip through security and be free,” we thought.  Little did we know what was in our future.  

Our initial flight was cancelled (rained out, oh well) as were many others that day, so we spent the first night of this trip in a hotel in Atlanta with no toiletries or fresh clothing . . . all in the carry-ons.  Thankfully, we did have toothbrushes and necessary meds, but since we planned on taking the first flight to Paris the next day, our bags were being held overnight by Delta/Air France.  

No worries.  We checked in at a nearby airport hotel, arranged a late check-out, and looked forward to the next day.  The first flight out to Paris the next day was at 3:45 pm.  We made the flight, but our luggage did not.  (lost that one, ugh!).  After waaiting until no more bags came down the shute, we filed a lost luggage claim, purchased a transportation pass, caught the B train. and headed to the city and our Airbnb apartment.  Since our Paris rental began the day before, we were free to check in immediately.  

Neither of us sleeps on flights.  We know we won’t.  We don’t get frustrated or upset, we just plug in headsets, watch movies, and worry about sleeping later.  We both enjoyed “Like a Complete Unknown.”  Obviously, it is about Bob Dylan’s early career in music.  It is a very interesting and well-done movie, in case you have not seen it. 

Finally, at the apartment, and feeling dead tired and grungy, we stripped off our now 3-day old clothing and rested for a bit.  Stan had been harboring a cold for a day or so; meanwhile, my body decided to join him.   Why let Stan have all the fun???    We woke up sick, sick, sick.  We have cold meds, but guess where our Alka-Seltzer Plus, etc., might be?  In the luggage somewhere in some airport back alley. 

We bought some over-the-counter meds at the pharmacy just a block away and loaded up on cough and cold meds, but still, we blew, sniffed, horked and coughed all night. 

Then, the next morning, ding-ding!  “Your luggage has arrived,” the email said.  

Yes, for sure, you win some, lose some, and then some are rained out!  We finally won! 

It is a good thing we bought the unlimited weekly transportation pass upon arrival at the airport.  The trip is fast and easily figured out to Charles De Gaulle Airport but the costs can add up.  We hopped on the metro and train to the airport and collected our baggage.  That took nearly all day, but at least we got clean clothing and our stuff. 

Paris’ weather has been cool, very cool in the mornings, around 40 degrees, but sunny and spectacular otherwise.  The cold mornings are a sudden change from the 80-degree weather we experienced in Atlanta.  I had to shop for a light jacket.  I found a perfect one, plus a few more nice things.  Boom!   

Our very French-style apartment is charming but has no AC.  Most apartments here are not equipped with AC.  During the day, windows and shutters are opened. Pleasant air flows through.  There is almost always a breeze.  It is fresh and clean.  At night, we close most windows and use a blanket on the bed.  Sleeping with naturally cool air is good, almost hypnotic.  Our bed came all dressed up in a fluffy down duvet. While duvets are beautiful and inviting, they are simply too heavy and hot for me. I pulled that thing out of its cover after the very first night.  I take a little portable fan everywhere we travel.  I may need to use it in a few weeks, but for now, the blanket and cool breeze is perfect. 

Super smart markets and restaurants are near our apartment.  Foodstuffs here are magnifique!!  Fresh and beautiful!  We bought and enjoyed asparagus as thick as my thumb and artichokes as large as softballs.  Both were luscious.  We stocked our apartment and loaded up on more cold meds, made dinner, and prepared to get well. 

Already, we are well into our second week in Paris.  As in our usual fashion, we did a walking tour at our first opportunity.  Never failing, our tour hosted by GuruWalks was excellent. 

Walking from the Arc de Triomphe down Champs-Élysées to the Tuileries Gardens, we learned so much about sites we have seen iin our brief visits here before. One of the big takeaways for me was told in front of the Chanel store.  Coco Chanel, the mega-famous rags-to-riches designer, was never married but had many lovers.  A significant one was a high-ranking German officer during WWII, when Nazi Germany occupied France. Because of her relationship with the enemy, she was permitted to remain living in the Paris Ritz and was given an information-gathering assignment.  Yes, Mademoiselle Chanel was a spy, but for what reason I do not understand, she was never charged as a collaborator.  At the end of the war, Coco moved to Switzerland, where she lived until Winston Churchill intervened on her behalf.  She returned to Paris in 1954 and not only revived her fashion house but also became a Paris icon and a popular design house.  She is most known for designing the little black dress and the pink suit worn by USA first lady, Jackie Kennedy, on November 22, 1963. 

Mary and Greg arrived late last week.  Here for concerts by Greg’s favorite group, Merillion, we met them for lunch Saturday afternoon.    How surreal it is to be in Paris with sweet friends from Georgia. Mary and I first met as moms of 5-year-old daughters in the same kindergarten class. We became tennis partners and ran the courts for the next 5 or 6 years, before our family moved back to St. Louis. Mary and I accidentally found each other in Sandy Springs, Georgia about 15 years later. We along with our husbands have been best of friends since. We four made many memories sharing almost weekly meals together, birthday and Christmas celebrations, many glasses of wine, and numerous outings in familiar places in Georgia and out West. Now we can add Paris to the list.  We met in London like this a few years ago.  Meeting with familiar friends in unfamiliar places often inspires questions like, is this really happening? Yes, it’s a bit surreal, but wonderful!

On Sunday, Stan and I walked to Notre Dame for Palm Sunday mass.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; one I never dreamed we might get to do.  We did not know what to expect except that we needed to be in line at least 30 minutes before the service. In case you decide to do the same next year, here’s how it works.  We knew the queue for the service would be horrendous, so we planned to arrive at about 11 am.  We didn’t want to miss it.  Already hundreds of people were lined up, zig-zagging Disney-fashion, in front of the cathedral, but the line was moving.  After about 30 minutes, we were allowed to enter the cathedral.  Wow, we thought, at least we made it inside the church. But it was the 10:30 Mass that was in progress.  The choir was singing, and soon Holy communion began.  People in seats lined up first and then people standing could follow along for the Bread and Blessing by the priest.  Stan and I broke Catholic law.  We took communion even though we are Lutheran.  In our minds, Communion is a private gesture between God and the individual.  Soon, the service was complete.  We missed the complete service but we didn’t care much since it was in Latin and French, but the gap between services gave us time to walk through the magnificent cathedral and take photos before the 12:30 Mass began.  Perhaps it will be the same process for Easter. 

Since arriving, we have covered this city by metro, bus, and on foot.  We have taken three guided walking tours, one that hit the high spots from Champs Elysses to the Louvre and Tuileries Garden; the other two covering Montmartre, renown for launching the fame of painters like sad man, Vincent Van Gogh, and the artistic careers of Renoir and Picasso, but prpbably best known for the amazing church meant to reunite the two factions (Resistance and the Monarchy), the Basillique du Sacre-Coure.  This tour taught us far more than we ever thought we knew about Paris, its history, and the little artistic area called Montmartre. 

We have hit most of the highlights like the Eiffel Tower where I got snookered into buying $35 worth of almond nougat. It was dessert for four nights and fabulous, but $35???

One day we called “the day of the dead,” because all we saw were tombs. We toured the Pantheon, formerly the Church of Sain Genevieve, but now a mausolem for famous French people like writers Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Alexander Dumas, and Emille Zola, scientists Madam Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, the father of bacteriology, Louis Pasterur and educator Louis Braille. Impressive? Oui!

A short bus ride away we saw the gold-domed, Les Invalides Military Military Museum where Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed in a sarcophagus under the dome.

On another day we rested at the regal, Jardin du Luxembourg, all dressed up in heavenly spring flowers.

We have a list a mile long of places we want to visit in our remaining time that will give us a deeper dive into Paris’s history, its culture and even more so, give us a taste of what it is like to live here. 

Our impressions so far?  It is beautiful!  It is clean!  It is easy to get around!  The people are friendly, welcoming and helpful!  Tulips and lilacs are in bloom!  And it’s spring! 

C’est le printemps a Parie.  J’adore Paris! 

Foucault Pendulum – Created in 1851 by physicist Leon Foucault with permission given by Napopleon III. Parisians were told to come to watch the world turn. A brass sphere hangs from a 67-metre-long steel cable aattched to the Pantheon;s dome. Its swing demonstrates Earth’s rotation andkeeps perfect time. The original was cut short by Bonaparte’s coup d’etat later that year. In 1995 a new pendulum was permanetly installed in the Pantheon.