A Tale of One City, Twice.
It’s nice when a city keeps on giving. A constant surprise, a movable feast (I don’t mind Hemingway, but I confess I found that one a bit dull)... which brings us to Paris. Bookending a recent trip to the South with overnighters in Paris made me fall in love with the city, again.
The first stay was in the 10th. The Grand Amour. The days were filled with an exhilerating rush navigating the twists and turns of the Marais whilst dodging the throngs of tourists (I dubbed them Les Vaches Marrone) , stopping at old favourites for sustenance (wine and fish, of course) and ending up running through the rain after a suit fitting... shopping bags full to bursting, before hunkering down for another excellent meal and more wine, naturelement.
Many, many steps were taken, and if the Franc was still in circulation - many would’ve been spent. We were ready for some relaxation.
“I feel like this will be our last trip to Paris for a while” she said. I didn’t disagree.
Even though our return from the South entailed another two days in the city, I felt as if we’d done our dash in the city of lights and tourists, (more than ever it seemed).
But of course, I ate my words when we came back. Staying in a completely different area, we found ourselves traipsing along the wide, dappled Hausmannian boulevards of a quieter, grander and altogether more ritzy Paris. I marvelled at how the light hit the buildings, how beautiful the architecture was - even thought I’d seen it countless times before. The first few days had been an exciting cacophony and this felt like a calm syphony of stone, wood and something from days gone by. Instead of the old haunts, we ventured to new ground - and it was wonderful.
It reminded me of the joy in finding things together when you travel so. Sure, there’s a certain satisfaction in taking someone to a place you treasure, but when you both walk into somewhere, you turn and look at eachother, grinning ear-to-ear... gleeful in the knowledge that you’ve discovered somewhere that you’ll talk about, time and time again.
Of course, we’re heading back to Paris in a few months... why not?
A short list:
- Ellsworth
- Glou
- Stohrer
- Septime La Cave
- Perfumer H
- Husbands
- Casey Casey
- Musée National Picasso
- Musée Rodin
- Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
- Hotel Grand Amour
- Le Bristol
- Ritz Paris
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