| It was my first trip to Paris and, while I was there, for ten days, I began to feel that cities around the world to which I've traveled have a certain sexuality, a sometimes definitive gender like the one I live in: New York.
New York is a masculine city with hard lines, phallic buildings that defy gravity, a city laid out in a grid, with most subways running north and south and patriarchal business practices being the driving force behind commerce. Yes, there's a wonderful culture of art in New York, but during the day it always seems like a masculine energy is running amuck through the streets. Don't get me wrong. I adore New York, but I love Paris.
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photo by Tim Steffen
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| Versailles |
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My boyfriend remarked that Paris is feminine, not only in its people, but with its architecture, culture and fashion. It's a meandering metropolis of circles and curves like the undulating body of a woman. It flows circuitously and organically with the River Seine. The underground Métro runs in circles and the buildings don't broach seven stories and eschew the expansive horizon that the Eiffel Tower commands. Even the most masculine men wear chic draping scarves of baby blue, making the most feminine New York woman seem butch in comparison.
How to describe the feeling of Paris? It's not about one's destination. It's more about enjoying the journey. There is a hustle, a bustle of people going this way and that, cars speeding around the Arc de Triomphe, but it doesn't feel like anyone is pressured to get to their destination as quickly as possible. In New York, I feel an overwhelming striving that sometimes inspires me to push myself beyond boundaries. Most people are going so fast that they're missing the joy and possibilities of the journey. Maybe I'm feeling the first pangs of a romantic love for Paris. It evokes the feeling of stopped time, of being in the moment. The city allows that. Paris moves in elegant repose.
The excitement of possibilities in a city like Paris could fill a lifetime of personal journals, but what follows are simply my own experiences that made me feel like a vrai Parisien. We didn't try to do everything, but rather picked and chose meaningful experiences for ourselves. Some destinations are obvious, but others aren't.
There are countless guidebooks that you can read that will tell you about the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower. On a first trip to Paris, of course, I visited these tourist destinations, but what I'd like to relate are what might seem smaller experiences, but are, in reality, the ones that are the most expansive. Don't try to do everything. Be selective because you can't do everything, and chances are you'll be back some day.
1. Accommodations-Live like a Parisien
The first thing I recommend, to live like a true Parisien, is renting an apartment rather than paying for an over-priced hotel room. Many Parisians rent out their apartments, which are perfect for one or two people. You can rent lovely little studios and, depending on the area, prices start at around 350 Euro for a week. When you divide that into seven days, it's really quite inexpensive. A superlative website for Paris apartment rentals is www.lodgis.com
2. Arrival-Hit the Ground Running
If you can, try to arrange a flight that touches down at Charles de Gaulle Airport in the morning or early afternoon. The transportation system in Paris is reliable, fast, and easy to maneuver within. Take a train to your hotel or apartment and hit the ground running. Don't take a nap. Throw yourself into the time zone by taking a walk and getting the feel of the city.
The first thing my boyfriend and I did was walk to the Tuileries, a beautiful park, with sculptures, fountains, and perfectly manicured gardens outside the Louvre. If it's a nice day, you'll find Parisians and tourists alike sitting around the fountains. Be aggressive and grab a comfortable chair and soak in the view. We sat at one of the fountains and had a fantastic view of the perfect line that runs from the Louvre to the obelisk of the Place de la Concorde down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. We also made sure to ride the carousel in the park with the Parisien children.
3. The Musée d'Orsay-Your First Museum
After the Tuileries, take a walk over to the Musée d'Orsay. A former train station, the converted building houses a wealth of French art and sculpture and is less daunting than the mammoth Louvre. Before you view the art, have lunch in the grand restaurant, a gilded room with floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a wonderful view of the city. Start your late lunch off with a Kir Royal (champagne and Chambord), the plate of the day, and bask in the splendid tastes of a fantastique French lunch. Afterwards, you can walk through the museum in about two hours. Make sure to check out the wonderful scale models of opera set designs and theaters.
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photo by
Tim Steffen |
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| Hall of Mirror - Versailles |
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4. Pariscope -Your First Purchase
Find a newsstand and buy a Pariscope. This is the essential guide to everything going on in Paris. It lists concerts, movies, museums and operating hours, and everything you could possibly want to do in Paris. The new issue comes out every Wednesday morning.
5. Movies-Cinéma Américain
One of the great things to do in Paris is to go to a film screening at a small movie house. Check out your Pariscope and you can find any number of tiny theaters that cater to cinephiles. While we were there we saw the original 1933 version of "King Kong." In the lobby, we met an old French woman, who immediately talked with us. Whatever Americans might say about the French, nobody was ever rude to us. She told us that her grandmother was from Staten Island, but she herself had never been to America. "Some day," she said. We entered the tiny theater and sat back in sumptuous red velvet chairs, and then a group of sixty school children joined us. The old woman was unnerved at first until we waved her over to sit with us.
When the kids' teacher gave an introduction of the film, our new movie companion harrumphed, "Enough talk. It's 'King Kong.' Let them make up their own minds." The children were as good as gold and enthralled with the epic film.
6. Boots-Buy Something Special
When in Paris, buy something special for yourself. For me it was a pair of Italian boots for half the New York price. There's a diminutive, crowded shoe store called "Be Up" on the Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth. On the way, along the Rue Blondel, we smiled and nodded to elegant and sophisticated prostitutes that hawked their wares to older gentlemen. The owner of "Be Up" is courteous and gregarious, but he doesn't speak English, so brush up on your French buying phrases: "Combien?" (How much?) and "Je suis taille onze" (I'm size eleven). If not a pair of shoes, stop by a Benneton or Zara and buy a chic shirt or pair of pants, so that when you get back to the states and someone asks, "Where'd you get that?" you can say nonchalantly, "Oh, this old thing? I got it in Paris."
7. The Louvre-Choose Wisely
There are some Parisiens and art lovers who, in the breadth of their long lives, have yet to see everything in this inimitable museum. Don't try to do it all in one day, or even during your entire trip. It's impossible. Don't rush through. We bought our tickets, checked out the map, and picked one or two wings and exhibits of interest and concentrated our time on truly appreciating them, like "Winged Victory," a sculpture garden, and paintings of Delacroix.
Definitely check out the "Mona Lisa," but don't rush up at first. I stood back and watched all the people looking at her, and then watched her looking at them. It's truly fascinating. Move around the room and you'll see that her eyes follow you everywhere and somewhere, deep inside, you'll see why she knows something that you and everyone else doesn't.
After our jaunt around the museum, we headed out to the square to Café Marly and grabbed an outside table. We sat and sketched and drank a glass of the cheapest wine on the menu. The thing about Paris is that, no matter what the price, you'll never have a bad glass of wine.
8. Versailles-Royal Camp
You can't go to France and not visit Versailles. Before your trip, stop at a pâtisserie and buy a baguette. I don't know what the French do to make them so tasty, but I've never had bread like this. Go to one of the ubiquitous grocery stores, like Monoprix or Franprix, and buy a picnic lunch complete with a three Euro bottle of wine and take the RER train to the palace; you can walk there from the train station. Pray the ticket line won't be too long and say, "Un billet, s'il vous plaît." The ticket seller will be most impressed. I took my own leisurely tour of the king and queen's royally extravagant and campy chambers, the stunning Hall of Mirrors, and then walked out to the gardens. Truly exquisite and inimitable, the property seems endless, with manicured trees, hedges, flowers in all the colors of the rainbow, and a perfect man-made lake where you can rent a boat and enjoy your lunch. A bit too far to walk, we took the tram to see the little hamlet that Marie Antoinette built so she and her ladies-in-waiting could play milkmaids and farmers. At that time, it was probably the mini-Epcot of France.
9. Sunday-The American Church in Paris
Whether or not you're religious, make a trip on Sunday to the American Church in Paris. There's a coffee hour afterwards, a wonderful way to commiserate with American ex-patriots and the multi-cultural inhabitants of Paris. Say bonjour to Pastor Herr, whose message during our visit was inclusive of everyone regardless of race, gender, or sexuality.
10. Picnic and Tea-Les Jardins du Luxembourg
Pack a picnic lunch and head over to the gorgeous Luxembourg Gardens. Grab a chair if you can and watch the people come and go. We read and sketched for a few hours because we were in Paris-there was nothing pressing to do. After this, we headed over with our friend and duly elected tour guide, Martine, to Dalloyau, a landmark patisserie, founded in 1802, which overlooks the gardens. We had a luxurious tea with inexplicably delicious homemade pastries. Ask the server to match the tea to your choice of confections. A chocolate dessert versus a fruit tart calls for different tea compliments.
11. Books-Tell Them Hemingway Sent You
After a visit to Notre Dame, we bopped on over to Sylvia Beach's infamous bookstore, Shakespeare & Company. It's worth a trip simply because it's the bookstore that "Lost Generation" members Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway frequented. Downstairs is usually pretty busy with tourists, but if you meander up the creaky stairs, past dusty piles of books, you can find a comfortable seat in the private library, relax, read, or just simply fantasize about having a chat with James Joyce.
12. Sainte-Chapelle-A Rainbow of Glass
I visited this small chapel and was stunned by the almost salubrious effect the stained glass windows evoked. The entire chapel is a wall of multi-colored and faceted glass that is at once uplifting and overwhelming. I sat in one of the many chairs and took it all in. Each floor-to-ceiling window tells a different story and they all work together in perfect sublimity. After a long day of walking, I needed this sanctuary's restoration.
13. Music-City of Free Concerts
Check out your Pariscope and choose one of the many classical and operatic concerts that occur in the city. Most are inexpensive and some are free. We chose a free concert at the Musée National de la Marine. The program included trios for piano, violin, and cello by Beethoven, Roussel, and Ravel. The musicians were very young, mere babies it seemed, but they channeled a knowing command of the music that was heartfelt and moving.
14. Cimetière du Père-Lachaise-A Wilde Time
Even if you're not gay, you have to make the sojourn to this cemetery and pay your respects at the tomb of Oscar Wilde. Covered in red lipstick kisses, the monument is a lasting tribute to a man once lauded and then reviled, dying in a cheap room in Paris, his last words being, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go." At first we couldn't find the tomb. The cemetery holds over 100,000 gravesites, but as we were walking up a tree-lined lane, two men approached us. Being birds of a feather, we knew they were gay and before we could ask directions on of them knew what we were looking for, asking, "Oscar Wilde?" and told us where to go. After Wilde's gravesite, we visited those of Edith Piaf and Frédéric Chopin and offered our thanks for the music that has enriched our lives.
15. Musée Rodin-The House Where Genius Lived
As a first-time traveler to Paris, to me everything was magical; every moment, each sip of a café crème, every bite of a crispy baked slice of goat cheese on a bed of greens. For me, the most enchanting and intimately beautiful museum was the Musée Rodin. We saved this one for last. An easy Métro ride from Père-Lachaise, the museum is required, not only for its unheralded display of Rodin sculptures, but also for its garden. A small museum, the works are in the house in which Rodin lived and worked. After a light lunch of baguette, Camembert cheese, and a crisp sauvignon blanc at the outdoor café, we toured the house and sculptures. On the second floor, I found a chair in front of open windows and sat for a while to bask in the sun and sketch the garden below, where people meandered, possibly imagining, as I did, what it would have been like to wake up every morning, live, and create there. If you want to be a bit devious, outside the museum, on a light pole, people place their stickers for museum admission. Wait and see what color is being used that day, peel one off the pole, and stick it on your lapel and get in for free.There is, of course, much more to do in this fabled metropolis, which is somehow able to marry the old and the new, making them into one cohesive experience of a city.
Again, take your time. Don't rush. The city doesn't mind. Paris is a place of magic, romance, art, music, and quite simply, beauty, and it's yours for the taking.
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