Monday, March 30, 2009

Ma Soeur, Mon Coeur “my sister, my heart”

(Attention: This blog entry comes with a warning to break up the reading…I’m not kidding…it’s long. Maybe go day by day and take a break for a café au lait or a siesta!)

I walked home Tuesday night with a skip in my step and a smile on my face because the next morning, I would wake up and take the RER to meet Annie at the airport. I got there right on time, and grabbed a coffee to wait outside of arrivals. There is probably no better place to watch people in the airport than at arrivals. One girl paced around and every time the nearly translucent door would open her head would shoot up and crane to see who was exiting. I believe she was waiting for the same plane as me, so I never saw who she was waiting for, I can only imagine…

Another girl waited with an elderly couple. She was waiting for her family to arrive, and when they showed up she was all smiles and hugging and making introductions and taking pictures with her sister. I believe she is studying abroad and her family is in France to visit her. The elderly couple is her homestay family and they don’t speak any English, so she can impress her family by translating back and forth between her American family and sa famille Francais. The story is a familiar one for me. There was a couple in their forties who hugged and kissed each other with such emotion as I can only hope to share one day in my marriage.

Anne had no trouble finding her way to baggage claim and out to me! Poor Annie wasn’t feeling too great after the long plane ride, so after excited hugs, we found our way to the RER station (read: Caltrain) and wound our way into the city. One of the metro stops that I frequent is accessed by the Champs Elysee and it has an escalator which brings you up to the street with an awesome view of the Arc de Triomphe (probably my favorite monument in Paris). I love taking an escalator out of a metro station. It’s a little pleasure, but the wind hits you and you can gather your impression of Paris life slowly as you ascend to street level. It’s majestic and also one of those simple pleasures in life, which I try not to take for granted.

Anne and I went on a brief tour to see the Eiffel Tower from the Champ de Mars (the stretch of lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower), as well as check out my old haunts near the American University of Paris in the Seventh district, before walking home by the Seine. I dropped Anne off at home so that she could rest and went to work with the kids. That night, we walked to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower at night. The Troc (as it was so lovingly referred to by my friends and me during our studies abroad) has by far the best view of the Eiffel Tower at night. The Champ de Mars may claim everyone’s wonder during the day, but by night, there is no better place to be in Paris than The Trocadero. As cliché as it may be, when the Eiffel Tower sparkles (which it does on the hour, every evening) it is awe-inspiring.

Wednesday, Annie and I went to the street market by my house to get supplies for spaghetti sauce, which we would make the next day. This provided me the perfect excuse to push myself past my comfort zone and order everything from cheese, to meat, to veggies, to spices. It really wasn’t that difficult and the one dude whom I didn’t understand, nor did he have the patience to explain, merely lost our business and the next vendor was very helpful! I mean really, how difficult is it to hand me a basket and say fill. Not very. Anyway, once that was all finished, I went off to hang out with the Fromonts and Anne sauntered through Paris toute seule. My day turned out to be rather exhausting as Max taught me a new game called 1-2-3 Maison de Magic (House of Magic), in which I was the cat and he was the mouse. I’m sure you can imagine how that game plays out, and why I spent the better part of an hour chasing and being chased by a little boy on a bike. But it was fun, Max learned how to say House of Magic in English (or he wasn’t safe from the cat) and I’ve never seen him laugh so much.

That evening, Annie and I went to the Bastille to see it lit up at night and ate a rather expensive French meal. (Well my meal of Duck ravioli topped with foie gras was French, Anne ordered a burger haha!).

Thursday took us to the Louvre to soak up all sorts of French art and culture. We spent about 4 and a half hours (and 4 Euro on a coke because we happened to sit down instead of taking our food away – I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m slightly peeved at this). Anyway, the Louvre was really very enjoyable. The sculpture is very impressive and the paintings are among the most famous in the world. I’m constantly amazed at how long these paintings have lasted. I doubt if Leonardo da Vinci would ever have imagined that his Mona Lisa would have lasted for so many years, or been seen by so many people. Many of those paintings were created for private collections. Among the favorites were Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and the Wedding Feast at Cana (this painting is enormous and there are the most random additions which I would never have thought about in reading this famous Bible story, i.e. a cat on the table – sure why not?)

Thursday evening we enjoyed yummy pasta chez moi, and watched The Bourne Identity on my computer. They filmed many of the scenes in Paris and Matt Damon is just great to look at ;-)

Friday, we reserved for Versailles, and I am so happy to have been able to go back with Annie. I had been twice when I was studying here, but there was so much I had never seen before! I must admit that I much prefer seeing the smaller extensions rather than the grandeur of the main chateau (although this really must be seen and appreciated first). The Chateau is immense and the history that surrounds you is just incredible to experience. My favorite thing to do in Paris is imagine how it looked hundreds of years ago, and it’s really not difficult to do at Versailles because everything has been so well kept and restored in it’s original fashion. After touring the Chateau and the Dauphin’s Apartments (which I had never seen), we walked out to the Petit Trianon (basically a mini chateau), which was originally built for Louis XIV (or XV)’s official mistress, though she never got to live there because she died before it was finished. It was later gifted to Marie Antoinette who made it her own, and who spent most of her time there with friends, in retreat from palace life. She also built a Hamlet of little farm houses behind the Petit Trianon. It is a beautiful walk to the Hamlets and they have been preserved in such peacefulness, that you feel like you are walking into a storybook once you find them. Anne and I enjoyed this part of Versailles IMMENSELY! That’s it for Versailles, we were tired so we took the little trolly back to the main chateau and headed home.

In an effort to relieve the many activities we reserved for Anne’s last day, we stopped by the Eiffel Tower on the way home and made our way up for a great view of the city. You know how people always say “I can see my house from here!” when they are up really high and looking out over a beautiful view…I actually can! It was quite a revelation. After we took the stairs (which take longer than they look) back down to the ground, Anne got to try her first Chocolate, Banana, and Chantilly crepe. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I’ll try to get a picture up of this perfection soon, though I’ve reached my limit on Flickr for the month, so I may have to wait a few days. Needless to say it was great. After dinner, we decided that Anne should experience the wonder of the lack of an open container law in Paris, so we bought a bottle of wine and went to the Arc de Triomphe for a night cap. The Arc de Triomphe is MASSIVE. It is by far my favorite monument in Paris (Though, I admit that others are my favorite for other reasons – Sacre Coeur is my favorite Church, Trocadero is my favorite view of the Eiffel Tower, the Eiffel Tower is THE symbol of Paris so in that way I do not love the steel is made from as much as what it represents—I digress).

I am still amazed at the amount of activities we packed into Saturday. Our day began near the Trocadero at quiet restaurant with Café au Laits, orange juice and baguettes (for a time, we were the only customers). We moved along, ahead of schedule, to the Luxembourg gardens (my favorite gardens in Paris ;-) hehe, see how I get around the distinction). After a stroll along the path, noting the adorable little children playing with boats in the fountain, the honey bee collectors, the large play structure and the Statue of Liberty…wait, what?) we continued along the sixth quarter past La Sorbonne, the Musée de Cluny, famous for the ancient bath house relics, and the Latin Quarter, to Notre Dame – talk about ancient. We paused for lunch so that Anne could try a Parisian dish called a Croque Monsieur (basically a ham and cheese sandwich, but so totally different than your average ham and cheese sandwich). Next we went to Sainte-Chappelle, where three walls are covered by stained class windows and it’s impossible to take a bad picture, because even the blurry ones come out artistic. Our promenade to the Musee D’Orsay after Sainte Chappelle somehow landed us in the middle of a hail storm, so we stopped under an artists overhang but basically got drenched. It came rather out of the blue, lasted just long enough for us to get to the museum, and then stopped. It was so bizarre, but it’s an experience I had not yet been through in Paris, so I’ll take it with a smile on my face  At the D’Orsay, we spent most of our time going through the Impressionist paintings on the fifth floor. There is just something about Monet, Van Gogh and Rembrandt that gets me. It’s something with the softness of the painting I think, that puts me immediately at ease. Then I dragged Anne around trying to find a sculpture of Ophelia, which was totally not worth it, but we found it in the end thanks to a helpful man at the Info desk.

After the D’Orsay, and a rather long trek up ten flights of winding stairs to get out of the Abesses Metro station, we paused for a café and stopped into this adorable shop Michelle recommended called Pylones. It was the vibrant colors that first attracted us, and then of course we were on a mission to find something with a frog on it for Annie and this shop had so many options we had to check them all out! Sacre Coeur, and the weather, waited for us to arrive, and it was the entire splendor I have ever witnessed. We toured through the church, and then walked through the artists square in Montmartre…which was overtaken by extensions of the surrounding restaurants for dining al fresco (this is not a French word, so pardon my spelling)! We chose a lovely restaurant called La Boheme and had a delicious meal complete with Chocolate Mousse and Fromage Blanc (basically cheese the texture of soup doused in sugar…it’s quite wonderful). The night ended with a drink at a pub/club in the Latin Quarter and a taxi ride home.

Sunday morning was something out of a movie, a dramedy most likely. Anne had packed the night before so we didn’t feel at all rushed to get out of the house. I had planned our trip so that we would get to the Airport 2 hours before her plane would take off, so we thought as long as we left by 10 we’d be fine. Our first hiccup came at the metro station where the machine mysteriously would not accept Anne’s ticket. So we had to go upstairs to buy another one, as well as our RER passes to Charles de Gaulle. When we got to the RER station, I was showing Anne how to tell if the train is yours or not and we noticed that all of a sudden it was 11:30. Now that’s strange because we definitely had not been traveling for an hour and a half, so why would the computer at the RER station be wrong, those things are never wrong. Why else would the clock be an hour later during Spring time than your watch and…lightbulb! It’s Daylight Savings and we have literally sprung forward. Crap. We remain calm and get on our RER (a taxi at this point might take longer, since it was a bullet train straight to the airport). The ride to the airport was accompanied by a jolly accordion player, who seemed to tap into and feed off of our anxiousness. My heart rate increased and so his song picked up tempo…or maybe it was vice versa, either way I felt like I was trapped in a bad 3 Stooges movie. We raced through the terminals (of which I am now a master), and when we reached the Continental check in, not only had Anne missed the hour cut-off for International flights, but every check in counter had been closed up and put away. The (one) man at the ticket desk was helping another girl who had missed the same flight, most likely for the same reason. She had to pay $250 to change her flight and stay in Paris for another night. When we got to the counter he originally said Anne would have to pay for a completely ticket (which probably goes for about a thousand dollars if your lucky). Then he said he would waive that and just make her pay the $250 to change her flight, but that she would have to stay another day in Paris. For some reason he softened by our story and found a flight which had been delayed since the early morning due to mechanical problems with the plane. It was no promise, but he said that if the flight wasn’t cancelled she could be on it. So he took down my number and we waited.

First at McDonalds

then walking up and down the terminal,

then in a seat where I dozed on Annie’s shoulder, only to be awakened abruptly by the ring of my telephone and “Things are looking up!” from the man on the other side of my receiver. In a haze and whirlwind Anne suddenly had a ticket, a promise that she would see the States by sundown and we said a quick goodbye before she headed through security. At this point, I know that she made it to New Jersey, where she most likely had to stay in a hotel over night before taking a flight early Monday morning. There was a flicker of hope that she would make a red eye back to San Francisco, but the chances were minimal at best. This is very unfortunate for Anne, because she can’t seem to make it back from Europe without having to spend an unexpected night in an airport hotel (Due to plane delays, she and Dave had to spend a night in Frankfurt Germany on their way back from their honeymoon). In any event, she should be home safe by now and as much of a pain as it was, it was so much more wonderful to have had her here this past week. I talked her ear off the first night she was here, because she was the first person I had talked to in three weeks where there wasn’t a delay, language barrier or awkwardness of meeting new people. LoL!

I can’t even say that it’s back to reality for me, because how can I ever describe this experience as reality? Nope, I guess I’ll go to sleep and remain in this clever dream in which I find myself and say a prayer to thank God for every moment of this experience.

Thanks for reading this one, it was rather long and I hope you took it in parts. If you've got some more internet in you, I added a few pictures of Anne's stay to my Flickr account. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount I can add per month, so the rest will be added once April hits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32519950@N07/

7 comments:

  1. "Duck ravioli topped with foie gras" - that sounds so expensively delicious.

    Glad everything worked out for your sister.

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  3. Wow, Anne's trip sounds amazing! I'm so glad you guys made it to St. Chappelle, it's one of my most favorite places in Paris :) Have I told you lately how jealous I am ?? Je t'aime ma cherie!

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  4. ps. can I have some duck ravioli topped with foie gras?

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  5. I so enjoy reading your entries, especially this last one, since it is so obvious how much you are enjoying yourself and every little experience you are having in Paris! Just how I would be if I was living in New York or Italy.... oh I wish! Anyway, keep your blogs coming cuz I just love hearing about your adventures :)

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  6. Nice. My parents just got back from their trip. I hope you are having as much fun as they had.

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  7. I love your entries...and they are NEVER too long.

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