By now, you may have gotten used to receiving notes admiring your beauty and charm, retelling in various versions how your cobblestoned streets, your food, your arts and culture, your architecture, your Eiffel Tower, your fashion and films, and your language truly embody romance, love and passion. Should I add any more? Aren't there enough travelogues, memoirs and poems about you? My own compilation of random thoughts will be the millionth verse to this epic ode to Paris.
It's just that I've always dreamt of visiting you, experiencing you --- the Parisian flair that many talked about. Until recently, Paris was a good idea, but only that, a good idea. Who would have guessed? I was presented the opportunity to move to the UK and I have found the perfect excuse. You're now literally just hours away --- a Eurostar train trip and a Schengen visa are the only things that keep us apart. Cheesy as it may sound, it felt like falling in love with someone from across the miles for so many years, with only literature and pictures to keep you inspired, and realising that finally you're meeting him in the flesh.
I was wary and guarded when I walked your streets for the first time, knowing that I do not speak French (at least conversationally) and that tourist traps and thieves are out and about (as in many cities in the world). In a way, you were still a stranger, beautiful and promising in paper --- like most men are, putting their best foot forward when they want to win you over.
I sampled the food from your brasserie and wondered what is it that sets your cuisine apart from the rest. It wasn't love at first sight (or taste), to be honest. It took some more buttery croissants for breakfast and a couple of glasses of wine for lunch AND dinner for me to finally make up my mind. Yes, you do excellent pastries and you've got the wine and food pairing down to a T. The baguette or any 'hard' bread is not something I fancy much though. I like my food less messy to eat, melt-in-your-mouth tender, and flavourful.
Despite all these, I love you still --- imperfections, quirks and all. It may be a one-way street, and you may not feel the same. I am after all another stranger, and we had less than three days together. Nonetheless, it was indeed an exciting and magical experience, and I will never forget this 'first time' in my lifetime. If you and the universe permit, I will see you again.
Enchanté!
With love,
Genefel
Click "Read more" to see my #Paris weekend, as told in 35 snaps.
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| 1. Musée d'Orsay The museum (formerly a Metro station) is a masterpiece in itself. It's easy to get lost (immersed) in its vast collections of the works of Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Cezanne and Manet. |
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| 2. Le Chemin des Mathurins montant a travers champs, Pontoise (The Path of the Mathurins climbing through fields, Pontoise) by Camille Pissarro My snapshot didn't do this painting justice. To fully appreciate the details and intricacy of his works, you have to see them up close. Camille Pissarro is now my new favourite Impressionist. |
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| 3. La Seine (The River Seine) The Musée d'Orsay is on the rightmost side of this picture but that is actually part of the "Left Bank" (Rive Gauche). A local will be able to enlighten you on how to distinguish the "Right Bank" (RiverDroite) from the "Left Bank", and why the difference is important. |
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| 4. 'Love padlocks' at the bridge by the Seine river No, I didn't have a padlock to add. Thank you. |
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| 5. Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel It's the little brother of the more famous Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. Well planned and perfectly aligned, there are three arches in the Triumphal Way and the third is the Grande Arche de la Défense. |
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| 6. The Louvre I dropped by to say a quick 'hello'. When I come back, I'll spend more time with you. |
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| 7. La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid) Can you still remember that scene in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code alluding to a secret sarcophagus beneath this small stone pyramid base? |
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| 8. Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) Every city with a Catholic population probably has its own Notre-Dame. |
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| 9. Notre-Dame de Paris at the golden hour Patience is a virtue, and so I waited for this moment. No regrets. |
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| 10. The Eiffel Tower What else is left to say? |
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| 11. I had to have the typical touristy shot ... |
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| 12. ...And my self-directed shot. This is my favourite by far as it accurately depicts my pure awe of seeing the Eiffel Tower. |
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| 13. Ladurée Won't miss this while walking down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Double-decker macarons, anyone? |
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| 14. Kusmi tea I may have adapted to the British tea-drinking habit and so I bought a couple of these to try and compare with what we have in London. |
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| 15. Long shot of the road leading to Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile Caught between the highway and traffic, taking this shot was sort-of death-defying. But there are those things where the experience or the moment outweighs the risks and dangers, and that's why you still do them anyway. |
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| 16. The dome of the Hôtel des Invalides Only the best for probably the most important man in French military history: Napoleon Bonaparte. |
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| 17. Le Penseur (The Thinker) I saw the "original" casting depicted as part of a doorway surround called "The Gates of Hell" when I visited the Musée d'Orsay. There are numerous versions of The Thinker casted and now spread throughout the world (I remember seeing one in the US and thought that that was IT). The casting pictured above is in Musée Rodin, a sculpture garden museum dedicated to the French sculptor himself, Auguste Rodin. |
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| 18. Sculpture garden in the Musée Rodin In keeping with the sculptural theme, even the gardens and hedges are trimmed artfully. |
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| 19. Towering line-up of trees in the gardens surrounding the Musée Rodin It seems to be a common theme for gardens around Paris, including the Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Luxembourg. |
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| 20. One of the sculptures outside the Musée Rodin This is called Les Ombres (The Shades) depicting the tragedy of damnation, based on Dante's Divine Comedy. |
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| 21. One of the sculptures inside the Musée Rodin This is called The Cathedral. |
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| 22. The Kiss (Paolo and Francesca) Every artist has his/her own version. This one is tragic --- falling in love with the 'wrong' person, lips never touched, getting caught, and the unfortunate end. |
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| 23. Keep calm and smile despite the scorching heat |
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| 24. In France, it's never too early for wine. Time check: 11:14:22 AM :) |
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| 25. Confit de canard (Duck confit) for lunch A truly French dish, attributed to Gascony, southwest of France. The entire preparation --- curing of the meat and preserving with the fat --- is an art itself. |
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| 26. Shakespeare and Company Yes, I was in good company. With books and a bookstore made popular by film features such as Before Sunset (one of my favourite films of all time) where Jesse (Ethan Hawke's character) did his book reading and where he met Céline (Julie Delpy's character) again, nine years after their memorable night in Vienna. |
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| 27. Escargots at Brasserie du Louvre This used to be in my Cebu City bucket list. When I was still working on a long-term project in this city in the Philippines, there was a French restaurant called La Maison Rose (Pink House) which I've always wanted to go to experience a truly French meal. |
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| 28. French dinner Even the aioli sauce had a complex taste (in a good way). Surely, there must be some secret ingredient in there besides garlic and olive oil? |
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| 29. Le Jardin du Luxembourg This is where the characters of Marius and Cosette of Les Misérables first met. |
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| 30. Panthéon Interment in the Panthéon is allowed only by a parliamentary act for "National Heroes". Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin, Louis Braille, Jean Jaurès and Soufflot, its architect are some of the notable figures interred here. |
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| 31. The Foucault pendulum swinging beneath the Panthéon's central dome The earth rotates, that's proven now. I guess, life goes on, right? :) |
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| 32. Neo-classical architecture and massive Corinthian columns of the Panthéon |
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| 33. Académie Nationale de Musique / Palais Garnier (Paris Opéra) The principal façade was created through a collaboration of sculptors, painters and other artists. The artworks in the façade include multi-figure symbols for Harmony, Apollo (apex not seen in this picture), Poetry, Instrumental Music, The Idyll, The Cantata, The Song, Drama, The Dance and Lyric Drama. This is also the setting for Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opéra, from which Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular musical was adapted. |
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| 34. Latin Quarter On the last few hours of our last day in Paris, we wandered through the streets of the Latin Quarter. As a remembrance from this trip (other than the 'mandatory' souvenir bell for my collection), I got myself a ring that I instantly fell in love with when I saw it in one of the street market stalls. |
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| 35. Adieu Eiffel. Adieu Paris. For now. I hope to see you again soon. |
(Less than) three days and 35 snapshots to celebrate my 35th year.
I understand it is a lengthy post. Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoyed it, my dear. Till next :)
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