Well, I guess I won't get fat eating croissants and chocolates in this city after all. Quelle dommage! I say so because I haven't eaten a single one of either treat yet. But not to worry, I'll fix that tomorrow. Moreover, I say so because I have done nothing but walk since I arrived. Oui. I have been like a hamster in a wheel, only with more dog poop and clouds of cigarette smoke to dodge.
It occurs to me that that may not be the most romantic way to introduce my account of my start in a tres romantique city. While my personal ideal of a romantic locale would involve a bit more warmth (from the locals and from the climate) and a lot more nature, there's no denying Paris' charm.
It's just like you always imagined; all wrought iron balconies and French doors with net curtains, bakeries on every corner and people sipping coffees outside cafes with red awnings. There are trickling fountains and graceful bridges. There are cobblestones. And etcetera.
I visited the Louvre yesterday and found it marvellous and exhausting. I recognised some Da Vinci paintings from textbooks (or possibly from "The Da Vinci Code"...), observed that no humanoid Ancient Egyptian artifact seems to possess an intact nose (and there were a great many sick artifacts) and marvelled at innumerable brushstrokes and marble curves in a labyrinth of great halls, courtyards and galleries. By 5:30 my eyes were starting to glaze, totally overwhelmed.
Strangely enough, this exploration took place in the company of a pair of brothers from, guess where... Canada. Who lived in which city... Vancouver. And attended which university? Well if you said UBC, you are correct. Go figure that I go to France and the first thing I do is hang out with people who I've probably passed on Main Mall at some point in the last year. On a side note: "Travelling alone- You're seldom actually alone."
So, after a pleasant stroll into the cinquieme, which thanks to Paris' baffling (but tres charmant) streets, turned out to be a little longer than I had anticipated, I made it back to Aunt Seasonn's lovely flat ready for a cup of tea and supper of yummy homemade potato salad from the potatoes and radishes we'd shopped for at a street market earlier in the day. And ready for my butt to hit the couch for several hours.
I have always found Paris a city of contradictions. On the one hand it is commonly billed as the most romantic city in the world, on the other hand it often seems cold, dirty, and filled with unfriendly people. There are a few places in Paris I would except from this description though, which are the Cimetiere du Père Lachaise, the streets surrounding Île de la Cité (especially the book and curio sellers along the Seine), the walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe, and Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. These are the places that to me are the best of Paris. You really can't leave without seeing them.
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