bon soir. this phrase rolls off my tongue easily now. my past 40 hours in the city of light has been dreamy (despite the language barrier) and i’m even more in love with paris.
day un:
arrived at 8am yesterday after a luxe ride via business class (courtesy a la miles). i’m an anxious flier so being coddled with wine, cheese + olives, pasta, a sundae with the toppings of my choice (wowza!) plus a toiletry kit with burt’s bees lotion helped ease the discomfort. oh, and those seats – to die for. they recline back and made the 6hr40min journey fly by. despite only a few hours of sleep, i was wide awake the last hour in anticipation and going through customs was the quickest i’d ever experienced. the 40-minute drive from the airport to the city was a treat. when i saw the eiffel tower i squealed with glee. he helped me tote my bags through a courtyard, up three flights of stairs, and across a landing into chez moi for 10 days. i immediately lit nag champa incense, unpacked, skyped beau (who will join me in a few days), and placed everything in its proper place and crawled into bed for a nap. woke up six hours later (oops), donned layers, and began walking the streets. taking that first step out of my lodging is always the scariest part of traveling solo in a foreign country. i’m directionally challenged so i usually just start walking and then try to get my bearings. quickly found a sidewalk cafe, sipped a pot of darjeeling tea and noshed on a veggie omellette. yum! people watching was my favorite part. next to blvd st-germain where i browsed stores and walked for hours. saw cafe de flore and snapped a photo because it was so beautiful, so parisian. turns out it is where feminist simone de beauvior and jean-paul sarte used to hang. came across a theatre district with enticing films but i doubted they would have english subtitles so i kept walking. then i saw a theatre showing this is it with french subtitles. très magnifique! stood in mutliple lines only to find i was in the wrong line. the beauty of being a tourist. finally got my ticket and headed to another sidewalk cafe to write in my journal until the movie began. enjoyed the film and haven’t been able to get smooth criminal out of my head for 24 hours now. delightful first day!
day deux:
woke up 3-7am and eagerly waited for the sun to shine. finally fell back asleep until noon. planned to hit the 15-acre flea market for the day. showered, tweeted, and felt sleepy. face down with shoes on, feel back asleep until 4pm. uh oh! no flea market for moi today. tomorrow it is. instead i walked miles and headed in the wrong direction a few times. yes, despite having a map. boo. en route to tea caddy i saw the pink limo in the photos above. ooh la la! quickly pulled out my camera and captured this action shot. wow, a pink limo. never seen such girliness before. dined on devon scones and a pot of rose tea at the cozy tea caddy. did oodles of journal writing. 4 pages. much more that i usually do. hoping that the words continue to flow considering i’d initially planned on this month being all about reflection. figuring out what was next after celebrating tranquil space’s 10th year. i figured it out in may during my costa rica retreat and promptly applied to graduate school for social work. however, there is still a piece of me that wants to continue reflecting on if there are any changes or shifts that i would like to occur. how to do biz and/or be differently? maybe not. simply want to give myself that space for reflection. funny that i had to travel to paris to take the time to be so indulgent. next was an exploration of shakespeare and company. browsed eating animals, animal liberation, style a to zoe, and french women don’t get fat. proudly didn’t purchase considering my bibliophile ways. headed to a le grenier de notre dame for some yummy miso soup and falafels. went back to shakepeare and company to ensure i really didn’t need to buy anything. i didn’t. walked home along the seine as a light rain began to pour. listening to paris soundtrack, burning incense, and writing while sitting at the tiny table by the window curled up in chenille ballet slippers and a new wrap sweater i found on blvd st-germain. feeling pretty lucky and looking forward to continued adventures, experiences, and reflections.
bonne soiree.
