I left Friday morning and slept the whole train ride to Paris. My head kept dropping to the side and hovering just above the shoulder of the man sitting next to me. After 9 restful days in Biarritz I am still tired!! I am also having a little problem with brain function. My memory isn’t very good normally, but lately it’s pretty bad. I have a hard time remembering what day it is, doing basic math, or remembering names of people I know well. I’m also having trouble thinking of words in English sometimes. Between you and me – I’m sick of jumping around. I’m definitely not complaining, but it would be nice to stay in one place for a couple weeks. Talk to the same people, hear the same language, see the same streets. Planning that in for later in my trip.

Back to Friday! My friend Floriane met me in the train station, and we caught a taxi together to her parent’s house in St. Maur. Floriane had been interning in NYC for the summer, and within the last couple weeks came back to Paris, moved to Lyon, and started her semester. She came up to Paris for the weekend to see her friends and family, and was working me into the mix as well. To top it off, her parents generously offered to host me for my whole stay in Paris!!

We went to her house to drop off our bags, met her family, sat down to a nice glass of wine, and then her father drove us back into Paris to meet her friends for a graduation dinner at a Tapas place in Le Marais. We had a little time before her reservation so we walked to the Louve to see the outside lit up at night (gorgeous). You could have a great night there just sitting on the lawn with a bottle of wine!

Back at the restaurant I met her friends – who all spoke English. It always surprising how common it is for people to speak several languages. Her friends all studied English in school, but I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met along the way that have learned it from just watching movies! It was a nice night with them jumping back and forth from French to English. I shouldn’t admit this, but it’s kind of a relief not to speak the language sometimes. You feel no responsibility to follow a conversation or respond.

The next day we took the train back into the city, and spent the day running around Paris. We went to see the Eiffel Tower, and then took a boat trip around the Seine and watched the Musèe d’Orsee, Notre Dame etc. go by. As we went we passed by a couple of bridges covered with locks. Floriane explained that couples come to the bridge together and attach a lock as a symbol of their love. Two things they say about Paris that really are true – 1) It’s romantic. There’s people everywhere with their arms around each other, holding hands or kissing. 2) People do love their baguettes. It’s almost an extra accessory.

After the boat we happened to walk by the US embassy, and were confused by the TV station vans and military surrounding it. It was very strange, but we kept walking as we were late to meet up with her hairdresser for a visit and some champagne at his salon. We stayed there chatting for a while, and then met up with a friend of Floriane’s from New York for dinner. We laughed about how strange it was for the three of us to be connected by New York, but be sitting across the table from each other in Paris.

Sunday we slept in, and then went out to do some errands around St. Maur. I followed Floriane around as she stopped by the cheese shop, the patisserie, the wine shop etc. I loved how there were all these small shops that truly specialized in one thing or other. Then we went to the Sunday market and wandered through the stalls. They had everything including clothes, bags etc, but what I loved were the tables and tables of food! All the vegetables seemed more colorful and fun piled on top of each other. The olive stand was like an art installation. Floriane visited with the lady at the seafood section who asked about her father. All of our stops were to pick up things for dinner that day, but we ended up visiting with the different shopkeepers/stall owners along the way. There was such a sense of community, and it felt good to be walking around in the fresh air. It was so different from my version of shopping at the grocery store in New York. That afternoon Floriane’s mother made an incredible dinner of foie gras risotto. After 3 months of traveling and living out of a backpack, I can’t tell you how nice it was to sit down to a table and have a home cooked meal with family conversation! Floriane left that evening to go back to Lyon, so I lost my chic tour guide but she left me in the care of her equally chic and welcoming family.

The next day I braved the Paris train system on my own (no problem), and went to the tourist office to apply for my India visa. Online it looked like I could get it back in 3 days, but I found out it would be more like 6 so I would have to extend my stay in Paris for a couple of days. I wandered around the city for the rest of the afternoon, and then headed back to my “home” in St. Maur to have dinner with Floriane’s mother and brother.

That evening as I was doing trip research Floriane’s mother mentioned that there had been some protests, and I should check the news to make sure it wouldn’t impact my India trip. Weird – I wondered if that had something to do with the news and military we saw walking by the US embassy the other day? And that was how I learned about that movie that is causing all the chaos. It’s amazing (and sad) the kind of damage a nobody with some money and a camera can cause. Particularly when aided by people ready exploit just that type of thing to further an agenda.

I spent most of the next day working on trip research. I was planning to spend October in India, and had heard Northern India was rough for solo women travelers. After looking at the news and seeing they had closed the US embassy in Delhi for a couple of days due to protests I got a little nervous, and thought it might be best to join a tour for at least the beginning of my India trip, and then travel solo in Southern India. My approach to any sort of planning is to research and weigh all of my options before making a decision. One of the best things about the internet is the quantity and variety of information available. That is also one of the worst things about the internet…. There went the whole day (along with several days to come)!

The next week I went on a Paris sightseeing binge. I went to the Louvre with Floriane’s brother. We were there almost 4 hours, and only got through the paintings and breezed through the sculptures! We stopped at Pierre Herme, and ate the most insane macarons I have ever had.

Floriane’s mother drove me an hour to Veaux le Vicomte, and we spent the afternoon wandering. Veaux le Vicomte has a very interesting story actually. It was built in the mid 1600s by Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances for Louis XIV. Fouquet drew a little too much attention with his extravagance, and made a few enemies (including Louis the XIV). He was eventually accused of stealing public funds, and was jailed for the rest of his life. BUT the King was so impressed by the estate, he hired the same team to build a bigger, better version – Versailles.

Of course I had to see Versailles to compare. Too bad it was raining so I couldn’t see the gardens!
While I was there there was an exhibit by Joana Vasconcelos which was completely over the top (earning its place in Versailles), but was bizarre to see against the centuries old paintings and furniture.

Palais Garnier: Gorgeous! Took a tour, and heard about the role the opera played in the social lives of (wealthy) people in the late 1800s. But what was even more interesting was what was alluded to have gone on in those boxes!

Montmatre: I was disappointed by the Moulin Rouge, which looked random and fake.

Basilica Sacre-Coeur: I’ve had my fill of churches. I just looked at the outside, and checked out the view of the city.

Espace Dalí:

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen (flea market): Maybe I’m naive, but I was surprised to find a bunch of shops instead of an open air flea market with stalls.

Rodin Museum: I loved this place. Parts of the grounds were under construction, but you could still get a feel for how beautiful the gardens were. And the sculptures of course were stunning. They touched a little bit on his mistress/mentee Camille Claudel who was extremely talented, but who spent the last 30 years of her life in an insane asylum. Of course my curiosity is piqued, but I-books has no English books on her…

Family dinner! I forget the name of it, but it was tasty. You cook the meat on the hot plate, heat the cheese in little pie shaped dishes, and then put both on some potato.

Monday I went to pick up visa. It was ready early! I spent the rest of the day restocking clothes for my trip, and looking for new sneakers to replace my boots. I had decided my boots weren’t really practical. The “explorer group” comment in Biarritz may have also played a part in my decision to retire them. I was eventually sent to Citadium (a skate/street/fashion lifestyle store) with a great selection of sneakers. This place was a shoppers paradise for cool kids!! Fussball, a toy section, candy, great music….

India visa in hand, the next day I boarded the train for London!