We said goodbye to Joe at the airport and boarded our EasyJet to Paris. We landed in Orly, and I was about to visit Paris, a city I had dreamed about since I knew how to read. The taxi line at Orly is really long, and I bet it took us almost 45 minutes to get in line until we got a taxi. I think it could be much easier if you are up for public transit.
We rented an apartment at 18 Rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare in the Marais District. It was in a very old building when we entered (the door was next to a Chinese restaurant), and you walked down a long stone hallway to the staircase. It was a very cute one-bedroom apartment with no air conditioning. There was a heatwave in Paris, but the apartment was so far into the building’s interior that it stayed pretty cool. At night, it was warm, but we survived it.
Paris would be tough on us because we were feeling under the weather. Samer diagnosed it as too much sun, but our energy was depleted from Greece. We rested for a few minutes and walked to the Place des Vosges. This is one of Samer’s favorite places in Paris.
On our way to Place des Vosges, we looked in the window of every bakery and stopped for a coffee. Paris is magical, and I think they are terrible at coffee. They are the opposite of the Greeks. Everything is very regimented and precise. There was a snowball’s chance in hell I would get my default oat milk flat white. I can do without it, but it is astronomically expensive when you finally get a coffee—my disappointment in coffee while in Paris was nearly every day.
We passed and visited the National Archives Museum and the surrounding gardens. This was not planned; I was just drawn to one of these Parisian palaces turned into a public space. Once we arrived in Place des Vosges, we decided to rest a bit. I was seriously fighting a cold that had me completely exhausted. I should have tested for COVID-19, but it did not feel like my previous COVID-19 infection.
While people watching in Place des Vosges, we saw a few people exiting the plaza for a small private court called Cour et Jardin de l’Hôtel de Sully. Once we entered, we found a food stall and many people relaxing to watch a DJ and a light show. Without knowing, we found ourselves in a neighborhood art festival known as the Les Traversées du Marais. The neighborhood was seeping with creative expression that was accessible to everyone.
We relaxed on the grass to hear the DJ and see the spinning light filaments. One of the things that thoroughly impresses me about the French is a lack of artistic gatekeeping. People enjoy art. Full stop. In the garden of this Louis XIII-style mansion, young and old locals are enjoying an electronic DJ while watching an Arduino-controlled light show, and every one of them seemed like they would be equally comfortable at a Renaissance painting showcase.
We stayed until dinner, where we ate at Bistrot des Tournelles, not far from where we were. This is a fantastic classic French bistro. It’s almost as if it was from a movie. It was not over the top, but the food was fantastic. I had a steak au poivre with mashed potatoes, which was decidedly classic.
I was tired and full, so we ended the day after dinner. We returned to the apartment to doze off for a week of enjoying Paris.
Next: France – Day 2