the last scenes from paris

It seems like I could keep posting photos from Paris forever (but I'm sure you're all sick of them by now). I'd like to dedicate this post to the little moments that make a special trip.. well, special.

First, is this photo. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but Vanessa's flat is on the fifth floor of her apartment building. No elevators, and a lot of spiral stairs. I love spiral stairs, and I loved that these greeted me every morning (especially since I was going down, not up), and the way the soft light hit them.

To be honest, I don't remember where this was taken or why I thought this street was important. More than anything, I think I chose this because of the sign. I loved the ornate borders and the fact that it was so different than ordinary street signs. Elegant, even. Elegant street signs? Yup, Paris will do that.

As long as I'm being honest, I didn't eat here. But I loved that it was bright pink with green shutters (perhaps reminiscent of watermelon)? These aren't the colors you ordinarily see around Paris, but in the Old Town the colors were plentiful. They reminded me of Santa Cruz.

Ahh... le tour eiffel. Why is it so difficult not to gush about this? Every time the tower peeked out from behind a tree, or I didn't realize I'd be seeing it (like on the bridge between the Ternes and Charles de Gaulle Étoile on Metro Line 2), it just made me happier.

One of the things I miss most about Europe is all of the fruit stands. Fresh fruit everywhere. Sure, we have our famers' markets but in Europe it was so typical to pass by a dozen fresh fruit displays in one day. It was perfect.

Bookstores are one of my favorite places to be, and being at this particularly well-stocked and very famous one, was lovely.

Somehow, when David and I were in Paris last year, we missed this. Looking up at the infinitely tall arc bathed in golden hour light was an amazing way to see it for the first time. I never expected it to be so enormous, but even just looking at these photos (and comparing it to the cars!) it's such an incredible landmark.

And, just behind the Arc de Triomphe, the rain had just stopped and the sun had returned. This was my day of on-and-off rain, and a rainbow over the Champs Elysees at the end of the day was such a serendipitous way to commemorate my time in beautiful Paris.

And... now that the Paris posts are finally over.. coming your way Monday: Denmark!

le dernier dîner

It took me a long time before I had my first "real" French meal. And, as embarrassing enough as this is, it took me a long time to even really know what French food really was. It's different with Italian food-- in America we have so many stereotypes, so when I went to Italy, I could make a comparison and see what authentic Italian really was.

What do we have in the States that's French? Crepes... and delusions of escargo* and frog legs. (Unless you're super fancy and eat at the actually good French restaurants-- which has never been in my budget).

Hallelujah for the beautiful, knowledgeable, and veritably French Vanessa. During my last night in Paris, we found a little restaurant right around the corner from the Champs-Élysées. We had identical prix fixe menus consisting of mushrooms in cream (this was divine) and what I'd like to refer to as the French version of fish and chips. Everything that I love about Italian food (simplicity and rich flavors) was suddenly reincarnated before me and just like that-- I finally understood why there's so much hype around French cuisine.

*Vanessa says they mostly eat this for Christmas and special holidays.

along the seine

Among the many things I remember my dear friend Chelsey saying, I've always remembered how she pointed out the existence of rivers in major cities. Florence has the Arno, Rome has the Tiber, London has the Thames, Paris has the Seine.

As a Bay Area girl, I've always looked at rivers a little strangely. It's hard for me to think of living somewhere where the vast ocean isn't just a quick drive away. Rivers aren't endless. I rarely get to put my feet in them. The sun doesn't usually set right behind them... and they usually look pretty dirty.

So what is it about the Seine? Why was it comforting to have this river flow through Paris? And how could I spend so much time just sitting on an island in the middle of the river-- with nothing to do but sit and think? I have no idea. But the fact that a little river could spark this much thought must mean that I've underestimated rivers.

more bits of paris

I don't have a story for these pictures.


Except that one minute it would be bright and sunny, and then next it felt like I was stuck in a torrential downpour. Luckily, one episode of rain brought me to the perfect croque madame.




And the rest of the day was spent wandering along the Seine, food always in hand, in and out of the sun.

café des 2 moulins

I've already established that I love visiting film locations in person. And Paris is the perfect location for that sort of thing. Funny Face, Before Sunset, and Charade are just a few of my favorite movies set here. Of course for me, when I think of Parisian movies, the first movie that comes to mind is Amélie.







For those of you who haven't seen the film (do you exist?), the Cafe des 2 Moulins is where Amélie works and many scenes are set. It was really lovely to see that Jeunet didn't change the cafe much to accommodate the film-- it still had the same retro details and vibrant energy on its own.

As my feet dangled from my bar stool and I sipped my tea, I got tons of smiles from the waiters and the barista. They knew why I was here. In fact, I'm sure they knew why most tourists were there. And instead of resenting tourists who come to crowd their famous cafe, they were very kind and proud that we had all made the long journey just to see them.

st. denis

One of the great inevitables of Europe is the plethora of churches. Large cities have their landmark churches, tiny towns have their forgotten churches, and there are too many to count in between. I've always loved churches. I'm not Catholic, but I always find a moment of peace while walking along the wooden pews and gazing at the stained glass.

My favorite is when you can see light reflected in different colors on a somber, gray surface.

The Cathedral of St. Denis became famous when the kings of France chose it as their designated burial spot. There are tombs throughout the cathedral commemorating the centuries of French kings. The city itself is rich with history and has grown in its own way right alongside Paris.

The most exciting thing I learned about the cathedral is that it was the model for the Notre Dame. Of course Notre Dame is significantly larger and more well-known, but the facades are similar and you can see the similarities in the gothic architecture between the two. My favorite part about the cathedral? It was just down the street from Vanessa's flat so we could see it when we looked out the kitchen window.

a parisian afternoon

Continuing our leisurely day through Paris, Vanessa took me to her favorite park: Parc Monceau. One thing I never expected to love about Paris was its parks. In fact, before going visiting last year, I didn't even realize Paris had a lot of parks. I loved the Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin des Tuileries, and Parc Monceau was no exception.

It's wonderful knowing that parks are plentiful in such a big city. When a city like Paris is renown for its architectural wonders, it's especially nice to see that nature takes part in making the city beautiful.

Of course, my first day back in Paris wouldn't be complete without decadent desserts and a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Sometimes I think it's silly that I got so happy seeing a famous landmark-- maybe I was just happy to be in the city that made it famous.