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Fourteen days in Paris
We squeezed so much into our 11-day Paris trip in June of 2006 that our blood vessels expanded as time compressed, like the bellows of an accordion. Just a day after landing at Roissy, we drove to the town hall in Milly-la-Forêt, south of Paris, and then to the Chateau de Malesherbes to attend a wedding ceremony and reception. A few days later, we were on our way to Corrèze, in the heart France. The seven-hour road trip involved making our way through the maze of one-way streets, detours and dead ends in the fifth district, only to end up idling on a painfully slow-moving arc of the beltway, all while trying to keep Tiggy entertained and our Renault Scenic rental from becoming a bumper car. When we got to Correze, we followed a narrow country road that snaked through the majestic countryside to Le Fagnat, where we stayed for three nights before heading back to Paris.
When we were not on the road, we were on the go, making our rounds, reconnecting with friends and family, rediscovering our old haunts and filling up on food and mineral water that we can’t afford stateside.
What’s so special about revisiting a city we used to call home? Well, everything. And that’s why we are eagerly looking forward to our next trip to Paris in March. When we lived in Paris, we never could find the time to do the things on the bottom of our ever-expanding list of fun and interesting things to do, such as spending time in a bibliothèque a l’ancienne, like the Bibliotheque Mazarine, or taking in an art show at the Palais de Tokyo in the 16th district. We were simply too preoccupied with taking things for granted and plotting our escape to some place farther afield. Public holidays were ideal times to get as far away from the capital as possible. During my six years in Paris, I spent so much time complaining about the way things worked in France and how I thought things ought to work that I didn’t even notice how much I had evolved, or how many things I’d miss when they were no longer an option. In two months, I’ll be able to appreciate the shopping pleasures of Monoprix and a traditional French bakery, even if it means having to wait in long lines as the baker individually wraps all the baked goods for the clients in line ahead of me.
Fourteen days in Paris won’t be long enough to appreciate all the things I’ll put on our agenda this March, but we’ll make the most of every hour that we are there.
C’est le jour des crêpes!
Chandelmas (Crepe Day) is celebrated each February 2nd.
La Chandeleur, fêtée chaque année le 2 février.
V, A, A, T and D family blog 