The Eiffel Tower in Vegas just doesn’t measure up. Not that I expected it to. (Actually, nothing in Vegas does.) So thank goodness this trip was to PARIS. And Versailles. And castles in the Loire Valley.
Paris was my first destination on my 2.5-week, 5-country train trip. The insufficient clothing I’d brought was still clean, and my backpack had not yet acquired an odd assortment of chocolates and other gifts that ended up squished and broken by the end of the trip. The recipients luckily didn’t care.
Prior to planning my trip, I had connected with some family friends who had recently moved to France. I hadn’t seen them since my childhood, but they happened to be visiting Paris at the same time as me, and they took me out to dinner and around the city in the evenings. It was such a blessing to have some super fun and generous adoptive parents (as they called themselves) to kick off a mostly solo trip.
My first day in Paris happened to be my 24th birthday, and after a rainy bus ride to my hostel, the friends, Paula and Larry, took me out to celebrate at one of their favorite restaurants. It was FANCY and complete with a view of the Paris Opera—the type of place I wouldn’t be able to take myself to dinner for at least 30 more years. I don’t really know what I ate, but it didn’t matter because it was divine. It was also lovely to catch up on the last 15 years or so and hear about Paula and Larry’s move to France, their kids, and their grandkids. I also got to see photos of the newest addition to the family: the cutest 9-month-old baby.
The next day started off with breakfast at a people-watching café. My friends from Spain had told me that Paris has the best cafes because the tables are set up facing the street so you can people watch. All people are a little weird if we’re being real, so it was indeed entertaining. I then set out for the entire day (not the original plan, but I was going strong) and headed toward the Eiffel Tower. It was a true Madeleine moment. Was that anyone else’s first association with the Eiffel Tower?
I then moved on to the Seine River, which is apparently being “cleaned out” for the open water competitions in the 2024 Olympics. I hope they either change their minds or God performs a miracle, because it’s beautiful but far from clean.
At some point I visited the Musee d’Orsay. It’s been a couple weeks since my trip ended, and I didn’t think to date my journal entries, so the days have run together. I’d never seen an original Monet, Renoir, Degas, van Gogh, Manet, Cezanne, Morisot…basically, I hadn’t seen any. I turned from a wall displaying two of Monet’s Woman with a Parasol paintings and there she was: Marie in 4th position. As a ballet- and art-obsessed child, I remember checking out the same Degas picture book on every trip to the library. It included real pictures of his work, and the Marie statue was always my favorite.
On another undefined evening, I accompanied Paula and Larry to watch a ballet company’s street performance in Republique Square. I actually knew the director from the dance studio I attended as a kid back in little Eugene, Oregon. How crazy that the world can seem both big and small. We chatted with her before the performance, and she told us the company had been on tour for a couple of weeks in Belgium and France performing as part of a larger street ministry organization. The ballerinas made dancing on bumpy cobblestone look effortless, and the crowd was into it. There were probably around 300 people gathered in the plaza, clapping, singing, and some were dancing themselves—quite different from the politely applauding audiences in a theater or opera house. What a unique and effective form of ministry!
After many hours wandering, jumping on and off the metro, and catching buses I hoped were taking me to the right places, I managed to see a good chunk of Paris: the Louvre courtyard, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame (the front looks ok…), Shakespeare & Co, the Royal Palace, and many gorgeous streets, shops, gardens, and bridges. But there is so, so much more I need to go back for someday.
I spent most of a full day visiting Versailles, and I understand why the people revolted. The royal family really did have everything except for good genetics. Before entering the palace, I spent a few hours in the gardens and park and still didn’t come close to seeing all of it. The landscaping was stunning, but I was hoping for something a little wilder. The spiral-shaped grass was still cool. I found a nice spot at the edge of the lake to watch some swans, which I’m slightly afraid of. I had an unfortunate experience with a goose when I was three, and swans are too closely related. They seemed used to interacting with tourists. Too used to it.
The hall of mirrors was aptly named and void of swans, but full of chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling windows, frescos, gold molding, and of course, rows upon rows of mirrors. It would have been thrillingly spooky to walk through the corridor alone at night and watch your slightly distorted reflection accompanying you. The palace in general was just so much more than I expected. I used to say Hiron’s was the last place I’d want to be in an earthquake, but Versailles tops it.
I returned to Paris by train that evening and shared my last dinner there with Paula and Larry along the Seine. Our restaurant had a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower, which lights up as the sun goes down and sparkles for 5 minutes every hour after until 2 a.m. We looked it up. I was intent on seeing the sparkles.
The next morning, Paula and Larry picked me up and drove me to their house in the Loire Valley where I would stay two more nights. They had bought a piece of property with two stone houses—one of which had previously been a winery. We visited the Chateau de Chenonceau—a 16th-century castle built entirely over the water. The interior had been extremely well preserved, so we toured the castle, grounds, and Catherine de’ Medici’s apothecary.
Toward the end of the visit, we happened upon the Sheep Garden…which featured blocky stone sheep statues. They really didn’t go with the rest of the atmosphere, so of course we had to have some fun with them. Paula said the only thing missing was a motion sensor and a baaa recording that would go off whenever anyone got too close. I’m certain that little extra touch would attract even more visitors. I know I would go back to just have that experience, and I don’t mean that sarcastically.
After two peaceful days in the French countryside (when in my life will I get to say that again?), I hopped on a series of trains bound for Heidelberg, Germany. It’s always difficult for me to leave a destination, but I left France with a full heart, inspired by all the incredible sights but even more so by my adoptive parents’ generosity and willingness to share their house, time, energy, and even a trip to Costco with me. I want to grow up to be like them!
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