Paris with fresh eyes

This trip marks my first trip to Paris since coming over with my family at the age of 12. What I did remember from that trip came back to me in bursts - shopping with my mother in the Left Bank, lunch at a Michelin starred restaurant, Norte Dame, the Louvre...

This time around, I feel I am seeing Paris with fresh eyes. 17 years later this city evokes so much more. We have been here only 2.5 days and I already feel like I am at home.

We are staying in the 1st Arrondissement at a beautiful apartment right by Les Halles station. We arrived on Sunday morning and were greeted by our AirBnb host's son. He is probably about 27-30 years old and works as a logistics manager for a high-end furniture design house in NYC. Bubbly, warm and well traveled, he opened the map of Paris and circled best neighborhoods and streets nearby to visit. Luckily we are just a few blocks from Rue de Montemarte, a street filled with great shops and restaurants. We wandered down the street and stumbled upon a fantastic lunch at Le Compas. I ordered a tomato, buratta, arugula and jamon plate with a glass of Sancerre, the Sauvignon Blanc of France. A group of 6-8 well dressed kids were playing tag in the alleyway in front of our table, a welcomed energy for our jet lagged group. 

After lunch, we wandered down to Canal St. Martin, a neighborhood north of us. The canal was commissioned by Napoleon I to supply fresh water from outside Paris to the mouth of the Seine River, in an effort to eradicate dysentery and other disease. We walked over the bridges and into a cute boutique called Antione and Lili to pick up some gifts for the babies in our lives

Sunday evening, we went back down Rue de Montemarte and bought charcuterie, cheese and wine from a local deli to bring back for dinner. The deli employee is of Italian descent and he and my father-in-law struck up fast conversation. He explained that he leads a nomadic lifestyle, having lived in almost every major city. When we asked him more about his time in Paris, he described the city by saying "New York is not America, it is New York, yes? Paris is not France, it is Paris." Those words resonated. Paris is Paris, a multi cultural European epicenter, filled with some of the most fantastic food, art, shopping and history in the world. I obviously love it here.

We woke up gradually on Monday and were greeted by rain, and lots of it. We darted into a restaurant called Pere et Fille for breakfast and enjoyed coffee and an English breakfast of scrambled eggs with chives and OJ. The waiter appreciated our desire to try to speak and order in French since he didn't speak much English, a rather rare occurrence here. When the downpour broke, we shopped and wandered. The 12pm rush for lunch at the local patisserie created a line down the block. We made our way to one of the few museums open on Mondays called the Pompidou - a modern art museum that architecturally sticks out like a sore thumb. I did visit this museum on my first trip to Paris, remembering only the plastic-tube enclosed escalator on the outside of the building. All building systems were constructed on the outside, blue and green tubes siphoning HVAC and water in and out of the building. The restaurant at the top of the Pompidou has a fantastic city view, our first of the trip. We wandered down a floor after my 16 Euro glass of sparkling wine and spent time looking at works by Kandinsky, Picasso, Matisse and more

After learning there were a total of 105 museums in Paris, I decided two visits to the Pompidou is enough. There is just way too much more to see, although I definitely recommend a trip if you haven't been before. 

Last night, we had dinner at Willi's Wine bar, a recommendation from my Dad inspired by a recent dinner at a San Francisco restaurant called Les Clos. Both spots are known for their incredible French wine list and delicious bistro-style meals. I started with an entree of asparagus, leeks and egg, followed by a shrimp and risotto plate, accompanied by a few glasses of a 2015 Beaujolais called Fleuir. We rushed out and into taxis just in time for our 9pm seating at the Moulin Rouge! I had no idea really what to expect other than some aspect of burlesque, and I was happily entertained. We compared the outing to a night at Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco. Over the top but incredibly fun, and embodies some of the character of Paris. When it opened in 1889, it was one of the first places in Paris where both rich and poor gathered to socialize and let loose. There was no stage, and each night members of the audience would get up and can-can with the dancers. Now there is dinner table seating for about 400 people, with buckets of champagne served with the show. Dan and I walked the 30 minutes home from the show to take in the Parisian night. Bars and cafes were lively and the night was crisp from a day of rain

The tone here feels as though everything is where it needs to be. The city is full of cobblestone alleyways, large regal buildings and roundabouts with statues. The streets are filled with eclectic people, colorful mopeds, children and bicycles. You can sit for hours at a cafe and watch the city go about its day, enthralled by its mere energy and sites. As a city person, I felt alive amidst this kind of chaos. Not only because of its familiar buzz, but because of Paris's self assurance. This city knows what it is, and does not waiver or apologize in the face of adversity. With this understanding, I find myself exploring this metropolis through fresh eyes.