What happened in my travel to Paris
We came to France to visit Nantes, where my son lives. But I would love to travel to Paris too, so we will stay here for two days and then go to Nantes. We must stop in Paris and taste it again. But we end up in a food coma. We are going to cram Paris in just two days. But this time around, I found something unexpected.
The skies were clear as we landed at Charles de Gaulle airport. Our United flight 990 was unexpectedly impressive. They fed us terrible food the entire time, but they fed us, and the staff was friendly. Get a cab to town next; don't take the Metro with all your heavy bags after the long trip. We did that once and deeply regretted it. Make sure you find the official ones, which are found at sortie 24. Don't fall for the gypsies.
We rented an Air B&B in Le Marais at Rue Vielles de Temple. Usually, the pictures look better, but this one was the exact opposite. If you rent an Air B&B when you travel to Paris, remember to arrange for the owner to meet at the door because, unlike in the United States, you can't just get there, get a code, and get in. In most cases.
After settling in the apartment, we walked through Le Marais. It was quite an experience because you find yourself in a different world, and the contrast back home gives you a buzz. Jetliners are strange time machines transporting us to a different time and place. I love these magic moments when we just arrive.
The streets are filled with people of all ages, and the mood is festive for no apparent reason. We hear giggling and people talking excitedly. There are lots of parents with young children in Paris. It was so lovely to see that.Â
We searched for a grocery store online, but there was no need; we noticed that every other store was a food store—and one was better than the other. But in Paris, everything goes back to a dense book of history. There is a deep historical reason why these little streets have so many stores, and controversies abound. More on that that later.Â
We were too tired to prepare anything. But near Rue Vielles de Temple is a small Chinatown with many excellent holes-in-the-wall restaurants filled with locals, which is always a good sign. We ordered the soul food we were so craving.
Paris neighbourhoods
If you travel to Paris, looking at a Parisian neighborhood map is not a bad idea for a particular reason. The Paris map shows its 20 different districts by their numbers, and are called arrondissements. But there is a clever design here. The numbers ascend, spiraling from the center clockwise like an escargot shell so you can mentally imagine where things are located when someone gives you an arrondissement number. Â
The 14ème arrondissement
The next morning was cold, about zero Celsius. We decided to go to 14ème arrondissement. On a chilly day, somehow, we decided to visit the Montparnasse cemetery, the new home of many French celebrities. Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Paul Belmondo, Susan Sontag, and many others. Walking through the beautiful tombs and crypts, we see some of them covered with flowers and cards. All others are in an eternal void of anonymity. Even though people had their life and times, no one knows who they were, and those who would remember are also gone. Nothing is left but a few blocks of cold stones. Some, however, have left their mark in the world, but for how long will they be remembered? Time will bulldoze everyone into oblivion—the only certainty in life.
The walk and the cold opened our appetites, and it was about twelve. Remember, the French always eat at twelve. We met some of my son's friends at the Félice. From the outside, we initially thought it was a tourist trap restaurant like a lot of them are. But soon, we see it was a local hidden gem. There is a cozy and inviting atmosphere inside with local folks from the neighborhood; no tourists except us. And the food was excellent. Ask for the traditional duck confit and a ginger beer, and you'll be happy.
Sainte Chapelle
In the evening, we went to hear a concert at Saint Chapelle. This was a mystical experience. As the music played, I looked down at the floor and thought about the multitude of souls who had walked here since the year 1200 and stepped into the chapel and how their lives must have been. With the music, it was emotional.
The Sainte-Chapelle was built in the middle of the 13th century by Louis IX, future Saint Louis, to house the most prestigious relic of the Passion of Christ: the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross.
Built-in less than seven years, a record time, the Sainte-Chapelle was conceived as a piece of goldsmith's art whose walls of light exalt the Capetian monarchy and the kingdom of France.
The 11 arrondissement
We took the Metro, and thankfully, my son, who has lived in France for eight years and knows how to navigate Paris using the subway, made it easy. He bought the tickets and knew where to go, so I didn't have to. He said it was easy. Yeah, right...
The 11 arrondissement is home to some precious restaurant gems. We had our eyes, or, rather, our mouths. We focused on le Bistro Paul Bert. Prepare yourself for an extraordinary culinary experience. The atmosphere is comfortably relaxed and laid back, but don't be fooled by the apparences. You are in for a serious culinary extravagance on pure Parisian etiquette. People come from all over just to eat here. I asked for the classic filet de boeuf. This was simply one of the best dinners I've ever had. Reservation is a must, probably one week or a month before. So reserve it now!
If you travel to Paris, you'll feel the intensity, and you must rest your mind and body. I can't wait to hit the sack at our cozy Air B&B—if my jetlag permits me a restful sleep, that is. From California to Paris, it turns your night and day upside down. I take 1mg of melatonin before sleeping, which lasts about four hours. After waking up, I drink a droplet filled with passion flower extract, which usually allows me to rest a few more hours. In about 4 to 5 days, your body becomes adjusted. Sleep is fundamental, or you're not enjoying the fun.
Chatelet-Les Halles
It is winter and cold in Paris, but a little warmer today; the temperature rose to a balmy 5 degrees Celsius, up from zero yesterday. We leaped out of the building, and I don't know why we walked to Chatelet-Les Halles. Everybody wants to go there. People think of Chatelet-Les Halles when they think of Paris—the city's center or something like that. We visited the Samaritaine department store, which has beautiful art nouveau lines.
It is a pleasure to walk into this store just for fun. Inside, we see a thriving culture of people shopping for luxury items. The first thing that came to my mind was that the culture of large magazine stores is still vibrant in Europe. In the US, we see the disappearance of stores altogether or the dying of the big department stores. France is a country that is well-regulated against deep predatory capitalism. It also shows a stronger social life. People go out all the time. "Regulation is not a bad thing America."
Centre Pompidou
After a quick walk through Chatelet-Les Halles, we want to visit Centre Pompidou, the museum of modern art. I'm not sure I like the building; it contrasts with the city's old charm. There was a Surealism exhibit going on, but its emphasis was not so much on the paintings by Dali but on how Surrealism was a significant movement in literature and art that began in Paris after World War I and continued to influence artists and artworks for over fifty years while it originated in France.
The surrealist movement attracted strong international participation. From the 1930s onward, Surrealist groups emerged in Europe and countries such as Japan, Morocco, Egypt, Mexico, Chile, Haiti, Cuba, and the United States. We learn something every day in Paris.
When first unveiled in 1977, the Pompidou Centre caused great uproar. With its guts of pipes and tubes on display, which people hated, it was denounced as an eyesore to the city skyline.
If you don't know the Pompidou Centre, you must run because it will be completely closed at the end of summer 2025 for five years! This is a response to certain safety, sustainable development, and accessibility challenges linked to the building's age—built nearly fifty years ago.
We went to have lunch at the famous L'as Du Fallafel. Allegedly the best falafel in the universe and at a price that will keep money in your wallet. Be prepared for long lines because everyone else discovered that, too. I ate too much, not remembering that there was more stuff to eat that night. Oh lord, it's a hard life in Paris.
Rue de Charonne
Like any other place in Paris, Rue de Charonne has many great restaurants and boulangeries. We were supposed to meet with friends at the Clamato. A great place for oysters and fish, but it was full. There are no reservations; you just have to get there and wait outside, but waiting was too long, so we decided to go a few doors down to Le Chalet Savoyard. Food from the Alps. Lots of unique cheeses and mountain foods. Great culinary experience. Luckily, one of our friends was from that exact Alpine region. He told me the story of the cheese Reblochon of Haute-Savoie.
"Reblochon gets its name from the word "blocker," which literally means "to pinch a cow's udder again." This term refers to the practice of withholding some of the milk during the first milking. In the 14th century, landowners taxed mountain farmers based on the amount of milk their herds produced. As a result, farmers would not fully milk the cows until after the landowner had measured the yield. The milk that remained was richer and was traditionally used by dairymaids to make their own Reblochon cheese."
Time to go. We packed our bags and took a train to Nantes. I reflected on this short visit to an intense city that is always packed with tourists, even in the winter. I remember looking at the city from above, on the top floor of the Centre Pompidou. It was a gray day. I saw a heavy, dark, and cold city down below, which appeared more intense and filtered by the fummé glass through Pompidou's large windows.
From my view above, the constant stream of happy-go-lucky tourists seemed oblivious to the dark and heavy Parisian history of struggles, bloody revolutions, pests, and famine of the past. Paris is also an illusion factory, attracting millions seeking entertainment, love, adventure, and all the best civilization offers. But many will leave disappointed.
No one has amassed more false hopes than the Japanese. The young Japanese have an obsession with Paris and associate anything French with luxury, class, and refinement. They believe they will find the eutopic Parisian Shagrila of love and baguettes. It all comes crashing down when they see rats, cigarette butts on the floor, smells, drunk teenagers and rude Parisians. They break down into depression, anxiety, and even hallucinations and vomiting, prompting the health authorities to care for them and put them on a plane back to Japan to their parent's house. A phenomenon called Paris Syndrome. This syndrome is attributed mostly to their false expectations.
But rather than the empty quest for a Parisian eutopy of fashion and luxury. One should examine the Parisian controversy, struggles, and battles to learn how society can improve. Perhaps the Parisians' fights and struggles brought us this very concept of sophisticated civilization.
Take, for instance, the city's radical transformation between 1853 and 1870. Before 1853, Paris was different, infested with rats and dark, narrow, dead-end streets with small apartments, sometimes housing twenty people. Social inequality was the order of the day, and so the Parisians protested in the form of barricades throughout the city.
But the Parisian reality is one of struggle. Showing us that revolutions bring us the best things in life but never come to a resolution. In the 1800s, Napoleon III hired Haussmann to rebuild and transform the city into what we see today. Even though the beautiful Paris of today is a product of Haussmann's work, he remains a controversial figure. Some Parisians say that the only objective of Haussmann's work was to prevent protests and allow the army to crush insurrections. The building of wide avenues was meant to make barricades impossible. They accused him of destroying beautiful medieval buildings and turning Paris into a city without a center or a core where people could assemble and unite. "It is all a plot to centralize power in the elite and the king."
Ironically, the decentralization of the city is perhaps why we have every kind of coffee shop and neat little market every other door in every arrondissement: The idea was to make Parisians remain put at their location and not gravitate to centers where they could assemble revolutionary ideas.
Paris is known for its tradition of protests and revolutions. Millions travel to Paris from every corner of the world to seek something beautiful. I wonder if they see the relationship between the struggle and how it can create results. Paris is in a constant state of revolution and is the best model for the world. Nothing comes easy, and not without a fight.
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