14 Apr Paris in the spring

Back at home in Colorado, I am listening to the Amélie soundtrack with three words running through my head: Post Travel Blues. Nothing makes me happier than a trip to Europe, but once I get home I get all whiney about my first world problem of not currently living in Europe full time.

This was an impulse-purchase-trip, direct flights from Denver to Paris were $398 total round trip. I didn’t even think twice, check my calendars, stop go, or collect $200, I just bought the ticket. Never in my life have I flown direct to Europe for under $400. I invited my friend Evan and a few weeks before takeoff he agreed and joined me! We met at DIA, downed a drink, and boarded our overnight flight direct to Paris

We arrived in the afternoon and took the metro to our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel and Spa Royal Madeleine. It was awesome and I would absolutely recommend it for the following reasons: location – on a quiet street – nice amenities, very clean, good service, great food, and a pool and sauna. Located on the Madeleine metro station in the 8th arrondissement we were no more than 8 minutes to any monument.

Paris Day 1

We hit the ground running. Evan had never been to Paris, let alone Europe, so I decided to be his guide and we saw most of the major sites in one, beautiful, spring day. Not a drop of rain, and perfect temps led the way. I was so worried Evan would get pickpocketed I politely forced him to wear a money belt, I don’t think he will ever forgive me for this, but he didn’t get robbed and I was left at ease.

First stop, seeing the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero. This is my all time favorite way to see it because as you exit the metro, it is hidden behind the monstrous Trocadero, then suddenly you come around the corner and it is in the most perfect view. We stopped, took a million photos, got a crepe, and continued our journey down to the Effiel Tower.

From there we walked towards the Champs-Élysées and we laughed so hard talking about everything we had to stop and take a breath. Tears welled up as I doubled over on a side street laughing. It was Sunday so the big shops were closed so we got to experience this ultra fancy neighborhood in peace.

Next we landed at the Arc du Triomph. After admiring it, Evan asked me what the flames and flowers were for …. it had been a long time since I had been there and I blurted tomb of the unknown solider – we verified on wikipedia that night and bam I was correct! I needed that win to make up for my French onion soup comment later.

Last stop: Notre Dame, and we arrived during Sunday mass! We stopped for a long time and watched the ceremony, the church was peacfeul and filled with the scent of burning incense and worshippers. I had never been there during a service so it was a unique experience and we both really enjoyed stumbling upon it.

At nearly 8pm the sun was still up and we ended the day at a typical outdoor French cafe. I kept saying I really wanted to eat French onion soup while in Paris and as we passed a cafe Evan pointed to the daily special menu that said onion soup and I said but I want French onion soup. There was a brief pause where we looked at each other and Evan said well we are in France so I can only assume this is indeed French onion soup. Wow, my intelligence supersedes me, we both started laughing again and I swore I was not as big of a moron as I just made myself appear.

My soup was amazing, it was French onion soup. It was so great I forgot save the photo I took of it.

We finished the day picking up two baguettes and two types of cheese to bring back to the room. That night I shared my love on CNN International and my favorite anchors. We watched tv that night, and every night until we fell asleep on our euro twin beds. Towards the end of the trip all the languages on all of the channels blurred together and we watched any channel and decided that we understood everything. I am not sure if was so into TV at night during this trip because I love euro news and my obsession with Brexit was in high gear, or if it’s because I currently don’t own a TV.

Speaking of the ole Brexit, that, plus the impending trade war with the EU courtesy of Trump, had a surprisingly good impact on the exchange rate. For the first time I can ever remember, the exchange was USD 1.12 to EUR 1.

Montmartre

We explored Montmartre with an audio app. Truthfully, this has never crossed my mind in all my travels. Evan suggested it, and $3 later we had a personal guide. Evan plugged his headphones in and I used my bluetooth headphones and we were able to take Montemarte at our pace. The guide was perfect, we hit all the sites and were able to stop to get croissants and macaroons without being part of a tour group. We ended our tour, and our trip with a the view of Sacré-Cœur.

Evan

Evan and I always got along, uniting in our avid use of Reddit. Traveling was a huge leap of faith, one I’ll always be grateful for. It’s hard to make real friends in adulthood and I found in Evan an understanding, compassionate, thoughtful, hilarious, kind friend. We both made each other coffee in the morning, and brought each other snacks (we both like snacks.) We sang Beauty and the Beast, and listened to the Amélie and the Moulin Rouge soundtracks, and the song Paris In The Rain in the few moments we got rained on. We laughed multiple times so hard we cried, we had deep conversations and spent time together and apart. I truly felt sad as we said goodbye at the same place we met for this quick spring trip. I hugged him goodbye as I got in my Uber at DIA. I hope we get to travel together again….with or without a money belt.

Vive La France!