On Paris Always Being a Good Idea
The last two weeks we had vacation. It seems crazy to say this, but after seven weeks of teaching it felt very needed. It’s wild how quickly I’ve adjusted to getting lots of vacation (and how rude of an awakening returning to American ways of grinding away will be). Since France is still on a strict 6 pm curfew and restaurants and bars are still closed, our options for activities over the break felt somewhat limited. Ski resorts are not open, and a lot of the small towns are hard places to visit because much isn’t open right now with all the rules.
Naturally, we decided to go to Paris. Margaret’s mom’s friend has an apartment there, so we knew we had free lodging. She also needed someone to check on the apartment seeing as no one had been there in almost a year. We were there for almost a week, and it was truly amazing.
It’s funny because I have adjusted fairly well to living in the south in my fairly small city of Avignon. I’m used to the fact that things aren’t open Sunday afternoons and all day Monday. I’ve accepted that there’s one place to get iced coffee, and only three sushi restaurants. I’ve grown to love the slower paced nature, the focus on getting my ingredients at the local market and cooking myself, and the gorgeous, old, Provençal architecture. When we first arrived to Paris, it was actually kind of jarring. For starters, Paris was not its usual self. It was much less crowded than is typical. You didn’t see people having their morning beverages at the cafés, or lunching en terrasse spilling into the sidewalk with their cigarettes and glasses of wine. That being said, Paris is still the biggest city in France and one of the biggest in Europe. It was sort of weird seeing so many cars and people and the hustle and bustle that I was so used to in Boston (and growing up outside New York City).
Our first day, I felt myself missing Avignon. I missed knowing that I could wander around the city and never get too lost. On the other hand, we almost always had Google Maps up in Paris. I wasn’t used to crossing busy two way streets; because downtown Avignon is a very concentrated and old city center, most streets are one way and there’s very little automobile traffic.
In the weeks leading up to this trip, and also much of the time I’ve spent in France this year, I was shocked I had yet to go to Paris. It is the city that made me fall in love with France, and is often the first stop when visiting the country. However, having now gone, I realize it was actually a really good thing I waited this long. Quite frankly, I think if I had visited Paris right when I got to France, I would have been really sad I didn’t choose to be placed there. I would have felt homesick, knowing the city I was placed in was far smaller and didn’t offer a lot of the conveniences I was used to. I think it was a huge thing for me to appreciate Avignon and also the year I’ve had living in Southern france because I realized that Paris is wonderful, but its very much its own thing. It’s a lot more international and cosmopolitan (re: similar to NYC), and also you hear a lot more English (as well as people automatically knowing you’re American since they’re used to it, and so they always respond to you in English). While I love Paris more than anywhere in the world, full stop, this trip made me realize there is so much more to France than the City of Lights. It made me feel very content with my decision to do this program where I’m doing it.
After that first day of adjusting to la grande ville and remembering to look both ways when I cross the street (hi Mom!!! I promise I did!!!) and getting used to being answered in my native tongue even when I asked in French, I remembered why Paris is ALWAYS a good idea. While restaurants, bars, and museums were closed, the stores were open. And if Paris is famous for anything in particular, I would say fashion ranks pretty highly as a contender. We had done some research beforehand on cool concept stores and unique boutiques. The soldes were still going on for a bit, so we did take advantage of that. We also found some outlet stores for the uber expensive brands we had seen on the street.
Even though restaurants and bars were closed for dine-in, takeaway culture is alive and well in Paris. It’s not really as much of a thing culturally in France. French food itself doesn’t lend itself to being transportable (can you imagine eating a coq au vin out of tupperware ? Quelle horreur). But since Paris is massive and international and blends many cultures, there were tons of to go options. We focused a lot on food we couldn’t get in Avignon (Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican) and on cafés and bakeries. Having spent several years of my life in extremely cold climates, I am a year round iced coffee person. There’s one place in Avignon that does a good job, but in Paris we probably tried ten different cafés that each had their own version. They were all delicious. A fair amount of these cafés are also run by expats, so it was nice chatting with them and hearing about their COVID experience. Some highlights were Echo Deli, Café Kitsuné, Le Peloton Café (fun fact it is a French word that means a group of cyclists ! This place has nothing to do with those spin bikes), Dreamin’ Man, and Le Coutume.
The other thing we focused on was bakeries, since it’s France and those are considered essential and were open. We found some amazing spots. We did our research here as well, finding that there’s a trend of more female-owned bakeries as well as a lot of spots that are offering renewed versions of classic items. Our typical move was to buy around 3 or 4 to share throughout the morning. That way we could sample a bunch, and we often had leftovers to act as dessert for lunch. Some standouts were Mamiche (the cinnamon roll and the vanilla cream puff were insane and literally brought us to tears), Du Pain et Des Idées (a friend told us to get the pistachio and chocolate snail and it was outstanding), and La Maison d’Isabelle for croissants.
Even though it was not the Paris I am accustomed to, it felt very special to see it at such a unique time. It was still so lively and full of action, and I could feel the spirit of the city ready to wake up when this is all over. Biking along the grands boulevards, sipping cider along the Seine, and popping into a million adorable boutiques were wonderful ways to see the city.
