Ah, Paris

It must mean something that all during the time we were in Paris, our primary preoccupation was planning our return visit. All the positive things people siad about Paris were absolutely true. Paris captured our minds, hearts and souls. By the time we left Paris, we had exhausted not only our bodies but our allotment of adjectives to describe what we saw. 

We jumped right in after arriving at about 3:00 on Friday afternoon. Rain/mist was the order of the day all the time we were there (until our last few hours) and we soldiered through it mile after mile after mile.

I felt like a bobblehead with my head moving all directions to absorb the sights.  There was no place to look that did not involve mind-boggling architecture, art or history. 

Our first trek began along the right bank of the Seine and took us past some of the book sellers who braved the conditions to open their "shops." The massiveness of the Louvre was incomprehensible and proved only the beginning. Avoiding the puddles, we walked liesurerly through the Tuileries Gardens ending up at the Place de la Concorde. Goats were hard at work mowing weeds in this famous garden and we thought Topper Todd may have recently been in Paris after seeing a clown nose on one of the statues.

But the highlight of Paris was our time spent with Elodie. What a wonderful young lady. It's been nine years since we've seen her and she is just as incredible as we remember. On our first night in Paris, we took the Metro to her apartment and, after some help with directions, ended up in her home. There we met her mom Catherine, her boyfriend Benjamin and Benjamin's mom Michelle. What a great meal Elodie prepared, highlighted by roast duck and a to-die-for raspberry dessert.

Despite the rain, our return to the hotel from Elodie's was magnificent because we experienced Notre Dame at night. WOW! A picture can't do justice to the majesty expressed by the lighted building.

There is a reason one should buy tickets to the museums ahead of time--long lines. We don't always make the best decisions but this one sure worked. While others gathered in the crowd control serpentine, we sauntered into the Louvre (and later in the d'Orsay) almost without breaking stride. Because we were meeting the Elodie gang in the early afternoon, we consumed the Louvre like we taste wine--take small sips and keep moving. Upon entering we dashed to Mona Lisa anticipating viewing the masterpiece from afar with a massive crowd in front of us. Nope. Walked right to the front. Our Louvre (d'Orsay) experience was enhanced by the Rick Steves podcast tours. 

Our afternoon with Elodie could not have been more delightful. Meeting at the Eiffel Tower, whose top was shrouded in a cloud, she guided us through off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods where we encountered local markets and small shops. And then there was the Gallerie Lafayette, a mammoth department store with all the high end merchandise imaginable. The store occupies a massive dome building with the shopping areas configured like Saturn's rings around the inside. Riding the escalator to the top, we stepped into a terrace with wonderful views of the city.

But the best was yet to come. For the past few weeks, Elodie has taunted us by saying she was saving a big surprise for our visit. It was a surprise for both Catherine and Michelle as well. We knew it had something to do with music but that was all. So on Saturday night we were floored to find ourselves in a cave, reveling in a one woman tribute to Edith Piaf. The singer, accompanied by a piano and a bass, led the audience in the small theater (maybe 40 seats) through Edith Piaf's tragic life telling the story in English and singing in French. Powerful doesn't do justice to the show.

We said our tearful good-bye to Elodie on Sunday afternoon. One brief conversation at a small cafe sums up our relationship with Elodie.

Julie: "So Elodie, how long do you plan to stay in Paris?"

John: "You sound like a mother asking a question like that."

Elodie: "But she is my mother."

Thank God for Rotary Youth Exchange and the fate that brought Elodie and us together.

The beginning of the end of our time in Paris started with a dinner cruise on the Seine. Once our group negotiated the Metro to eventually find our way to the boat, we delighted in great food and the continual filling of wine glasses. At the end of the cruise, McCulley's and Barrett's decided to walk back to the hotel by way of the Arc de Triomphe and des Champs Elysees. After days of steady rain, it was a gorgeous night with a full moon, so why not? We were not disappointed. The sun setting behind the Arc de Triomphe and the moon rising over the Place de la Concorde painted a once in a lifetime scene that is forever burned into our memories. We survived standing in the middle of the street, halfway between the two monuments, to record the moment. 

By this time we had been walking almost three hours and taking the Metro home seemed like a prudent idea. Only problem was, we couldn't find a station. Jan finally asked a waiter where we could catch the Metro and with those directions we at last had visions of sleep in our heads. Not so fast. The train zipped past the stop we needed to tranfer to the line that would get us to our hotel. Apparently that transfer point was closed. Hopping off at the next stop, we pieced together a route that set us on the St. Severin doorstep, totally exhausted from two and one half days of non-stop exhilaration.