Oh, Paris!

Bonjour! C’est moi! The most latent writer in the land. In July, (yes, you read that correctly… JULY) I said that I would be back with my impressions of Paris. Here I am ready to make good on that promise. Look, I never said how long it would take me to return… just that I would (eventually).

My loves, the last we spoke I was about to take the train out of Avignon into Paris. I was excited for this spell of train travel to be with my companions Dan and Jane. I truly enjoy traveling alone, but there is nothing quite like the fun of exchanging glances and dissolving into laughter from unspoken jokes.

When we arrived in Paris, the train station was overwhelming because there were so many people and part of me is still a tiny bashful child and my initial reaction was to shrink back. However, I had my very well-traveled companions with me and I absorbed all of the knowledge that I could for my future adventures.

We took the metro to Gare du Nord in Montmartre where we would be in staying in the cutest Parisian apartment. Our apartment was on the top floor above a yarn shop and next to the Sacré-Cœur, which we had a beautiful view of from our bathroom window.

Montmartre

There are a couple of things to know about this beautiful neighborhood in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. First, in my mind it is famous for being a large part of the French film Amélie. Second, it is where many artists of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century came to chill and work, but mostly chill. You may know them: Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent van Gogh.

Jane definitely schooled me on the artist knowledge. Jane is an amazing artist in her own right, you can see more of her work on her website and on Instagram. She’s also a fabulous person and friend.

We didn’t have much time that first evening in Paris, but we got to work straight away on my list of cliché American things to see. Hopping on the metro we zipped over to the Arc de Triomphe, then to the Eiffel Tower and we hoofed it around a bit until we settled on a delightfully touristy restaurant for dinner.

Side note: When I travel, I like to experience as many slices of life as possible. For the most part I am not a touristy person. However, as a student I read about these places in history class and in literature and I can’t stand the idea of not glimpsing them at least once. Even if it means being there with the unwashed masses of tourists who are wearing running shoes and buying tchotchkes. I’m not trying to be offensive or a snob (I may be both those things), but that is not usually my travel style.

The next day, Dan and Jane humored me with my Cliche Tourist Hit Parade as we set out for Père Lachaise Cemetery. Yes, to see Jim Morrison’s faux grave. I know his grave was moved years ago due to excessive visitors with a penchant for vandalism, but the social anthropologist in me HAD to see this relic. We saw it and it was great (?) I suppose you could say. I wouldn’t have skipped seeing it, but the true fun came along a little later.

As luck would have it, we came upon delightful French graveyard ghost who was more than willing to show everyone around. I knew that he was working for tips as he ushered people off to Oscar Wilde’s resting place. But I couldn’t resist following him around as he shouted at me with the exuberance of all the ghosts of that beautiful graveyard.

We attempted to see Notre Dame but it was an absolute mob scene as it was the day before Easter. There was mass being held in the courtyard and a line to get into the church about a million miles long.

No matter, we still stopped into Shakespeare’s books, ate some crepes, saw all the judges on strike during their lunch hour and wandered through the flower market before heading back to explore Montmartre.

We had coffee at the cafe that Amélie worked at and Dan and I got the stink eye for sampling too many free chocolates in the chocolate shop. I mean, we purchased a substantial amount of chocolate, didn’t that entitle us to as many samples as we pleased? Apparently not, because the shopkeeper put them away until we left the store.

We had a little quiet dinner in our perfect Parisian apartment and I got ready to leave in the morning.

Dan and Jane walked me to the metro station bright and early and I set about making my way back home to San Diego!

Mon Dieu! Finally, I have finished writing about France. At least I got it all done before a year had passed me by.

In Père Lachaise Cemetery with the friendliest ghost. Photo by Jane Mitchell.

Travel Prep

I have been trying to write a France recap but I did so much that I have been struggling to get it just right. So, I am starting with how a prep for international travel. Just taking it one step at a time here!

Research it

For France, I Googled the areas I would be in and the things to do and see there. Duh, it’s obvious but important. Additionally, I still like to check out travel books (old school) and Rick Steves is the man when it comes to showing us the ins and outs of things that are popular as well as off the beaten path. His website is also packed with good info.
 

Learn the language

I learned as much French as I could on Duolingo before I took off. French is a complex language. It is intimidating and I am kind of tone deaf (or so I have been told), which makes it a bit harder to mimic languages. However, practicing the language makes it easier to read and figure out where I am going. Reading is the majority of what I did while I was there anyway. Aside from ordering café au lait and saying hello and thank you, I did very little French speaking.

I did the same when I went to Copenhagen a couple years ago. Having some key words and phrases in your repertoire is huge. I had to take the train to a bus to get to my AirBnb and being able to read all of the signage made all of that way easier.

The other reason that I like to learn as much as possible is because it is my way of honoring the people I meet and the culture that I will be immersed in. It’s a way of showing that I care. That’s just me. If you don’t want to learn the language - no harm, no foul - it’s true that most people speak English wherever you go, especially in the tourist areas.
 

YouTube it

I like YouTube because you get to see what you’re in for. There are so many great YouTube channels, Damon and Jo are my favorite. They are super well traveled and they have a million great tips and tricks.

Before left for France, I watched every video that Damon and Jo have on Paris. I think this is the thing that helped the most. I knew more of what to expect and how to politely approach people, which is a thing, especially in France.

My takeaway from that was how important it is to remember your manners when traveling but also remember that in America we are pretty uncivilized. If I were to give a travel tip, it would be to research the manners and customs of the country you are going to, because our manners are not their manners, ya dig?
 

Little but important things

1. Tell the bank where I’m going
2. Send itinerary to Mom
3. Check my phone plan
4. Get some pocket money in the currency of my destination
5. Create spreadsheet packing list
6. Pack and then remove 25% of what I packed because I always over pack at first

This is also how I generally prepare for a domestic trip as well. Minus the language learning and money converting.

Stay tuned! My post about France is on deck!

A Comeback!

Alright, so it's been a while. A long while. Five and half months, to be precise.

I have to say it went by so fast. It was warp speed. I had a lot on my plate for the past five months between work and traveling and attempting to figure out my place in the world (cue existential crisis - jk sort of). Granted, I served all of these things to myself, but it was still there and I needed to see it through.

How about a brief recap? Do you care? I didn't think so, but I'm going to do it anyway.

January
HAMILTON! - I had the joy of seeing Hamilton the musical. You may have heard of it. I have a lucky friend who was able to snatch up some tickets in the lottery last fall. The production was wonderful and it was pretty awesome to be part of the phenomenon. I have been calling it the Cats of our generation and I have a friend who hates that. So, that's why I am saying it again.

February
Certified! - I finished up my yoga teacher training at The House of Yogi! I was eating, sleeping and breathing yoga from September 2017 through February. It was a serious grind on top of my other three jobs. It was a big accomplishment for my personal and physical growth.

New Car Smell! - After what was a bit of a royal pain in the ass, I got a new Subaru Impreza. I'm extremely happy with my new ride and I learned a lot from the experience.

March
Campin'! - Finally got the chance to go out into the wilderness for a camping trip after an extremely long hiatus. I didn't even remember how to set up my tent. Thankfully, my super nice friends helped me set up and I only looked like a putz for about 20 minutes of fumbling with tent poles.

FRANCE! - I sent myself to France for spring break 2018. I have a couple of delightful friends who are spending a year abroad and invited me to come stay with them at their French bed and breakfast in Provence. We also spent a couple of days in Paris. It was a long journey to get there and back but it was so worth it. I was a master of the Paris metro by the end of the week. I plan to do a full post on this adventure.

April
Would you believe me if I said nothing happened in April? Obviously not. April was filled with a lot of little moments. I chopped my hair short, I went to a natural beauty panel discussion, I saw a French band play at an Irish bar and I worked busted my proverbial buns to help my students get through the semester. I also went back to one of my favorite cities.

CHICAGO! - I went to Chicago to attend the ACES Editing Conference for work. It was epic. I had the best time and made two new friends. I saw a lot, I ate a lot and it was glorious. More to come on my Chicago adventures. It involves Wayne's World, so obviously stay tuned.

May
Quite honestly, I am never ready for May when the old gal arrives. It's the end of the semester and the beckoning of summer in San Diego. I spent the first weekend of May grading papers and reading sweet notes from my students that reminded me that not all hope is lost in the future.

Wild Child! - This band from Austin completely rocked the Casbah on Cinco de Mayo. Live music is one of my favorite things and the Casbah is one of San Diego's best venues. I love seeing relatively unknown bands in small dark venues because you wind up part of the show instead of 1,000 rows back.

FIN! That's it. Those are the premium cuts from my past five months. No need to discuss the ugly bits. It is my goal to be less busy and be writing more but I suppose I haven't instilled a lot of trust to this point, eh?