Bonjour, Paris! 🇫🇷 Summer vacation, 2022. We fell in love with the amazing people, culture, art, architecture, food, fashion, picturesque views (unobstructed by overhead power lines), and the Métro. We are already scheming about how and when we can get back here again.Le Rostand was the first place we ate, after arriving in the city. We were so jetlagged that we could barely see straight. But we were happy as could be, to be immersed in Parisian culture.A street scene near our hotel illustrated the quintessentially Parisian intersection of food, fashion, culture, and architecture. (We stayed at the Hotel Trianon Rive Gauche in the Latin Quarter, and highly recommend it.)Limestone, wrought iron, old trees, and scooters are a delightful combo for tired eyes to behold. “They don’t make them like they used to.”The Notre Dame cathedral is still undergoing repairs in the wake of the 2019 fire that destroyed much of its roof. But the ancient building has strong bones, and remains standing next to the picturesque River Seine.Did I mention how much I love the architecture in Paris?We had planned to visit Shakespeare and Company, but lines were long. So instead, we walked around, took a few photos, and then settled in for some food and conversation at a little café called Le Grenier de Notre Dame. Here, Rebecca enjoys a chocolate mousse.Grande, moyenne, petite (large, medium, small).Another place where we found amazing food and ambiance was at Land & Monkeys Turenne (in Le Marais neighborhood). We did eat healthy food too, while we were here! (For what it’s worth, all of the food at Land & Monkeys is plant-based.)Another charming Paris street scene. I really dig the limestone and wrought iron aesthetic.The Eiffel Tower, as seen from the Champ de Mars. My pulse quickened as we approached the monument we’d only ever seen before in photos. And then I got down on my bended knee, because…I proposed, and she said yes! Elle a dit oui! I held it together pretty well until a small group of people nearby erupted into applause. What a warm welcome!View from atop the Eiffel Tower.A number of restaurants around the city had piles of flowers on the tops of their awnings, piling charm on top of mystique on top of charm.A portal into one of Paris’s underworlds: the clean and efficient Métro, which is how we got around the city for the week. (On the first day we bought a couple of flat-rate five-day passes, and then when those expired, we bought a couple of two-day passes to finish out the week.)In the late 1700s, in order to address public health problems associated with Paris’s overflowing cemeteries, authorities began to transfer the remains of millions of deceased Parisians to a site that was, at the time, located outside the capital: the former quarries that lay five stories beneath the streets of the city. Spending time in the Catacombs was one of the most profound experiences I’ve ever had.Memento. Another detail from the Catacombs.Old bones. In fact, these were already old bones when they were relocated to the Catacombs in 1786.I spent a long time pondering what the lives of these ~500 year-old people might have been like. What they would think of our modern lifestyles, if they could see us now?Atrium of The Galeries Lafayette, a high-end French department store chain. We visited its flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement.The Eiffel Café, a little crêperie where we stopped for a meal, while en route to see the Eiffel Tower’s nighttime light display.The Paris Métro gave us wings. Initially we were intimidated by its apparent complexity, our limited fluency in French (I know a little), and the exaggerated warnings we’d heard and read about pickpockets. But once we tried it, succeeded, and had fun, we were hooked. We went everywhere around the city, pretty much completing everything on our to-do-and-see list.The Eiffel Tower, as seen from a boat on the River Seine. We went on a tour offered by Vedettes du Pont Neuf. As we motored around, a guide—speaking alternately in French and English—provided an intriguing overview of the many buildings, bridges, cultural practices, and history of the city.Bridges over the Seine.L’Arc de Triomphe was stunning.I loved Paris’s retro Métro signs.La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre, seen here at 9:09 p.m. It stayed light until fairly late in the evening.Rebecca rests, after trekking up the hill to visit Sacré Coeur.Tickets to see the show at the Moulin Rouge were a bit pricey for our liking, so instead we enjoyed strolling around the neighborhood, taking some night photos, and soaking it all in.Another charming Paris Métro sign, featuring hand-lettered typography from the Art Nouveau period.Rue Montorgueil. We had just eaten a superb meal and some pastries at a café called Cloud Cakes, and while walking back to our Métro station we encountered this idyllic street scene. Everyone doing their own thing, sauntering along in the warm glow of sunlight reflecting on limestone.Dusk. As the sun set on our dreamy Paris vacation, we were treated to this picturesque scene not far from our hotel. I still can’t believe that I haven’t had to Photoshop away a single obtrusive power line from any of my Paris photos. Buried utilities are so civilized!Sparkles. Starting at dusk (which in Paris in the summer, is around 10:00 p.m.) and ending at some point later in the night, the Eiffel Tower puts on a romantic light show. Every hour, on the hour, during the hours that the tower is lit, the tower sparkles for five minutes, before returning to its calm glow.
