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October 12, 2007

Notes On A Parisian Honeymoon

Whoa.

It's been two weeks since my "hey, we're home!" post, and, truthfully, I'm shocked at how quickly 14 days can pass a fella by. It feels like just a few days ago that we both stepped our jet-lagged selves off the plane, lollygagged our way down Concourse C, and, finally, returned to the warm, familiar environs of our home.

So imagine my shock to glance at the calendar this morning and see OCT 12 staring back at me with an accusatory stare, like I'd just shown up three hours late for an important dinner and no good excuse. I realized I was overdue (way overdue) for a blog post, and, well, here I am.

The break was nice - the reason for the break was nicer - and I'm pleased to report that we had a fantastic time in Paris.

A few notes (Flickr photostream available):

• We went Air France both ways, taking advantage of their new-since-June direct flight from Seattle to Charles de Gaulle. Two words about the flight: it rocks. We did Continental on last year's trip, which, while fine, involved a stop in Houston and a bit of a layover. Air France is a 10-hour commitment, a minty-fresh Airbus A330, good food and free inflight booze. (Read that again and tell me you'll ever fly Continental to France. Try it. You can't.)
• Our A330 was equipped with personal seat-back video monitors, which was cool enough, but what really pushed it over the geeky edge for me was that the plane also has a front-pointing video camera where you can watch takeoffs, landings, and the occasional migrating flock of birds. There's not much to see from 35,000 feet, but from the first (or last) 300 it's pretty damn cool.
• Our total stay was 12 days, and we split our time between two different "home bases" (don't ask why; long story) - a rented studio apartment and a hotel near the Louvre. The apartment was our first stop, and I was pleased to see that we were located reasonably close to where we stayed last time. (Elaine told me later that this was all part of her grand plan; I must have amused her to no end by saying things like, "Wow, that street looks familiar." Marry the smart ones, guys. Trust me.)
• Renting a place in Europe is the only way to go. It's inexpensive, easy, and it lets you "go native" by staying in the same neighborhoods where you might want to eat and shop and walk and hang out. Our place was a typical Parisian crash pad - small space, tiny appliances, everything looking sleek and modern and all enviro-aware and space-saving. It's like what Seattle places will be like in 10 years.
• Unlike last time, we managed to get a place with free cable TV and Internet. We also had the use of a complimentary cell phone (so great), which gave us mobile communications. Europe's cellular market is far more prepaid-oriented than in the US; we simply slipped in to a tobacco shop, dropped 15 Euro on a Mobicarte Orange, and activated our phone with the minutes. Easy, easy, easy.
• Toilets have two buttons here - one big, one small. (HINT: The small one sends less water ... so you figure out which one to use, and when.) Smart and efficient. I want one in my house.
• Jet lag sucks. We tried to do the 'ol "stay up and get synched to the local clock" trick, but only made it until 7 PM ... and then we slept 12 hours. And then 4 more. And then had a grumpy lunch, followed by a nap, and then more sleep.
• (Paris = no fun when cranky.)
• We did a bit of sightseeing on Tuesday afternoon. This involved searching for a fantastic little ice cream place (Martine Lambert ... their Quiberon (salted butter caramel) and Martinique (vanilla with chocolate chips and slivers of candied orange) are not to be missed), strolling the Champ de Mars, and, ultimately, hitting the Eiffel Tower ... only to be told that the staircase closes at 6 PM. Phooey.
• The United States is really missing the boat with our money. The 1- and 2-Euro coins are awesome - convenient and easy. I read a fascinating Slate article about why we've not adopted these coins in our country (it's the vending machine lobby vs. the paper lobby, basically), but the argument is dumb. Coins are better than bills in small amounts. Everything comes in a vending machine here.
• A note on local dining: eating sausage in Paris is a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of thing. (And if you don't ask me what was in the sausage I ate on Tuesday night, I won't tell you. It's better for both of us. Trust me.)
• On Wednesday, we did a kick-ass-cool walking tour of the city with Heather Stimmler-Hall of Secrets of Paris. Heather is an American expat who has been living in France for the last decade or so; she writes, she gives tours, she knows all. We had a fantastic time seeing the place as the locals do, getting the scoop on local markets, great restaurants, and where all the good shopping is. (And big, big thanks to my friend Laura, who gave us the tour as a wedding present. You rock, L!)
• Since the apartment had cable TV, we wound up watching a lot of CNN International and the BBC (hey, they're in English). Foreign news is really fascinating, if only because you get to see a) how these services see their world, and b) how they see the States. I find that news in the US doesn't pay all that much attention to the goings-on of other countries; in Europe, it's pretty much all they seem to do. Even the weather reports cover Europe, Asia, and the Middle East - I personally believe that if we did a bit more of that, US Americans might have an easier time finding The Iraq on a map, as per the Asian countries. Such as.
• Paris is a pretty clean city. They have trash cans all over the place - basically, basketball hoops with translucent green plastic garbage bags attached to the rims. I asked about why they don't use traditional garbage cans, and was told "terrorism."
• Paris has also rolled out this really cool "FlexBike" service for its citizens. There are rows and rows and rows of bikes all over the city; if you're a member, you can grab one near you, unlock it from its mooring, and ride it anywhere you like for up to 30 minutes. You leave the bike in another FlexBike station when you're done with it. The service is cheap to belong to (like, $80 a year), and it's booming - everybody was on these things. Such a great idea.
• Heather pointed us at some great shopping, and Elaine decided to go at it with a vengeance. We walked and walked and walked and walked ... and wound up with some real treasures. I'm not much of a shopper, but caught the bug midway through our adventure and wound up with a fabulous new coat. (Elaine wound up with, uh, more than one.) I never, ever thought I'd be one of those guys who wanted to go on the Quest For The Perfect Shirt, but slap me and call me Sally - I'm a believer.
• Elaine's favorite restaurant in Paris is called L'Ardoise. It's amazing, and you absolutely must go. You must also have the tiramisu, at which point you will realize that every other tiramisu you've ever had was, in some sense, pulling your leg.
• We saw the Luxembourg Gardens, which are incredible. It's like what I imagine New York's Central Park to be - a total oasis of calm in the middle of a world-class city. Seattle has nothing truly like it (my beloved Seattle Center is as close as we get, but doesn't do it). It's a totally vibrant and peaceful place, full of citizens sunning themselves, watching other people, playing bocce or chess, reading. Kids playing on the jungle gyms, tourists milling around, elderly guys arguing about what's in the newspaper. It's hypnotic; I could spend all my time here.
• I've written before about how utterly, totally and completely fabulous the Paris Metro is, and I won't repeat myself except to say that the Seattle area needs good in-city, rail-based transit, and we need it now.
• Yes, we went to Disneyland Paris. And yes, I rode Space Mountain: Mission 2 a few times, got to try Crush's Coaster over at the Walt Disney Studios Paris (if Mulholland Madness and Space Mountain had a kid, it would be this coaster), and just had a grand old time wandering around with Elaine and drinking in the Parisian Disney vibe.
• Disneyland Paris is actually home to three of the best versions of classic Disney attractions - Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and "it's a small world." "Small World" was a bit of a surprise to me - I mean, the theme of the ride is that you're in a boat, sailing through a number of countries and being exposed to different customs and languages. In the US, this is novel; in Europe, it's called "daily life." That said, "Small World" here is the cleanest, nicest, most modern rendition of the ride at any Disney park I've ever seen. We both loved it.
• We slept in a lot. Lunch was usually the first meal of the day. This is not a Bad Thing.
• Sometimes, a fella has to have his Starbucks, you know? Don't judge me.
• The Pompidou has an incredible rooftop bar and restaurant called Georges. We met our wedding photographer, Nick, for some watery drinks and just watched the beautiful people and the city for an hour. Fantastic.
• We switched to our hotel on Sunday - the Hotel Louvre Ste. Anne. Highly recommend - it's small, clean, friendly, perfect. Very centrally located, and next to the Japanese district.
• I finished five books: "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination", "Dreaming In Code", "The Perfect Thing", "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows" and "Spook Country". They're all outstanding, but I loved "Dreaming In Code." If you're interested in how software gets built, it's a must-read.
• We finally made it back to the Eiffel Tower and, yes, climbed the staircase up to the second floor. It's not as physically taxing as it sounds, and the views are spectacular.
• I was forever having all these "I'm in Europe" moments, and they're really disorienting. As per Pulp Fiction: "They got all the same shit there that we got here, but it's just a little bit different." The clocks are 24-hour; most signs are bi- or tri-lingual (French, English, German), dates are Day-Month-Year instead of Month-Day-Year; everyone speaks different languages. At the end of a long day it can be really fatiguing and a little homesick-making.
• We didn't have the good luck with croissants this trip. Elaine finally found a good one, but it took most of our time. How crazy is that? It's like coming to Seattle and not getting a good cup of coffee. Isn't Paris known for this?
• Sacre Coeur is breathtaking. Another high point in an otherwise-flat city, and another spectacular view. We didn't spend any time inside the cathedral, but we walked all over the hillside, dodging the tourists (and their panhandlers) and just savoring the park and the neighborhood.
• I'm not much of an art guy (I generally love photos, not paintings or sculptures), but we toured the Pompidou for a few hours and I definitely enjoyed it. Some of the artwork was interesting, some of it inspiring, and a lot of it made me stare, slack-jawed, with a kind of "Are you kidding me?" look on my face. (There was one that was just a big, blue canvas. Really.) But the Pompidou facility itself is incredible, and worth the price of admission.
• During the course of our shopping adventures, we learned about DeTaxe - and it's great! Basically, if you're not an EU resident, and buy enough stuff, the EU will refund you about 12% in taxes. There's a form you can get from the boutique or store you're shopping from; you have to file it before you leave Europe. Since nobody really went out of their way to tell us about it, we figured it out later in the trip, and then went back to some of our shops and got the required paperwork. 12% adds up when the dollar is 1:1.42 against the Euro.
• One more plug for Air France and its direct-flight goodness: after a long vacation, when you're rested, relaxed, and ready to come home, the absolute last thing you want to deal with is some hokey-pokey routine with aircraft that stops in Chicago, Dulles, or Atlanta. Go direct, and go home happy. (Plus, uh, they have free booze.)
• We're already planning our next trip. Really.

Damn, it's good to be home.

Posted by Gavin Shearer at October 12, 2007 8:35 PM. Posted to Cool | Travel.

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Posted by: ShawnKing at October 15, 2007 6:37 AM

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