Paris through the eyes of a transplant

My niece, Carmen, studied in Paris for a year.  She fell in love with a city – and a fellow she met not too long before she came home.  So after a year back in the States she decided to return to Paris for her the last summer before completing her final semester at Georgia Tech.  She landed a fantastic job with a non-profit agency, and she is living just outside of Paris.  All that is to say, we had access to one of the best types of tour guides for our free day in Paris – someone who knows the lay of the land, speaks English and French fluently, and loves her Aunt Nan enough to show her the way around.

So after a nice long rest, Carol and I arranged to meet Carmen for a tour of Paris as seen through her eyes.* We arranged to meet at the Metro stop close to Montmartre.  After successfully navigating the Metro (pretty good for a couple of girls from Georgia) to our meeting place, we passed the time waiting for Carmen to join us by (what else?) shopping at the LEGAL street vendors.  They had scarves, jewelry, handbags, les belle chapeaux (pretty hats), and all sorts of fun stuff.

Sacre Couer Cathedral.  The metal scaffolding in front was being built for some kind of skateboarding jump that would be taking place in the next couple of weeks.  C-R-A-Z-Y!

View from Sacre Couer

When we met up with Carmen she led us through the crowded streets of Montmartre to Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart) Cathedral.  This cathedral is perched upon a tall hill so we had many steps to climb, but Carmen assured us that the view would be worth the trip.  The girl did not lie.  From the steps of Sacre Couer, we could see the entire cityscape of Paris.  It was a fantastic view… and the cathedral was not too shabby either.  We walked through and admired the glorious windows and ceilings adorned with magnificent art.  Just beautiful!!

We descended the hill through the art vendors of Montmartre and Carmen told us that this section of Paris has always been where the more artistic folks lived.  We stopped at a few (guess what) shops along the way and Carol fell in love with one store that she still wants to go back and visit because it had cute, useful things that would remind her of Paris.

We hopped on the Metro and headed to Carmen’s favorite park in Paris, Parc Monceau.  Along the way, we purchased some baguettes, some cheese and meats, some fresh fruits, and some – wait for it – French pastries and chocolates!  We also met up with Anita and Will who had been with the group which toured Versailles.  We proceeded to the park, which is the largest in Paris, and had a beautiful picnic under the shade of the trees.  We say families out for Sunday afternoon fun, couples strolling, people sunning, and children eating “barba-papa” [sp?] which means cotton candy.

Nan's niece, Carmen

We finished our picnic and headed to Notre Dame to see the inside of the cathedral.  We planned to go to mass, but when we saw the crowds and learned that mass was 1½ hours long, we opted for the walk-through tour while mass was beginning.  The organ was playing when we walked in.  I have no idea how many pipes the organ has, but it has so many that we heard the magnificent sound from the outside long before we entered the building.  The crowd walking through was massive so we did not stay long, but we saw the fantastic structure of something built long before the existence of cranes and bulldozers.  The arches were masterfully created.  Accompanied by the sounds of mass in the background, this brief stroll through the crush of people at the cathedral was one of the most memorable experiences of the whole trip.

After Notre Dame, Carmen recommended that we purchase a ticket for the Batobus which is a transit system using boats to make stops all along the Seine.  You can board at any of the stops and leave the boat at any of the stops while seeing Paris from the river.  Sadly, we parted ways with Carmen at this point, but we enjoyed a nice river cruise from the Hotel de Ville to the Eiffel Tower and back to the Musee d’Orsee where we disembarked to walk along the Place de la Concorde back up to the Champs Elysees.  It was 9:30 and we were ready to turn in for the evening so we hopped back on the Metro and headed back to the hotel.
Paris through the eyes of my niece was one of my favorite days of the whole trip.

*I should note that most of our KUMC group toured Versailles on Sunday morning, but as I did not go, one of those peeps is going to need to tell that story.