by request - paris
Disclaimer to all my French friends: this is Paris through my dreaming, little, American eyes. if you think this is all wrong please please please show me how it's done, xx
The city of lights, dreams, romance, and the constant reminder that you are not nearly as cool as those beings we refer to as ‘Parisians’ (hm, I suppose it may be a different case if you're Milanese). After several visits, I still feel the same tingling sensations surface towards the bitty hairs on my skin as my thoughts begin to lust for paris again. In this city’s case, surprisingly, the desire to return doesn't stem from the nostalgia of past trips. No matter which previous negative/positive associations I have connected to Paris – it’s still this sacred world to me. As cliché as it sounds, I feel completely at home in Paris.
Paris is like the living room of my dreams (in my dream loft, with my dream mid-century modern furniture, dream walk-in closet, and my dream clawfoot tub in my dream marble bathroom, etc.) – a place where the rawest form of me can exist because it's just... too dreamy to hold any grudge against. Where both the most mundane and most emotional memories are magnified into stories you feel like you watched in a movie many years ago. It doesn’t matter how in shambles my life is or how in-place everything seems to be, "Paris is always a good idea". You come with hope and leave with a week-long post-Paris high. I hope the excitement feels this brand new each time.
Since there’s too many memories to pull out of my mental time capsule - here’s a list of “absolutely”s:
Picnics, everywhere.
On the steps of the Sacré Coeur, along the Seine, in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower… everywhere and at any time of day. Just grab a freshly baked baguette, a generous hunk of cheese, a bottle of under $5 rosé and you’ve found yourself the most fabulous hour of people watching you’ll ever have.
The most touristy tourist landmarks, museums, and shops.
- Buy all the postcards, Eiffel tower snow globes, and berets you can get your hands on.
- An art-lover's heaven. I’ve been to Paris a couple of times and have yet to enjoy the Louvre. Somehow, I end up there on the one day a week they’re closed every time. However, it is admittedly both a critically important experience and huge time commitment at the same time. So, if you’re only in for a few days and know you’ll be back – I defend you for skipping it. Try out the Musee D’Orsay or Palais de Tokyo instead.
- On the flipside, if you’ve got plenty of time, take a day trip to Versailles. See Marie Antoinette’s lavish bedroom and get lost in it’s glorious gardens.
But, avoid the eateries flooded with fanny packs and DSLRs. With food, you must always be picky. Do your research as if you were preparing an itinerary to brunch with Alexa Chung:
- Trois Fois Plus De Piment – Save this for a rainy late afternoon or evening. All grey clouds will vanish and you’ll be thanking the thundering skies for bringing you to this gloriousness
- nanashi – Healthy and just coooo0llll
- Le Comptoir de le Gastronomie – Haven’t been, but has been raved about by multiple similar food lovers
- HolyBelly
- Cheese heaven = Raclette
- L’As du Falafel
- Markets/Festivals you stumble upon in the streets
- Eat those macarons, crème puffs, and crepes - you came all this way.
Now, feel the neighborhoods
Walk. A. Lot. Le Marais is my favorite, it’s bustling but one of those places where the locals seem to outnumber the gushing tourists. And make sure not to speed through the streets, sit down for "un café, svp" in each one. People watching is key!!!!!!
S H O P :
- Merci
- Papier Tigre
- maison kitsuné
- the kooples
- Diptyque
- gallerie lafayette
- sessùn
- a.p.c.
- le coq sportif
- Maje
- sandro
- iro
- carven
Personal To-Do List:
- Top of the Arc de Triomphe
- Catacombs
- Disneylandparis!!!
- actually walk up the eiffel tower (hehe, oops)
- obviously all the romantic things
- read an entire classic hemingway novel all over the city
- ….. so much more, thinking about it makes me sad I’m not there now.
Just remember to allow yourself to be overwhelmed, and then take in a deep breathe and enjoy it for it's unmatched cool air in a city of rich history and revolution - don't get too sidetracked by the glitz and tourist traps. The best days in Paris have been those that I’ve treated as if I were a local who had forgotten for a second where she lived, and decided that it was time to walk a little bit slower, keep her eyes wandering, and allow the scenery to soak in.
for brian, who will soon be doing all these things with his fiancé - ooh la la !