Imagine strolling down the side walk, passing by Parisian cafes packed with people sipping on lattes and soft accordion music pouring out over looking the Seine with it's small meandering boats going by , and the smell of warm fresh croissant greeting your nose.
aaaahhh our preconceived notions of Paris.
Now Imagine a bumpy, loud, dirty metro taking you to an hour long wait for the Eiffel Tower as Parisian teenage dirt bags refuse to leave you alone.
That's the Paris I experienced.
I went in to this trip with every dream, hope and beautiful picture of Paris painted in my mind. I mean ITS PARIS! and of course it had it's charm - tasty croissants, wines and cheeses and beautiful towering churches- however overall I felt an overwhelming feeling of disappointment as the city felt short of my high expectations.
Before I go on about how Danish Culture is way better than Parisian culture, let me first talk about the highlt enjoyable parts of my trip.
The Churches.
Notre Dame was not just a beautiful face, it was an ephemeral but emotional experience. Mama and I happened to be there on Veteran's Day (or Armistice Day) and so a choir was rehearsing inside. Beautiful choir music rang through the towering ceilings, making for an overwhelming experience; giving me a sense of faith, love, fear, joy... wrapping me in the presence of God. A feeling which brought me to tears as my soul was brought to its knees. Sitting in that church absorbing the light and music into myself like a sponge, I realized how disconnected I had become with my faith. It was like I had so much to tell Him, I needed to ask for the Lord's forgiveness for neglecting Him in my life for a while and at the same time proclaim my love for Him and thank Him. But no words were needed, no prayers to be said, no sermons to be listened to, I just entered that church and the tears welled in my eyes like I couldn't keep what was in my heart within me at that moment. Faith is flexible, it can eb and wave, as long as the ocean doesn't dry up there will always be a high tide to follow the low.
With a faithful heart and a sinners body I lifted myself of my seat and continued to be in awe of this mighty cathedral. We waited in line for over an hour to climb to the top of that amazing building. And after endless steps we reached the top and were faced with a gorgeous view alongside majestic gargoyles.
The Tower.
Of course we went to the the Eiffel Tower, I mean is that even a question? no... if you didn't go to the Eiffel Tower were you really in Paris at all??
I think the Eiffel Tower lived up to its hype. It is of course gorgeous, especially at night all a-glow. And it is quite tall! we took multiple elevators all the way to the top with mom gripping my arm and fearing for her life the whole way up.
The Food.
Food is very important to me, so of course I had pre-booked a eating excursion.
Mor and me went on a tasting tour of the St Germain area with "Paris by Mouth" tours. It was an intimate group of 8 including our tour guide, a Californian defected to Paris for the love of food. We stopped at many renowned shops: a boulangerie, an MOF chocalatier, a charcuterie, a fromagerie, and concluded our night with the sommalier. We leisurely paired our cheese, meats and wines. Some were quite good though one cheese could only be described as the equivalent of licking a farm animal.The chocolate was amazing; extraordinary combinations of flavors in the finest of cocoa: Espresso, Jasmine tea, and Lemon and Basil. We had one other stop for sweets after the wine and cheese. We were scheduled for a creme puff one can only dream of, and we ended up literally only dreaming of them because we didn't get there in time and the shop closed. It turned out to be not so bad a turn of bad luck as we ended up going to the shop of a man who brought salted caramel into being... yum.
The Art.
We took a trip to the lovely Louvre and saw some amazing art. Of course the 8 year old in me begged mom to taking pictures of me imitating statues. Hey, we all have our own ways of appreciating art. We also took the obligatory selfie with my gurl Mona Lisa. We also visited the Musee d'Orsay which was so great, I loved all the Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas.
The People and Culture.
Here's were I start to turn on our French friends. Mom put it so aptly that you felt as if Parisians were laughing at you the second you turned around, like our waiter at the fancy restaurant, the lady at the baguette shop, and the lady at the Louvre ticket booth.
It is proper Parisian etiquette to always say "Bonjour" when you enter a store and "Au Revoir" as you exit. Ain't that adorable.... I see it as really fake. They put on a facade of friendliness, when really they don't care for or about you. And this is where I become an advertisement for Denmark. In Danish culture, these niceties are nonexistent, this may make them seem harsh but NO it is refreshing because they don't put on a fake act, they are extremely sweet and friendly once approached but they don't require stupid empty politeness.
And as our time with Paris came to an end, we felt a sense of content in experiencing such a city but looked happily forward to our date with London
