Paris

It doesn’t matter if I walked for 10 miles in blistering shoes the day before, when I wake in the morning I am ready to conquer another day in this mystic city.

Being from Las Vegas led to me having a preconceived notion that all big cities are loud and chaotic in every nook and cranny. Paris isn’t like this.

The sound of lively people does indeed fill the air as I walk along the café-lined river, looking around at the magazine and antique stands.

The subway is comparable to a warm can of sardines.

Tourists swarm the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre as flowers are by bumblebees in the springtime.

What’s more notable though is the unexpected coziness hidden amongst the untamed.

Paris is about the tucked away street markets where locals come together to buy and sell an assortment of items.

It is not just a place worth going to for the pastries (which are as good as they get credit for) or for the unaffordable fashion districts or the luxurious hotels.

It is about the massive parks that are full of people but somehow you can still hear the person your speaking with, the birds chirping and the fish splashing around in the marble fountains.

The city of love is a place where liberty reigns over Place de la Republique.

Calmness pours through the Moroccan inspired cafe (connected to the Mosque) as everyone indulges in traditional treats and mint tea.

Plazas constantly overflow with entertainment, like:

35+ year -old men roller-skating

Instrumental duets playing Colors of the Wind

Break-dancers and hip-hoppers

Singers and painters

Etc.

I’d like to swap places with the women who read French literature on the Metro or the couple who sit and recite poetry at the café while sipping on espresso for hours at a time.

If I could make it a part of my weekly routine to grab a baguette and sit in close proximity to the Eiffel Tower when it glistens every hour on the hour from 22hr- 00hr, trust that I would.

It is my great belief that every inch of this city is worth strolling by… because surely I have walked at least 2/3 of its length over the past 4 days.

Top things to do & see:

Eat a pastry at Laurent Dheilly. Personal favorite: Raspberry tarte. The raspberries were perfectly ripe and complimented by kiwi custard and a shortbread crust. To. Die. For.

Walk through Montmartre to the Sacre- Coeur Basilica.

Pass the Arch de Triumph at sunset.

Grab something to snack on at the supermarket and sit by the Eiffel Tower reflective pool after sun down.

Pick a café on a more secluded side street with good company or alone and stay for a while.

Go to see the palace in Versailles, including Marie Antoinette’s Estate.

 

Read a book at the park directly in front of the Louvre.

Go to an exhibition. I went to an African and Islam exhibit and one put on by National Geographic. Neither disappointed.

 

More than anything I have to give credit to my dreamy time in Paris to my sweet friend Sana and her hospitable family. They opened their home to me, attempted to speak English with me, and her mom made Moroccan meals from scratch. The Elfoukali family was the icing on the cake to my final travel destination heading back to the states.