Paris in a Whirlwind

Three nights in Paris have come and gone on this third trip of mine to Paris. My first time I came with my mom and accidentally discovered the most dodgy and dubious of neighborhoods; my second trip I was here less than 24 hours for a Ween show; and this time I enjoyed the city the way it's meant to be enjoyed, with the love of my life. We spent the first day slogging through the jetlag and taking a million pictures of the Eiffel Tower, conveniently located a few blocks from our hotel. No other piece of architecture defines a city the way the Eiffel Tower does Paris. In the day it can be seen as the backdrop to the River Sienne, and at night it sparkles on the hour. We took a short cruise on the river in which I stole catnaps as we passed many of the other architectural wonders of the city. We ate at a nearby cafe and got a good night's sleep before our second day.

Thursday we went to the Louvre and waited through the line and the crowds to see the Mona Lisa, a small square on a large wall. You couldn't really get close enough to admire any of the detail. We then strolled through the Egyptian antiques exhibit (complete with mummified cats), which I really enjoyed. We had an expensive night ahead of us, so we ate on the cheap at the Hut du Pizza and tried Cheesy Fun crust pizza. They brought three dipping sauces for the crust: Ketchup, Sweet Chili and Barbeque. After working through the language barrier, we were able to get some pizza sauce to make our cheesy crust more fun.

Later that evening I felt it my duty, after having paid tribute to Motley Crue for the past three years, to make a pilgrimage to the Crazy Horse, made famous by the song Girls Girls Girls. Bryan had no objection. I think it was also immortalized in a song we sang in Kindergarten that went "there's a place in France, where the naked ladies dance..." I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but I can tell you what I didn't expect: Shadow puppets. Halfway through the cabaret performance, a man came out dressed in black with a spotlight on him. Soon he was making shadows of birds, rabbits and dogs with his hands. They weren't much more sophisticated than the ones Stacey and I used to make on my bedroom wall in seventh grade. This went on for a good ten minutes. It made the show more laughable. On a scale of cheesy fun, it ranked one notch below the Pizza Hut crust of the same name.

Yesterday, after a late start, we had one of the most memorable meals on a late lunch at Montemarte. We got off at a nearby Metro stop and walked through San Francisco-like hills to get to a little square near Sacre Coeur. We had a garlicky escargot appetizer, Bry had duck and I had chicken, and then we had crepes for dessert. We then proceeded to hit the rest of the city on foot, checking out the intricately designed Notre Dame cathedral, the Pantheon and ended in a beautifully landscaped park called Jardin & Palais du Luxembourg. The gardens were flowery and fragrant, a nice contrast to the smell of the sweaty subways in August. There we watched locals reading books and relaxing and men young and old practicing karate moves (including a Japanese guy with a sword.)

With three days and two past trips under my belt, I somehow still don't feel a real connection to Paris. I realize it's the type of city you have to get a ton of tourist things out of the way before you can truly experience it, but it still hasn't grown on me. The cafes are probably the element I was drawn strongest to, and maybe with a few more visits and a few more coffees, I'd figure it out. For now we'll see how Cannes treats us.