Inside the courtyard of the building of our appartement.
Our Silver Paris
Welcome to my Paris travel journal,
where I share our experiences of our special journey to Paris.
Please use these posts as a guide for your own travels
to this amazing and wonderful city!
Or simply read, and dream...
Earlier on this, our first day in the City of Lights, we packed several activities into one afternoon: a walking tour of St-Germain, a side trip to a bustling
organic farmers market, a stroll through
jardin du Luxembourg, and a delightful visit to a beautiful church,
St. Sulpice. We were tired (can anyone say
jet lag??), and hungry for dinner. At the farmers market, we managed to procure half a loaf of bread, a bag of rice, another of pasta, some veggies, and a jar of raspberry conserves. We were missing the meat we had planned to stir-fry with our veggies.
The rest of the story: At
le Marché Biologique, we stopped at a vendor selling rotisserie chickens. How wonderful! We could get an organic, free-range chicken, de-bone it, and add it to our vegetables. We'd have a number of meals to last us the week! In French and pantomime, we found out from a young lady behind the counter that the chickens weren't done roasting yet, and to come back in ten minutes. So we did. And we waited. Another young man working the booth said they still weren't done. So we waited some more. Booths were starting to be taken apart, merchandise stowed--it was the end of the market. Finally, we went back up to the counter, where an older woman and man were preparing meat at a table in the back. Despite several attempts to get their attention, they refused to turn around and serve us! Even Fernando's loud voice didn't budge them. Frustrated, we both decided simply to leave. And that is how we ended up with no meat for dinner.
So, there we were in our
apparetment, wondering what we were going to eat! After venting again about the mean chicken lady (dubbed by us), we decided that one bad apple wouldn't ruin the bunch. We pulled out our loaf of bread, sniffed it appreciatively, and realized we had both butter in our little fridge (bought just after we arrived), and organic raspberry conserves in a jar on our counter (also bought at the
Marché Biologique). So, skip that mean chicken lady--our dinner consisted of bread, butter, and conserves. It was one of the most delicious (and most appreciated!) dinners I've ever had.
Fresh bread with butter and organic confiture de framboise.
We felt we had dined as kings and queens! Satisfied, with taste buds singing, we were up for one more adventure. Fernando suggested a walk to the Seine River, sans
Métro. The Seine lay just 1km from our
appartement; surely that wouldn't take us long--one little half mile. And Fernando suggested he carry both the camera bag and my tripod! So, away we stepped, down boulevard Henri IV, toward the Seine. We crossed the last road before the bridge, and...
Our first view of the Seine River was glorious, with pont Marie lit up in the distance.
A bridge, pont Marie, on the Seine.
Pont Marie, along the Seine.
Detail of pont Marie.
Yes, I spent a lot of time photographing that bridge. It was glorious, lit up like a dream. I loved it. Fernando loved it, too--we decided that we would kiss each time
Ellie (my camera) took one of the long-exposure photos required to capture all the beauty we saw. Needless to say, Fernando encouraged me to take lots of pictures.
We continued on, looking across the river to Ile de la Cité and another first glimpse--this time of
Notre Dame. I love the reflections of the lights on the water.
Looking across the Seine River to Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame.
Scene along the Seine River. Pont d'Arcole, with the greenish railing, is the first bridge.
Another Seine River scene, featuring pont Notre Dame.
We wended our way across bridges and onto islands, to pont Archèveché (below). Legend has it that you're supposed to purchase a padlock, write your names on it, lock it to this fence, and throw the key into the river. In this way, you seal your love for all eternity. We didn't purchase a lock, but we'll do that when we return. ;)
Lovers' locks along pont Archèveché.
There were so many lights shining, that I couldn't help noticing the spider webs woven into the railings along the bridges. I didn't want to take the time to switch to my macro lens, so the below was the best I could do. Yes, people were wondering what I was doing. But hey--I was in Paris, and I was just another one of those crazy American tourists, I'm sure.
A spider illuminated by the many lamps along a bridge over the Seine River.
This was the most romantic evening! I still can't believe we did all that we did that first day in Paris. But I'll tell you something else--it's not all we did! But that will be a future post. :)
Treasuring life's moments,
Christine
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