This year's Bike To Work Day wouldn't've been the same without her.
This is definitely some good stuff. Makes me appreciate what podcasting is all about. Macedonia and I had some great times at Podcamp NYC 2.0. If anything, it confirmed that I need to express myself a bit more and put more In Rotations out there as well. If you're interested in seeing more pics, check out my set, The HalfShow's sets (Day 1 and Day 2), and CC Chapman's set here.
Maybe it's the weddings and wedding parties that I've been invited to attend in June.
Maybe it's the fact that distance truly makes the heart grow fonder and he's been on the road a lot for the past couple of weeks.
Maybe it's my upcoming 30th birthday that provides affirmation that despite my best efforts, I'm not getting any younger.
Maybe it's the fact that nearly a year in, I'm still thrillingly head over heels in love.
Maybe it's just time.
Times like these, I am reminded of the dual career track on which I seem to have embarked. Currently in the middle of a hellish rehearsal schedule for two shows, no less, all the while holding things down at the day job. Days like these were made for people with more time than I.
All good things are destined to end, and my weekend in Paris would prove no exception to this rule. In the very short time of my visit, Chocolate and I had worn ourselves out, so my last few hours in Paris would be relaxing and decidedly less hectic than those that proceeded.
A leisurely stroll from the hotel led to Boulevard de Magenta, where we stopped in a shoe store. Chocolate bought a pair of shoes, and from there we looked into another shop or two, just poking around. Our walk continued north toward Boulevard de Rouchechouart, close to the area we'd explored Sunday.
The day before, as we cobbled together a short itinerary, I pointed at a photo in my guide book. It was a picture of two young people kissing in the grassy lawn near the bright white domes of a basilica. This, I joked, is where we need to go, and imitate the lovers in the photo. Little did I know...
Our walk down Boulevard de Rouchechouart consisted mainly of observing clothing and hairstyles, commenting on a nearly overwhelming selection of stores. While crossing a street, noticed a spot of green at the end of two short blocks. There wasn't much in the way of greenery at our current location, so I changed our course toward the greenery. The street we headed down, Rue Seveste, appeared to be a garment district in miniature as it was lined with stores selling raw fabrics, in more colors, patterns and designs as you could imagine. Upon nearing the end of the street, I paused, my breath taken away by a beautiful iron building to my right. We then crossed the street, and headed toward the park, suddenly realizing where we were.
Basilique du Sacre Coeur! Just like in the photo! The lawns were unfortunately off-limits, so we couldn't frolic as the couple we'd seen in the photo, but it was still terribly nice.
But time was running out.
We bought sandwiches at a shop at the corner or Place Saint-Pierre and Rue de Steinkerque, then cut over to walk through a tiny alley, Rue Briquet, which took us back to Rochechouart, and eventually back to the hotel.
There wasn't much time for sentiment, which is for the best, as we would have been reduced to useless, so I packed my bags. Chocolate accompanied me to Gare de Nord, where I boarded the metro to the airport. My visit ended as it began, with a kiss, and I headed back home.
After having such a wonderful first visit to Paris, I cannot wait to return!
P.S. I've reconstructed the trip in Google Maps, which has resulted in a spiffy mash-up. To see this map, click here.
P.P.S. Of course, I've posted my photos on Flickr.com, in an album titled Paris 2008.
The second day of my trip began as my consciousness awoke to enveloping waves of love and desire, nearly overwhelmingly intense. Okay, maybe that's a little over the top, but it's still a pretty damn accurate description of waking up next to Chocolate. The best time to visit Paris is when you're in love, and to wake up in love in Paris is to come as close to perfect happiness as any corporeal being can achieve.
So, second day in Paris.
The previous night had actually tired us out quite a bit (all the walking) so the decision was made to explore a bit more reasonably. Chocolate's a plant nerd, so the first part of the day's agenda was to visit Jardin des Plantes, the botanical gardens. On the way to the metro, we spotted lots of people walking around with branches in observation of Palm Sunday. Later, we were witnesses to a pretty entertaining (in retrospect) exchange between an older woman with shopping bags and a male metro rider who got on her bad side, first by seeming to ignore her request to allow her to sit down, then by (accidentally?) kicking her bag as he shuffled off the train. This kept us talking and laughing all the way to Gare d'Austerlitz, where we entered the 5th Arrondissement to have lunch.
After some walking about, we settled on India Gate, since we both agree on Indian food. I made a mistake and ended up ordering twice the amount of food that I could eat, but I'd have to say the salvation in this was savoring the best Tandoori Chicken I have ever eaten in my life. Seriously, it was.
After lunch, we walked back down Boulevard Hopital to Jardin des Plantes. A leisurely stroll led us to the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution. Further walking took us past a menagerie, greenhouses, an amphitheater, and through a hilltop labyrinth.
Having exhausted most of what we could see for free, our walking led us past the gates of the Jardin and across the Seine. We crossed Pont d'Austerlitz and headed north up Boulevard de la Bastille, took in the monument, then walked back down the canal.
The next stop on our self-authored walking tour was the Musee De L'erotisme in Montmartre. I wasn't sure what to expect before entry, but once inside, I found the museum's holdings fascinating. There were ancient icons of sexuality and fertility on the lower levels; higher up one finds erotic material from the past couple of centuries (mostly the most recent), all of it fairly riveting. On several levels, video screens displayed erotic films of past times (and varying degrees of hilarity). One of my favorite installations was a collection of drawings that was found in a cardboard suitcase, its owner/artist long forgotten.
After a brief crepe break, it was back on the train and to the hotel for a short nap before dinner and Tour Eiffel.
Visiting the Eiffel Tower was like the trip my family took to see Virginia's Natural Bridge; pictures don't serve the object of admiration at all and it must be experienced in person. The massive scale of the tower is at once humbling, awe-inspiring, terrifying, and breathtakingly stunning. Regrettably, by the time we arrived at the tower, the third level was just closing, but I was able to secure tickets to the second level, which is still dizzyingly high. Upon reaching the observation deck, I was like a kid in a candy store. Several photos were snapped, and kisses were had, but then stomachs began to grumble, so we descended the tower in search of dinner.
Once we had our fill (cheeseburger for Chocolate, roast duck for me) we got back on the train, but realized quickly (thankfully) that we were headed in the wrong direction. That meant a 30-ish minute wait on the platform at the Av du Pdt Kennedy station, but the ride back across the river afforded us the chance to see Tour Eiffel glittering, the jewel in Paris' crown, capping the evening.
This spring the band that Chocolate plays with embarked on its first European tour. They began in the UK, traveling from Ireland to Scotland and England, then hit the European mainland, which consisted of several dates across France, Amsterdam and Belgium. Months ago I mentioned the desire to take a vacation of my own when the band was visiting a place I'd like to visit, allowing me to kill two birds with one stone. One, I'd take a vacation in a desired location. Two, I'd get to enjoy that vacation with my boyfriend. Little did I know that this little suggestion would end up becoming a whirlwind weekend in Paris.
While the band would be in France for over a week's time, they would be working most of that time, which would leave Chocolate and I with very little time to ourselves. There was, however a weekend with nothing planned, which they would spend in Paris. This would turn out to be an excellent opportunity to fly in.
I left the States on Friday, March 14 in the early evening. The trip to Paris would take three flights, and this was the first of 12+ hours of flying. First leg was Raleigh-Durham to JFK, an uneventful domestic flight. Upon arriving in New York, I high-tailed it around the airport to catch the second and most lengthy segment of my trip out, JFK to Heathrow. This flight left (an hour late) around 11pm and would not arrive in London until 9am. Once on the plane, I amused myself with my iPod for a while, but pretty soon decided to try to sleep, since I would have to be up all day after arriving in Paris. I was able to get a little bit of sleep, but woke up in time to see the sunrise while approaching the UK. Very nice.
Touched down in London, ran around the airport to catch the final, also delayed part of my trip, London to Paris. This trip was, as flights go, also not much to write home about except for the chance to see England, and later Paris, from the air. Approaching Paris could not have been better. Skies were overcast, but the plane flew above the clouds, so there was some accompanying sunlight. As our descent continued, my anticipation built. There was the Eiffel Tower! Ah, Paris!
Chocolate was already waiting for me as I left baggage claim. I can't begin to describe the rush of seeing him again, in this place, after such a highly anticipated bout of traveling. The moment we were reunited was truly like something out of a movie. This protracted moment of mutual admiration continued through the train ride from the airport and onto the streets of Paris, as we made our way to the hotel on foot. I dropped my bags in the room, we enjoyed a few moments to ourselves, then went out to explore the city.
Our first little walk began with a search for food, but ended up with us lost and trying to find our way back to the hotel. It was actually more fun that it sounds, at least to me, because I kind of get a kick out of having to reorient myself in new places. We didn't find food on that first attempt, but freshened up at the hotel and did some Google searching for things to see that night and struck out again. This time, we took the metro to Barb\xE8s-Rochechouart station and wandered around looking for dinner. After dinner, more strolling led us to an ancient passage near Gare de l'Est, where we helped a lady carry her bicycle up two flights of steps. While we were out, we decided it'd be fun to find a bar or club, so we headed back to the hotel to Google up some info.
This resulted in a midnight metro trip out to Franklin Roosevelt station on the Champs-Elys\xE8es. We found the sought-after club, but a quick survey of the line and be-clipboarded bouncer (not to mention 20Euro/per admission) made us change our minds about exploring it on a whim. Not to worry, since we were still able to enjoy a walk down this stunning and vibrant Avenue. At the end of this walk we stood in the light that bathed the Arc de Triomphe to bask in our own warm glow. Back to Franklin Roosevelt, then back to Chatelet station, whereupon the trains stopped running. Quel suprise!
From Chatelet, I was able to suss out how far we were from the hotel, which wasn't very far, but it would be a bit of a walk. Thankfully, the company would be enough to keep our spirits up. We began walking up Boulevard de Sebastopol, but realized that there was some interesting street life a block over, on Rue Saint-Denis. Along this street there were vendors and shops selling food to young people on their way home from partying. It was, seemingly, a pedestrian street, so there was a lot of foot traffic and very few automobiles. It was the nightlife that we'd desired to find ourselves in, and did only through a happy accident. That walk was the subject of hundreds of movies about lovers in Paris, and on that night, we were main characters of our own movie about two lovers in Paris.
