Paris Day 2!: The Louvre, Montmartre, and Le Marais

Day two of our Parisian adventures began at the ripe hour of 8:45, when my aupair mom drove me to pick up my mom and brother and drove us to the metro station adjoining with line 1, which stops at some major tourist destinations. The first item on our checklist of only three things (much less daunting than day 1), was the Louvre. We had heard that it is not worthwhile to take on this grandiose museum if you don't have three days, but we decided to take the plunge and see as much of it as we could in around two hours. We started, of course, in the Denon wing of Italian paintings to scout out the Mona Lisa, or La Joconde. After wandering through the wing admiring beautifully carved marble statues (who else is a fan of the way those sculptors made marble look like flowing fabrics?! Crazy.) and huge paintings portraying passion in all its facets: love, war, betrayal, family, birth, etc., we stumbled upon the room that held the infamous painting. It hung unassumingly on a wall, overshadowed by the massive painting on the opposite wall, and quite unknowing of its fame. It was small, smaller than I had imagined such a famous work of art would be. But hey, it was amazing to be there, looking at it.

The underground portion was super cool.

After the Louvre we hopped on the metro and headed to my most anticipated neighbourhood, Montmartre. After going to its namesake cafe in Vancouver and looking at pictures of the area, I had been intrigued by its mystique, its food, its buildings, its people, its hilly landscape with slanting sun and slanting tables. And Sacre-Coeur. Okay, I was really excited.

Our first stop, because of our absolute hunger from looking at old things, was a restaurant. We found one near the metro stop and near the Basilique Sacre-Coeur, so we sat down at a table and the beautifully radiant waitress welcomed us right away. We noticed that it was a partner business with the cafe/brasserie across the street, and our waitress and their waiter were constantly running back and forth between establishments carrying various dishes. There was little vegetarian food on the menu, so I settled for a vegetable soup and my first legal glass of white wine. When she brought the food over complete with fresh baguette bread, I realized my mistake in thinking this would be a light vegetable broth. The soup came with garlic toasted baguette and a pot of cheese, and when sprinkled over the pale yellow creamy soup, it melted to the most beautiful gooey consistency.

After lunch, we headed to Sacre-Coeur. Legs aching and feet blistered from the Eiffel Tower the day before, we opted for the "funiculaire", a little cable car that rose us up to the foot of the building. Its views were comparable to the Eiffel Tower's first floor, a lovely surprise. And the architecture itself surpassed all my expectations.

After seeing that sight, we wandered through the Montmartre streets and found a little touristy street market and two really cute vintage stores. I found some cutoff levis that actually fit and we headed back to the metro.

Our last stop was Le Marais, a beautiful, rich district of white buildings and big windows and beautifully architectured balconies. We wandered through courtyards filled with antique stores and cafes, and little narrow, winding streets that housed a number of small boutiques. We sat down in a cafe for deux cafes aux lait for my mom and I, and a chocolat chaud for my brother. I also caved and got a creme caramel.

After that adventure, we stumbled to a green spot by the Seine where locals seemed to gather, and had naps and looked at the view. It was the epitome of bittersweet, because my mom and brother would soon be getting on a different metro to head back to Gare du Nord to go to London and then back to Vancouver.

We parted at the St. Michel metro and I immediately felt a chunk of my heart leaving with them. I was not prepared for the loneliness that comes with being completely alone in a foreign city.

But this will be good for me. It will be good to be alone, to be forcing myself to explore and experience the unknown. It will be good to discover myself along with the city of lights.

I must remember that being lonely is okay. Being alone is okay. Being sad is okay. Missing people is okay.

But I am in the city of light, and the kind of sadness I feel is different. It's bittersweet, but mostly sweet. I know what I'm doing is right, that it is good for me, that it is meaningful. That I am living.

I hope Vancouver is treating you all well.

Love always,
Coral