Tag Archives: paris

(Saint) Paris, Ohio

We went to Paris on our honeymoon, and determined that we’d go back to Paris every year for our anniversary. Of course, Paris France is a little hard to get to, both in terms of budget and schedule, so we’re going to go to other Parises until we can afford it. Turns out there’s somewhere around 37 Parises in the USA.

Last year we went to Paris, KY, and this year we had three Parises to choose from in Ohio. There’s Paris, New Paris, and Saint Paris. We couldn’t get a room at the B&B we wanted to stay at in New Paris, so we went to Saint Paris, staying at the Simon Kenton Inn in nearby Springfield.

Saint Paris isn’t a big town. As we drove through it, we were trying to determine whether we had in fact gone through downtown when we saw the “Leaving Saint Paris Township” sign. But, hey, we went to Paris. 🙂

Next year, Paris Tennessee.

Dernier Café au Lait

cafe… and it was all over much too soon, and before we knew it, we were drinking that dernier cafĂ© au lait …

Dernier Café Au Lait
July 14, 2007

Dernier café au lait,
sweet and bitter,
the sugar melting slowly away,
going, gone, and remembered,
the taste lingering on the tongue
long, long after the last drop
dries on the page.

The Killjoy

Jardins des LuxembourgUpon arriving at the Jardins du Luxembourg, we immediately noticed that nobody was sitting on the grass. Strangely, we didn’t assume, from this, that it was forbidden, but that they … um … didn’t want to? I’m not sure I gave it much thought. Perhaps I chose not to believe the obvious.

Anyways, we found a delightful manicured spot of grass, threw down our scarves as blankets, and lay down to read “The Silver Chair.”

We got through about a chapter when the gendarme came up and yelled at us about being on the grass, and how it was strictly forbidden. We reluctantly joined the other refugees perched on hard iron chairs on the walkways between the spots of beautiful welcoming grass to continue our reading. It seems a great shame to have such a gorgeous park and not allow it to be used in the obvious manner.

And apparently this was his whole job, for the rest of the time that we were there, we watched him chase off perhaps a dozen other people who were misled by the beauty into thinking that it was there for them to enjoy.

The Killjoy
July 13, 2007
Jardins du Luxembourg, Paris

Do you remember what it was like
to be young and in love,
to feel the soft grass on your bare feet,
to lie in the cool shade
and read to your lover
about another time and place?

Do you ever wish to kick off
your iron-soled boots,
and, with a quick glance about
for your fellow gendarmes,
toss aside your official hat
and coat, and sit, for a moment,
beneath the poplars you
so jealously guard?

Finding Jardins du Luxembourg

We came up out of the Metro at Notre-Dame des Champs and, upon consulting the map, headed off in the direction that seemed the most promising. We were, however, still rather unsure, and so resolved to ask a passing stranger which direction we should take. This went something like this:

Me: “Excusez moi, ou est les Jardins du Luxembourg?”

Passing stranger, turning around, and revealing that he was not only looking at a map, but at the same map, in the same book, that we’re looking at: “I dunno. I think it’s over this way.”

So much for getting directions from helpful natives.

USA/French friendship

Place des Etats UnisAs you know if you paid attention in your high school history class, the USA and France have had a close friendship since before the USA was formed. While in Paris, we saw a number of statues celebrating this friendship. These included statues of George Washington and Ben Franklin, and a wonderful statue in Place des États Unis commemorating the American soldiers who died for France in WWII.

Here’s some of the photos I took of these monuments while in Paris.

It was for this reason, among others, that the foolishness about “freedom fries” irritated me so much. It’s perfectly fine, apparently, that the USA disagrees with the actions of the United Nations on a regular basis, but when France disagreed, and we happened, in a strange aberration, to agree, we resorted to the juvenile playground tactic of ridiculing them. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

Paris

The wedding was beautiful. At least I think so.

And now we’re in Paris. We got here early this morning, and have been busy most of the day. Our flight out of Lexington was delayed (of course) but we made the flight out of Newark without any problem, and got in to Paris on time. However, the bus drivers are on strike, so it took us about an hour to get to the gate. From there, though, the ride to the hotel was quick and painless.

We’re staying at a delightful little place just off of Place de Clichy. The room is only slightly larger than the bed, but that’s plenty large enough. There’s a wonderful view of the courtyard out the window, and breakfast will be in the courtyard in the morning, if it’s not raining.

It rained most of today, but not hard enough to dissuade us from traipsing around Paris. We walked up to Sacre Cour, and then after dinner at Bistro Melrose, we took the metro down to Champs Elysees, and from there walked to the Eiffel Tower. Not keeping track of time, we managed to miss the last train back, and just arrived back by cab, tired and ready to get some sleep.

Tomorrow, we’re going to the Louvre, and perhaps to Musee D’Orsay. Nothing else firmly planned. We figure it’s better to enjoy a few things, and perhaps have time for other things, than to be overbooked and stressed out about schedules.

I’ve posted some photos on Flickr, and will post more there as they get put on the computer. I haven’t taken quite as many as I expected, simply because the batteries aren’t holding up very well. But we’re here for a few more days, so I imagine there will be one or two good ones in that time.