What does one say about spending three days in Paris? My running path took me through the Tuileries gardens, popping out by the Lourve, before running across and along the Seine and back up to Monte Marte. The running faces were the same, the scenery slightly more cultured! When I first visited Beth in Edinburgh in 2009 on my way to the Canada the first time, I fell in love with the notion that all of these buildings had been touched, trodden and tended to over the centuries prior to me laying eyes on them. I would pause whilst standing on a set of stairs in an apartment building and imagine the lives of those who would be running up and down the same set of stones, wearing away the centre over the centuries. Paris elicited the same thoughts, this time I had Lachie and Emma sharing the same wonders. Take the Tourilles for example – we sat, drank and ate at tourist prices and bantered about Daft Punk with the waiter. Many people were out enjoying the spring sunshine, shirts optional. Lovers were doing their thing and families were running about trying to tame over stimulated children. Wind back a century or three and lovers would be tentatively holding hands illicitly, deals and decisions would be discussed, lives would be planned. While we sat and soaked it all in, you could do some mental time travel and place yourself in the middle of it all. That was a pretty special moment.
Versailles magnified that moment to the nth degree. In a moment of fatigue the night before, we were teetering on what to do with our final full day in Paris. All a bit sun and wine weary, the thought of getting up to be anywhere at 9am was a struggle. Lachie pulled the trigger and a Fat Tyre Versailles tour was booked. This was a magical day. The weather was perfect, the tour guide Nick had a delightful Welsh accent and loved his job, the markets sold the most delicious figs and cherry tomatoes. The Palace grounds were spectacular! Nothing short of lush decadence for the Royals and their people! The Hameau de la Reine built for Marie Antoinette to escape the etiquette of conducting her life in public view, a Petite Trianon for the Kings head Madame, a menagerie for the elephant and a Grand Canal that is 12 feet deep for wandering around… Versailles was built to play!! While sitting by the water, in the thick (and free of green ants) grass, we discussed how our respective ancestors would have been living in the same period of time. We sat surrounded by cheese, bread, figs, tomatoes, olives, wine and meats – a moment of appreciation regarding our opportunity to even be there was taken. You can't plan those kinds of days. All you can do is pause within them and be present. Aside from the tour itself (I loved biking around the city! I'd forgotten how much fun cruising is!), I really liked hearing Lachlan's interpretation and application of all the information we were learning. The kid know's his history. It was like having your own extended version of the tour guide as the knowledge set was from a different perspective. Needless to say, we were royally worn out by the time we arrived back at our apartment; this was highlighted by wine and cheese remaining untouched from our evening meal. Unheard of!
It was sad to leave our creaky little Airbnb apartment on Thursday morning. Leave behind the corner Patisserie who had a cute teenage boy eager to delight us with his baked goods, the moody corner store man who asked how my French was progressing when I purchased Le oranges each day…. “Petite”. Thank goodness for Duo Lingo. Makes learning a new language fun! Can read some labels and overhear elements of conversation. It's more about having my brain at the ready to reply in French. Not German, Spanish or occasionally (and most surprisingly) Italian. Each day is an adventure.
Next up is the tour of the Western Front. This will be the emotional part, especially with Mum and Dad not being present. These first few days have been bittersweet knowing how much they would enjoy it, while also noting things for them to do when they come over. We will have some serious notes to share!
Happy wandering!
Hx
Posted with Blogsy