We are sitting at the airport
waiting for our plane to Tel Aviv after wending our way through the maze of
custom control then security. It is time to breathe and reflect on the last six
days. We had not been to Paris for more than forty years . When we came the
first time, we were kids in our twenties. I had blonde hair to my shoulders. I
still have the picture of when we left at the airport (Jeff in 70's style plaid pants)
with our parents gathered around us saying good bye. Remember the days when
your family could bring you to the gate?
It was my first trip abroad and we were on an
American Express two-week blitz through Europe, then we were going to Israel
for two weeks.Though some of the sites of Europe were viewed breezing by looking out
the bus window, it was a trip I can never forget. We visited London, Rome,
Florence, Lucerne and Paris, a dream come true for me as I had not done very
much travel. Our guide told us he was a count
and we believed him. He looked a tad aristocratic, albeit a bit run down, but
count or not he knew his history.
I’m not sure why in all of our
travels over the years we had not been back to Paris. Maybe there was a little
of the rumor, ”Parisians are not friendly” or you’ll have to spend $20 for a
coke. Anyway we decided to combine Paris this time as we have with other
European stops (London, Amsterdam, Madrid) on our way to see our family . It is
a great way to adjust to the time and arriving in Israel we are not hit with
the full-on jet lag. We had scheduled this trip two years ago but had to cancel
because of my cancer treatment so this journey felt like an important
milestone.
Because of the recent terrorist
attacks in Paris, we were a bit apprehensive but didn’t think too much about
anything once we got here, caught up in the bustle and magic of this city.
There were some armed police around, otherwise we did not notice too much else
in the way of security. Perhaps ignorance is bliss… When we took the train to
Normandy, I was concerned that there was no security at the train station before
getting on the train or metal detectors or anything. However, what caused me a
little chill was the blaring of emergency vehicles.That alternating sound of horns reminds me of every World War II war movie and Nazi nightmare.
I have to say that Paris is a city that
is easy to love. First let’s get rid of the notion that Parisians are not
friendly. Everyone we met, from waiters to the concierge in our hotel, to
people we asked for directions on the street, was friendly. What is very nice
here is that there is no overt tipping. Before I could even hand the bellman
who brought our bags to the room some Euros, he was out the door. We only had
one experience with a cab driver who took us for a “ride”, but that was it.
For me,
the best part of being in Paris is the ability to walk and discover and then
walk more. And we did walk. I had my Fitbit on and some days we hit over seven
or eight miles. One can’t describe the feeling of stumbling upon a magnificent edifice,
hundreds of years old whether it be an ancient cathedral or a humble home with
stables in the courtyard hidden behind a wall. In the United States, even our
oldest historical sites are “babies’ compared to the buildings here. Our first
hotel was near the Notre Dame. We were in awe of the medieval builders and
craftsmen who could construct a cathedral without electricity, modern machinery
and cranes. We marveled at this over and over.
Our
first day in Paris we took the Hop on Hop off bus to get our bearings. We
visited the Eiffel Tower, the ultimate icon of Paris. It is still awe
inspiring. The weather was cool and we were glad to have brought the right
clothes; long underwear, warm jackets, hats and gloves. That first afternoon we
went to the Musee d’Orsay filled with my favorite Impressionist works. I had
selected this museum because it was highly recommended by Trip Advisor and much
more compact than the Louvre. I find the walking and stopping in museums to be
difficult on my back but I did great in this museum. We saw our fill of Manet
and Monet; Degas and Pisarro. Jeff, who doesn’t rank museums as his favorite
thing to do, thoroughly enjoyed this museum as well.
On the
second day we had a tour of Le Marais, the old Jewish neighborhood, now very
artsy and a treasure of old homes, courtyards, captivating history, boutiques
and restaurants. By chance the tour was just us and our guide Corey, from the
states, now a French citizen, and it was fantastic. We learned about gargoyles and heard stories from when
Paris was occupied by the Nazis. A private tour is a real treat and we were
able to ask tons of questions. Corey also was interested in finding out about
what it means to “keep kosher,” and he had lots of questions for us.
Paris
boasts more than 250 kosher restaurants. Some are falafel or sushi but compare
that to the Bay Area were there currently isn’t one kosher restaurant to go to
for a good meal. However, we unfortunately picked two bad restaurants, one a
kosher Chinese and one a deli. ( How could a hot pastrami sandwich be bad?)
Anyway, we did enjoy our share of crepes and loved the baguettes, a
little sweeter than our sourdough baguettes.
We took
the train to the Normandy area and were met by our private guide Sylvain Kast
at the train station in Bayeux. I had found his name on-line and we had him
booked two years ago when we cancelled our plans and were glad to finally meet
him. We had an intensive nine hour tour of the D-Day beaches, Utah and Omaha as
well as the cemetery which was both sad and inspiring. There was much to learn
about this historic invasion and once again we could ask many questions of our
extremely knowledgeable guide. At the end of a long day, Sylvain dropped us off
at our Bed and Breakfast in Bayeux, a very charming home.
We were only a short distance away
from an incredible soaring cathedral. Bayeux is an ancient town with evidence
of structures like city walls centuries old which we just came upon strolling
around. Though there is a famous tapestry here, we missed it as we had to catch
the early train back to Paris. Train travel is really pleasant and I had booked our
seats on-line very easily.
Back in
Paris, we moved to a fancy hotel (nice to have IHG hotel points!!), the Grand
Hotel Intercontinental directly across from the Paris opera building also a magnificent
structure with classical statues decorating the outside of the incredible building. It was convenient as well
because we walked there from the Gare St. Lazare (train station.) This hotel is
in a bustling area surrounded by department stores such as the venerable
Galleries Lafayette, that I enjoyed visiting. We had decadent hot dark chocolate at the Linz chocolate shop.
There were too many tempting chocolate shops with colorful Easter eggs in the
windows and bakeries with pastel shaded macaroons (yum). The Galleries Lafayette
had a separate gourmet food store jammed with everything one could imagine; rows of
chocolates, pizza, dim sum, a butcher shop, caviar and slabs of lox and refrigerators of ready to eat food for purchase. It was fun
to just cruise through the store. The Intercontinental Hotel was elegant, think the Fairmont and
very pricey in every way.
For
Shabbat we went to a local Chabad house for dinner. It was located directly on the
Champs Elysees. There were many people from all over and Chabad provided a very
nice dinner. Saturday morning we walked to the Grand Synagogue of Paris which
was close to our hotel. This synagogue is the nearest to a grand cathedral,
Jewish variety, that I have ever seen. There were soaring stained glass
windows, incredible chandeliers, an enormous sanctuary, a world class cantor
and choir who were definitely not California style. There were not many people
in attendance, and we decided we way prefer our cozy synagogue on Park Blvd. in
Oakland sans cathedral trimmings. Jeff was honored to be called up to the Torah
for an Aliyah and the locals at the synagogue were quite friendly. We stayed
the first half of the service until the Rabbi started his sermon in French .
That afternoon we took a long walk from our hotel down the Champs Elysees up to
the Arc de Triomphe, a fitting way to end our trip to Paris.
Next chapter...our trip to Israel to see our family.
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