Kimberly in Paris
Product of Binge Watching
It starts with binge watching “Emily in Paris“, then a moment of insanity and now, a few weeks later, I’m sitting at the boarding gate of an Icelandair flight to Reykjavik (which is where I connect for a flight to Paris).
Inspired by the fashions…and Paris, I’ve bought more new clothes for this trip then I have since BC (before COVID). My sneakers are so new and white that they hurt the eyes. I also almost leave the house with the size sticker still on the side of my wide leg jeans. John comments that I don’t normally make this much effort with my clothes for other trips. Well duh, I’m prepping for sister time in the city of light and it is Fashion Week!
Flight to Paris
I am seated near the front of the plane and am off to sleep as soon as the engines turn on. It seems like it’s just minutes, but 5 1/2 hours later the flight attendants come by to ensure we are ready for landing. Clouds below are like a ground of cotton batting and with a glow of red gold light above. We pass through the clouds and I see the lights of Reykjavik. The singsong voice of the flight attendant announces our arrival in Icelandic and then English.
It was over 30°C when I left Toronto….not quite that warm in Iceland.
I have a tight connection for my flight to Paris.
Arrival
I sleep through that flight and had no problem meeting my sister at the airport. We grab a train from the airport directly into Paris. So simple and only 11€ each (about $17 CAD). (My sister just commented that it was so easy because I only had to follow her).
It’s about 20°C and mostly sunny. Definitely cooler than Toronto’s unusually warm 30°C.
The train takes us into the city. We come out from underground at St Michel with our back packs and carryons. Kind locals carry our bags up the stairs.
Now we are a bit confused as to where to go next and many French people give us helpful directions…it turns out that we are looking for a bus stop, not a metro station.
I am having issues getting my esim working so I go across the street to a restaurant. They get me onto their wifi, and I am able to access directions on how to get into our Airbnb apartment.
The apartment is small but clean, well located and has everything we need. We quickly change and walk twenty minutes to Notre Dame.
Hello Notre Dame
The sun shines golden on it. It is still under reconstruction and is scheduled to reopen in early December.
We walk around the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter searching for a place for supper…and maybe I can find Chef Gabriel (Emily in Paris).
We are tempted by all kinds of delicious food, finally choosing one of the many restaurants that offer a three course meal. The owner is very nice, but not Gabriel… I still have a week to find him.
Shakespeare and Company
We are exhausted but still take one more look at the sun setting on Notre Dame and visit the Ernest Hemingway famous “Shakespeare and Company” English book shop. This was once a gathering place for many great expat writers including Joyce, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, Stein and Eliot. The place definitely exudes atmosphere. A couple of young men are playing chess on an outside table in front of the store.
On our way back to the apartment we stop in one of the many patisseries and a small grocery shop.
Ahhhh Paris.