Back to Perugia from Paris 8.1.05

Perugia, early morning, 1st of August

First impressions of Paris

Here I am, back in my kitchen in Perugia, drinking a cappuccino and eating a piece of bread with Ginnie's grape jam. It's just after 10 in the morning and Bob is out taking down the load of laundry we put out late yesterday and getting ready to put out the next one. The aftermath of our 10 days in Paris lays strewn about the apartment in piles. I just got back from a quick run to the allimentari (grocery store) for some bread and milk so we could have breakfast. The cupboards are quite bare and a more extensive trip is required, but not this morning. Today I hope to just go through the things we brought back, mostly books and brochures and get the laundry done; to just rest up and take it easy. The traveling day yesterday pretty much wore us out, not to mention 10 days of walking our feet off all over the streets of Paris! It was am amazing time.

I absolutely loved Paris! We both did. The first thing that struck us was how open and vast it is. In the time of Napoleon, under the supervision of his chief engineer, one Baron Georges-Eugéne Haussmann, they demolished much of medieval Paris and replaced the narrow streets with broad, straight avenues, radiating out from the Arc de Triomph. Which is not to say that everything in Paris is post-Napoleon. We enjoyed touring all the different neighborhoods each with its own flavor and style, different from the next but all fascinating and beautiful and positively "French."

We were pleased and delighted to find the French people so warm and friendly. Most speak at least a bit of English and it was absolutely true, that if you just say "Bonjour Monsieur. Parlez-vous anglais?" they were almost always helpful and kind. Only once or twice did anyone seem annoyed that we did not speak French. We found more written English as well, in brochures, in museums and signs than we have found in Italy so far and I suppose that is because of the huge numbers of Americans, Brits, Australians and other English speakers who visit Paris every day. And, we found that we were able to decipher some of the ones in French, because of our understanding of Italian, limited as it may still be.

Even though it seemed filled with tourists, it never felt crowded. And because of the broad sidewalks, there is plenty of room for walking leisurely without feeling rushed. Or perhaps that was just our state of mind! And, Paris is HUGE! We knew that it was a big city, but with all the various places you can climb up to appreciate the view, you get a wonderful sense of it. It's very white and extremely clean. The rooftops are a range of grays, from pale to almost blue-gray, and with the buildings in light colors; it feels very white and light.

We arrived late on Wednesday, July 20th, the first of our planes-trains-and automobiles day of travel - having taken first a bus from Perugia centro to the train station, stopping in a few cities along the way, with a 2 hour layover in Firenze (Florence), another train to Pisa with yet another 2 hour layover there, before boarding the EasyJet 1-1/2 hours flight to Paris, Orly airport, a bus from the airport and a taxi to our hotel! The airfare was so cheap (around 75 euros round trip for both of us) and we have more time than money, so we couldn't resist. We left Perugia around 11am and arrived at our hotel around 11pm!

There is probably a better way to do this but we'll figure it out next time. So much of this is a learning experience and I'm sure we still have a lot to learn!

I accidentally left the address to the hotel at home (not one of my better moves!) and only had the name and general location with me. Our taxi driver seemed to know where it was when we got in the cab but then it was evident when we drove around the same block more than once that he didn't. Only when we insisted on getting out of the cab did he make a phone call to get his bearings and then took us straight away to the Hotel L'Avre, on, funny enough, rue de L'Avre! No harm done and we found the hotel very comfortable and quiet with a lovely little garden area where we ate our breakfast every day - café au lait and pain (bread) and croissants - until we moved into the apartment on Saturday. The hotel is within walking distance of the Eiffel tower and was very affordable, with helpful, English-speaking staff. We also found a very nice restaurant nearby called L'Alchimie, on the rue Letellier.

How can I describe to you the feeling of seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time! It is golden in the night sky, its framework completely outlined in tiny yellow lights, sparkling. Standing tall over the city it is visible in so many places, peaking out from behind churches and side streets, you are constantly reminded that you are indeed in Paris.

(more to come - see "Our First Days in Paris...")

photos to follow