Paris in the Rain, from the Royal to the Sublime

“I love to walk in Paris, especially in the rain, don’t you”? Owen Wilson as Gil Pender in Midnight in Paris says, “Christ, why does it always have to be in the rain? No, Gil I don’t want to walk in Paris in the rain”, Rachel McAdams as Inez.

I think we’d all like to have Gil.s attitude. And I will happily admit, after one week, I’ve started a romance with this most glamorous and sophisticated city; finding myself smiling as I walk along the Seine or when I see the Eiffel Tower in the distance or as I bite into one of La Duree’s famous macaroons. But, if I am being completely honest, in temperament I am more like Inez.

It was raining and gloomy the first day we arrived in Paris. But, the next two days Paris showed us her sunny happy side. Wednesday, Paris was back in a crabby mood as we crawled at a snails pace out of town towards Versailles. She was full on pissed off when we arrived at the palace of Louis XIV. The ‘Sun King’s’ home was sunny in name only that day. It was a great relief once our appointment time came and we could tour the former home of French royalty. The home back then was built to impress nobility and peasants alike; the kings private and public areas are decorated and dedicated to the Greek gods and planets they represent (Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Diana ) with Louis himself the sun and these rooms representing the planets that revolve around him. I was excited to end the kings apartments to arrive at the Hall of Mirrors, I knew I would be able to see what I came here for the gardens.

Shortly after leaving the Hall of Mirrors, I put up my umbrella and waded through the courtyard to see the gardens. They were everything I had hoped the would be and more. I love Italian gardens, their angles and shapes taking priority over flowers. Precision and geometry are the tools these gardeners use, the craftsmanship evident as I walked along oblivious the downpour. In my opinion Louis has a nice house but one hell of a garden! That afternoon we spent in

Louis XVI’s dad’s place, the Louvre home of Parisian kings through Louis XIII. This was my second visit to the literal 12 miles of exhibit space and over 35,000 permanent collections. And like last time I saw the four main pieces: Winged Victory, Napoleon’s Coronation, Venus di Milo and the Mona Lisa. Of course I saw others as I wound my way through the corridors, stair cases, and cavernous rooms of the Denon Wing, but they are all really a blur as you try to see the major treasures of the Louvre. Here’s my shocking confession, I don’t see myself going back. Paris has too many fantastic jewel boxes of museums to spend too much time in the Louvre. Here’s a comparison, your favorite local store where they know you by name and a ‘big box ‘retailer. You may save $0.50 on toilet paper, but who cares. On great thing I did do at the Louvre is buy the Paris Museum pass. It is so cool, you get admission to most of Paris’ museums and attractions. But what is even better, when you sashay past a huge line of people waiting in the rain to enter a museum. A little Parisian rain may dampen my spirits, but VIP access perks them right up.

Wednesday we spent hobnobbing with French royalty. Thursday was spent with artists mostly French but one very special American (to me). The day dawned without rain, but very foggy, (unfortunately this was the day we had planned to visit the Eiffel Tower) . We arrived just after the tower opened at 9:30am, between buying tickets and the line for the elevator our wait was approximately 15 minutes. (I can’t stress this enough, if you don’t want to wait for hours and aren’t thrilled by crowds, go as early or late in the day as possible, also around lunch time can be less crowded. The tower is open 9:30am until 11pm). There are three levels with the second level providing the most intimate views of the city. Half of our group chose to go to the top, while the rest, myself included chose the second.

The tower is located in the 7th Arrondissemont (neighborhood), so we spent the rest of the day in that area. Musee D’Orsay was our next stop. The former train station has been lovingly transformed into in my opinion the loveliest museum in Paris. Retaining the flavor of its train station past, it picks up where the Louvre leaves off the Impressionists. Renior, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gaugin, they are all here. Lunch and the Rodin were next on the agenda, but once we came around the Hotel de Invalides we were surprised to find most of police force of Paris there in full riot gear. (Unsettling). It turns out an Italian diplomat was in town and following our exact itinerary. Everywhere we went barricades and police vans, and police officers, ensuring this bigwig’s safety. The final straw was when we got to the Rodin Museum to find it closed (to us) and the diplomat and his entourage entering. It was a sad realization when I understood my Paris Museum Pass only made me feel like a VIP. This is how they really live.

The Tower and the D’Orsay were lovely, but my two favorite parts of the day were a lot less famous and a lot more personal to me. Early afternoon found me in a large, dark and unchanged since before the last century cooking supply shop located off a quiet street near the D’Orsay. As I walked through the ‘batterie de cuisine’ that let’s face it I didn’t know half of what it was or would ever use, I smiled. This was Julia Child’s favorite store in Paris. Unchanged since the days when she was a frequent shopper. I bought an apron from a salesman at Dehellrin and mentioned that one of my favorite books was ‘My Life in France’ by Julia Child and she wrote so warmly of the store, I had to see if for myself. The gentleman laughed and said he had waited on her many times in the ‘80s and he didn’t know who she was until she left one time and some Americans came up to him and said, ‘Do you know that was Julia Child?” He didn’t because Julia would never have mentioned it. As we left E. Dehillerin and headed towards the D’Orsay, we wound our way down Rue de la Universite, everyone in my group keeping a sharp eye out for #81. We found it just before reaching the D’Orsay. The three story building built in the late 1800s with the blue door. The top two floors rented by an American couple when he was stationed in Paris working for the American government. She a bride in her late 30s wanted to do more with her life than lunch with the ladies and shop, so she enrolled in L’Cordon Bleu to take cooking lessons. I may not be as romantic as Gil Pender, but I did get misty eyed when I stood in front of Julia Child’s Paris home.