Friday, April 11, 2008

where i've been


It's chilly for April and, because the rollerblades took up almost the entire suitcase, I'm forced to alternate between two sweaters and two pairs of jeans. But I've been drinking coffee from very small cups and I've found three bakeries and three cheese shops and it's far enough north that, even at 8:00 at night, it isn't fully dark.

Yesterday, walking over the Seine, I stopped halfway across the bridge and watched a boat full of tourists, all pointing their cameras in the direction of Notre Dame. The river is exactly the same grey-green that it's always been and it seems like nothing's changed since very first time I was in Paris when I was not quite six and only thing I wanted was a golden Eiffel Tower, dangling from a pin that might prick me if I tried to open it, but that my mother, bending down, could fasten to the exact center of the collar of my coat.

26 comments:

samill said...

Hey!

Just back from Paris myself. If you have time, Pere Lachais cemetary is fantastic. You need a couple of hours to see it all and I reckon morning is probably best.

Have fun and eat lots! x

niobe said...

Samill: L's grandmother is buried there. She died a long, long time ago, when she was 32, leaving behind a four-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.

Christine said...

have you had some macarons yet? I just that they sell them on the william sonoma website. i was just about to buy them when i saw it was a min. $50. well, i guess i'll just have to go to paris then.

Bon said...

there is something, for me, comforting about going back to places that have not changed visibly despite all the changes in me...being dislocated makes me almost feel more at home in my own skin.

christina(apronstrings) said...

i love the seine.

Tash said...

When I was on my honeymoon, on a layover, I went back to the German town where I had spent the year when I was seven. And everything looked so small -- like miniature, almost like a Disney movie. It was very disconcerting.

Julia said...

A very cool picture.
I find it so interesting to observe groups of people doing predictable things in unison. Taking pictures while on an organized tour is one of the most common situations where I have seen that.

And BTW, is the Paris tourist bureau paying you? Because you are so making me want to go there.

Magpie said...

Buy a new sweater!

Mmm, cheese.

Furrow said...

I wish I'd bought some cheese off that farm we passed the last time we were at the beach. That's my parallel, since I don't see myself getting to Paris anytime soon. I wonder how south Alabama cheese compares to French cheese. I suppose it depends on the type of grass the cows are grazing on.

Do you have freckles?

Furrow said...
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Katie said...

I love that picture. Is it of you?
I'm also loving that I'm far enough north for it to still be light at 8pm.

Aurelia said...

Oh, I want to go to Paris! And yes, I agree with Magpie, buy some clothes, and a suitcase to bring more back.

Of all the most amazing places to go to shop, you are there. Take advantage.

niobe said...

Aurelia & Magpie: Do you guys know what the exchange rate is these days? If I'm drinking coffee from very small cups, it's only partly because I'm trying to pretend to be chic and Parisian.

Katie: Yes, that's me.

Furrow: Maybe just a couple of freckles. (or polka dots, as my two-year-old niece calls them)

Anonymous said...

You're so pretty!

k@lakly said...

Cheese and baguettes in Paris....mmmm That's the souvy I'd want:)

Wabi said...

Lovely pic. Are you wearing cashmere in it? (In Paris, it would seem that wearing cashmere while roller blading might be the correct thing!)

Sammie said...

I hope you are taking lots of pictures to share!

wannabe mom said...

as the image appeared on my screen and i scrolled down in reader, i thought it was a picture of a gorgeous statue that you took.

but alas, that gorgeous ness is you!

sounds like you're having a wonderful time being a parisian. *green with envy*

Awake said...

What a wonderful experience - lucky.

Monica H said...

Yay for the self pic- I love it!

luna said...

ah, paris is timeless.

love the pic!
~luna

Emily said...

Beautiful picture.

I hope you find a NEW Eiffel Tower pin to dangle on your coat.

thirtysomething said...

Great picture! Love the angle...

Very envious of you--in Paris. Drink enough of the wonderful coffee for me too, as I only got one day, 15 years ago in that beautiful place.

I have an Eiffel Tower keychain that I covet...

moplans said...

only three bakeries?
wish I was there.

susan said...

So are you rolling through Paris, or just walking?

Sounds like a very good trip.

Lori said...

I am positively fascinated by this glimpse of you. It's a fantastic picture.

I took Big J to Paris when he was just 6 years old. He came home with a small, golden Eiffel Tower that still stands on his bookshelf today. He considered it quite a treasure at the time.

I have been to Paris twice. Once, as a sixteen year old girl when I did not appreciate it at all. And then again, as a 31 year old woman, and loved it. I am of the belief that travel, like so many things, is wasted on the youth.