So I came to Paris on my own. I've been learning French for a long time, and am magically still far from being fluent. However, I already feel like I'm getting into the French mindset, and find myself not even noticing when I'm speaking/reading/listening to French versus English. It's exciting! I got in last night, took the RER into Paris, and came to the apartment where I'll be staying the next few days, which belongs to a woman who is on vacation.
the scary toilet, across the apartment from the rest of the bathroom...
the view:
The apartment is in a six-floor walk-up in the 11e, within walking distance to the Bastille. Last night, I went out to dinner with a woman named Nathalie, who is a friend of my mother's neighbor, and her two-year-old son, Oscar, at an Italian restaurant in Le Marais, which is my favorite district in Paris so far. One of many things that marked me as an uncouth tourist, however, is that I wanted to box up the food I didn't eat (though I didn't ask)--but of course people don't do that here, for some unspoken reason. After a quick stop for gelato (Oscar had a craving), Nathalie took me for a drive around Paris, and I got to see everything by night. Which was beautiful. Then I came back to the apartment and crashed, as I hadn't slept at all the night before!
Today was spent walking, walking, walking around Paris, walking everywhere, and not really committing to any structured activities, just soaking in the ambience of the city. It is very hot now, and the city is fairly quiet. I walked around the neighborhood, spent some time in the Jardin des Tuileries...
...then walked along the Champs- Elysée for a bit, just so I could say I had done it. EVERYONE in central Paris is a tourist right now, so I think I'll try to spend more time in the less-frequented parts of Paris for most of my trip. After that I took a nap for a few hours (I was tired!) and walked around a bit more, then bought some wine and food. There is a really interesting looking theater around the corner from the apartment, and I may go see a play there tomorrow night. None of my friends have arrived, so I will probably be experiencing Paris solo until I get back from London in a couple of weeks. I'm kind of happy about this though, weird as that may seem. I get to truly experience Paris without any itineraries or distractions.Tomorrow night, Nathalie's teenage stepdaughter is coming home from vacation, so I will join the family for dinner, and Friday, I am meeting my friend from Tartas (a small village near Bordeaux) sous la Tour Eiffel! Since I spent today just immersing myself in Paris, tomorrow I may visit a museum, perhaps la Musée d'Orsay or la Musée de l'Institut du Monde Arabe. I also may go see my mom's old apartment building in the 5e. It was a little weird ("zarbi!") though...when I was walking around Belleville today, I felt more at home than I had in many other parts of Paris. Perhaps it was because, like many people living there, I have ties to another country. Or perhaps it was because I'm used to living around people from extremely varied backgrounds. Though that's not to say that the rest of Paris is homogenous, far from it. The 11e, where I'm staying, is home to many religious Jews, which I immediately noticed because my father is orthodox.
As far as friendliness and openness to Americans goes, Parisiens aren't as bad as they could be. There are several creepy men lurking around Paris, though not as many as I expected. I was essentially called a baby hooker tonight as I was walking down the street ("Oh, ma pute...bébé") despite my knee-length black dress, but I decided to dismiss it as a one-off (though I was also addressed as "Snow White" while walking around Belleville). And on the RER train they were a bit "impolis" as well....muttering "Allo, allo" when you were in their way on the escalator, which only happened because other people pushed in front of you and you had no room for your suitcase. But despite these minor instances, I really love Paris so far.
