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Roniece Dawson-Bruce
Member Ascendant
since 2000-01-29
Posts 5689
Sydney, Australia

0 posted 2008-10-06 02:41 AM



My thoughts on Paris September 2008

I was lucky enough to schedule the month of September in the beautiful city of Paris – my favourite place in the whole world! I thought I would share with you some of my observations and what I did during my time there.

It was my first experience of renting an apartment and I’m so pleased I did this... never again will I book a hotel in Paris. My apartment was located in the Latin Quartier known as the 5th Arrondissement on the Left Bank. This area is filled with students and it is quite lovely to wander around the streets and observe every day life in Paris. My Landlord (Monsieur Jacques Sequin) was exceptionally lovely to deal with... from start to finish, the booking process on line was easy and then he was there to welcome me to the apartment on the day and show me how everything worked. Once Jacques left, I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking my suitcase and seeing what was in all the nooks and crannies of the apartment.  My apartment was located in a very nice street – Rue Lacepede which is just off Rue Monge and the apartment was on the 6th floor, thankfully with a lift that worked (only once did I have to climb 6 flights of stairs!) and it was very secure with a door code entry, lift entry and a lift code required to access the apartment.  

Paris was immersed in sunshine on that day and so later in the afternoon I went to visit my friends who worked in various bistros, cafe’s and bars in the area. My first visit was with Murat and Tolga (brothers) who own and run a Turkish Kebab shop on Rue des Ecoles, only a few minutes from where I was located. It was wonderful to see them both again and I stayed and had something to eat with them and chatted.  My next visit was to my friend Mustapha who runs a Bistro on Rue Monge with his brother Said (pronounced Saeed), they are from Algeria and their Bistro is very popular with the local French people. They get a wonderful assortment of people, tourists included but mostly the locals come every day to have coffee, wine, or eat lunch or dinner there. They do a wonderful couscous and vegetables!  Mustapha is just so wonderful with everyone, always has this enormous smile and is genuinely happy to see his customers daily.  I think he spreads such warmth to everyone who goes there.  Another of my friends, Marie-Chantal was also waiting to welcome me at Mustapha’s bar... she is a beautiful french woman who has had some tough times, but always she welcomes me warmly with her hugs and kisses and is a joy to know and be around. Marie-Chantal as a cat who is diabetic so this means she has to inject her cat two times a day which is very stressful for her and her cat. I felt very sorry for her when she was telling me about her troubles. In the evening Mustapha insisted that he take me to see Paris by Night in his car, so later, much later, he came and collected me and drove me around the various arrondissements to see the sights... it was magical with all the lights twinkling including the Tour Eiffel sparkling blue! We then had a very late supper around 3am in Montparnasse and then he drove me back to my apartment to sleep!  Needless to say, I slept very well and didn’t wake up til late the next morning!

Very quickly I got into a routine of waking around 8.30am then getting up, having some breakfast which usually consisted of yoghurt and a nice cup of tea back in bed. I would then go out for the day or most of the day wandering around the various arrondissements, getting a little lost, practising my french which wasn’t that flash, saying ‘bonjour’ and ‘pardon’, and ‘merci, au revior’ to all the shop keepers who were very pleasant and welcoming. Each day I would go and see Murat, Tolga, Mustapha and wish them ‘bonne journee’ for their day. Most days I would see Marie-Chantal for a coffee or a wine in the late afternoon and chat with her. Her english is exceptional and I enjoyed her company very much. She will always be my ‘lovely French friend’ in Paris.

I met so many nice people during my stay, my friend Anne-Catherine runs a jewellery stall at the Rue Monge markets every 2nd day.. last year I purchased a beautiful ‘pomme’ pendant from her and she remembered me again this time when I went to visit her.  The fruit stall holders were always so nice and would always give me some fruit to taste and never charge me.. I think they were just happy to see me smile at them which I would gladly do seeing as it’s so easy to smile!  I did get stopped a lot by French men asking me to go for coffee with them, not sure why, maybe it was the blonde hair, blue eyes thing, but always I would decline graciously and say ‘merci monsieur, mais non merci’ to which they would reply ‘pourquoi’? and seeing as I didn’t have a comeback line for that, I would just smile and repeat what I had just said! Eventually they got the gist that I wasn’t going anywhere with them and would wish me ‘bonne journee madame’ and go on their way!  

Another friend I made was Malik (Algerian) who owns the bar at the end of my street... his father helps him in the mornings and he gets a lot of locals dropping in for coffee during the day and to chat with him.  Some mornings Malik would visit me for coffee in my apartment and bring some yummy croissants which were just lovely.. he was very interesting and easy to chat with and was very patient with my french!

One of the highlights during my time in Paris was that I got to see the Pope! ‘Viva le Pape’ we chanted as his popemobile passed us by on the crowded Boulevard St. Germain on his way to say Mass at Notre Dame which by the way is my favourite place to visit.. sitting inside is so peaceful and beautiful, I never got tired of going there some days just to sit and reflect how lucky I was to be in Paris again.

The Metro was easy to navigate once you got the hang of it, but thanks to Malik I was able to make it easy to get around by just focusing on the direction in which I wanted to go... it’s all about the direction of the line he told me!  I also took the buses which were great as you got to see where you were going and of course got to see all the lovely architecture while sitting comfortably on a bus. All in all, my experience on the Metro and the buses was great, no weirdos or people following me, however there was one guy who as soon as I got on the Metro just stared at me intently across the aisle and at one point I thought he may get off at my stop but thankfully no, he stayed on while I jumped off very quickly!

Another high point was that I got to meet some of my Paris forum friends... there was a group of us who were all going to be in Paris during September and it was agreed that we would meet up for a lunch and some cultural activities.  Our first meeting was going to a Grape Harvest at Monsieur Melac’s establishment in the 11th Arr. It is an annual event and they really make the most of it by closing the street and having an Ommp pah pah band complete with a conductor and an MC who ralleyed everyone up and made the day so enjoyable. We were all invited to climb the ladder to pick some of the grapes which was so much fun!  When the afternoon was completed we all headed back to prepare for our evening activity of going to see some gorgeous hot men take off their clothes!  It was fun and extremely entertaining! The next day was more civilised with a lunch in a very beautiful and posh restuarant again in the 11th Arr... it was so good to put names to faces or is that faces to names? We hope to repeat the get together again next year.

Not everyone likes Paris, this I know... but to me I can’t get enough of its rues, canals, museums, icons and people... French people have a ‘niceness’ about them... they are French, they know it and embrace their ‘Frenchness’ in a way that is beautiful.

Be kind at heart....for everyone you meet has their own battle to fight.........

© Copyright 2008 Roniece Dawson-Bruce - All Rights Reserved
2islander2
Member Ascendant
since 2008-03-12
Posts 6825
by the sea
1 posted 2008-10-06 07:09 AM


Hi Roniece, above all thank you for sharing your trip....It looks to me that you know plenty of people there and that's very good, Your prose give a fine idea of what you did....I agree with you that Notre Dame is a wonderful monument and the museums are beautiful....It must be a total depaysement for foreigners to live a month in Paris....
There is always something to discover....I'm glad you enjoyed it...
Best wishes


yann

Alison
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318
Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy!
2 posted 2008-10-06 01:39 PM


Roniece -

How wonderful! You almost have me wanting to go with you next September. A couple more posts like this and I'll have my bags packed by January and a count down on my IM like you!  

Please, write more and tell us more.  I love your Paris thoughts - I felt like I was peeking over your shoulder.  

More! More!  Please?

xoxoox
Ali

Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
3 posted 2008-10-06 05:55 PM


Sounds like you had a wonderful time! I agree that a part of Paris is amazing. I spread out a sleeping bag on the Left Bank right under Notre Dame and slept there for days. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees, Sorbonne University in the latin quarter...all of these are unmatched in beauty. Unfortunately, as in many cities, when one leaves the tourist area, one gets a different view and I don't recommend it.

If you ever get a chance, go to Straussberg, which is known as the city of cathedrals due to the large numbers and beautiful architecture of all the ones there....it's beautiful.

latearrival
Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499
Florida
4 posted 2008-10-09 06:05 AM


Roniece, I really enjoyed your post. Thank you for sharing. I have been to Paris. I went on a high school tour with some eager minds. Enjoyed it very much. Have been in Mikes footsteps it seems, as I reconized all the places he mentioned. We toured from early morning until late evening. Would love to do it agin more leisurely  with someone who lived there as you did. How much fun you had. Thank you again, "late"
JamesMichael
Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA
5 posted 2009-02-20 11:39 PM


A pleasure to read...when considering interesting places to visit Paris would be in my top three...James
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