Rachel Going Places

🎠🪁👼🏼💐🩰🦢

Money and time will come and go but you’ll never be 20 years old strolling the streets of Paris with your best friend again.

That’s what kept running through my head as Eleni and I adventured through the city of Paris together. The winter of my junior year in college, I had no exams at Purdue and my high school friend, Eleni, was wrapping up her semester studying abroad in Paris. In true tourism student fashion, I took this opportunity to visit Eleni and have her show me around her new home. To be fair, I was no stranger to Paris. My family had visited in the summer of 2022, less than eighteen months before this trip, but I was excited to experience Paris in the winter and from the lens of a local. I had no doubt Eleni would give me an authentic experience and seeing things from her perspective gave me a new admiration for the City of Lights.

I’ll admit, despite being a well-experienced traveler, I was absolutely petrified at the thought of flying to Paris by myself. This was my first solo international flight and I had convinced myself I was going to be kidnapped as soon as I landed. While I had taken three years of French in high school and still try to keep up with it, I would be at a linguistic disadvantage upon arrival. However, I navigated the Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Metro with ease and soon found myself in the quaint artist’s district of Montmartre. Eleni had found herself the cutest quintessentially Parisian apartment complete with oddly shaped hallways, a broken elevator, and a teeny tiny balcony overlooking a boulangerie.

We set out to start exploring immediately. Beginning at The Musée de Montmartre we saw the early work and inspirations of many famous French painters who called Montmartre home. The estate offers exhibitions on the lesser known creations of well-known artists, like Renoir, Picasso, Steinlen, and many more of the impressionist period. The art work showcased here is not the only notable site on this property. There is a beautiful garden with outstanding views of Montmartre. Our next stop was Sacre Coeur, the iconic Catholic church which peers over the city of Paris. Known for the multitude of stairs which lead to the front of the basilica, I really did have the truly local experience of walking a quick 5 minutes from Eleni’s apartment to arrive at… the back of the church. It’s always mind boggling to me that landmarks such as Sacré Coeur and The Eiffel Tower are just a part of locals’ everyday commute but I don’t think I could ever get used to truly living among them.

Eleni and I’s first full day together was spent at a Paris tourist classic, The Louvre. When my family visited Paris in the summer of 2022, we did a guided tour of the most famous pieces in The Louvre but it was nice now to take our time leisurely walking through the exhibits we were most interested in, without the crowds of tourists or the sweltering heat that comes with a building this age in the middle of July. We spent some time on the grounds of the Louvre, taking in the Parisian traffic and the outdoor art before finding a Christmas Market nearby. Christkindlmarkets are a popular European holiday tradition, one I am very familiar with as they are of German origin. This French market offered Glühwein, or vin chaud as it is called in France, and plenty of holiday cheer. We took our time strolling the festive stalls and looking at the French gift offerings; handmade hats, artisan crafted glass animals, even a Russian booth selling matryoshka dolls.

We didn’t spend too much time at the market, as they are found in abundance scattered on every corner of the city streets, so we soon set off to meet Eleni’s friends for dinner and a night out. Dinner was excellent of course, a true Parisian experience. I had a glass of wine and a delicious mushroom pasta. I was so disappointed when I couldn’t finish the whole thing! We even spotted celebrities from a French reality TV show, The Parisian Agency, at the restaurant before making our way to the cutest jazz club. This jazz club was actually featured in the movie, La La Land, and was one of the highlights of the trip. Down in the basement of this bar, a live band played vintage jazz tunes and couples young to old tear up the floor swing dancing. It was such a mesmerizing atmosphere and an unforgettable experience. I felt like I had been transported back in time to 1940s Paris, as if I would walk outside and fear the Germans flying overhead.

After an exciting night at the jazz club, I awoke the next morning excited to soak up all the Parisian culture I could. We started on the Île de la Cité with breakfast at Shakespeare and Co., the first English library in the city, and a jaw dropping view of Notre Dame. There was another little Christmas Market that we pursued before making our way to Paris’s shopping district. Designer shops line the streets and decorate with festive light displays on the façades of their upscale storefronts. The storefront of LaDurée Macarons caught our eye and our Paris adventures would simply not be complete without a macaron treat. I did not realize, however, that LaDurée was so fancy, but it added to the luxury experience of our outing. Galeries Lafayette, the first indoor mall in the world, was our next stop. Full of whimsy, their stores present outdoor dioramas of holiday scenes in their windows for the public to enjoy. Their indoor decorations were equally awe inspiring, with a light up Christmas tree bursting with color hanging from the stained glass ceiling and stretching multiple floors.

In the same area, two other attractions added to the allure of the elegant destination. The Museum of Perfume showcases the history of fragrances and displays the various intricate bottles they come in. The best part was, it smelled amazing and admission was completely free! Across the street was Palais Garnier, the opera house where The Phantom of the Opera is set. The ornate interior was just as mesmerizing as I’m sure the live performances are. We ended the day with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and by visiting the site of Princess Diana’s untimely death.

After such a busy couple of days in Paris, our last couple of days were much more relaxed. Eleni started packing up the past four months of her life and we met up with one of her friends to visit an outdoor Parisian flea market. As Eleni wrapped up her time in Paris, she had one spot she hadn’t seen yet but wanted to visit; St. Martin’s Canal. Located near Place de la Republique, the canal provides bridges and a different view of the city. The hotel my family stayed at in 2022 was only a couple of blocks away (and fun fact, an episode of Modern Family was filmed at the same hotel!). Place de la Republique is known for being a popular site for protests and we witnessed one marching for Ukraine. That night, we met up with her friends for dinner and clubbing. I’m not a huge party girl but there’s nothing like running through the streets of Paris drunk with your “amie”.

Our last day in Paris came way too fast. I didn’t want to leave after just a week here so I can’t imagine how Eleni felt. We started our day hungover as hell but dragged ourselves to Sainte Chappelle. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be but it was a wonderful ode to Eleni and I’s Catholic school days. Our last night was perfectly picturesque. We grabbed a bottle of wine and walked down to the Seine with a perfect view of Notre Dame. They finished reconstructing the spire our last day there; a perfect homage since I was in France when it caught fire in 2019. We fed the swans on the tranquil Seine and reminisced about our time in the City of Lights.

This trip was an experience I’ll never forget. Eleni’s local expertise transformed my time in Paris into a unique and special memory. I can’t wait for my own study abroad experience in Munich and for Eleni and I to do it all again!

December 12, 2023-December 18, 2023