Travel Diary: Return To Paris 🥖
photos/images by Elena Chen
by Elena Chen
The last time I was in Paris I was 5 years younger (see for yourself), but armed now with my new experiences I still feel as starry eyed coming into this city as I once did; even if other parts of life have grown jaded to me. Perhaps it's because food has become so important to me or that I value different things about living. A good public transport system. Affordable pick me up’s. Accessible culture around nearly every corner. A sophisticated and sometimes excessive attitude towards drinking. People who talk about what it means to be alive and the things that bring joy. I really needed this. I really did not want to have to answer, for the gazillionth time, that yes, I am indeed working part-time hospitality after my schmancy Master’s degree and yes, I am indeed still lost at what I will be doing for a living. But in Paris, I can just be the person that meanders looking for the next boulangerie to indulge in. Someone that rides about on the Velib (public biking system, we love) taking in all the sights of the Seine in the summer.
I think a lot of people have an extremely romanticized idea of what it’s like to live in Paris. And rightly so. It is an incredibly romantic city.
This time, it was also different from 5 years ago because I did not come with a friend. I got to tour with a local. This meant that many things were different. I stayed in a sublet in the vingtieme (20th) arrondissement and visited many restaurants in that neighborhood. I did not do any sightseeing, compared to the last time, when we did mostly sightseeing. I spoke a bit of French this time and had to speak in my broken French as strongly encouraged by my most recent traveling companion. I had just gotten away with smiling heavily and speaking with hand gestures the first time. So many young people in Paris speak English now.
The first time I ordered to go in French (really put on my grande personne pants) and ordered everything on the menu they DID NOT have then realized they spoke fluent English to the customers after me. The owners were so lovely and the empanadas were DELICIOUS.
It really is as they say, it’s just different when someone knows where we are. Me, when I try to transport myself in the city I currently live in, have a dependency on Google Maps. But travel with someone who is not only great with spatial orientation but happens to know the city you’re traveling in like the back of their hand — and how can it not be great?
Bread with rosemary infused butter, made in house at Restaurant Pantagruel
Boudin Noir aux Pommes - a traditional French dish made from blood sausage on a bed of caramelized apples and some very crunch amazingly textured bread crumbs? I don’t know what’s in the sauce, I did not need to ask, I simply ate. And enjoyed.
I consider myself quite well versed in the art of enjoying life. I love art and culture and that enriches my life. I make things for fun: I write and experiment with textiles and I make videos sometimes (here and here). But in Paris, I learned a few things about quality of life. Fresh bread 4 times a day. Fresh bread with every restaurant meal. Coffee shops with great patisseries (I don’t drink coffee but I’ve heard equally good things). People having lunch in the park with a book. Apartments that look like they’ve come off a movie set.
Me enjoying Paris Plages 2022. There was a citywide event along the Seine called “Paris Plages'' which literally translates to “Paris Beaches” where some sections of the Seine have parasols and deck chairs set up for people to enjoy the riverbanks in the summer. This is where I had my aperol spritz and got too comfortable in a deckchair and split it over. Would do again. They also had a part of the river that was sectioned off for swimming, cool!
I realize I’ve just posted a lot of photos of food. And adorable Parisian apartment buildings from the outside. But what can I say, these are the things I romanticized the most about Paris. Along with the people I met, but that’s not so easy to capture with an image.
In St Jean de Luz, an adorable seaside town close to Spain.
I don’t really know what’s possible living in Paris. I was there for three weeks. Somehow, coffee shops and parks, Sunday markets and drinks by the Seine, museum tours and bike rides, all find a way of nuzzling some place deep in my heart. They bring me so much joy and comfort, living in such a way where people respect good food and artisanal craftsmanship. People say “Bonne journée!” (“Good day!”) to each other and mean it (at least I hope they mean it). But in all honesty my idea of a romantic life is about creating things and putting out there clues to a vision of beauty I’ve held in my head. Being in Paris feels like a way to getting closer to that.
Have a gander for yourself. Hopefully my inadvertent attempt at a food review convinced you somewhat. And the rest of it, just for the sake of being in Paris and seeing all that it has to offer.
PIXIE MARKET
