A Long Weekend in Paris ~ Celebrating Our One Year Anniversary

Our wedding anniversary is June 21st. Austin planned for us to celebrate our first year of marriage in Paris, France for a long weekend. It doesn’t get much better than this! (Isn’t he is the best ever?!)

Friday (Fredag)

We left early Friday morning (as in 4am!) to take the Flytoget (the special airport train pronounced: flee-tog-et) from our station to Gardormoen airport outside Oslo.

The sun was already shining brightly as I gazed out the windows at the lush pasture land flashing by. The city of Oslo itself is very pretty with lots of parks and trees and pleasing architecture but it does a body good to look upon lush, green meadows.

Once at the airport we checked our one piece of luggage at the un-manned booth. The Norwegian airline we were flying has all automated check in. Kinda creepy in a cool way if you know what I mean. 😉

There was not a line through security so that was a breeze. Once through, it became apparent that we were not the only ones thinking it was a good idea to fly out super early! The airport was brimming with people, mostly families traveling in packs. The bright sun shining into the terminal made you feel like you had been up for hours, contributing to the appetite I had for the salad I had just picked up at one of the airport cafes, my packed oatmeal having been confiscated by security. (Should have seen that coming.)

Once at our gate I noticed several families hanging out together and talking and I took a closer look. The kids were huddled in a group talking and playing on iPads and the adults were nearby also talking (not playing on iPads). It struck me as odd, I don’t think that traveling with other families is very common in the States. Maybe spending a weekend at a beach house all together or something but not a full-fledged vacation where “we all fly together to the destination”. But considering Norwegian culture it made perfect sense.

Norwegians are very clannish, for lack of a better word. They place family as top priority and their children grow up knowing the children of family friends. They are born with a ready made friend group and maintain the same friends as they grow up. Awesome right?! Well, for the non-Norwegianers, this explains why it is extremely difficult to make Norwegian friends. They already have their friends and they don’t “need” anymore. People here are polite and even friendly but they don’t feel the need to pursue new relationships.

This is a distinct part of their culture that has both positive and negative side effects. I very much admire the built in support group and fellowship of community that is so highly valued here, though it can also feel rather “cliquish” to the “outsiders”. (That’s me.) However, when you live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world that has the highest rate of happiness per person, it’s hard to question their method of living without sounding a tad jealous. 😉

Our flight went fast and before we knew it we were making our connection in Copenhagen. The airport there is super hip and cool. (The terminal we flew into was lame but keep walking, once you make it to the main areas you’ll see what I mean!) It is like a really upscale, trendy mall that just happens to have planes flying in and out of it.

We ordered a couple fresh juices from Joe & the Juice in the airport and boarded the flight to Paris. PARIS HERE WE COME!!! Landing at Charles de Gaulle was an experience. The airport was extremely odd, ok?! It seemed like it had been built in the 70’s with what was then considered cutting edge architecture. 😉 The airport was arranged in a circle in layers on top of itself. (Think of a huge donut.) Everything was backwards to what you would think. The very center was open to sky, with escalators in tubes connecting people to different stories within the donut. I know it sounds loopy! It was pretty trippy riding through one of the tubes and seeing other people in tubes crossing over us! I wish I had a picture!

We found baggage claim and located the train that would take us into Paris. The train ride into the city was completely different from our ride out of Oslo. The countryside was littered with run down houses and bridges. The train yards were riddled with graffiti and trash. In the train a woman begging for money starting singing loudly then walked around jinggling the euros in her cup before passengers.

In Olso, there are very aggressive beggars who will come up to you and be very persistent unless you firmly say “NO”. Austin and I have both been torn about how to handle these situations. From what we hear these homeless people often work in packs and the longer a person is engaged in conversation with them the higher the chance of them getting mugged. It is heartbreaking to see so many young women on the streets begging but it is unwise to to give them money, that in this day and age very likely isn’t going to them anyway.

The train delivered us to the underground Metro in time for us to catch another train to a stop close buy our hotel. This train was absolutely packed with people standing, squashed close together. There were these two little black girls sitting on seats next to me. They had perfectly braided hair and looked around, wide-eyed, with grace and pose at the chaos before them. They were so cute. I smiled at them but they looked at me unblinking. (They had obviously been trained not to acknowledge strangers on the Metro! And I obviously had not.) At the next stop, the doors swung open and their nanny comes out of nowhere, starts shouting and descends upon them grabbing them both by the arms and fairly dragging them over my suitcase! Pushing people out of the way, they barely make it out of the doors before they shut!

This is crazy!

Oslo is a small town but I’m beginning to get a feel for just how small it is ever since landing here! There simply isn’t the population to make the trains packed like this, and secondly I’m realizing how loud everyone is here.

In Norway, people are quiet and reserved (unless they are partying then they sing drinking songs. haha!) and on public transport they generally pretend that they don’t exist, until getting off the bus or train where they then feel it’s okay to resume functioning. The Metro stations in Paris were old and dirty. I was shocked at all the stark differences I was picking up.

I realized that this is what culture shock feels like! Coming from the U.S. to Norway I don’t think I felt the culture shock so much as I was pretty overwhelmed with everything. But having lived for 5 weeks in Norway, a long weekend in Paris really gave me a good jolt!

We made it to the Hotel Ares Eiffel where we would be staying. We were in a tiny, though comfortable and lavishly decorated room. It was a boutique hotel, with each room different and only a few rooms on each floor. It was charming! Perfect for our romantic weekend away.

After freshening up, we hit the streets of Paris. We wondered passed the Eiffel Tower which was only a few minutes away, and found a café at a corner to eat at.

We also sampled several macarons and got fresh fruit at a little green grocer. We snacked on the delicacies as we walked along the Seine River.

I don’t know what this place is but it had plants growing on its walls! Uh, picture worthy!

We were getting tired, after all we had been up for over 12 hours that day! We decided to go back to our room for a nap, thinking that we would be back out on the streets soaking up more Parisian culture that night.

Well, we never made it out that night!

Austin fell asleep early and ended up sleeping solidly through the night and even sleeping in that morning. I wasn’t far behind him either! We were so, TIRED.

So what if we slept through our first night in Paris? We still had two more to go!

Saturday (Lørdag)

Saturday morning we rode the Metro to Chambelland, an all gluten-free boulangerie (bakery). We had a delicious breakfast of tarts and muffins and tea and coffee. I was so thrilled and overwhelmed at being able to have whatever I wanted that I got a bit nervous. But I got over that quickly. 😉

Selecting more bakery treats for later we set out for Notre Dame.

 

The area around Notre Dame and St. Michel is so beautiful. The Seine River cuts through and the beautiful buildings are simply lined up to be awed over.

 

The line, though long, went fast to get inside the cathedral. The majesty of the church was breathtaking. There was even a Mass going on and the choir was singing. It was amazing!

 

 

We wandered down into St. Michel, a tourist area with many shops and bakeries and chocolatiers. The streets were paved of old cobblestones and were narrow with the buildings leaning in slightly. There was only foot traffic through those old streets, which leant an ancient feeling to the area.

I kept chanting that whole day, “I just can’t believe we are in Paris! This is so amazing! WE ARE IN PARIS!! PARIS! PARIS!”. Austin just kept smiling and agreeing with me. He is so cute.

Having explored that area we continued our walk along the Seine River, eventually coming up to the Louvre. We took pictures but decided not to wait in the really long line to get in. Please don’t think we are devoid of culture! I had already been (spoiler alert: the Mona Lisa was a big disappointment), and while there are many, many beautiful things to see, we were here to celebrate us and spend time together.

Hopefully not to wear ourselves to the bone sightseeing as many things as possible.

We continued our meandering through the Tuileries Garden and found a couple chairs by a pond. Watching the ducks swimming about, we sampled some more of the gluten-free goodies from that morning. It was so relaxing! I felt my whole being release tension. I could have fallen asleep right there. But I didn’t. 🙂

A Bear at Rest

Continuing our walk through the Garden, we passed the Place de la Concorde, and walked up the Champs Elysees, the famous street leading to the Arc de Triomphe with high end shops and meticulously trimmed trees lining the way.

We walked up to the top where the Arc is. Feeling bushed we rode the Metro back to the hotel for a nap. The ride was mostly above ground which afforded some very picturesque views of the Seine and Eiffel Tower.

On my study abroad trip with Hillsdale College years previous, my cronies and I had eaten at the McDonald’s on the Champs Elysees. It only seemed proper to make a second pilgrimage. But my stomach payed later for this grease bomb!

Later that night we headed for the St. Michel area once more in search of a restaurant that supposedly had gluten-free items on the menu. We did indeed find it but the atmosphere wasn’t very inviting. (Thank you Yelp.)

It was packed and one could hardly breathe for all the cigarette smoke hanging in the air. The menu didn’t mention gluten-free either. It was easy to pass that place up. What wasn’t so easy was finding another to take it’s place.

It was late.

We were both REALLY hungry.

Thus we proceeded to fall into a mini panic/meltdown. First me and then Austin. I was envisioning having a romantic dinner and was captivated by a fear that we would end up at the shwarma place on the corner.

Shwarma was really unromantic to my way of thinking.

We ended up at the shwarma place. Which is surprisingly delicious I found out! But the harsh flood lights mounted on the walls gave the place a really sterile feel. (Flood lights? Really?)

We tried to sort out our thoughts and figure out how to redirect this night but only succeeded in uttering frustrated remarks to each other. We walked around more, our stress mounting as well as our exhaustion, all the while the thick, second hand smoke following us everywhere.

Ducking into a gelato place, we each got a beautiful sugar cone filled with different flavors of gelato that were arranged like petals of an unfolding flower blossom.

The gelato was supremely delicious but by this time we were strung. Out. After licking our fingers we agreed to head back. Things were only going to get worse by staying out later, wandering around a foreign city which obviously had NO CLEAN AIR to those of us deciding not to poison ourselves with cigarettes! Ugh! What was wrong with these people???

“I hear ice-cream has been known to lift the spirits?”

Navigating the Metro proved to be stressful as well with Austin ripping up his ticket too soon and me going down the wrong tunnel.

Beyond caring, he pushed his way through the barricade and I meekly followed, slipping my ticket into the machine and walking through the open doors.

We ride the Metro, holding hands in silence and go to bed as soon as we make it back.

This is a bad night.

That day in Pairs I had made it to the tippy top of euphoria and tanked to the bitterest of lows.

But I was learning that Paris is a place of extreme contrasts.

Sunday (Søndag)

Waking up, with last night’s weird funk still wrapping us in its melancholy malaise, we set out to get a proper breakfast.

There was a café around the corner that was pretty much empty and looked peaceful. As we were looking at the menu on display, the proprietor came out to us and happily explained their offerings.

We took a seat and within minutes we were sitting at a table with quite the spread of croissant, baguette (huh huh huh baguette!), apricot jam, eggs and bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice before us.

“Yes. Now this is Paris dining”.

I decided to eat whatever the heck I wanted, gluten, shpooten! I was in Paris and I was tired of stressing out about what I couldn’t eat! Austin agreed. He told me that he needed to me to eat that croissant. Yes sir! 🙂

That breakfast greatly boosted out spirits.

We set off for the Champs Elysees with shopping on our minds! We got a Starbucks and sipped on that as we peopled watched and waited for the shops to open.

The day before we had found a really good looking watch for Austin (both of his watches had died within three weeks of coming to Norway) and had decided that today it was to be his! We made it to the shop only to realize that we didn’t have our passports on us to get the tax free price of the watch. We hadn’t even thought about needing a passport to prove we could buy tax free.

Travel tip: keep a photo copy of the first page of your passport (the page with your picture and signature) with you on your person for tax free shopping and also for extra identification just in case. That way you can keep your passport locked up in the hotel safe and not be walking around with it.

Well now what? We couldn’t do any shopping until we got those passports. We decided to eat lunch on the Champs Elysees. We’d go back to the hotel afterward for a short rest before having a wonderful night on the town.

Please?

This was our last night and we had yet to see the Eiffel Tower light up!

Lunch was super tasty! We ate at a place where all the waiters were dressed in striped blue and white shirts with black berets on their heads. It was adorable. Our waiter was very fun. He teased us saying “oh I shall geev you zom of our home made mustarrd and when people ask you what you got in Pareece you can say ‘I got mustarrd!'”.

Anyway. You just had to be there. 😉

Back to the hotel and a quick rest before it was to shopping and all the pretty things! We successfully secured the watch, which looked mighty fine on Austin’s wrist. He was so excited!

Modeling.

Popping into another a store, we found an army green, light trench coat / rain jacket for me that was marked half off. Perfect for the light drizzles that come up unexpectedly in Oslo! Coming out of that store we realized that a tea shop was next door.

Lead the way!

They were serving delicious samples and yes, we hauled off with 7 different sets of tea.

Now, the reasoning behind our purchases was predominantly the fact that everything is so much more expensive in Norway. Especially high end items and specialty foods. Now was our chance to stock up on some things! That’s one bonus about living in Norway, when you travel everything seems dirt-cheap! 😀

We crossed the street and went into the exclusive French perfume shop, Guerlain. We had gone in the day before and sampled their “mon Exclusive” scent. All the components where harvested locally in France. It had a warm vanilla spice aroma. Quite intoxicating! I had kept it in my purse and smelled it throughout the day. I really loved it.

My sweet husband bought me a bottle! Feeling like a queen, we strolled along the remainder of the boulevard. As we were by now, wrangling quite a few bags, our plan was to drop them off at the hotel.

But first we got crepes from a stand! I got a savory crepe with goat cheese, turkey, and mushrooms. It was good but rather strange. Austin won with his sweet crepe with a cinnamon sugar filling. Delish!

Dropping the bags off at the Ares, we were soon ready for our special night in Paris. We determined to have a delicious dinner and see the Eiffel Tower sparkle! We walked until we stumbled upon a hole in the wall Italian restaurant.

I tell you the smells coming out of that place were to die for! We sat outside and had a view of the Eiffel Tower peaking up over the buildings. We watched as the Tower slowly lit up as darkness approached.

Magical!

But the food! Let me tell you about it, if my words can do this meal justice. I ordered a pizza and it had so many wonderful toppings on it! Rosemary, basil, ham, oh and others that I can’t remember. Every ingredient came together in the perfect crescendo of flavor and texture. Truly. It was the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life.

Austin got a calzone with the same toppings as I had on my pizza. His was delicious too. It was simply mouthwateringly, delectable food. Exactly what you think of about food in Paris.

Though is wasn’t French it was Italian. Details.

We did get to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle that night! After dinz, we walked over to the Champs de Mars (the big green in front of the Tower) and waited for the top of the hour. Hundreds of people were gathered on picnic blankets, as “vendors” with roses and bottles of champagne wove through the crowd trying to sell their items.

I glanced down at my watch, less than a minute to go! As I looked up the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle. A collective gasp went up from the crowd. There was a group of musicians playing some beautiful, moving melody nearby and the moment was perfect. It was so indescribably sweet!

I was here in the city of love with my husband on our 1st anniversary! Never in a million years could I have dreamed this up. I could never have imagined a man like Austin and here I am in Paris celebrating one happy year with this man!

Tears were in my eyes as I struggled to take it all in.

This is why people love Paris.

Monday (Mandag)

Check out was noon and the forecast was rainy so we had decided the previous night to sleep in and take the morning slowly. Austin went out and got us coffee and tea and a couple tasty bakery items.

I ate the rest of those gluten-free goodies from Saturday as well as most of a gluten-full dark chocolate croissant. (I DON’T CARE – I LOVE IT!) Hmm hmm tasty!

That morning passed quickly. When we went down to the lobby to check out, we ended up chatting with the manager and the lady at the front desk. They were so appreciative that we came to stay with them! They were very interested that we lived in Oslo and the manager related a story, in a strong French accent, how he visited there in the summer time and it was always day and his little boy refused to go to sleep! (Or I think that’s what he was trying to say.)

The lady had purple hair and was probably in her 60’s. The purple worked on her and looked cute. She piped up “oh my! I vould loov it there-uh because I do not like ze darrk! I hate ze darrk!” She gave a merry laugh and smiled at us. We assured them that we had quite enjoyed our stay. It had been a most charming interlude, with the ladies at the front desk always greeting us by name when we came back from an adventure, “Oh! Madame Johnsen! Monsieur Johnsen! Welcome back.”.

I can see how that sort of intimate greeting could be uncomfortable but it suited the little hotel perfectly and was a charming bit of French cordiality.

As we had just the one rollaway suitcase between the two of us and we elected to take it with us for the rest of the day instead of having to come back to the hotel to retrieve it. The hotel was on the east side of the city and the Metro station that we would be leaving from to get to the airport was more central. So my pretty little blue Liz Claiborne suitcase accompanied us along the streets of Paris.

Upon our arrival it had shown signs of distress, with the rollers not “rolling” smoothly. Also, the plane ride to Oslo from Houston had not been kind to it. I am certain that it got run over by a vehicle on the tarmac because one side of it was completely shattered! You could feel all the broken littles pieces of hard plastic under the fabric. But still it kept chugging.

Until today.

It just petered out until Austin was fairly dragging it along and the bottom got all torn up. I was grieved! That little bag was the perfect size! No matter how much stuff I managed to stuff it with it was never over weight. A very admirable trait to have in a suitcase. It had been with me to Alaska twice, Hawaii, Colorado, and New England twice. Not to mention the road trips! I felt a bond with that blue rollaway and I was certain no other suitcase could replace it.

Austin had to drag it all the way to the airport. I tried but didn’t get far – you should have seen him running up and down the Metro stairs with the suitcase like it was nuthin! He’s really strong. 😀

After checking out of the hotel we rode the Metro over to…. CHIPOTLE! Yes, there is a Chipotle in Paris and it tastes like the real deal too! We found it online and knew what we were having for lunch. The place was packed with Americans with backpacks and rollaways like us.

It was so fun!

One thing we have both been missing is the delicious Tex Mex that we can get in Houston. It was a treat to have some real Mexican food. We sat facing the window and people watched.

The gluten overdose of the past day and half had started to hit me at that point. Sadly, I cannot out run my sensitivity to it, jut when I feel like I might get away with it – WHAM. Remember me? I am GLUTEN. I hate you!

That’s not a bit dramatic. I was walking around in a fog and having a hard time when we stumbled upon a fresh and healthy café that had smoothies and green juices!

Thank you, God.

We sat outside facing Notre Dame and ordered an energy shot, and two other green drinks. I felt immediately better after the energy shot which was comprised of ginger, lemon, and honey.

After, we still had some more time before we needed to get to the airport so we went through St. Michel again, purchasing an assortment of macarons in a plastic case. They looked gorgeous and were busting with intense flavor that we got to enjoy later. 🙂

Dragging the suitcase, we crossed the River and going into a souvenir shop, we bought some beautiful pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc, and Notre Dame.

With our time in Paris drawing to a close, we crossed the bridge once more and went down into the Metro. As I descended the stairs I looked up at the disappearing Notre Dame across the Seine and felt a pang of sadness. All of a sudden I didn’t want to leave! What a precious time we had had here! When would I ever be back again?

I was reassured by the thought that there were still many more adventures to come this summer. And does one ever really leave a place? We always have memories that we can pull out again and savor. I think what matters most is having the Someone that accompanies you along the trip that you can share it with. 😉

Austin, my love, thank you for a wonderful time in Paris!