The following paragraphs were taken from the journal I kept at the time, all the better to wallow in the joys of the trip long after my return. As mentioned on yesterday's post, this picture was taken by my friend Rita in 2005, the first year I had a digital camera.
Now for September 1, 2000: Our all-night flight on Corsair Airlines was surreal in that they woke us up at 2:45 AM for a chicken dinner which (the chicken part) was unchewable. We reached Paris 7 hours after takeoff, local time 1:52 PM. Customs/Immigration involved filling out a brief yellow form. Then we got an Air France bus to Invalides, from which we got a taxi to our hotel, where we were given room 304. My first sight of French buildings, once we got past the outlying airport area, produced feelings I can't quite articulate. I thought I'd be crying the entire time, and have no idea why I wasn't. I was vaguely disappointed, thinking it just doesn't look foreign. Maybe I'd lived there in a former life.
Curious coincidences in the book I'd bought for the flight, PARIS NEVER LEAVES YOU by Adreana Robbins: The heroine's arrival was on September 1st, as was mine, she gets a hotel room in the 7th arrondissement, as did I, and she sees from her balcony the Champ de Mars, which part I read the day (arrival day) I first was there!
After getting some rest in our room, we walked around in search of a place for our first Paris meal together, and my first ever. Eventually, we agreed on a place where the people seemed especially happy, Le Bosquet, on the corner of Avenue Bosquet and Champ de Mars, where they don't require reservations. I had steak and fries ("steak frites") followed by chocolate and coffee ice cream, my favorite combination. When Iasked for whipped cream they gave me a side of sour cream. N'importe -- I still love Paris.
A demain!
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