By Raia Dela Pena
Sinag goes to Europe!
So we finally get our visas and we were off! A terribly rushed trip this turned out to be, like we got our tickets on a Tuesday, the visas were stamped Wednesday and then our flight was Thursday morning! We arived in Paris on a Friday afternoon, October 7, and we were so tired from the trip that it was tempting to just spend the first night resting in the hotel. But I told my mother and my husband that we only had 5 days in Paris and we couldn’t afford to slacken on our itinerary. Besides, it wouldn’t feel like we were in Paris up until we saw the Eiffel Tower. And so around 8pm of our first night, while familiarizing ourselves with the biting cold, we took the metro to the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower. I prayed real hard we wouldn’t get lost on the intimidating Paris Metro on our first night but everything went fine, we even found our way back through the long and complicated passageways of the St. Lazare station with no problem at around 11pm that night.
But first, the Eiffel. Oh dear, it is as grand as they say it is. No wonder it’s a world icon. It’s so beautiful at night that it doesn’t matter if there really is no purpose to the tower. It exists because it is.
As we went up the stairs of the Trocadero exit I could feel my blood pumping in anticipation, the cold night air that blasted our faces was a bracing reminder that we were, indeed, no longer in Calamba. Then came gorgeous music from somewhere near the square and we turned a corner and there it was -- the Tour Eiffel. Beautifully lit and gleaming like a true superstar. I do not exaggerate when I say it took my breath away. I almost cried. It sounds silly but my eyes were threateningly and embarrassingly wet when we got our first look at the Eiffel. I couldn’t help but feel that that moment was the reward for all the hurdles – the passport hunt, the visa nightmare, the rush of it all. I always dreamed of seeing Europe. Who wouldn’t want to see the City of Lights? Yet I always believed this to be a far off dream to be achieved during retirement when we have paid our dues. To have come here so soon (to be the recipient of an international award at that), to see this… it was priceless.
The Paris trip went without any hitches, making me realize along the way that five days is not nearly enough for this big and terribly beautiful city, we were pressed for time and didn’t get to see all that needed to be seen. One of the highlights of our trip though was dinner at Dave and Aralynn Mcmane’s Paris apartment. Dave is a great cook, I still can’t forget the wonderful chicken dish he made for us and he really went the extra mile that night – he made rice for us!
Dave Mcmane and the wonderful dinner he prepared in their Paris apartment
Dave's great cheese platter. I loved the cheese he called tomme.
Our son, Anton, during our memorable Paris dinner at the Mcmane's
We also met a real Parisienne named Aurelie who gave us a free walking tour of the Marais area of Paris. We met her through parisgreeters.com, an organization of Parisians who give free walking tours of Paris to visitors so they can share their own version of the Paris that they love so much. Isn’t that a great idea? Aurelie was so passionate about Paris and the history of France, it made me think that these people look snooty but they know what it’s all about and you can’t help but admire them for that.
We are now back home and currently hopelessly in love with all things Paris. Been buying books on Paris and CDs of movies in Paris and often wonder when would we ever get back to the beautiful City of Lights? Well with the horror of visa applications still fresh in my mind, not any time soon, I think.
Here are some of our Paris pictures:
Some of the great produce at the market that day!
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