Cliché phrases have a way of creeping up on you and coming out of your mouth, often without trying, but I've learned that there is a justifiable reason for that: they're usually fairly accurate. 4 months have passed since I first arrived in Paris and each day has been jam packed with activities, yet it feels like it's only been a month that has passed.
The goal has been to immerse in the culture, learn the language, and be mistaken for a French person (a little difficult given that most people just assume I'm Irish). Given, there have been some momentous days when I was asked for directions in French and that made me feel so accomplished, but I also had the pleasure of taking a little trip through time to an old Paris setting that sufficed in making me feel quite French. It helps to know and understand my immense, but random interest in the 1920s era, everything that includes flappers, jazz, flashy things: it's got my name written all over it. Hence, my great amusement at Lapin Agile, an old cabaret sitting at the butt of Montmartre that artists and musicians of the 20s used to gather at. Sitting in a red tinted dimly light room listening to a pianist play some tunes and a group of 7 singers casually sitting around a table serenading us with old French songs, it felt as if I was a part of a totally different world that no longer exists in reality.
After my wonderful time travels I was brought back to the year 2010 as I walked down to the metro and was casually surprised by a row of Ikea furniture set up along the walls replacing the usual basic seats. Try to picture it: same old metro station fully equipped with vending machines, trash, newspapers thrown around, and comfy couches with standing lamps by their side. Totally normal. Sort of. No doubt about it, this was one of the best marketing ideas I've seen in a while seeing as everyone was curious to know more about this strange sight and most people went as far as to sit down on these comfortable looking couches. A+ for Ikea's marketing team.
It's a must to mention the quickly changing weather with all the blossoming trees and sun-filled days that make this city all the more enjoyable. A bottle of champagne and some chocolate bars definitely add to the pleasant experience, but that's just a minor detail. More important, are the adorable and usually hysterical children who run to the parks and go nuts. I don't want to play favorites, but I had the pleasure of finding a crush on one such day in a small park by the Canal St. Martin. Another image to picture: a little boy around the age of 6 or 7, dark black hair with a few curls, wearing a jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up, prancing around singing and mimicking Michael Jackson, flashing a smile every few minutes, and saying "I love you" in three different languages. Needless to say, he won me over instantly.
And if small parks full of just children isn't really to your taste, there's always the gorgeous Luxemburg gardens where you can improve your people watching skills all day. There was a good amount of young couples with their kids and some youngsters looking for a cool hangout spot, but the best part (this will once again resort to cliché) was the old couples walking hand in hand channeling The Notebook-type love stories. I promise, I tried be myself and not get all mushy but you can't help it when the setting just screams corny and romantic.
Then there's also the infamous Versailles, which clearly boasts the impressive palace with its lavish rooms and incredible hall of mirrors, but with the hounds of tourists crowding each room, nothing was better than sitting in the gardens eating sandwiches with Samurai sauce and "reading" for class. Random afternoon, amazing weather, 30 minute train ride, sitting at Versailles doing homework…just another day in Paris.
Something totally random, but quite amusing…I was waiting to meet a friend to go to a ballroom 
dance class (yes, I finally accomplished a goal of mine), which happened to be right near Hôtel de Ville (city hall). As a I was waiting I heard music being played, clearly a live band of some sort, so I followed the sound until I was standing directly in front of Hôtel de Ville watching a group of 6 guys dressed up in metallic colored costumes resembling Gumby playing the drums. Little kids were flocking around them as they made their way through and around the crowd, all the while playing their music and getting people to dance. Something like this may seem totally normal if you picture it happening in Union Square, but seeing French people letting loose in front of the Hotel de Ville just for the sake of having a good time, was really a fascinating sight.
One last image to picture: Saturday night around 10pm, an old-fashioned two-floor elaborately decorated French restaurant, couples and groups of friends sitting around tables eating escargot and drinking wine, 5 older women (probably grandmothers with at least four grandkids each) looking fabulous coming down the stairs finishing off their wine glasses and laughing, walking out of the restaurant obviously having had a successful girl's night out. The importance of this image: I hope when I'm a grandma I'll still be laughing and downing wine the way these women were…possibly with a bigger glass in my hand.
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