Jeans, running shoes, windbreaker, big camera, baseball cap, cigarettes, gigantic smiles. My texans. They stuck out like sore thumbs and I loved them for it. In a city of small; small people, small rooms, small portions, small streets, etc., these big personality Texans were a breath of fresh American air.
I met up with my uncle Tom and cousin Rachel this past Monday morning (sorry for the long delay) and headed straight to Notre Dame. Though I had been there many times, seeing it through their eyes made it that much more impressive.
Rachel, who has never been out of the country, was humbly rendered speechless. The grandeur of the building--inside and out--is incomprehensible. The fact that it was conceptualized and created 848 years ago still boggles me. There is a contagious hush as soon as you step through the monumental (or as I like to say, monumentous--monumental +momentous) stone doors. The towering concrete beams, constant shadows, and massive stained glass windows transport you to another time. Although it is filled with hundreds of tourists, you cannot help but feel far removed from everything but yourself.
We wandered around for an hour, mostly silent and perplexed. They definitely do not have things like this in Texas, let alone America.
After our hour of reflection and awe we grabbed some greek to-go food and sat for lunch. Après ça (after that) I took them around the 5th and 6th before running off to work.
That night Rachel and I wandered through the 10th looking for a good cafe to sit and have a fat glass of wine. We ended up stumbling upon one tucked away by the Porte St. Martin (built in 1674 by Louis XIV and looks like a mini Arc de Triomphe). We ordered a very large carafe of red wine, and Rachel decided on a raclette galette, something I had never seen before.
After a few glasses of fruity, delectable red wine we were feeling good. The cafe was completely full on a Tuesday night and the owner seemed to know everyone. Rachel and I were enveloped in a cloud of cigarette smoke and buzzing french conversation. We stayed until it closed, chatting and people watching, before strolling back to the hotel happily warmed by wine. I cannot remember the last time we were able to spend that much alone time together. Usually surrounded by a bucketload of other Texans, it is a rarity to have an entire night devoted to one of them. I am so lucky to have had the chance...especially in Paris.
Our next adventure: Versailles.
French phrase of the day: ça se discute--kind of like, "that's debatable."
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