Of stairways...

[sublimatedangel]

How to explain my second first day in Paris? Perhaps it's like riding a bicycle... at first there's a tiny part of you afraid that you have forgotten how to do it after all, but you pretend your confidence and find that it all comes back to you once you're on the bike. Mostly, for me, it's like returning to an old friend I have not seen for too many years - there are little things we do not recognize in one another, changes that have been made since our last meeting.... but overall, we sense that inside, we are the same friends we have always been and that we know one another... our souls find the fit they had before and once again we belong to each other in an easy comfortable relationship.

I left the plane and negotiated with playful customs agents in order to get my passport stamped. Followed the trickling of diverse people entering Paris and then was lucky to have my suitcase be one of the first to come from the conveyer. Bumbling along together in our independant alone-ness, my fellow travelors and I found the shuttle to the RER train that would take us south into the city. Merry go round but just once - none of us sure if the stop was the right one, and ended up back at the airport where we laughed with one another and took it again, this time moving confidently off the shuttle and closer to our destinations.

After the brief shuttle confusion, it all came back to me, so familiar... I transferred myself with my mind at ease, but encumbered by my mischievous luggage which wanted to misbehave, especially on the wet streets after I left the Metro. Through it all though, the sense of returning to Paris, of being in Paris... I think in some ways it will always be my city. Thankful that the skies were dry even if the streets were not, I got my bearings and found my way up the hilly streets of Montmartre to the apartment where Stasha was waiting for me. My arms and I were tired by the time we got to the apartment building - I'm not used to dragging heavy bags behind me and so I left them on the stairs and made my way alone up winding stairways, stairs of worn wooden slabs splayed into half circles between landings... too many stairs it turned out as we were given slightly wrong instructions. The door was not marked as described, so I tried one floor up (no luck) and one floor down (home at last, however temporary!) where my companion was happy to see me and gave me refreshment and rest, and helped me bring up my bags. Although I could have done without the confusion, I was glad to do without the extra expected flight of stairs.

As I was tired we did not do much else today - we explored our neighborhood a bit and Stasha pointed out the places she had found on her own before I arrived... We got dinner at a local cafe, tucked into a back corner near a large fountain, we had the place mostly to ourselves. It was typical bistro fare and we followed it by sharing a creme brulee. We went back up towards the apartment and stopped to rest in the little park adjacent to our street. The exploration of the the lovely stairs in the park lead, as expected, to Sacre Coeur. Alas the gate leading from the park to the church was locked and so we had to be satisfied with admiring it from afar. Then back down the steps (concrete made to look like hewn logs set into the earth to make the steps) and up to our apartment where we continued talking into the night.

Comments

[woe-sis.livejournal.com]

i'm really loving your posts about Paris. :)

[sublimatedangel]

Thanks! It was a wonderful trip, and since I finally managed to keep a travel log, I thought it might be nice to write it up nicely and share it on here. Glad someone is reading and enjoying it, there should be more up tomorrow :)