Experiencing Paris in Real Time

(Aug 17, 2023) “We are here…we are here…we are heeerre!” At the risk of plagiarizing Dr. Seuss, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm as Bob and I emerge at street level from the St. Paul Métro station in the Marais. To my amazement, it’s all still here, just as I had left it six months earlier. “Hello, colorful merry-go-round! Hello, Franprix grocery store! Hello, Auld Alliance Scottish Pub!” It’s the same feeling every time, despite having just spent 15 long, exhausting hours in cramped conveyances, arriving in Paris always seems to occur with such mind-boggling immediacy, as if flipping from scene to scene in one of those plastic View Masters from childhood. One minute we’re pulling into the parking lot at Newark Airport, and the next minute we’re here, breathless, surrounded by the city’s inimitable splendor and its busy residents who are completely unaware of their role in this sunny summertime tableau.

Our first concern, after unpacking and settling into the apartment, is food. Fortunately, we have not missed the lunch hour, so we head to one of the neighborhood’s mainstays, Au Bourguignon du Marais. Even though, as the name implies, they serve a top-notch beef burgundy, I opt for the very large, very juicy hamburger and Bob orders the Suprême de Volaille Jaune, a traditional chicken dish. The food is delicious, but just as alluring is our table à l’extérieur, in the fresh air with a perfect view of the antique buildings and the bustling goings-on of our street, Rue François Miron.

After lunch, fully satiated and with no immediate agenda, we wander into the neighborhood, in search of previously unexplored avenues. The St. Paul sector of the 4th Arrondissement is perfect for that, with block after block of meandering streets.

Within a short distance from the restaurant, we happen upon a large outdoor basketball court bounded on one side by the street and sidewalk and on the other by a block of buildings next to a tall stone wall. A fast-paced pickup game is under way. It doesn’t take me long to realize (with many thanks to Oliver Gee of The Earful Tower podcast for the reference) that what we are seeing is a section of the oldest remaining city boundary wall of Paris, constructed in the early 13th century at the direction of King Philip II, otherwise known as the Philip Augustus Wall. I wonder how many of the young men playing there are aware of the wall’s illustrious history. My mind boggles at the thought. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Philip_II_Augustus)

Traveling northeast from here, in the vicinity of the renowned Place des Vosges, we wander into the garden of the fabulous Hôtel de Sully, one of the hôtels particuliers, or private mansions so popular among the wealthiest Parisian citizens from the 17th to the late 19th centuries. The Hôtel de Sully was built between 1624 and 1630, a site chosen for its easy access to the Place Royale, now the Place des Vosges. The pristine beauty of this Louis XIII-style residence is simply breathtaking. The cerulean blue of the sky on this August afternoon only adds to the effect. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hôtel_de_Sully)

After overdosing a bit on the opulent 17th century architecture, we are now drawn south, in the direction of the river. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Seine River to the city of Paris. In addition to its financial impact over the centuries, the curvy route taken by the river clearly delineates and lends a unique character to each of the city’s quayside neighborhoods. Moreover, the Seine and its many picturesque bridges draw the eye like a magnet, a scene that truly never gets old.

Upon arriving at the Quai des Célestins on the Rive Droite, we take in the scene on the Voie Georges Pompidou, just next to the water. All along the riverbank is an array of bright blue beach umbrellas with reclining chaises longues and appropriately dressed, reclining Parisians. This is Paris-Plages, the program established in 2002 by then Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, for the purpose of bringing an artificial beach every July and August, free of charge, to the city folk who couldn’t make it out of town to go to an actual beach. Needless to say, since its inception, this program has been a great success. Who could resist it, after all? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris-Plages)

And, so begins another adventure in the City of Light. My feeling of detached reality, that View Master perspective I seem to get whenever I travel to a place that is so different from my own home, will no doubt dissipate in a few days, along with the jet lag, and we will adapt, in real time, to la vie quotidienne in Paris.