Time Hopping with a Twist – What We’ve Learned in 45 Years

(2/16 – 2/21/23) The Paris trip we had scheduled for February, when the apartment would once again be available to us, threatened to go over like a lead balloon when Bob announced that he would be sitting this one out. He was not anxious to miss out on work (i.e., a paycheck), nor was he thrilled over the thought of spending two winter weeks in gray Pa-ree. My outlook is quite the opposite -- gray skies and chilly temperatures are not a deterrent when considering another visit to my favorite place on Earth!

That is why I was delighted to hear that Bobbi, my long-time girlfriend, was up, or down in the parlance of a younger generation, for joining me for a portion of the trip. Our travel planning began in earnest before the holidays got underway, and very quickly the pieces for the trip began to fall into place.

Before beginning the itinerary for Bobbi’s five-day stay, I asked her for her “bucket list,” even though I pretty much already knew what she had in mind. As with any newcomer to Paris, she was looking forward to visiting main attractions, such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, but I also knew that she was reflecting back to a trip we took together many years ago – our very first trip to Paris. I knew she was curious to test her recollection of those thrilling days in 1978, to seek out places we had visited then, but to also create new impressions and new memories.

Upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport, we met up with our driver as arranged via Welcome Pickups, my new favorite car service. While Bob and I typically tough it out with our bags on the RER, this time I figured that two women in their 60s should be entitled to the luxury of a car ride into the city. And besides, we were splitting the cost.

As always, our adrenaline carried us through this first day – jetlag be damned! Bobbi is an avid runner and in great shape, which certainly comes in handy when visiting one of the world’s most walkable cities! We hit the pavements first thing with a focus on the River Seine. Seems as if I’m always drawn to the river, for those ever-changing, but eternally gorgeous panoramic views.

We walked along the quay, past the Hotel de Ville and the Pont Neuf, all the way to the Pont des Arts. This is Bobbi’s first bucket list item, also known as “the Carrie Bridge,” where Carrie Bradshaw threw Mr. Big’s ashes in the river in a scene from the Sex and The City sequel “And Just Like That.” There is something utterly romantic about this relatively serene pedestrian bridge, with its breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower as well as the Louvre Museum and the majestic Institut de France. Perhaps that’s why so many thousands of people have been compelled to leave their “love locks” here, the heart-shaped padlocks that, until 2015, hung on the chain-link fencing on the bridge, as a symbol of their love for one another. Eventually, after a section of the bridge collapsed, more level heads prevailed and the locks, weighing in excess of 45 tons, were removed.

The following day included a visit to the graveside of 60s icon Jim Morrison (or as close as one could get considering the metal barriers surrounding it) at Père Lachaise Cemetery, and a climb to the highest spot in the city, the Sacré Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located in the hillside “village” of Montmartre. The neighborhood that served in centuries past as a low-rent refuge for struggling young artists such as Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh, is now one of the hottest tourist destinations in Paris – and with good reason.

After touring the Byzantine-style Sacré Coeur, we head for the artists’ square, Place du Tertre. This city square is the ultimate place to spot artists creating and selling their work outdoors, en plein air. There’s a surprising amount of talent here – one can find affordable, decent-quality, albeit hastily made, artwork at Place du Tertre – and I would bet that most tourists who make a purchase here walk away thrilled to have a handmade keepsake from their visit to Paris.

On Saturday, we are scheduled for a visit to the Eiffel Tower at 2 p.m. We head out from the apartment in the Marais on the Right Bank and make our way on foot to the Left Bank, across the river and past the sentier or work site of the Notre Dame Cathedral, where repairs have been underway since the devastating fire there in April 2019. President Emmanuel Macron and the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, have set an extremely ambitious goal for completion of the travaux at the Notre Dame in time for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

The work site can only be described as a workers’ village comprising multi-level trailers as living quarters, giant cranes and other specialized equipment, stacks of material and what seems like miles of scaffolding. Seeing all of this, one can actually imagine the French achieving their lofty goal on time. Informative placards encircling the cathedral for blocks, describing the project in detail, help to engage the public even more in this seemingly impossible project.

After breakfast at a favorite brunch spot called Treize au Jardin, Bobbi and I cab it in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, first making a stop at Pont de l’Alma. This is the site of the Princess Diana Memorial and the spot where the car accident occurred that ended her life. The emotional energy here is palpable, as visitors gather around the large gilded, flame-shaped sculpture to pay homage to the beloved British icon.

After the somber Diana Memorial, the airy heights of the Eiffel Tower are refreshing, as we attempt to recreate some 1978 snapshots, even though those young girls now seem worlds away.

The next few days fly by, as we take in the stained-glass splendor of the Gothic 13th Century Sainte Chapelle, the Arc de Triomphe and the world-renowned boulevard and fashion mecca, the Champs Élysées. We were here back in the 70s, but did we have any clue of its meaning or significance in French history or culture? Probably not. We both recalled having stopped at a McDonald’s as well as going to see a movie at a cinèma on the Champs Élysées. It wasn’t even a French film, but a feature-length documentary “The Last Waltz,” featuring The Band, an American rock-and-roll band.

Our choices might not have reflected an avid interest or understanding of French culture, but it also didn’t mean we weren’t impacted by the sumptuous and intoxicating beauty of the 19th century boulevards and buildings conceived by Napoléon III and Georges Eugène Haussmann.

Monday’s visit to the Louvre, the world’s most famous art museum, and the Mona Lisa, the world’s most famous work of art, was a bit of a let-down as the labyrinthine galleries and hallways were absolutely jammed with visitors eager to see “her,” even if it meant waiting in a line that snaked down the entire length of the very large room. The sheer numbers of people working their way through the museum are a clear indicator that the initial purpose of the timed-entry admission ticket, to keep numbers of visitors to a reasonable (and safe) level, is now ancient history.

I would say that a highlight of Bobbi’s five-day stay in Paris, was our riverboat cruise on the Seine. I purposefully bought tickets for 6:30 p.m., when I knew the sun would be setting and the city would be illuminated and aglow with its famous lights. The cruise with Vedettes du Pont Neuf did not disappoint, as it includes plenty of indoor and outdoor (rooftop) seating, and at only 13 euros per person, it does not lack anything that the more renowned Bateaux Mouche has. This one-hour cruise swings by all of the major sites along the river, to include the pièce de résistance, the Eiffel Tower, in all its sparkly glory.

There’s an old and oft-told story about two girls who were visiting Paris for the first time. At the end of their stay, these flighty girls had but one unfulfilled desire for their trip, one that would have put the proverbial cherry on the top of their Paris experience: they wanted to take a ride on the River Seine in a Bateaux Mouche. Try as they might, despite all of their efforts to be at the designated spot at the designated hour, over the course of two nights, the flighty girls failed, arriving at the launch just as the boat containing their happily waving classmates was pulling away from the dock. Tears of frustration fell then, many years flew by, and now those flighty girls have lived a lifetime, some of it very good, some of it not so great, but finally…finally, they have arrived here on time, for their dazzling boat ride on the River Seine. Comme la vie est belle!