Bobby and MJ in Paris

 Inspired by the Netflix hit series "Emily in Paris," I hereby name our short 3-day 2021 trip "Bobby and MJ in Paris." The most lasting impression for us was how nice Paris locals were to us, contrary to what we had heard about Parisians, that they didn't like "stupid American" tourists or were rude and snobbish. At least to us tourists, they were very accommodating, ready to help, and all spoke English! Turns out the cram sessions of watching French language videos and "Lupin" on Netflix weren't needed after all, although they did come in handy reading road signs or announcements on the subway. 

So much of Paris actually, in a weird way, reminded me of my first visit to Tokyo, getting off at a remote airport location an hour away from the city (Charles DeGaulle v. Narita Airport in Tokyo), taking a train into the big city passing by small villages and gradually picking up commuters going to work until reaching a huge metro area, and a huge center tower overlooking the city and constantly reminding us of its presence as we walked throughout the city (Eiffel Tower v. the Tokyo Tower, which look surprisingly similar to each other). I'm also a huge fan of subway systems and figuring out how to get from one side of the city to the other, and Paris's metro system didn't disappoint: tons of crissrossing lines and maze-like stations, but trains were digitally synchronized to arrive on time. We even ran up against the rush hour trains or "hell trains" as MJ puts it, but they weren't as bad as that of Shanghai, Tokyo, or Seoul likely because Europe is just less densely populated than the aforementioned cities. 

The real treat though, was definitely walking the city. One of the most eagerly anticipated highlights of a trip for me is that first saunter into the heart of the city to explore the surroundings, and Paris didn't disappoint. The River Seine, as promised, points the way through all the major parts of the city like the Notre Dame cathedral, Arc De Triumph, Eiffel Tower, Shakespeare and Company (a bookstore with tons of English titles cuz well, it's Shakespeare), one could really just spend the whole day watching up and down the left and right sides of the river bank. Even on cloudy/rainy days they were refreshing, I can only imagine (or just boot up any Emily in Paris episode) what it looks like on full, bright, sunny days. A bit away from the action is the "Sacre Coeur" church on Montmarte, the highest point of the city, and that's exactly what my idea of a European village is: long winding mountain roads filled with shops and small houses and small crooks and alleys that seem to go forever. I could have wandered those streets forever if MJ's legs weren't hurting. To be honest, we did so much walking that my pandemic-softened body wasn't used to, I was hurting too and often relished sitting down in a subway car. 

The museums were......as expected. Lots of people, even with Covid, and they were the cultural hubs of art like I expected them to be. Quite a bit of a line forming at certain areas, unfortunately unnecessarily at some spots like the Pompideau Center, even with Covid, seemed like they were very deliberate about letting people in and MJ almost got into an altercation with one of the peace-loving French people who was trying to cut us in line! Things get testy waiting outside in 30-degree temperature, I guess. The Louvre Museum was the one that surprisingly didn't require a long wait in line, as the place is so big that they can accommodate football stadium amounts of people. The wait was definitely longer though to get to take a picture with the Mona Lisa....you woulda thought a famous rock star, sports star, or the queen was signing autographs or something...I guess it pays to be the No. 1 most recognized face in the whole art world (people theorize it was Da Vinci himself that he painted... hhmmm) Once you got to the Louvre you realize every other museum you've ever been to is like a mini version or maybe a wing of waht the Louvre has......classical paintings, check. Gems and jewels room, check. Egyptian exhibit, check. Islamic rugs and paintings, check. It's no wonder it's so popular... I compared it to the art world version of Disneyworld.......there's Epcot in the Denton wing, Magic Kingdom in the Richelieu Wing, the huge pyramid designed by I.M. Pei serving as the entrance is just as magical........And of course you have the crowds, waves of people from all cultures and different parts of the world who gathered at that one spot. And we were there in late November........it must be really as much of a tourist mecca as advertised during pre-covid summers.