2 Days in Paris
Submitted by Michael Collins
When I arrived in Paris for the first time in 2004, in the late hours of a warm night in July, one of the first things that I beheld was a male prostitute in drag. He, or she, was standing on a corner in the dim light of a side street, trying to attract customers.As I walked past, I nodded and smiled. Then I turned to my wife, who was walking beside me, and said, "Honey, did you see that guy?"
We had arrived in France after a long day and a difficult journey. We started in the morning, across the channel in Liverpool, where we had been staying in a hotel near the Mersey River. From Liverpool we had taken a train down to London. We then spent the late afternoon and early evening amidst the crowded madness of Heathrow Airport. After missing one flight to Paris, we had to get seats on a later plane.
Our luck changed for the better once we got there. Somehow, with the use of a map, a smile, and the handful of French words that I remembered from high school, I was able to solicit information from several Parisians. I finally got us onto the right train from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Montmartre. We had reserved a room in a small hotel on Rue Aristide Bruant, a few streets away from the Moulin Rouge.
Our first stop the next morning, after we had a light breakfast of tea and pastries at a cafe, was the Musee du Louvre. On our way there we caught our first view of the Effiel Tower, which stood at a distance as we came up from the metro near the Place de la Concorde. For several hours we wandered through the halls of the Louvre, getting brief looks at the Mona Lisa and other renowned works of art. My wife, who has a longstanding interest in ancient Egypt, took particular enjoyment in viewing the displays in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. We could easily have stayed in the museum for a week without ever being bored, but we were pressed for time.
After spending our morning looking at art, we headed toward the Champs Elysees in the afternoon. We joined a moving throng of tourists on the famous boulevard, frequently stepping aside to poke our heads into stores and bakeries, until we finally came to the Arc de Triomphe. Standing in front of its regal splendor, we rejoiced at being two visitors in the City of Light.
On our second day, we allowed ourselves to wander through the streets of Montmartre, feeling as if we were two characters in a French film. Everything we saw was touched with charm and color, giving the appearance of an Impressionist painting to the Parisian sidewalks.
The next day was July 14, Bastille Day. Unfortunately, we had to catch a flight back to the United States that afternoon, so we were unable to join in the festivities. We went home with a deep affection for the people and the sights of Paris, along with a strong desire to return.
