~paris premier jour~

April 21st, 2007

We had incredible weather today, this must be why Billie Holiday sings about April in Paris. A revelation to wear a frilly skirt after all the days of snow boots. And Lilac seaon! (these are not Lilac, but smell lovely…)

After twelve hours sleep (brutal red-eye flight, neva-eva again!) we walked all day. Gargoyle tits and Arcimboldo heads abound…

Our upper nook of Monmartre–all hills and tiny shops–has a weekend open-air market on Rue Lepic. The merchants spill onto the street. We bought vino, baguette, strawberries, macaroons, fava beans, shallots, and two kinds of seriously stinky cheese. The nearest patisserie (of many) is Le Pain Qui Parle–the (sweet) talking bread. It says some pretty fresh things.

The late night view from one of our windows, they all face the back courtyard. This I love.

We took a midnight walk up to Sacré Coeur after some fava bean pasta. Loads and loads of teenfolk lined the steps. Three different crowds sang in different languages. Wine bottles were knocked down the steps. A scene I would normally avoid more than church itself instead made me cry. The assertion of L-I-F-E after all this death…