Friends and Relatives

May 9, 2024 to May 10, 2024

Thursday, May 9

It has been a busy few days hosting friends and relatives in Paris. I convinced two friends from Raleigh, Leah and Susie, to come to France for a cycling holiday and they were scheduled to arrive at CDG 2E at 8:00 am Thursday. I’d promised to meet them on arrival, which meant leaving home in the early morning hours in order to welcome them when they exited the secure area.

My niece Catie and her daughter Sawyer were also arriving Thursday morning on a whirlwind trip to Paris for a Taylor Swift concert. Diehard Swifties, they’d won tickets to the Sunday concert in Paris and were coming to town for a short Mother’s Day/Birthday trip. Their flight from JFK was due in at 9:30 and, if everything fell into place, I hoped we could all meet at CDG and travel to into Paris together. Off course things did not fall smoothly into place - I woke to a message from Catie that their flight was out of JFK was delayed and current arrival time was 11:25. Oh well – on to plan B.

I left home around 6:30 and arrived at CDG shortly after 8 am, a few minutes after the flight from Raleigh landed. I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get through customs and collect luggage, but realized I might be in for a long wait when I joined a mass of people assembled outside security, all angling for a spot on the rail so that they might quickly spot the arriving passengers. By 8:20 I had wormed my way to the railing, my head on a swivel as I scanned across the dazed passengers emerging from a row of swinging doors. At 8:40, I received a text from Susie that they were slowly snaking through customs, a line of cattle as Leah referred to it. It wasn’t until 9:30 that the pair finally exited security. I’m not sure if there was anything specific that contributed to the long delays at customs. Visibility was minimal and that might have hindered/limited landing or runway options. It could have been the fact that at least fifteen international flights arrived between 7:00-8:30 am. And one can’t totally dismiss the Taylor Swift effect. She is in Paris for four nights and each of us had at least one encounter with Swifties who had come to Paris for the expressed purpose of attending one of her concerts.

After welcoming hugs, Leah, Susie and I headed to the RER B station for the trip into Paris. Two trains sat waiting at the platform, and we hopped into the train on the right. We were the only passengers in the car and I noticed that the lights on the station route map were not lit. The thought flashed in my brain that we should be on the other train so I told my friends to wait while I left to check things out. I was half-way across the platform when the sound of a horn penetrated my consciousness. Suddenly realizing it was the sound of a soon-to-depart train, I made a quick pivot and raced back. But I was too late - the doors were locked shut and I was left on the platform. Leah and Susan stared with mouths agape and I could only wave as their train left the station.

I ran to the second train, found a seat, and began texting the name of the station where they should detrain – Rochefort Denfort? Or was is Denfort-Rochefort? And how do you spell it??? While I was fumbling with the text, Susie texted me that they had gotten off at the next station, CDG Terminal 1 and 3. I spotted them on the platform and waved them on board as soon as the train came to a stop – together again, crisis avoided! We got off at Denfert-Rochereau, transferred to the M6, picked up croissants at the neighborhood bakery, and walked into my apartment an hour before Catie’s plane touched down at CDG.

Exiting the Metro station at Sèvres-Lecoube, where the escalators only go up

After a bit of noshing and cleaning up, we all headed out to explore Paris. Leah was interested in checking out a Paris thrift store, about which I knew nothing. However, a quick bit of googling led us to a nearby brocante, or flea market, taking place that afternoon. Our afternoon walk-about through my enlarged Paris neighborhood followed a route similar to the one I did with the Grampies not long ago. Champs de Mars was rapidly transforming from an expansive green space into the Eiffel Tower Stadium, an Olympics venue for beach volleyball with temporary grandstands for 13,000 spectators. There were photo stops at the Eiffel Tower and Pont Alexander III, followed by a light meal at a neighborhood café. We ended the neighborhood tour with leisurely walk back to my apartment for an indoor picnic with Catie, Sawyer and their friend Margaret.

The original idea for dinner was to unleash the group on my neighborhood shops where we each would purchase items to share at my apartment. However, it was Ascension Thursday and most of the shops had closed early, including all three cheese shops! So it was just Catie and me who went out to scrounge for supper, returning with a passable fare that included wine, tapenade, humus, smoked salmon, and supermarket cheese – not to mention baguettes and assorted patisseries from the neighborhood bakery. When enjoyed with an outstanding group of friends and relatives, it was an evening in Paris to remember.

Leah browsing the brocrante - lots of interesting items, but no purchases

Grandstands going up on the Champs de Mars

I am enchanted by the intricate ironworks of the Eiffel tower - I've never gone up the tower, but always loved walking underneath and gazing upward with neck craned. Barriers erected following the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris now restrict un-ticketed visitors from the area under the tower, and this was the closest I could get

Pont Alexander III, with the Montparnasse Tower and Les Invalides in the background

Enjoying a little rest and a bit to eat at one of the many Paris cafés

A memorable dinner with friends and relatives.

Friday, May 10

I awakened to blue skies and sunshine, something that had been rare this Paris spring. It was an excellent day to romp around Paris on bikes. Leah and Susie got a one-day pass from Velib, the Paris bike sharing system, and we made our way across the Seine and up the cobbled Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. For the next few hours we travelled by bike and foot to many of the city’s iconic landmarks along the right and left banks of the Seine.

Tour leader ready roll through the streets of Paris

Leah is getting the hang of cycling the streets of Paris

On the steps of the Madeline Cathedral, looking down toward Place de la Concorde and Les Invalides

We were pretty tired when we arrived at my apartment and spent the rest of the afternoon sorting gear for our bike trip. Dinner was at one of my favorite restaurants in the 11th Arrondissement, Au Passage, where we hit a home run on our selection of shared plates and scored a free dessert. The day was capped with an impromptu visit to the lit and sparkling Eiffel Tower, an excellent way to show off Paris for my friends from the States.

Mural in the passageway leading to our restaurant Au Passage

The Eiffel Tower is lit at night but won't sparkle until the top of each hour and then only for five minutes

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Rachael AndersonYou sure packed in a lot for for a day!
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6 months ago