The City of Light
Today I arrived in Paris, a city that, even though I don’t know the language and have no heritage connection to, I am deeply drawn to. Perhaps it’s the city’s romantic connotations from stories and movies or perhaps it’s the city’s elaborate, historic, and delicious qualities. Some romantic whimsy really overtakes me when I think about this city… especially its rooftops… But I digress.
This was my first time really travelling on my own. Though only for a mere 36 hours, I must admit I was still nervous. Utterly unconfident in my French abilities, I worried about navigating public transport by myself, but I did it! Eager to be in Paris, I quickly dropped my bags at my hostel and headed out into the city. Partially due to stinginess, partially due to my determination to complete my daily 10,000 steps, and partially to maximize the amount of Paris I experienced, I decided to walk from my hostel to the Musée d’Orsay rather than take the train. The walk was longer than I expected but took me through some stunning squares and passed some great shops. Since the snack cart on my flight over didn’t even make it halfway down the place, I was desperate for a late lunch so I naturally had to duck into a boulangerie. It took a lot of inner strength to refrain from buying just a chocolate croissant for lunch.
Eventually I made it to the museum, only to discover, to my amazement, that Thursdays only, they are open late – all the way until 9:45pm! I would not be staying that long but it meant that I could stay until I had to leave for dinner (rather than wandering for an awkward amount of time between the museum closing and my dinner). Another lucky find was a special exhibit of landscapes through different ages, styles, and continents. It included artists such as Monet and O’Keefe, plus others I had never heard of. I am so drawn to my fond favorites and my parents’ favorites I have been exposed to throughout my whole life or big name classics, so I don’t often venture outside these realms. I was grateful to get to explore other artists and styles through this show, and I was glad to discover some new favorites such as Giovanni Segantini and Tom Thompson (I know, great name). I found the show especially interesting because it focused on one broad subject through different stylistic lenses from artists residing in different continents, forcing attendants to synthesize this all. The paintings range from urban landscapes to purely natural landscapes, some with people, some without, some in daytime some at night. It culminated in what I thought was the most interesting take on landscapes: the cosmos. The commentary posted about the works by the museum had a thematic thread of religion that I did not anticipate from the title of the show. Most pieces were connected in some way to monotheistic religion, emphasizing connections between the painter, nature, and god. I thought this was really interesting, not because it is a new concept for me, but because of how many older, pagan religions are directly connected to and about nature; nature is by definition spiritual, it does not have to be made spiritual through further introspection. I could go on and on about my takes on this exhibit and how excited I was to see the expansive collection of impressionists housed in the museum and how nice it was to see a friend from college there and catch up, but this is not the place for personal ramblings.
That night, I had an incredibly gastronomic experience. I think eating dinner at a Michelin-rated restaurant, being serviced a pre-fix menu including 6 plates over 4 courses could only be described as such (and this doesn't include the post-dessert dessert pastries and two wines!). My great aunt and uncle were so kind to invite me out to dinner for such a delicious and special meal, and I had a lovely time catching up with them and one of their sons and his wife. We started with a creamy custard of egg and saint-Nectaire cheese with cumin served in a small (plastic) egg shell literally nested in a bed of hay. The next two plates included edible flowers, one was with a small biscuit covered in cheese and the next was an oyster dish with an almond-based sauce. We also had another dish that I honestly am not sure how to describe but it involved fish and caviar with some apple. The main dish was duck with some marinated, roasted carrots and other beautiful, delicious toppings. The desert was an incredible take on the peanut with a forest-themed plating that included a log of a peanut custard covered in a shell of chocolate and small meringue mushrooms on the side. Afterwards, with tea we were served some pastries, one of which I can still taste now: chamomile madeleines served hot. I think a food critic would be absolutely horrified at my written descriptions of these foods, but I assure it all tasted absolutely exquisite with flavor combinations I could never have dreamed of. They gave us a menu afterwards of what we ate but its terribly simplified with only a few words under each course name that could hardly be even the beginning of the list of ingredients. Nonetheless, I will cherish this meal deeply, dreaming to one day have one as amazing as this.
What a glorious, delicious, and friendly start to a weekend in such a magical place.
These are some of my favorites from the special exhibit at the Musée d'Orsay. These are not featured in the photo gallery. Not included either place: photos of some of my all-time favorites of the impressionists I saw there in their permanent collection. Apologies for the poor photo quality; glare and crowds are not conducive to proper painting photography.
