La France Fatiguante

Bonjour, mes amis! It's been a while, but I've been very busy traveling, and then recovering from traveling.

Before I delve a bit into my thoughts on France, I want to note that I wanted to review the Broadway production of Anything Goes, but it was a month ago that we went and the moment seems to have passed. Short version: so wonderful that I want to see it again. And I never want to pay to see a Broadway show twice. If you love classic musicals, Cole Porter, or dance, you must go. Otherwise, there has not been much theater on my plate, but I don't want to leave the blog completely dead between shows, so here I am again.

And now, France. We were there from 7/16 until 7/24. I had wanted to go since I was eight--I started taking French in Catholic school in the fourth grade, a holdover from the time when the area I grew up in was heavily Canadian French. Thus, I've always been something of a Francophile, but just hadn't gone to France yet, mostly for monitary reasons. In contrast, my fiancé spent a year there when HE was about eight, and has been back numerous times. He only agreed to go again because it was so necessary to me. Thanks to his connections, we scored a free place to stay in Paris. However, for his sake, we also got out of Paris for a couple of days to a part of France he'd never seen: Saint-Malo, Bretagne and nearby Mont Saint-Michel.

As the title of my post hints at, my approach to Paris was all wrong. My fiancé says he once saw a guidebook for your second time in Paris, once you got through the checklist of big sights, and I now know why that exists. I tried to do the checklist of everything I'd wanted to see since I was eight. In short, I exhausted myself, although he managed okay, being stronger than me. Part of the problem was the wet weather, which always slows me down due to allergies. But I needed to stop and plop myself into a cafe chair a bit more than I did.

By the time we got to Bretagne, I learned my lesson and took it slower. The lesson carried over in our brief return to Paris, as well. I took it easy and accepted that I wouldn't get to everything, and that I will go back someday. As a result, my enjoyment quotient went way up, just thanks to an increase in energy and comfort. Also, Paris is a great place just to be in; I didn't get to do enough just being.

Yet I couldn't tell you what I should have left off. You gotta go to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre.... though with the, I knew I couldn't see everything and at least managed not to overdo it there. The Musée d'Orsay was a must (and well worth it), as were the other smaller museums that house significant Monet works. Oh, and I had to see Montmartre! And Versailles! And check out the Marais. You see my problem? (We stayed in the Latin Quarter, by the way, so we got to see a lot of that. There are fewer huge sights there, but it has a cool energy and medieval-ness.)

Heading to the small seaside town of Saint-Malo, the pace changed. There were things to see, but nothing I'd had my heart set on since childhood. If we missed something, it was okay. The sea always relaxes me, and it was great just seeing that fortified town, a former pirate haven. The next day,w e took a leisurely drive down the coast of Bretagne, stopping off at various beautiful places, until we got to Mont Saint-Michel. Which, by the way, is a see-if-before-you-die kind of place. We were out on the mud flats at sunset, and it was truly stunning.

Anyway, aside form seeing Paris and doing the checklist--and having tons of wonderful food and drink--I learned a lot about myself by trying to overdo it. I learned what my limits are, which, as a somewhat novice world traveler, is good info to have. I learned that I do tend to want to do too much, and to project my feelings of disappointment on my beloved (assuming he must be disappointed with me because I am with myself, which was not at all true). I need to pace myself to have the best experiences.


Also, I learned that when in Paris... assume you'll go back to Paris someday. As I had to tell myself the last day, Sainte-Chapelle will still be there next time. It's okay. Just get some cheese, wine, and a baguette, and walk by the Seine, and you'll be happy.