Thursday, June 12, 2008

Part 3 – Paris & the Finale

view from the apartment

I left off with TJ and I heading toward an unknown guys apartment, where we were to sleep for the next two nights.

We arrived at the Metro stop around 7 and waited. As we sat scoping out each person walking by, we did a lot of “oh god, I hope it isn’t him.” After about 5 minutes, Guillaume walked up. Let’s just say, totally normal.

We walked the 3 short blocks to his apartment. TJ and Guillaume talked about music and Djing that night. Guillaume was who arranged for TJ to DJ in Paris, so they briefly discussed the details. When we arrived at his apartment, to our surprise, Guillaume had made us a key to his apartment and was letting us stay there alone. He arranged for himself to sleep at his girlfriend’s house for the two days.

tape bar

We dropped our stuff off and went with Guillaume to go get dinner and then head over to TAPE Bar where TJ was Djing that night. The bar was awesome. It was like hanging out in Seattle but with a bunch of skinny, beautiful, French speaking people. And they made the best, seriously, the best mojitos ever. We met two of Guillaume’s friend, Gautier and Judith, both of which were awesome. Judith ended up having to leave early, but Gautier and I talked for the remainder of the evening. At the end of the night, Gautier caught a cab with us back to Guillaume’s apartment and offered to show us around Paris the next day.

record shopping

TJ and I woke the next morning, walked across the street to get a croissant and then called Gautier to meet up. We spent our final day in Paris walking all over with Gautier. I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend my final day in Paris just wandering around, but it turned out to be one of the best days there. Gautier showed us all sorts of things. We go to go inside the high school, he took us to the best sandwich place in Paris, was patient while TJ looked for records, and took us to the best street in Paris. All in all, Gautier was awesome.

cutest street in Paris

That night TJ had to DJ at a club at 3 in the morning. Guillaume came along and made sure we got set up okay but then had to take off due to school. We wouldn’t see Guillaume again, we were leaving at 8 the next morning. But he wished us well and said Goodbye. Gautier, however, stayed the entire time. Something about him didn’t require a lot of work. It wasn’t like hanging out with someone and having to try really hard to find things in common or things to say. We just "were" you could say. We stood on the side while TJ djed, not talking, but not weird or awkward by the fact that words weren’t being shared.

Tj the dj

We left soon after TJ djed, Gautier took a cab with us back to Guillaume’s and said good bye. We slept three hours, woke up, walked across the street to buy our last baguette and croissant, grabbed our stuff, slid the key under the door, and headed to the train station.

Gautier, Guillaume, TJ

We slept on the train back to London, slept most of the afternoon in London, and woke the next morning and headed to the airport to fly home. I felt fine leaving London, I didn’t feel that attached, but leaving Paris broke my heart. I love the city, the lights, the slow, quality of life. I love the kindness we encountered everywhere. No one was awful or rude. People say Parisians hate Americans but that’s just not true. Parisians hate tourist and so do I for that matter. Who goes to another city and spends there time riding around on a tour bus with other English speaking people and the rest of the time waiting in line? Lame. The people is Paris were kind. And I use the word Kind not Nice. Nice is boring and ordinary, but Kind involves care and compassion. Guillaume and Gautier both went far above and beyond being nice. They both went out of their way to make us comfortable and familiar. We experienced such a different side of Paris because of their kindness, and that is irreplaceable and I will forever be grateful.

All in all, I cannot wait to go back. Fingers crossed – next year in June. Perhaps Paris and Berlin. I hear Berlins got stuff going on.

14 comments:

Laura in Paris said...

It's great that you had so much fun during your stay in Paris!
Guillaume's flat (view from the window) seems to be a typical Parisian corner.

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

wow stacy... first of all, i love your blog, your photos... amazing... secondly, thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. i always love that. i am adding you to my roll for sure!

Krissy | Paper Schmaper said...

I loved your recap! Thanks for sharing with all of us.
Awesome photos :)

edith said...

glad you enjoyed your trip. tape bar is really great, must have been fun to dj there.

lovin' your blog,

bisous

Anonymous said...

wow that rocks! seriously, people make a place. and i agree, i have yet to meet a French jerk, as I am yet to meet a jerk New Yorker...I guess it depends though...
it was great hearing about your travels.
nancy

amy korngiebel said...

sounds like you had a great time. make sure to go back soon.

Emily said...

I'm so gad you had a happy ending!

Hila said...

I totally agree with you. I found Parisians to be so kind and not just that; so interested in you as an individual. I once stopped a guy on the street to ask him the location of a specific shop, and we ended up talking for the longest time about my thesis. This kind of encounter never happened to me in London where people tended to look at me as if I was about to rob them or ignore me if I stopped them on the street. It broke my heart to leave Paris too - perhaps because I also have family there. I'm convinced I'll be moving there someday soon. It's my kind of city to live in.

I really enjoyed reading about your travels!

Joanna Goddard said...

oooh, berlin is SO amazing. if you go there, email me and i'll give you some recommendations. my boyfriend and i went there last fall and fell completely in love with it.

Mrs.French said...

Oh to be young and in Paris...sounds perfect!

dee said...

I love the Polaroid-style documentation. Your record-shopping pic is the best. So cool. Makes me want to go back to Paris again...and perhaps Berlin!

Thanks for stopping by my blog, too;) I'll be back often!!

Jill said...

thanks for leaving me a comment so i could find your blog! i love reading about your trip to paris. sounds fabulous! i will keep checking in here often :)

littlebyrd said...

Wonderful! Sounds like a trip that left you with lots pf lasting memories.

High Desert Diva said...

Wonderful!