The Vacation in a Vacation - Paris

8/12 - Milano - 0 miles walked

8/13-8/19 - Paris

I really would have liked to be able to write on the blog before my Paris trip. I could have softened the blow of my long vacation-in-a-vacation, explained my decision to travel in advance, and at least have caught up with my blog. However, we must remember that it was August, and as a result, I went 0 for 2 on open internet cafes.

Now, if I had really tried, I could have probably found one that was open. Instead, I ended up meeting a group of Brasilans at the hostel in Milano, and went out drinkin' with them until around 1. Gotta look ahead toward new experiences before stopping to recount old ones, right?

As it turns out, nothing really notable happened. My Portuguese sounded a lot like Italian, we compared stories, they told me various times I was a true Brasilian (I had no idea what this meant, but it felt good to hear it), and when they all piled into taxis at 1 AM to go clubbing, I told them I would have to pass.

I woke up at 6:30 the next morning and headed to Milano-Malpensa, where I would grab a flight to Paris.

Now, I have a great many stories that I could tell about my time in Paris. However, this is a blog about my walking travels in Italy, so I will not give the play by play, but simply the background and general impressions.

My sister Melissa and her fiance Pouya were in Europe for her best friend's brother's wedding. They made it to four different countries over 18 days, and ended with 5 days in Paris. Since they were traveling all over the place, had limited time, and had a beautiful apartment in Paris (as opposed to a one-man tent in Italy), I decided to spare them the trouble of demanding that they come to me, and bought a flight to come to them.

We had a wonderful time there, doing the full tourist "thing," including visiting four different museums, attending a piano concert, and eating large quantities of food. We also got to meet up with Dar, a friend of Mel and Pouya's working on a script for the month in Paris, and Matteo, my host brother from my trip abroad to Padova in 2003.

As one might expect, I experienced a bit of culture shock. Most of all, I was extremely frustrated with my inability to form even the most basic sentences in French, since I am well aware of the fact that knowing the language of a country is the best way to really experience its culture. Many of the things I had taken for granted were also non-existent or over-priced: no free water in public squares, espresso three or four times more expensive, and gelato twice as expensive. Sacre Bleu!

Regardless of the culture shock, I find myself amongst the 97% of visitors to Paris who plan to return. It is easy to see why this metropolis has excited, delighted, and inspired people for hundreds of years. I'll just come armed with a better knowledge of French next time.

The best part of the trip, much more than checking another country and city off my list, seeing works of art that I have loved for almost a decade, or filling my stomach with gastronomical delights, was spending quality time with my sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law. Seeing their love for one another in such a romantic setting was truly delightful. Even better was sharing stories, talking until 3 AM about the important things in life, sampling the local food and wine, and acting like little kids again. I think my sister and I both realized the value and precious nature of the moments we could spend together, since they are harder and harder to come by these days. *nostalgic sigh*... I love you mel.

See, now I 've gone and talked too long about my trip to Paris, even when I had promised not to.