We came to Paris from Istanbul four days ago. The flight was only a few hours, and as it wasn’t full, Erik and I got the row to ourselves: window, center, and aisle. As we took off from Sabiha Gรถkรงen (the smaller of Istanbul’s two airports), I took photos of our last view of the city and its environs.
{as always, mouse over photos for notes, or click to enlarge}
The flight was reasonably comfortable — though there was no free food or drink whatsoever — and since I’d gone to sleep on time the night before, I enjoyed the rare experience of being in-flight andย notย totally woozy with sleep deprivation!
As we neared Paris, I noticed ice crystals had formed on the windows.
And the clouds…!!
We hit some weather bumps in the early part of our descent, so I closed my eyes then, and tried not to think. I always think I’m going to die whenever there’s any turbulence. It’s not rational, but there it is. When I dared to look out the window again, I got my first look at France: the areas south/southeast of Paris, around Orly Airport.
When we landed at Orly, the plane came to a stop, and I peered out the window. “We look kind of far from the building,” I said to Erik. “Do you see a gate?” Indeed, we weren’t at a gate, but were sitting on the runway waiting for space to clear up. Nevertheless, our fellow passengers sprang up as if on cue, and began opening overhead bins and taking out luggage. The flight attendants made polite announcements in Turkish and French, asking everyone to stay put, but these were entirely ignored. A minute later, voices came much more forcibly over the loudspeakers, instructing everyone to remain seated (in Turkish and English, this time). As this, too, was largely disregarded, one of the attendants finally strode up from the back of the plane, scolding individual passengers, until the hubbub subsided. We then remained on the runway for some time, waiting, the overhead bins still open.
Maybe an hour later, after a bus ride and a train ride, Erik and I arrived at Port-Royal station and took to the sidewalk with our luggage to walk the 750 meters to our apartment. Almost the first thing we saw was this restaurant:
About a block later we spotted a dรถner place. It’s funny; as foreign as I felt throughout our month in Istanbul, the sight of these Turkish restaurants gives me a comforting feeling of… not home, quite, but something familiar!
After the sounds, smells, and crowds of Istanbul, the calm of the Port-Royal neighborhood is truly welcome. Our apartment is on a little private street (we found out when returning from a late dinner that the street is actually gated at night! fortunately the gatekeeper let us in!), and the windows look out onto a courtyard and the garden of another building, so it’s extremely quiet here. Over the past few days I have felt my burned-out weariness losing its edge, as if I left it behind in Turkey.
I don’t know if all of Paris is as pretty and restful as the parts we’ve seen — surely it can’t be? — but the areas we’ve explored have been just lovely. I’m not exactly sure what makes the city so attractive; we’ve seen so many beautiful cities and they are all different, but Paris just feels…ย gracious. The city has so many reputations and I was expecting a hundred stereotypes to come true, but no, it is at once just as I expected, and nothing like I expected.
No cats, though.
It is all beautiful! I love your one word description of Paris – “gracious”. I know you will fall in love with this city, and take home so many wonderful memories (and pictures). I’m delighted myself, just reading your words.
Thank you, Sherry! I’m so glad my post appealed to you that way. ๐ I do find it very gracious here — people and cityscape alike. We’ll see if I revise that opinion after seeing more of Paris… but in this neighborhood, it’s certainly true so far.
OMG! Only val speak can express my crazy delight with this one. Paris is my dream city, France the country I want to visit someday because of the history and the romance that comes to mind when I think of it. I got a thrill from your words and pictures. That’ll do wonderfully for now. Thanks! OMG!!!
Eeee, I’m so amused by your OMG-ing delight, Rรฉ. ๐ I’ll do my best to share Paris with you!! Any requests? ๐
Oh, wow, thanks for asking! I’d just love lots more of your thoughtful photos. And I know the locals don’t think so much of it as we do — and a bunch of these photos exist already — but I looove the look of the Eiffel Tower. A daytime shot and a nighttime shot of it with your wonderfully artistic eye, would make me squeal! (Unless you feel like drawing it from some angle or another …)
Aww, I’m gratified you find my photos thoughtful. ๐ Thank you! First Eiffel Tower photos coming up in the next post. ๐ And yes, I do very much want to draw it, though it was too late in the day for that when I saw it yesterday. ๐
So glad you’re liking Paris! Your apartment sounds lovely. I love-love-loved my time living in Paris, and I hope you will, too!
Aahhhh, Stacie, I hope so too! How long were you here, and where did you live?