Paris Week 7: Truly La Vie en Rose

A whirlwind in Paris! If one could fit the best parts of Paris into one week, it would be the exact recreation of this week with my parents. We walked, laughed, rode metros, saw sights, played pétanque and ate the most amazing food. 

Because we did so much, here’s an abbreviated itinerary of the week’s activities! 

Picking up from Sunday…

10 am Church, rested at the Luxembourg Gardens, played Pétanque, and had a really lovely picnic on the grass. It was quite chilly, so we went made our way back to the apartment and saw the most romantic Paris scene ever… a bunch of couples tango dancing on the street. My heart melted!!!

Monday

We went shopping around some of the side streets, visited L’Orangerie, took a break at the hotel, and then went to dinner at Bistro V. Here we had some traditional escargot and foie gras – my favorite!

Tuesday

This was our Normandy day! We had a private guided tour that took us to multiple locations including Omaha Beach, the American Gravesite, and a museum all about D-Day and WWII. It was so humbling and terrifying to stand on those shores.

Wednesday

Musee D’Orsay was the first thing we did in the morning! We then went to Contrast for lunch which had a killer dessert with verbena ice cream. Then we did a chocolate tasting, and made our way through Rue Cler trying little goodies here and there. We stopped by Champs Elysées before a dinner by the Eiffel Tower at L’Escudella. The dinner was phenomenal! The night ended watching the Eiffel Tower glitter at around 11pm–playing chess as we waiting 2 hours for the lights to go off!

Thursday

Thursday started slow after the late night. Marché D’Aligre had some fun flea items we looked through, then we headed to lunch at Pink Mamma. Next we strolled around Sacré Coeur, Dad bought an original canvas painting, we got more icecream then went back into Paris center for dinner at Bouillon République.

Friday

Our last day with the parents. So sad!!! We lived it up though. First stop was the Versailles Palace, then Angelina’s again for lunch. We meandered our way over to the LDS Temple, where we enjoyed time together as a family. That evening we ate our last Parisian meal together at Source Infinie.

Some struggles

Being here has been so absolutely amazing. I’ve loved being surrounded by art and inspiration, but I’ve been surprised by the unexpected struggles I’m facing. Coming to Paris I knew I had a lot of subconscious expectations for myself… and it feels like I’m spending each day worrying about what I’m going to photograph (fear of starting??).

I’ve come to this conclusion. First of all, it’s really easy to wait around in life for something in the future. It makes us feel as though “when ____ happens, then I’ll ____.” I think being here and facing my own creative blocks has shown me that I don’t have to be in a new and beautiful location in order to make art.

Second, I’ve learned that I create best when I’m bored. And here, I’m never bored!! Which has been both amazing, yet also challenging. Being surrounded with all this art and inspiration has made me a massive sponge, and I’ve struggled with feeling like I have enough boredom that pushes me to make stuff when I’m feeling so stuffed myself.

Third, I’m in my head. A lot. By nature I’m someone who analyzes, ponders, evaluates… and all this thinking about what I’m feeling drawn to make has slightly tipped the scale from intentional to toxic perfectionism. I’m feeling that shift. I’m learning that sometimes I need to just keep making stuff to fill in the gaps between breakthroughs. Maybe gap-filling is too casual of a description, but I do feel that this time is one of preparation. For what? Not sure yet, but I’m feeling all those jitters right before the curtain opens. The nerves, the fear, the excitement, and even the desire to step off the stage and ditch dancing altogether. If it makes sense.

Nonetheless, I’m excited to carry my camera around with me these next two weeks, and to be brave in following ideas as they come. I’m certain that I’ll recognize the right ideas when they come, and when they do, I’ll be ready for them.

Bisous,

Alexa