In the summer of 2021, I spent a weekend in Paris. My main objective was to watch the last stage of the Tour de France, but of course I also walked around the city. I walked more than forty thousand steps and nearly eighteen miles on Saturday alone!
Ah, where do I begin with Paris? I guess it’s natural to start with the food, which was quite good. Fun story: at one restaurant, when I told the waiter that I don’t speak French, he asked me if I spoke Chinese! I answered “yes,” and for the rest of the evening we communicated in Chinese.
After I arrived on Friday night, I took an evening stroll along the River Seine and ended up at the Louvre.
On Saturday, I toured around most of the city. I didn’t go to the Arc de Triomphe because I had already been there on my previous trip to Paris, but I did go to the Notre Dame cathedral. Unfortunately, it was still under renovation after the 2019 fire.
Of course, I went to the Louvre. Some items of interest there:
I then went to another notable Paris location: Shakespeare and Company, the famous English-language bookstore. I’d highly recommend paying a visit if you’re ever in town; it’s a wonderful place.
I then walked around the city some more. I went up to a rooftop viewing deck, but it was honestly not very worth the money. I think it would have been a better experience if I had gone at night, when the Eiffel tower lights up.
At this point, the sun began to set. I walked around some more. (Noticing a theme here?) I went to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) intending to go to the observation deck, but I failed to do my homework: the deck was closed by the time I got there. Still, I had a nice time, and while I was walking I encountered a live performance of Shakespeare! I think it was Romeo and Juliet, judging from the signage. I imagine that stumbling across an open-air performance of Romeo and Juliet while taking an stroll around Paris on a warm summer evening would sound very romantic…if I, you know, had someone to share it with.
On Sunday, I attended service at the American Church in Paris. This being Paris, I had to take the obligatory picture of the Eiffel tower. I then spent the rest of the day watching the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées, which was an adventure in itself.
One nerdy thing I wanted to do but didn’t get a chance to do: see the International Prototype Kilogram, which is apparently held in a vault somewhere in the suburbs of Paris.