Paris Girls' Trip

Getting to Paris is easy for me – hop on the local train to the border, then on the TGV to Gare Montparnasse where the Metro can get me anywhere in the city. Total travel time door to door (without delays) is about 6 hours. So why is it that last week was the first time I’ve had a Paris Girls’ Trip?

Instead of answering that semi-rhetorical question, I’ll tell you about my highly enjoyable adventure with my dear friend Cori, who came to Paris on her way to an academic conference in Strasbourg. While my train was 30 minutes delayed, Cori arrived 5 hours late, having missed a connection along the way. She was a good sport dealing with jet lag that first evening. We then had two full days filled with art and culture.

We were able to see the Eiffel Tower from several places on our first day. Starting at the City Architecture and Patrimony Museum on Trocadero Plaza where the views never cease to amaze.

We enjoyed two exhibits. The first “Metro! Grand Paris in Motion,” about the history and development of the Metro, was more interesting than expected. The Metro opened in 1900 and is being expanded significantly now to encompass Greater Paris with 68 new stations. (I now understand why France is not prioritizing upgrading the route between the Spanish border and Bordeaux to high speed rail – all the money is going to this Paris project and the Olympics!)

The second “Notre-Dame de Paris, From Builders to Restorers” focused on the extraordinary reconstruction of Notre Dame after the devastating 2019 fire, and the scientific and architectural techniques for doing so. The cathedral is being restored to its 19th century state, albeit with certain renovations. It should reopen by the end of the year, which is incredibly fast considering the extent of the damage and resources needed to complete the work.

We walked to lunch through the Trocadero gardens where Spring was on display.

After lunch we headed to the main event, the Rothko exhibit at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The exhibit displayed 115 works tracing Rothko’s entire career, including the 9 Seagram Murals that are normally displayed in the Tate’s Rothko room in London. The National Gallery of Art in DC also loaned a significant number of paintings from its extensive collection. Seeing so many Rothko pieces in one place allows one to contemplate his career in an unprecedented way; however, more interesting to me is the logistics behind organizing such an exceptional exhibition. 

It was a full day that started and ended with the Eiffel Tower as we could still see the tower from the top of the LVF and also before and after dinner at a traditional bistro – très magnifique!

We had plans to see the new exhibit at the Picasso Museum, but a national strike of public workers prevented that. Instead, we went to see the “Iris Van Herpen, Sculpting the Senses” exhibition at the Decorative Arts Museum. On display was a huge collection of dresses Van Herpen designed. Her creativity is off the charts! Most didn't even look wearable to me as they are made from such unconventional materials and constructed in odd ways. It was fascinating and visually overwhelming.

The transparent white creation was worn by Beyonce on the Renaissance tour and the one that appears to have arrows resembles a dress that Ali Wong recently wore to the SAG-AFTRA awards.

The Hotel de Ville was decorated for the upcoming summer Olympic games.

In a city like Paris, you never know what you might see as you wander about. I loved the decorations on this building in the Marais area. And we stumbled on a crazy moment near the Louvre: it’s not every day you see a giant horse sculpture being reinstalled!

Finally, we enjoyed Matthew Bourne’s production of Romeo + Juliet at the Theatre Chatelet. The beauty of a ballet / dance production is that the performance does not require translation. The views from the theater’s balcony were fantastic where you could see the progress made on Notre Dame.

Over the two days we walked and talked a ton, enjoyed good weather, and wonderful food. What more can you ask for? Who's coming next??

Au revoir,

Shana

Big Trip II Wrap Up

When we finished the foreign portion of our first Big Trip last year, we had no inkling that we would be doing it again so soon. Still, we knew we’d be up for it. And, lo and behold, we did it a second time less than a year later. Version 2 was different from version 1 in several ways, the biggest being that we stayed put in one location for an extended period with our house swap.

Spending two and a half months in New Zealand was relaxing. We settled in and enjoyed the tranquility that Conway Flat offers. We had a routine that included exercise, cooking, reading and chores. While we spent a total of 13 nights away, these were short, easy trips. The remainder of our foreign travels consisted of 6 weeks, 3 in Tasmania and 3 in Malaysia, before we passed through the United States for 3 weeks on our way home.

The entire trip covered 140 nights (13 fewer than v.1), which we spent in 39 different lodgings (vs. 52) including three overnight flights (same). We took 19 flights (vs. 23). The longest was from Singapore to San Francisco, which was scheduled to take nearly 15 hours, but thanks to the Jetstream came in just over 13. We only took one train this time (to Paris). Jeff drove 6 different rental cars, one for 3 straight weeks in Tasmania, plus 3 cars borrowed from friends and family (thank you!), and he is very happy to be carless again.

During our visit to the US, we enjoyed our time with family and friends. We took very few photos, and most of them include friends’ and family's dogs: Dubs II & Lucy, Bailey, Miles, and Daisy & Piper.

We especially enjoyed the time spent with our nephews. It was great to celebrate Ari’s 15^th birthday in person. He’s going to be taller than all of us.

Seeing Berkeley through the eyes of freshman Jeremy & Ethan was a kick. We wish we had photos with everyone we saw, but alas, it just didn’t happen.

We are grateful to have had a second opportunity for a big trip. Would we do it again? Yes, but not anytime soon. We were ready to be home this time. And while we have several trips planned for 2024, so far none is longer than 2 weeks.

We get many questions about how we managed to travel for months at a time. While a lot goes into the planning, we also try to be flexible. Flights and lodgings are prioritized. We never land somewhere without a place to stay. Tasmania was planned extensively in advance, which was essential for a road trip. Malaysia not so much, which worked to our advantage considering the heat and humidity. This trip we learned not to ever plan multiple flights on a birthday – it is just an invitation for disaster. Because we take our time, we tend to avoid early morning outings and also make a habit of having an hour or two in the late afternoon to ourselves before dinner. Being rested helps a lot. And try not to overpack! Those are our keys for success.

We are slowly settling into our routine. It’s taken a bit longer than expected, but we might finally be in a groove after about 10 nights.

It’s good to be home,

Shana & Jeff