Thanks to Ben’s work, we have an opportunity to be in Paris for a few days. Oh what a hardship! In Spring!
In Sri Lanka there is no Spring of course, just eternal summer ~ with wet and dry seasons, therefore to experience Spring anywhere, is definitely a treat for us.
A work requirement morphs into an impromptu travel adventure. It will be a road trip!
Our default strategy for lodging is home exchange.
Paris, being one of those very much “in demand” places, can be hard to find exchanges, and even more so at the last minute. But yet again, we score an exchange just a few days before our departure from Sri Lanka.
We have a chuckle when we see where this home exchange is located, on Avenue Foch, near the Arc de Triomph and a rather prestigious location. For those who aren’t Paris afficionados, think Monopoly; think blue cards, i.e. the most expensive real estate on the Monopoly board. One of the fun aspects of home exchange is spending time in locations that if it were not for the exchange, it would be unlikely we would find ourselves there. So we start our road trip, minus business obligation segues, in this Paris XVI arrondissment send off.
Paris, is Ben’s “hometown”, where he was raised until he moved to California at the age of fifteen. I have been here at least a dozen times, and it remains one of my favorite cities in the world that I enjoy returning to time and time again.
Outside of our studio apartment home exchange, soft pink fluffy blossoms are in gull bloom everywhere. Ahh Spring in Paris, what could be better?
One of the benefits of our location, one of the avenues veering off the Arc de Triomphe, is that it has a wide green belt stretching all the way from the top of the avenue to the bottom, providing an unexpected splash of green, spring flowers and nature in the middle of the city.
Spring flowers are everywhere…
Our studio apartment home exchange. Small but super comfy, A perfect little getaway nest in Paris.
Cleverly designed with a chaise lounge in front of the bed, visually and effectively “breaking up” the small studio space into sleeping and lounge areas.
Walking around in the neighborhood we are enjoying the beautiful architecture and the bright colors of doors in the neighborhood.
The green belt in front of the apartment is a welcome surprise and dates back to about 150 years ago when this Avenue was a preferred area to stroll for the Parisian bourgeoisie.
One of the first things we do in Paris is to find a nearby open air market… Having a home exchange apartment means we have the benefit of a kitchen which is twofold: we can enjoy some meals at home, taking advantage of local produce without incurring the cost of restaurants. (Jumping from Sri Lankan rupee to Euros is no joke!)
The first few stalls that greet us at the market are the flower stalls… An explosion in color!
The first delicacy we are hoping to find, and indeed we do, is white asparagus. There are not many places in the world that one can get FRESH white asparagus, France and Belgium, to the best of our knowledge are the prime producers of this delectable vegetable. They taste very different to the more common green asparagus.
We both love French cheeses ~ the variety is incredible. Some from goat milk, sheep milk and cow milk. Relatively inexpensive. We are trying to delay the start of consumption of cheeses for a few days, because once one starts, well… it really is hard to stop!
French pastries have no rivals. The variety, the choice.. both in markets and bakeries (patisseries) is incredible.
In the many times I have been here, not once have I had the desire to go up the Eiffel tower (heights, tourists), but yet it is still one of those iconic symbols of Paris. The soft changing light, is one of my all time favorite things about being here.
We take the subway to the area of Montmartre to catch a sun-filled breakfast. Normally we would avoid touristy spots, but… this is the halfway point to our destination today.
Parisian cafes, sun, coffee, orange juice and baguette. What else does one need?
One of the reasons we are pleased to be in Paris at this time, is to reconnect with Ben’s childhood friend Corinne, who has cancer and has had extensive chemotherapy treatments and surgeries over the past year. We take the train to her childhood home in the Northern suburbs, for a sweet and poignant reunion. Ben had told me of Corinne’s effervescent and always positive mindset and on this visit, I certainly get to experience that, as well as her incredible warmth.
Ben and Corinne, reunited after many years. (They have only had one other reunion in the past 45 years). Corinne truly is an inspiration for the way she is coping with the hardcore cancer treatments. There is something very special about the friendships we make in our early childhood, that can withstand the test of time.
What a glorious time to be in Paris. And the bonus of a reunion! By the way, what exchange service(s) do you use?
Pretty good timing. Paris in Springtime.
We have been using homeexchange.com now for ten years. One day we will write a blog post about the process and some of our experiences.
Peta
Memories, memories….the blue ” portail” is beautiful…The flowers are spectacular and the étalage of cheeses is making me hungry and craving for more and more of them…The real stuff !!!!!!!!!
How amazing your life is ..I am so happy for you and so proud of both of you…
💜💚💙🌝🌝🌝🌝
I love you
Merci Madame Bell! So glad you enjoyed this post so much, of course we knew you would and that you would enjoy the photos of the flowers and the blue doorway. Ben pointed out a few of the places where you used to live when we went by them.
We love you too xoxo Thanks for all the lovely words and positive feedback.
P&B
I have been so many times to Paris and love it so much, this post just bought it all back to me what a wonderful city it is. Love the market photos.
So glad you enjoyed this post so much and that it brought back good memories for you of being in Paris. Thanks for reading us.
Peta
How wonderful! I’m particularly taken with the blue door and Ben’s matching outfit 😉.
Thanks Anabel. Don’t you love when that happens? Walking along, see a great “shot” which is further enhance by the fact that one of us “matches” so well in colors…
Peta
Lovely photos. Have never been to Paris (well, the airport doesn’t count) and will have to go sometime. Thank for sharing, Peta and Ben.
Deb
Thanks Deb. Hope you get to see Paris some day ~ it is a must for anyone. A very special city.
Peta
Merci Peta et Ben pour cet adorable commentaire sur notre rencontre à Paris !
Thank you for coming to visit me ! I was so so happy ! I miss you both ….. hope, next time, may be in south of France in july ?
KisssXOXOXO ❤️😘😍💖
Corinne, so happy that we got to have this time with you and even happier about your news and results! Looking forward to seeing you again soon.
xoxoxo
P&B
Oh my there is so much I love about this post. The pure and vibrant smile on Corrine’s face in Ben’s warm embrace gave me goosebumps from head to toe. How wonderful for them to reunite. I will be sending positive energy her way as her battle continues.
Your house exchange looks perfect. Clean and comfortable and such a grand location. My mouth was watering at the sight of the market cheeses and pastries. So much wonderful colour of the tulips as well. Enjoy your time in this gorgeous city.
Sue thanks for such warm hearted comments. Corrine was SO happy to see Ben again and the timing of this visit was perfect, just after her recent surgery. It was an upbeat visit and we were thrilled that her prognosis is so good as she moves forward.
The home exchange WAS perfect. It is always such fun to have the experience of staying in other people’s homes and then reciprocating as we will be doing in summer for this couple.
The food in France… is just sublime. Hard to make choices, hard to not overeat ahaha…
Peta
I loved reading this post as Paris is my favourite city in the world. Through your words I got to relive sitting in an outdoor cafe drinking coffee,eating that fabulous french baguette, and people watching. Just so much to love!!
Even better, Ben got to reconnect with a long-time friend. That is special beyond words!
I have to say that Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world too, and no matter how many times I return I never tire of being there. Something about the light… the food, the people. Great that you got to relive your favorite Parisian moments through this post.
Peta
You photographed everything good I think about Paris – thank you for a vibrant tour. I especially like Ben in front of the blue doors and Peta strolling in the park, each of you with your scarves. And the flowers! You reminded me how I always buy peony bouquets in spring, still waiting for them to arrive here in California.
Mi shebeirach for Corinne.
Shari, so glad you enjoyed our little tour of Paris. Each time we are there we have a different experience in a different neighborhood. Although it always has a healthy dose of cafes, good food, walking around, people watching.. all the things that makes Paris, Paris.
Hope the peony blooms arrive soon for you!
Thanks for the good wishes for Corinne 🙂
Peta & Ben
Ahhh… Paris. I haven’t been for many, many years but hope to get there soon. My B & SIL live nearby so we have the added benefit of mooching off them and using their place as a home base for further travels. Your little apartment looks so cozy and comfortable.
Janis, it is always great to have a place to use as a home base without the expense, so you are fortunate indeed. Hope you get to return there soon. Our home exchange apartment was just perfect for us!
Peta
How gorgeous! Spring in Paris looks idyllic. Thanks for the postcard tour…your colorful photos tell a wonderful story. I never knew that white asparagus tastes different than green! I adore asparagus and we’re eating it with abandon this time of year, but now I have to try the white variety.
I hope your friend Corinne does well with her treatments. I’m sure your time with her nourished her already bright spirit!
Ah yes Paris is always a treat, but especially so in the spring time. Not sure one can get fresh white asparagus in places other than France and Belgium. But if you see it, definitely try it, as it is sublime. As a child I had bottled white asparagus but never fresh. It is quite different from green asparagus in taste.
Peta
Paris is a beautiful city and especially in the springtime. How lovely that Ben was able to reunite with Corinne. What a lovely smile she has. 🙂
Thanks Sylvia. Corinne does have a lovely smile, and a lovely soul. So special to have had that time together.
Peta
What a perfect start to your French vacation. Like many others, I am intrigued by your home exchange experiences and how it all works. I suppose having an appealing home yourself makes the exchange possibilities much better. Paris is such a banquet and being able to go back multiple times makes it a little more possible to not overstuff oneself each time, tempting though it may be!
Thanks Lex, The home exchange system is quite simple, the portfolio of exchangers around the global absolutely massive and with the growing understanding that a stay at someone’s home is qualitatively different from staying at a hotel, the number of people doing it is growing leaps and bounds. When we started this, it felt a bit more exotic and “risky” in that people were unsure if they would be comfortable having strangers stay in their place. But in the current era of airbnb, it seems that there has been a shift and people are more comfortable than ever. All this plays to our advantage as we are hooked on this system and only rarely stay at hotels now. I think it’s time for a Homeexchange blog post that lays out the mechanics and the value proposition. Thanks for the indirect suggestion, we will put it in the queue of blogs to write.
Ha, your comments about not overstuffing oneself in Paris each time has Peta raising her eyebrows with faux horror at my evil ways. No matter how I try to be reasonable, it seems that my definition of being reasonable is not Peta’s. And the scale unfortunately has decided to side with her. This is a big problem as Peta has essentially nixed France as a viable destination for us to ever live in, as she fears that “one pound a day of weight gain when in France” is not a viable trajectory. Alas, I fear I agree with her…
Ben
My first time ever in Paris was in May of this year. I loved it and can´t believe it took me this long to get there.
Wow, how wonderful that you DID finally get there and that you were there in Spring time. You have so much catching up to do.. Paris is but the tip of the iceberg of what France has to offer…
Ben