My spouse Sandy and I hadn’t seen our close friends Alan and Martine in the flesh since vacationing with them in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2019. Post-COVID, the four of us had tried to arrange another reunion, preferably in a locale that would be new to us all. But for one reason or another the plans didn’t get very far.
Well, one day four months ago, Sandy and I, who reside in Pennsylvania, USA, figured the best way to uncomplicate the situation was to visit the married couple on their home turf: Paris, France. And from there, we decided, we’d extend our trip by spending time in Brussels, Belgium, a city we never had set foot in and which by all accounts was appealing.
We made the travel arrangements pretty quickly. The weeks went by. Finally, on the 19th of September we found ourselves with our pals in their beautiful home in one of the world’s greatest cities. We bunked with them for four days, enjoying our time with them immensely, and in their company explored a good bit of Gay Paree. Sandy and I give our Parisian sojourn a rating of 10 out of 10. It absolutely was that good. The subsequent four days spent in Brussels, though, were another matter. Compared to Paris, which is a significantly magical place, Brussels seemed quite lacking. We had a nice amount of fun there, sure, but rate that leg of the trip only a modest 6.5 out of 10. Alas, you can’t have it all. Not always, anyway. In Paris, however, we did.
Now, though Paris is superb, it’s not perfect, so let’s get a few of the downsides out of the way: Like any big city, parts of town contain an unnerving volume of vehicular traffic. And annoying numbers of people maneuver on the sidewalks of many streets, such as those in the popular area where Alan and Martine reside. Not all of Paris is necessarily worth a tourist’s attention, either, though, to me, the gritty neighborhoods I briefly saw exuded a je ne sais quoi sort of charm nevertheless.
Enough about the negatives. Man, so much of Paris is straight out of a delightful dream: Elegant architecture; the comforting heights of its buildings (Paris is almost skyscraper-free); the parks, museums, bistros and baked goods that far more often than not impress; the sense of history filling the air; and the river Seine, quietly commanding respect as it flows peacefully from west to east through the middle of the city. And that’s just for starters.
I’d been to Paris four times before, three of those visits with my wife, and was fairly familiar with its major attractions, layout and vibes. When Martine (via Facetime a month before the latest get-together) asked me what I might want to do in Paris in September, I left it pretty much up to her and Alan. Except for one thing: I was curious to see what condition Notre- Dame Cathedral is in. A devastating fire, in 2019, destroyed the roof, spire and other upper portions of the church, and caused severe damage elsewhere in the structure. Since then, an intense effort has been under way to restore the medieval icon to its former glory (click here to read an excellent article about the fire and Notre-Dame’s rebirth). The cathedral’s official reopening is scheduled for December of this year, barring complications.
Martine and Alan granted my request. One day after our arrival in Paris, they led Sandy and me on a most-satisfying walk. A couple of minutes after leaving their abode, we strolled through the gardens of Palais-Royale. In no time after that we reached the Louvre, an astonishingly large museum, and its enormous courtyard. The courtyard was mobbed. The Louvre’s galleries probably were too. We walked a few more blocks, then crossed the Seine by way of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), soon descending a stone staircase to the river walkway. Everything I’d seen so far struck me as picture-postcard-perfect, or damn near close to it. I am not exaggerating.
Along the left bank of the Seine we ambled, and after about 10 minutes Notre-Dame came into good view. We climbed up another stone staircase, returning to street level, to see the cathedral properly. Heavy equipment still was on the scene, indicating work remained to be done. However, Notre-Dame looked remarkably healthy all in all. I’m anything but a religious person, yet was relieved and happy that incredible efforts, not to mention nearly a billion euros, had saved one of Paris’s and the world’s most famous creations.
But we weren’t done for the day. Our walk continued, taking us through the Latin Quarter (where we stopped for refreshments at the lovely Café G), the sprawling Luxembourg Garden, Place Saint-Sulpice and beyond. I was especially smitten by the area of Luxembourg Garden set aside specifically for young children and their caregivers. It was touching to see little ones at ease and having fun.
Left to right: Alan, Sandy, Martine.
I could go on and on and on, describing the other activities that filled those four days. But I think you get the picture. It’s not by accident that Paris is one of the most-visited cities on our planet. It’s got what it takes, and more.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
it sounds like you had a fantastic time, Neil; thanks for taking us along; I love cities that are skyscraper free 🙂
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There’s only a handful of tall structures within the city limits. The Eiffel Tower is the tallest, I think.
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Neil, it’s great that you and Sandy had such a wonderful experience in Paris. Thanks for sharing your photos.
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It’s a great city, for sure.
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Nice photos and write up. Glad you enjoyed the trip. Yes it’s the city of love and fashion as well. The country holds special place in history with the French Revolution apart from some architectural marvels, the river Seine etc. All we read year after year in our history books and it was quite fascinating on seeing in reality. A decade or so back when we had visited as a family…
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Hi there. Paris is a fabulous place. So much to see and do. Who is this, by the way? You’re listed as Anonymous.
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I love Paris for many of the same reasons you give here, especially for its scale and lack of skyscrapers. A very interesting post illustrated by lovely pictures. Thanks, Neil.
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Howdy, Lynette. On one of the days we all went to a museum I hadn’t known about: Musee Jacquemart-Andre. It’s a good one.
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Happy for all of you დ
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Hi Cindy. We definitely had fun.
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Lovely pics and story, Neill. I visited Paris many years ago, tagging along with my husband on a work trip. So I saw many of the sights solo. Truly a beautiful city, and the people were all so friendly and kind. We’d been warned that the French were a very rude nation, but they proved to be just the opposite.
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Hello there. I’ve never had a bad experience with the French people either. They’ve always seemed friendly to me.
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Oooh, wow! What a holiday! I agree with you completely in your comparison between the two cities. Paris has everything you need for a perfectly memorable visit. Mary agrees we must visit again….Paris in the springtime?
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Mary now suggests we go at the end of November – as the Boujalais Nouveau arrives and the shops have their Christmas stock – and windows decorated!
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Mary has a good idea!
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Brussels has its charms but I agree, it’s not Paris
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Not by a longshot.
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Enjoyed my walk down memory lane with you as I haven’t visited Paris since 1985! Looks like you had a fabulous time and it’s always great catching up with friends.
“Paris is almost skyscraper-free”? Still? That’s surprising but then again, maybe not.
Think I missed a photo of you? 😉
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Hi. I’m camera-shy! (But one of these days I’ll put a photo of my smiling face into a story, anyway.)
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Ha, ha, I’m the same but my partner pushes me to add photos of myself in my travelogues…he’s relentless! 🙂
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I’m happy that you traveled overseas and enjoyed the lovely sights. It’s good to see that Paris lives up to its legendary beauty.
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It’s a fine, fine city. Beautiful buildings and parks all over the place.
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It’s a special place. I enjoyed your view of it.
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Thanks. I appreciate it.
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Viva Paree!
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Agreed.
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Great trip!
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You can’t go wrong in Paris. It’s pretty amazing.
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So delighted to hear that you and Sandy had such a fantastic trip Neil.
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Being with our friends made it even better. And they took us on four or five walks. We saw a lot of the central parts of the city.
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Excellent description!!!! Brought back memories! I have been there twice. I visited the Cathedral before the fire. Is the Neuf Bridge the one with all the locks? I see it is covered with glass or something else. Great photos Neil!
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Right, there used to be a zillion locks on that bridge. They’ve been removed.
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I went about 20 years ago on Bastille Day, which was a great experience – watching a massive fireworks display over the Champs Elysee. We were due to catch a train in the morning and we had assumed Paris would be open 24hours and so hadn’t booked a hotel for the night, but everything started shutting down pretty early, so we were there wandering the courtyard of the Louvre in the early hours of the morning and then sat in the train station for the rest of the night!!
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Great story. You had a very unusual experience in Paris.
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Love all the photos from your trip to Paris, especially the ones of the River Seine! I am glad to hear you were finally able to visit your friends and make memories to cherish in the years to come. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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It was great being together with our friends. That made the Paris vacation pretty special.
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🥰🥰🥰
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Paris is such a beautiful city. I have only been once, and only for a couple of days. I t is a place I want to go back to.
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Hi. Paris is hard to beat. It’s beautiful, full of culture, and there are a million good things to do there.
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Thank you for bringing me back fond memories from Paris🥰
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My pleasure!
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Great article, Neil. You took your readers along. I was especially struck by your description of the river Seine, “quietly commanding respect as it flows peacefully from west to east through the middle of the city.”
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Hi, and thanks. I don’t know who this is, though. You’re listed as Anonymous.
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Glad you cut the Gordian knot and visited your friends in Paris. It’s touristy now, but whenever I was passing through Paris I’d have lunch at Chartier, all hustle, bustle and decent plain food.
Brussels didn’t do it for you?
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We had some good times in Brussels. But, for various reasons, we never really connected with the city. My next article will go into that.
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I’m so glad you’re sharing your trip. It’s hard to get a picture of what Paris and France is like around all the horrid news stories. I love seeing that it survives in style. I think this is the first time I’ve seen Sandy–lovely picture.
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Sandy thanks you!
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I enjoy reading about others finding enjoyment, so we both win! It sounds like a wonderful visit. And what a great place to visit with friends.
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They live in the heart of the city. But their place is recessed from the street. So, their home is quiet, despite all the people and eateries and stores in their popular area.
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Beautiful pictures. Lucky you!
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Hi. I was fortunate to be there.
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Paris has its magical neighborhoods but every time I’ve been there it has rained except Christmas 1970 – then it snowed! Like all ancient cities in Europe, it does have an ugly side … you have to be careful – especially on the Metros.
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Hi Jan. Bad weather can mess up a vacation, that’s for sure. It’s annoying!
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No photo of Quasimodo?
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I shared a bottle of wine with him. But he didn’t want his picture taken!
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Now that’s funny.
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Looks like you and your spouse had a wonderful adventure. Thanks for sharing your trip and the fantastic photos.
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It was great to be able to hang out for a number of days with our pals, and to have them lead us around the city they know better than any other.
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What a big, fun and fabulous jaunt, Neal. I hope the months in the year ahead will enable me the same. Happy new month and season! Cheers!
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Hi AOC. I miss Paris. Such a fine city. Have a great week. See ya!
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Neil, how wonderful that you and Sandy were able to spend time in Paris with your Parisian friends! Love the photos 🙂
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Paris, and our friends, treated us very well.
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Too bad about Brussels—I hope you at least got some good chocolate—but really, how can any city compare with Paris? Wonderful that you had such a lovely time. And oh the food, the food!
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We did some fun things in Brussels. But we never connected all too well with that city. My next article (which I’ll publish in two weeks from now) will go into that.
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It’s so good when all the planets align, sun shines and you’re able to meet up with friends in an amazing city like Paris. A wonderful read.
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Hi. Our time in Paris was time well-spent.
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You made it sound so lovely. I hope to. Is it it one day.
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Hi Jan. If you go there one day, you’ll love it! It’s a gorgeous city. (By the way — your comments are listed as being from Anonymous. I think you weren’t signed in to WordPress when you posted the comments.)
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I’m glad you both had a wonderful time in Paris with your friends. It’s a magical city and there’s always something new to discover. It’s a shame Brussels didn’t live up to your expectations in quite the same way.
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Yeah, we didn’t click with Brussels as much as we thought we would. C’est la vie!
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I haven’t been to Paris in a long time, and I haven’t been to Brussels at all, so I can’t compare. My one visit to Belgium was to Bruges which is small and pretty so a completely different kind of experience and thus less likely to pale in comparison.
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Hi. We did some fun things in Brussels. The trip there wasn’t a washout by any means. But it could have been better.
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I’m not sure I’ve been to an interesting city that is skycaper-free. You give me pause. Love the photos, so amazing to see what is elsewhere, eh?
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Evening, Ally. There are some tall structures in Paris, but only a relative handful. The tallest is the Eiffel Tower.
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What a fun trip you had, Neil. Thanks for sharing.
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The time we spent in Paris flew by. I guess that means we had a lot of fun!
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I’m very jealous. Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you could say a LOT more. Which explains the part one. 🙂
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Hey there, Stacey. Part two will be about Brussels. I’m not planning a part three, but you never know.
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Dear Neil, It seems we were in Edinburgh in the same year! Did you go during the Festival? Great place, and likewise Paris, also one of my favourite cities to visit. I try and stay near the Luxembourg Gardens as they are so lovely, though the art galleries, buildings, the river, etc are all stunning. So nice that you could share time there with your friends, and what a memory to look back on. Cheers Vivienne
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Hi. We were in Edinburgh in May, I think. A few months before the fest. Did you have Cullen Skink there? It’s a delicious fish chowder with an unappetizing name.
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Thank you for that stroll through Paris, Neil. I haven’t been back to one of my favorite cities for about 10 years but your enthusiastic report is making me yearn to return.
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Paris is pretty irresistible. A very beautiful place. We spent some time in Jardin des Champs Elysees, a fine park that I don’t recall having seen before.
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Yes, the various gardens are wonderful oases in the middle of the city.
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Many years ago I passed through Paris, but didn’t spend time visiting, for a variety of circumstances. I opted for the countryside and other cathedrals, and had a fine time, but if I ever were to make it to France again, Paris would be my first (and hopefully extended) stop.
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Paris awaits you!
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Glad you waited until after the Olympics to make your visit – I can’t imagine the crowds over the summer. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the restoration of Notre-Dame is not yet complete. I thought they were rushing the project in order to open its doors for the Olympics. Better to do it right and not cut any corners!
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Hi. The cathedral is scheduled to reopen on December 7.
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Lovely travelogue, and I concur with your rating of Paris. My only bad experience there was losing my brand-new iPad in the Louvre (my fault)…..but when I went back, there it was, turned in by a security staffer.
Paris and Florence are my favourite European cities.
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I haven’t been to all that many cities in Europe. I’ve been to Florence, though, and absolutely loved it. Ditto for Venice.
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Paris is a magnificent city. I truly enjoyed reading your travelogue and look forward to the following post.
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I appreciate, it, Yvonne. Thanks.
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I love Paris in the–whenever. Your post made me want to go back. Never been to Brussels, but we had a lovely visit to Bruges years ago.
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I’ve heard nothing but good things about Bruges. We probably would have liked it more than we did Brussels.
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Too bad you did not visit Brussels first, then you would have finished with a grand finale!
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True. Oh well . . .
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What a wonderful place for a reunion! So glad Notre Dame has been saved too. Now if I can just buy that plane ticket…..
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Hi. The efforts to repair Notre Dame were immense. Very talented people came to its rescue.
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that sounds really lovely.
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I wish we had stayed a couple of days longer in Paris than we did.
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A loong time ago, when I was younger and more cowardly, I had a chance to live & work in Paris. I hadn’t like the city the first time I visited and I refused the offer. Silly me! I’ve visited Paris several times since, each time liking it more.
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Hi Sandy. Do you speak French?
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Not much really but my husband does and is originally from Paris. Not speaking the language was a consideration but considering I later lived in Beijing without knowing Mandarin (even less than French!) it was not the only excuse. I was just a scaredy cat back then.
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Quelle surprise–Wordpress notified me today about your article and allowed me to create a new account, so I hope I’ll start getting them at the right address again! I loved reading about Paris and seeing your photos. They stirred up some interesting old memories… I might be going there again next September, ahead of a cruise with my sisters down the Saône and Rhône to Arles, but only for a couple of days, sadly. I’d really prefer a month!
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Hi Cindy. On my end of WP last night, I noticed that you were listed as having a purged account. So I re-entered your email address and hit the Follow button. I hope this solved the problem.
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You are a most excellent tour guide! Thanks for letting us tag along. (And I too am looking forward to the restored Notre Dame come December!!)
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Hello, and thanks. I don’t know who this is, by the way — you’re listed as Anonymous.
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Wonderful, I feel like I’ve been there! Thanks Y.A.B.!
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Thanks very much. I appreciate it.
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