Friday night was a highly unusual experience. We found a very helpful Rabbi at the Chabad Champs Elysee and organized to attend their Friday night dinner. We knew it would be an interesting night, what with the two hour walk home from the shul to our hotel in Bastille, but we could never have imagine just how unusual the company and the experience would prove to be! Having spent the first few days in France being advised that it may not be safe to wear a kippa and going back and forth, Gary and I walked the entire length of Paris, in the middle of the night, accompanied not only by a very friendly half-Chinese Chabadnik who also converted named Arik but by an African American Belz Hasid from Brooklyn, in full traditional clothing. Needless to say we caused quite a stir on the streets, but our conversation with Moshe Levi ben David, the Hasid, was one of the most interesting religious discussions I have ever had in my life.
He spoke to us with a rap staccato, littered with Yiddish phrases, about his own story growing up in the inner city, his rap past and incarceration, but also about his views on Judaism and the purpose of life. Moshe’s conception of Judaism as a call to social justice, and all religions being a tool for truth, overcoming our negative selves and loving others as you love yourself was so fascinating that I had to keep reminding myself to look around and take in the sights that we were passing.
The rest of the week was a wonderful blur of famous Parisian neighbourhoods, cafes, museums and walks along the Seine. We spent a delightful Sunday in Montmarte, walking amongst the artists and performers around Sacre Coeur and then taking part in café culture, beer and café in hand with Gary sketching and myself writing at a little bar surrounded by an antique market. We spent another day walking the entire length and breadth of the Louvre and then stumbled across a war memorial ceremony at the Arc de Triumph, where I even got a photo taken with a charming French World War 2 veteran. We spent another day strolling through the Latin Quarter, hanging around with the students on the steps of the Sorbonne and taking coffee in the boulevards of St Germaine. We sat in the Luxembourg Palace gardens with our bottle of wine and pack of cards, surveyed the Jardin du Plantes and the Natural History Museum, became regulars on the Metro and sat in the park at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
And yes, in arguably one of the world’s capitals for art, culture, history and fashion we did indeed spent an entire day at … wait for it … EuroDisney. Yes, hopped up on rollercoasters and ice cream Gary did indeed ask a shop assistant if the Buzz Lightyear costume came in a man’s suit size 36 and yes, I do have whiplash in my spleen. Just hoping my vocal chords return to normal soon, damn you Space Mountain.
Ah Paris! I am so in love with this city and Gary has been completely won over by its charms as well – we are hopeless. Although I wish we could stay here and be Parisians forever, the next stage of our adventure is waiting for us. All we have to do, besides the minor but pressing problems of figuring out our route across France and how to even get out of Paris using the bustling road networks in rush hour, is where we even begin to find our car hire pick up point! Wish us luck x
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