Six weeks in Paris and beyond!
a guest blog by alison dozono
Hello friends!
I’m currently off on a grand adventure in Asia, so I’ve asked my wanderlusting pal Alison Dozono to take over the blog this week, and spill about her recent voyage through France. She recently returned from a 6 week journey that included stays in different locations, and visits to several museums, including the Yves Saint Laurent Museum!
Alison was practically born with a suitcase in hand. Her grandfather kicked off the family’s travel obsession way back when he started a travel agency in the 1940s. Her dad kept the globetrotting spirit alive by managing the business for several years.
So settle in and let Alison transport you with her adventures and insights to share from her time in France!
WUDERLUSTRE: So, what inspired you to take your most recent trip to France?!
Alison: This was actually my third trip to Paris in the last eighteen months. My partner and I first spent a month in Paris in April 2022, and aside from catching Covid our 2nd week there, we absolutely fell in love with Paris and the French culture. Both of us had been to Paris in our twenties but had not had the maturity, experience or appreciation that we do now for different ways of living life. We figure we won’t always have the economic means, time or energy to travel, so we’re trying to do it while it’s still possible.
What we love about Paris is pretty much what the whole world loves about it: the food, architecture, museums and shopping. But what I also love is the language. I started learning French a year ago after our first trip, taking a course through the Alliance Française and more recently through DuoLingo. I speak Italian already, so I have a good base for French. Each trip I’m able to use a little bit more of French and understand a little more each time. I was feeling ambitious this trip and actually bought an Emile Zola book in French, of which I’ve managed to ready one full page!
My grandfather started a travel agency in the late 1940s, which my father then managed, so growing up I had the opportunity to travel to many places nationally and internationally. When my son was born, I thought the travel bug had disappeared, but now I think it was just the complications of traveling as a family that tempered that desire. I don’t know how my parents managed to travel with five kids and still keep their sanity and marriage in tact. My travel style is much different than my parents though. Growing up, we used to have a packed itinerary and spend no more than a couple of days in each location. I prefer to choose one destination and really get to know it: the people, food, architecture, style, traditions.
WUNDERLUSTRE: Which locations did you explore on this trip?
Alison: Each trip we try to stay in different arrondissements. Previously we stayed in the 6th, 17th, 10th and 11th. This trip we decided on the 18th and the 20th. One of the first things we do when we arrive in our new neighborhood is to scout out the boulangeries, wine and cheese shops, and find out when the local open-air markets occur nearby. Our first place was two-thirds up the hill on Montmartre right next to the stairs up to Sacre Coeur. We got to know the Abbesses area quite well, although it was a challenge to find really good quality shops that weren’t tired of or geared toward tourists. Our second place was further out, near Père Lachaise cemetery, but we actually enjoyed it more than any other arrondissement because it felt more day-to-day with regular Parisians going about their lives. We ended up cancelling a lot of the reservations in the inner arrondissements that I had painstakingly researched and made because by the time we were done traipsing around in the afternoon and trekked back to our place in the 20th, we were too tired to head back into the inner arrondissements. But there are so many amazing restaurants in every neighborhood that we found plenty in the 20th that were less expensive, easier to get into and maybe even better than the ones I had originally booked.
Part of the charm of Paris as a big city is that small businesses are predominant. In the States we’re used to businesses being open 7 days a week for at least 8 hours a day, but in Paris you’ll often find shops closed at least two days of the week, closed for at least two hours for lunch, and even then maybe open only a total of 4 hours that day. My advice is to always check store hours on their website or call. Search engines may not always have the most up to date information. And even if you’re sure you have the correct information, don’t be surprised if you show up and the store is closed. There may not even be a sign explaining why. As the French say, “c’est la vie”.
One of our goals this trip was to learn more about French wine. We found a wine shop in Montmartre called Les Piqueures that offered wine tastings, and we kept returning for our daily bottle of wine and tastings, even after we had moved arrondissements. We had an idea to find a wine that would age well over ten years, to be opened once a year, and purchase a case to be shipped home. By the end of our trip we had found our special wine and were friendly with the owner. It helps to frequent the same shops. The French appreciate customers who are loyal.
Another goal was to see some other parts of France. We took a four-day trip by train to Normandy. We stayed in Avranches and took the public bus to Le Mont Saint-Michel for the day. We really enjoy taking slower modes of transportation in order to appreciate the landscape. The public bus from Mont Saint-Michel only runs once a day on the return trip, so we had a lot of time to pass once we arrived, which was actually perfect because we weren’t in a rush and just hung out enjoying the scenery. Some things to note if you’re not traveling by car is that the smaller towns may not have ride sharing or even taxis waiting at the train stations. We anticipated this and packed light and wore comfortable clothes and ended up walking from the train stations to our Airbnb. After Mont Saint-Michel we went to the medieval town of Bayeux and stayed in the top of a 400-year old stone tower. Our host Paula was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable about Paris and Bayeux. She’s American but has been living in France for over 25 years. (latourbayeux.com).
We took another short trip by train to the French Alps, staying in Annecy, another small medieval town popular with European tourists. We happened to be there during the two weeks that many European schools are closed, so there were a lot of tourists from neighboring countries. Our main point of the trip was to take the train up to Mont Blanc, not to ski but just for the experience of riding the train up the mountain. This was in October, so there wasn’t snow at lower elevations yet, and we actually had beautiful weather. I was a little nervous about the train ride because it involved switching trains three times, but the train system in France, in my experience, has been very reliable, clean and efficient. We encountered no issues whatsoever. We also splurged a little and booked first class, which wasn’t that much more expensive since they were local trains.
WUDERLUSTRE: What have been your top magic moments for each location throughout France?
Alison: One of the most magical moments for me was visiting Mont Saint-Michel. I’d seen pictures of it and my parents had visited it, and it did not disappoint. Just the fact that it exists is incredible, especially at a time when the tide limited access and to haul building materials that distance was quite a feat. The Abbey is beautiful, especially when the sun hits it and turns the stone a golden yellow.
I also made a fashion pilgrimage to the studio of Yves Saint Laurent, now the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. I didn’t know what to expect and was surprised at the intimacy of the space and the care that has been exercised in keeping the spirit and work of such an incredibly talented designer alive. I learned so much about him that I never even knew. They have a small but great book shop where I purchased two now-favorite books. To be in his studio, in tact, where so much hard work, fears and desires were expressed and beautiful things were created was equivalent to me to having a religious experience in a church.
Another surprising museum I visited was the Museum of Hunting and Nature (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature), which, if you’re squeamish about taxidermy or paintings of animals being hunted, is not the museum for you. But what it offers are some interesting contemporary installations with modern interpretations of animals in the wild. After I embraced the initial morbidity of the museum, I knew that every time I turned the corner I’d see something surprising and wondrous.
Our most impressive feat though, was eating veal calf brain and veal tongue. It was an interesting experience, and I’d definitely eat it again. What I love about countries outside the US is that the whole animal is appreciated and consumed or utilized. When we would tell other French people that we ate brain, they just shrugged their shoulders and said it was tradition. Of course, we also ate escargot, sea snails and blood sausage, which were also delicious.
WUNDERLUSTRE: Thank you for sharing your travel journey with us Alison! What location is next on your list?
Alison: Aside from yet another trip to Paris, we’re curious about visiting Georgia, the country. I always have to say “Georgia, the country” and even then, people here will say, “Oh, I didn’t even know there was a country called Georgia.” We’d love to go somewhere that isn’t on the majority of people’s bucket list, somewhere we don’t know a lot about, and we’d love to explore the cuisine!
Stay tuned for my latest blog posts where I’ll be sharing all my adventures and more tips on finding beautiful architecture and design around the globe!
