A Postcard from a Medieval Monastery
The adfrenchure begins!
Bonjour mes amis!
I’ve been in France just over a week and it’s already felt like an entire summer, in a good way! But it’s been such a packed trip that the beginning already feels like a far off memory…
Flying from Newark to Orly was a rough start but then very smooth sailing. Originally, we were set to leave at 11pm on June 4th but then the flight was delayed 4 hours. Our new departure time was for 3am, but somehow the airline missed that it was supposed to be 3am on June 5th. Everyone’s new boarding pass still said June 4th so TSA wouldn’t let anyone through because we all had the wrong date. People were pissed and this poor guy who worked for the airline basically had to beg TSA to let us in because they couldn’t fix it on their end. I’d say about 85% of the passengers were throwing a mild fit, but honestly, after screwing up so many appointment times in my days as an assistant, I’m just glad the mistake isn’t mine when stuff like that happens. It’s way easier to just sit down and let other people figure it out than be the one to have to fix it.
A few days prior to the flight I was downgraded to basic economy. But I think karma agreed with my "just sit down" method because as soon as I got through security and received a new boarding pass at the counter, I was upgraded to premium economy. For anyone who hasn’t flown premium economy yet, it really is the best value out there for long, international flights now that the days of first class, business class, economy are behind us. These days, flying internationally feels either like royalty, like you have an expense account, like you appreciate decency, or like every ounce of dignity has been stripped from you. Premium economy isn’t over-the-top lavish but compared to the old days of regular economy— before airlines saw no difference between humans on a budget and sardines— it's a pretty choice upgrade.
We got into Paris around 4pm and I had just enough energy to hit a trendy bar and have a very artsy dinner avec mon amie, Brandi, since my mom didn't arrive until the next day.
On the first full day in Paris, Brandi and I cruised around a très chic neighborhood, Le Marais— which is like a the baby of SoHo and Williamsburg. We did some window shopping, I almost did some actual shopping...
…but then decided that it might open the shopping flood gates too soon. I decided that if I didn't buy too much on the rest of the road trip, I'd come back for it later.
We stopped by Notre Dame just for a quick “Hello, glad you’re well, the repairs look fab.”
The line was too long to go inside and we had a lunch reservation at a very fancy hotel called Cheval Blanc. When I was planning my trip a while ago, Brandi mentioned that it would be a great place for a splurgy lunch. I knew it was going to be bougie but it far exceeded my expectations. Cheval Blanc is a French hotel chain owned by LVMH, so you can imagine their usual clientele and what kinds of expectations they might have. It was easily the one of the best dining experiences of my life. They had a sophisticated yet unfussy seasonal menu that was light and fun and fit the rooftop vibe perfectly, plus a clear view of the Eiffel Tower. So magical! And very reasonably priced for the quality of food, service, location, and views.
After lunch, we headed to The Rodin Museum to meet up with my mom who'd just flown in. The Rodin Museum is my favorite museum in Paris. It's fairly small and in a stunning old building with a big garden to enjoy as many pieces outdoors as you can indoors. Brandi, my mom, and I had all been there before so we spent most of the time drinking wine and chatting before they closed and we were kicked out. But a lovely art experience anyway! Then we all had a great dinner at La Fontaine de Mars, definitely on the pricier side for what it is, but perhaps Cheval Blanc skewed my expectations.
The next day we had a very good, very chill lunch near Les Puces— the flea markets! We got lost wandering around there for half the day since Les Puces is the Harrods of flea markets and you can get find everything there from 5000 Euro furniture to a 2 Euro nail brush (which I did! I had a pen explosion incident and needed one stat.) We stopped by one exceptionally cool booth that had a dress with Baudelaire poems hand-stitched into it. My mom found a great deal on a pair of Kenzo sunglasses that some celebrity didn't want who has a brand deal with them. Then we did as the Europeans do and spent a few hours chatting at a coffee shop before heading to Le Souffle for our last dinner in Paris. I enjoyed Le Souffle but it seemed to be mostly Americans. It's fun to run into another American or two along the way in a foreign country but I don't love being surrounded by them. Also everything was too salty, that made two of us I guess.
We left Paris the next morning, picked up a rental car, and headed to Bayeux which is the town closest to the Normandy beaches that England, Canada, and the US stormed on D-Day. I'm not big on wartime or its history, but this historic location was incredible to see. There are still flags everywhere and the people who live there are so kind. Bayeux is a tiny town but knows its brand and takes a lot of pride in it, which was refreshing to be around so much positivity. We were only there one full day but made some new friends at a restaurant on our last night— the restaurant owner, his girlfriend— a beautiful piano player from Madagascar, and the chef. It was a pretty slow night for them so we all hung out, had a few bottles of wine, Chef made us dinner, and we joked around in our broken French and English until the sun was almost gone.
The next day we got up early, said goodbye to Bayeux, and drove about two hours south to Mont Saint Michel-- a medieval monastery on an island in Normandy. I didn't really know that much about it when booking the trip but figured, "When in Mont Saint Michel, stay on Mont Saint Michel" which is actually maybe the craziest thing to do because it's ANCIENT and there's no real way to get around other than hiking along a bunch of cobblestone paths and up tiny, steep staircases. I was huffing and puffing with my carryon, dragging it up about 50 steps and several severely inclined pathways to get from the bottom of the mountain up to our hotel. I guess I actually am a capitalist American because all I could think was, "There really should be a service for this…" But alas, I doubt such a thought would even occur to the French, and good on them for it!
In the same way that I'm not really a wartime history girlie, I'm also not really a cathedrals/churches/abbeys/various God castles kind of girlie and don't really make much of an effort to visit them on trips unless I know why it's a particularly special place. Mont Saint Michel is an ultimate God castle et absolument, a particularly special place. When you first enter the gates, you can walk to the right which takes you all the way up to the abbey. Along the way are the tourist shops and restaurants and hotels which all kind of give theme park vibes. But the further up you hike, more space opens up and you see gardens, a cemetery, and old buildings before touring a truly spectacular spiritual home.
The abbey was definitely worth experiencing, but the part of Mont Saint Michel that I felt was most spiritual was the opposite path to the left of the entrance gates, "the one less travelled by"... if you will (sorry, had to). It's a much wider, more relaxed path full of trees and flowers and birds. As you walk along the bottommost tier of the mountain towards the back, the surrounding water hits the rocks along the giant wall and you can take off your shoes and splash around in it— I actually don't think that's what it's for, that's just what I did because I can't resist splashing on a rock when the opportunity presents itself.
We left today for the Loire Valley, one of France's most famous winelands. If you're into an immersive experience, get a bottle of Sancerre in preparation for the third postcard.
Vive la France!
xo Izzie
I didn’t know you could stay on Mont st michel! So cool - I want to hear more!
The "adfrenchure" ☠️