Paris and the Perils of Cool Shoes

On one of our first nights in Paris my great friend Bran called us and said, “Wanna meet me for a drink”?

First, I am not one who has ever met anyone for a drink. I was old and boring when I was twenty-two. So here I am in Paris and my friend wants to meet us for a drink. I ask my mother if she will stay with the kids, and put on my new “I’m in Paris now so I am cool” ballet flats and leggings; I am ready to go.

He wants to meet us under the Arc de Triomphe at 10:30 pm. I picture us meeting at the Arc, strolling to an outdoor café, chatting casually while sharing a bottle of wine, nibbling on cheese and des fruits.

Is this an adventure, or what? It was June and in Paris the sun does not set until 11 pm, so 10:30 was a sublimely appropriate twilight.

As we began to walk down the Champs d’Elysees, stopping only to look at sports cars in the windows, I quickly grew dubious: Where are we going? McDonald’s? This was not at all what we had expected. Where was my wine?!

Bran talked about Paris, the history, his childhood there. We walked past Place de la Concorde. We crossed left up to the Rue de Rivoli and walked. And walked. Walked Walked Walked. Past famous high-end designer boutiques, past the Palais de l’ Elysées, the French presidential palace and home to President Nicolas Sarkozy who had just been elected – we heard all about him.

Those darling ballet flats were suddenly not the coolest pair of shoes to wear. Plus I was getting cold. Bran, knowing Paris and his agenda was wearing fleece. I was in a cute cardigan that was turning out to not be at all suitable for our surprise adventure.

Oh man, seems like every time I go anywhere it is a surprise adventure. So we walked some more. One hour passed. Two hours passed. Never mind my French bottle of wine – I was ready for hot cocoa! My feet were ready for – la massage!

Did I say that we walked some more? You wouldn’t believe how far we walked. It was now 12:30 am. We had circumvented the entire city of Paris. We found ourselves at the Louvre. You know the Louvre? Besides being the most visited museum in the world the Louvre was the former Palais, last inhabited by Louis XIV before he moved the royal household to Versailles.

The Louvre at midnight: Visiting hours were long over, but it was mine. All mine. Suddenly my feet stopped hurting; I forgot all about being cold. I grabbed my camera and started shooting, and shooting some more. I had never seen anything so breathtaking.

And I – little me – was there!

For the record it really was all mine. We were alone in the promenade. Bran explained that walking at night in Paris is really quite safe. Truly, we were surprised. There were a few characters out who were talking to themselves, but we ignored them. I know from my other cities that it is not always safe to be out so late unprotected, but in this city it is d’habitude.

We headed back up to the Chatelet in search of an open bar. Because I am such a wild party animal, I ordered a fairly well-thought-of vintage: “French” fries, also known as les pommes frites, and le chocolat chaud (hot chocolate.) I am very glamorous in my own mind.

I learned two important lessons from that fantastic evening, which I will never forget: When invited to have a drink, be prepared for an adventure. And wear practical shoes – not necessarily cute ones.

The next morning my mother was bent all out of shape. She was so jealous that we had had a “night out on the town” while she stayed in the apartment. Then I showed her my blisters.

*Editor’s notes:  To buy skip the line Louvre tickets, we suggest visiting here. When it comes to art sometimes it’s hard to drum up an interest until after you’ve had a taste. To figure out what you most want to see when planning a visit to the Louvre, check out Another Way to Visit the Louvre for virtual tours.