Paris is one of those cities that I see myself consistently going back to quite often. Not because I’m in love with the city, but because it’s one of the cheaper flights into Europe from California. I first visited Paris when I was 16. I was too young to appreciate the culture, I had no interest in art then, and in all honestly was naïve and selfish. Learning about the city, its history, the wonderful enclaves within the city just didn’t appeal to me. Nearly two decades later, my stance on “the City of Light has changed.

Now as an adult, I have come to appreciate the city and am becoming more and more familiar with it. This past December was my fourth time visiting. I had stopped by for a weekend when I was living in Cambridge, England in 2011. A good friend that was a foreign exchange student at my university was living in Paris after graduation so I got the opportunity to stay with her and experience Paris as a local. I went all out that trip to see all the tourist sightings and landmarks, but I also got a first hand glance at a Parisian nightlife.

My third time visiting was in the Fall of 2019. This was the visit that changed the game for me. At this point in my life I was a seasoned traveler. My passions and hobbies were developed and I was a more secure individual. I had planned out my trip so I could visit a few different museums, Jardin de Tuileries, have a photoshoot in a picturesque street with the Eiffel Tower in the background, visit the African Quarter, experience the metro taking me to different neighborhoods, checking out some street art, and most importantly visiting and staying with a friend. My taste buds weren’t as curious, I kept my food budget very tight. But the art, culture, and architecture kept me excited and invigorated.

I would be spending two to three hours at Musee Rodin, Bourdelle Museum, and Atelier Brancusi within a three day span. Musee Rodin was opened in 1919 and is dedicated to Auguste Rodin’s work. The museum is filled with thousands of sculptors and a beautiful garden.

Hotel Biron where Rodin rented many rooms to work and live in, eventually was able to turn the building into a museum, which promised to house and showcase his work. This space was one of my favorites to explore. Stunning architecture and amazing lighting that properly shows off every angle and crevice in the sculptures.

The next space wasn’t a museum, instead an atelier, a studio for Constantin Brancusi. The space is where he worked and lived from 1904 until 1957. He left the studio to the French state. What visitors are able to see now is a reconstruction designed by Renzo Piano which is set in the form of a museum space open glass window containing Brancusi’s studio.

Brancusi opened up his studio as an exhibit when he was alive and focused on the spatial relationship between each object in the studio. He looked at each piece as part of a collective instead of individually. What stood out to me is the studio and every piece that was purposely positioned.

Next up was Musee Bourdelle located in the 15th arrondissement and in the old studio of sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. His studio was my favorite part, I enjoy visiting ateliers and studios of where great artists once worked. I like to see their layout, trinkets, tools, and furniture they once utilized to create their space.

This museum also houses various sculptors and paintings from an array of artists. In the hall of plasters there was a fashion exhibit called “Back side/Fashion from Behind”, which had various figurines wearing beautiful detailed gowns and clothing but had their backs facing the guests.

Let’s take a little break from the museums. The way I travel, is although I have destinations set in place, I always make sure to enjoy the route on my way to the location. So in between all my art stops, I also made it a point to enjoy the beautiful architecture, street art, and Parisian things that caught my eye.

I walked along the River Seine. Thought about the countless movies and tv show scenes shot along here. A city where people dream to go but never get the opportunity. These moments of solitude walking amongst something I’ve seen on the screen so many times, I try to take it all in.

My trip in 2019 was also taken during a time where I was enthralled by a beige Instagram aesthetic. Much of my trip revolved around “pretty” places that I had seen online. I had a vision and that vision came to life that entire trip.

Fast forward to December 2023, this was my fourth time visiting. The only reason I flew into Paris was because it had the cheapest roundtrip flight. It wasn’t my smartest flight decision I’ve made given that I had to spend money flying from Berlin to Paris in order to fly back to California, but it worked out and I made a fun five days happen in France. The sole purpose of France was to visit a great friend that would be spending her holidays in her hometown, about three hours by train from Paris. So I decided, since I wouldn’t be around a ton of art for the remainder of my time with her, we would mostly catchup and visit Christmas markets, I would spend two full days in Paris.

I had two big things on my agenda, visiting the Louis Vouitton Foundation to see the Mark Rothko exhibit and eating at a Palestinian restaurant off the Porte de la Chapelle stop, way out there where tourists don’t go to visit. At this age, I don’t have as much stamina to spend days doing something every minute, instead I have taken much interest in visiting the different cultural enclaves of a city, trying different cultures foods, and mixing in some art and rest time during my travels.

Being that I’m a brown girl in America, I find it very easy for me to go into spaces where mostly immigrants or first or second generation families live in within a foreign city. I thank NYC for this. I have learned to develop a walk and confidence that can fool a local. Because I blend in, I don’t attract attention and can walk into a store and browse around, or my favorite, go into a market space and observe and look at all the marvelous produce. Once a local tries to speak to me, my identity is quickly revealed.

Funny enough, on the day that I arrived, which was around 9am, it took me sometime to get to my hotel. For whatever reason, it took me some hours. I had no luggage, I brought with me a single backpack for the entirety of my trip, which I was quite impressed with I must say. The sun was set to set at around 4:45pm, so I didn’t have much time to explore in the light once I got to my hotel. I asked if I could drop of my bag, use their restroom to freshen up, and they agreed. Check in was at 3pm so really I just walked around the neighborhood, located in the 15th arr, close to Parc Georges Brassens, for a couple of hours.

The day did not at all turn out like I thought it would. Once I checked in I got a little to cozy and ended up falling asleep until 8pm or so. I was tired, it was my second day off of work, I was jet lagged, and on top of that, I had stopped working out consistently so my body was not suited for a day of adventure. But I went with it, I let myself rest, I wasn’t hungry and just enjoyed my evening in my room, letting the cold air into my room, gazing out the window looking out into the street, and mentally preparing for a more active day when I woke up.

I arrived on a Monday, that was the day I mostly slept once I checked in. So Tuesday I planned to wake up by 7, enjoy my time getting ready, stop by a café for a tasty flakey croissant down the street, and make my way over to the Museo de Montmartre in the beautiful neighborhood of Montmartre, about 45 minutes from where I was staying. I had to change some plans around so decided that afterwards, I would head to the Palestinian restaurant that would only take about 25 minutes form the museum, afterwards, take a little rest at the hotel, then end my day at the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

I arrived to the museum about 15 minutes after they opened. I got a discount because I used my student ID, and the best part, it was practically empty. There were maybe only 4 people in the home and garden, a dream, and one of the best perks of traveling during the week, while people are at work, and a week before the holiday festivities were going to kick off. The Steinlen exhibit was on display, and to be honest, I wasn’t familiar with his name, but once I began to browse the different floors of the former home that housed so many artists, I recognized some of the cat paintings, which he so much adored. This Swiss born artist was in love with cats, which historians say represented bohemian women living in Montmartre at the time. This neighborhood was an open society that was inhabited by artist, intellectuals, and people that did not believe in living by society’s norms. Steinlen was also politically aware and engaged, often portraying the working class and ladies of the night in his work.

One of the stand outs of the museum, was yet again another artists studio apartment, Suzanne Valadon’s, her lover Andre Utter, and son Maurice Utrillo’s. Suzanne got pregnant at a young age with Maurice, and began modelling at the age of 15. Later in her years she began to dive into the world of the arts and began an affair with her sons friend, Andre Utter. She preferred oil paints and pencils and red chalk and often painted working class models and even painted herself in the nude to capture her aging body. She painted for roughly 40 years of her life and was the first woman painter to be admitted to the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

I was there for a couple of hours, enjoying every second, before heading out to be at the restaurant by 12:30 for lunch. I walked some of Montmartre for about thirty minutes. Since I had visited before I didn’t have the urge to be around the flock of tourists, but still enjoyed the streets I walked through. This hilly neighborhood is full of history, agricultural history, and houses the beautiful Sacre Coeur basilica which was completed in 1914.

On my way to the metro, I walked east through the African quarter, this was my second time here, but what I love seeing is the stark contrast between Montmartre’s Parisian artistic cabaret scene to the vibrant African district full of color. I would imagine that many tourist end up here on the way down the hill, but are caught of guard by the change in demographic and language. To me, this is what makes a city beautiful and exciting. How boring and mundane it would be to have only one type of person, color, food, and theme to a city.

This got me excited to visit a completely new neighborhood that was mostly full of Arabs and North African immigrants. Ardi, the Palestinian restaurant was packed. I was lucky to get a seat right before the second wave of people came. I enjoyed my spinach dish, side of rice, mint tea, olive oil, pita, and baklava type desert. I’m not as familiar with Middle Eastern and Levantine cultures, the language and religion are quite different from the other continents that I’ve visited. In this neighborhood it is very much day to day living, and not full of the glamourous buildings shown in “Emily in Paris”. It’s the other Paris that is full of working class people trying to make it.

After the meal and talking to the hostess, I was ready for a nap. I got back to the hotel around 3pm, and again, on accident, I fell asleep for too long. By the time I woke up it was close to 6 pm and it was too late to get over to the Louis Vuitton Foundation. I wasn’t too upset, again, I just wanted my body to rest and be ready for the next 10 days I would be in Europe. So that was my short 2023 Parisian experience. Very light in adventure, heavy in culture, and relaxed. I enjoyed it, and it allowed me to have some “me time” and to jump into that solo spirit that I carried all throughout my 20s and early 30s. It was beautiful to venture out in a city with a working metro system and to go with the flow of change.

Thank you Paris, I let the resentment of people’s view of you get in the way of my liking. I found myself getting annoyed of the glamour that people often speak about when sharing their Parisian experience. They never mention “the other Paris” that I find just as important. But, this trip changed my mind. Trips from CA to Paris may always be the cheaper route into Europe, so if I fly into the city in the near future, I will always dedicate a day or two of explorations to show my appreciation.