As I mentioned in Journal No. 3, we did have some criteria. Some were things we couldn’t live without, and others would be nice if we could find them. The neighborhood was criteria number one. Since we have traveled to Paris before, we somewhat knew where we didn’t want to stay. For this trip I don’t want to see the typical Paris attractions. I want to immerse myself in the culture. That reminds me, I should probably learn some French!
This time I'm looking forward to experiencing a little more of the Paris people actually live in. We want to walk down the street for a baguette in the morning, stop at the market for groceries and have neighborhood restaurants nearby at night. Maybe by the end of the week we'll even know which boulangerie is our favorite.
We will be going to Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen and the Porte de Vanves markets, which are located on opposite sides of town from each other. We plan to take an Uber to and from each of these so it wasn’t necessary to be staying close to either.
We also want somewhere that feels safe, and feel more like a we are staying in a neighborhood instead of a tourist destination. The 17th Arrondissement kept coming up as the perfect place. I just had to be careful not to find a place close to the busy train tracks. I did use AI to help with my search. I typed in my needs and wants of what I was looking for, and it helped me narrow it down to a few areas. Oh, and of course it also had to be charming!
Another reason the 17th caught my attention was the number of vintage and antique shops in the area. Since finding pieces for Maison & Patina is the whole reason for this trip, having places to wander into right in our own neighborhood felt pretty perfect. We’ll also be fairly close to Montmartre, which I loved on my last trip. I have a feeling some of my favorite finds may come from the places I don’t have planned at all.
The Eiffel Tower doesn't need to be outside our window. In fact, for this trip, that's the opposite of what we wanted. I want to see what our little corner of Paris feels like in the morning, what it's like at night, and hopefully find a few places that start to feel familiar before it's time to leave.
~Jamie
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