Meeting My Namesake: The Trip
Louvre Museum
Time stood still for three seconds. My Mom told my Granny that we were leaving for Paris in less than 24hrs. We were waiting for her reaction. If it was bad then we would just take the punishment. At least our intentions were good. Then out of no where she shrieked. I froze. The next reaction would verify if it was excitement or something else.
“Are ya’ll serious?” she said. I didn’t reply.
“Yes ma’am,” my Mom said giving an unsure smile.
“Awwww. Ya’ll are so sweet,” she said and got up and hugged her. I breathed for the first time since we broke the news to her.
Granny’s excitement made me ready for our excursion all the more. It was finally here, and we were all on board. Now fast forward an Uber ride to JFK airport, going through customs, and boarding the plane. We were finally on our way. Only seven hours before my introduction to my beautiful namesake. About halfway through the flight I began to have an excruciating headache. It felt like someone had taken their two index fingers and pressed as hard as they could on my temples. I didn’t know where it was coming from. All I knew was that it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
The pain became unbearable. My granny gave me an aspirin and I rested my head against the window. Maybe I was too excited, or too scared. The unknown is always frightening. I wasn’t sure if Paris would be kind to me. Would she be everything I imagined her to be? Either way I would find out because I was only two hours away.
****************
As I stepped off the plane I inhaled deeply. The air was different. Cold, but different. There was no pollution. Instead she was a familiar stranger. I instantly felt like I’d known her for years.
For the next two days, I wasn’t my usual chatter-box self. I wanted to take everything in. I left my headphones at the apartment so that I could learn as much as possible about her. The first thing that struck me was how beautifully she was structured. The streets were narrow. By US standards many could have been mistaken for alleys. Balconies were everywhere. Iron twisted and molded into the most intricate poetic designs. Of course I did all the touristy thing like visiting the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and more. Luckily we did the hop on and hop off bus tour. I was able to listen to the guide learn more about the City's history.
Each landmark was more magical in person, but what captured me most about the city was its historic atmosphere. It’s weird because I’ve never felt that way before. There were times when we walked through the city and I felt like I walked right through a time warp. Like I had taken a journey back in time. It was the most intense on the morning that I spent retracing some of the steps of some of the literary greats. James Baldwin moved to Paris when he was twenty-four with only a few dollars in his pocket. Langston Hughes and Richard Wright among other writers have all called Paris home for extended periods of time. My visit to Shakespeare & Co. bookstore and lunch at the famous Les Deux Magot was life changing.
My spending time in the Cafe humanized Baldwin's experience for me. So often we study and discuss him and his work as if he was an elusive figure. He was absolutely brilliant. At the same time at his core he was what most writers aim to be; a true reflection of the times and society. For me sitting in Les Deux Magot was definitely an “Aha” moment. It was as if it all made sense. My desire to write, why I write, and who I write for all became clearer. Hands down this was my favorite part of exploring Paris.
Although we were only there for a brief visit, I had a fabulous introduction to my namesake. She had a way of making me think differently and more creatively. I know I only grazed the surface of what the beautiful city has to offer. I did feel the Parisians were annoyed that I was an American who didn’t speak French.
I can see myself residing in Paris for a while. Who knows what the future holds, but what I know for sure is that I will definitely return. I left feeling like we had some unfinished business. It’s a feeling that hard to describe, but she proved to be better than I’d ever expected. Finally I'd met her, my namesake.
“Hi, I’m LaParis.”
“Pretty name. Have you ever been?”
“Yes, yes I have.”
Click the gallery below and take a look at a few of the photos from the trip.
