Rainy Summer in the City of Love

Being a Malaysian and having just glorious sunshine and tropical rain throughout the year, it's really hard to imagine what the four seasons would look like. The first time I went to Paris was two years ago for Christmas with Xav's family. Then, I'd expected to see snow covering the streets of Paris and feel icy wind blowing through several layers of my clothing. Yet, Parisian streets remained stubbornly the same, filled with people huddling in thick coats, struggling to keep warm against minus zero temperatures.

This time around, Xav and I got to experience summer in the City of Love. I didn't think I'd see anything different than the burning sun in Tahiti, although I did receive news from my mother-in-law (Elizabeth/Zabeth) about scattered rains in Paris. Nevertheless, I was optimistic – visiting a romantic city in the summer, how terrible can the weather be?

As our plane began its descent, all we could see around us were thick grey clouds. When the plane taxied towards the terminal, rain drizzled against our windows. By the time we collected our luggage, climbed into Zabeth's car and drove home, fat droplets of water just poured from the sky like there was no tomorrow! It wasn't the best start to our summer vacation, but we were tired from the 24-hour flight that we didn't really care at the time. Besides, we were amongst our family, so it was really great despite the weather :).



Our two weeks in Paris were just fantastic! We caught up with family members and old friends. We even made new friends since many of Anne's and Cyril's friends came by for the wedding preparations. The first week, Xav and I went down to Paris a few times. The whole family followed us once for a 45-minute Seine river cruise. The day was cloudy, but the rain held back until the cruise was over. It was wonderful though, because right after, the whole family went for hot chocolate at a nearby cafe. Nothing like warming your hands around a hot cup of steaming cocoa topped with whipped cream!

One morning, Xav and I just walked all over Paris and crossed the two little islands, Ile de St Louis and Ile de la Cité. In total we'd walked about 10 km in 5 hours! We had aching legs and feet towards the end. All along the way we'd taken pictures of our old haunts – Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower – and a new place called 'Paris Plage' (Paris Beach). It's basically a long stretch by the Seine river where sand had been brought in and spread all over the paved road. Coconut trees and lounge chairs were placed all along this stretch of sand, giving the illusion of a beach right in Paris.

In between these landscape shots of historical buildings and architecture, I just couldn't resist capturing some of the more modern additions which I'm certain would have shocked the French centuries ago ;). For instance, this condom dispenser/vending machine – how convenient to slot in coins and avoid embarassing situations at the local pharmacy! Of course, this would also mean that anyone who has €2 can buy a condom, which includes plenty of underaged teenagers. Still, better to experiment safely than to live dangerously.

Of course, one can never see the city of Paris in one day! Xav and I spent another day exploring the Jardin des Tuilleries in the center of Paris. We took the carousel which is basically a big merry-go-round that gives excellent views of the whole of Paris. We took plenty of photos despite the scary feeling of vertigo. Unfortunately, something went wrong during the file transfer that we lost all these photos. We have not been able to recover them at all :(. Oh well, it's okay – we'll be returning there soon enough!

Somewhere at the beginning of the second week, Xav and I went to Versailles. We had explored the castle as well as the grounds two years ago. This time, we just wanted to go for a walk and enjoy the brief reprieve of good weather, or so we thought. About 30 minutes into the walk, it began drizzling and we had to cut the stroll short! Nevertheless, we managed to take some snapshots of the grounds. Yes, people, it is THAT grand!

About a few days before Anne and Cyril's wedding, Cyril, in an attempt to diffuse his tension, invited Xav and I for something that was too unique to pass up – a 50-metre descent suspended by just a rope, from a bridge surrounded by a forest. Sounds dangerous but is actually terribly exhilarating. Reminded me of the time I went bungy-jumping in New Zealand.


The bridge was recently reopened after bad publicity following a suicide/murder that occurred there some time back. The stone walls on either side of the bridge had little footholds and handholds for those who wished to climb the walls rather than descend from the bridge. On the bridge itself, there were two or three holes surrounded by circular steel poles from which we could tie rope supports and descend. This is what Cyril, Xav and I did. Cyril tied everything together and explained to us how the pulley works and its comforting safety features that automatically lock and render us immobile if we try to descend too quickly. Xav was the first to go down and he was extremely stressed. It took him some time to reach the bottom, all the while squeezing his hands together on the pulley, holding on for dear life! I was nervous too, but managed to hang around (literally) and enjoy the beautiful view of the countryside. Later on, Xav went down a second time, a lot less stressed and much more confident. It was great fun!


Our two weeks in Paris culminated into a climatic event which was of course, Anne and Cyril's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, and get this, it rained every single day we were in Paris, except on the wedding day! That is what I'd call divine intervention and their marriage is truly blessed. Their friends were very closely involved, as were Xav and Marine too. The night before the wedding, they'd practised a surprise rock song sung by a popular French singer called 'M'. The lyrics were rewritten by Marine to capture the history and characters of the couple. Xav played this tune on the electric guitar while the rest sang. Later that evening, we all had a small party with close family friends.


The next day dawned clear blue skies and bright sunshine as far as the eyes could see. All the ladies and some of the men dressed in Zabeth's apartment. It was a bustle of activity, with the bride donning her beautiful wedding gown and the four bridesmaids in the next room, exchanging hair and make-up tips.
Lots of laughter and many moments of pause and reflection later, we were all set to go to the Registrar's office for the official signing of the marriage certificates. Getting married is undoubtedly one of the most emotional moments one can experience in life.



A deep and profound commitment to one person and that person only for the rest of your life is not something to be taken lightly for sure. It was not surprising then that as the marriage vows were exchanged, Anne's eyes had sparkled with unshed tears. I think a few other people might have teared as well.

After this, we all had a photography session in a park nearby the Registrar's Office and the church. It was simply a lovely day. I was the designated family photographer so I was busy snapping photos all over the place. Yet I felt quite drained after the office and asked Xav to take the photos instead. The religious ceremony in the church took about an hour to complete, with the official exchange of rings and the blessings and prayers from the priest. Marine, as the maid of honour, sang 'Ave Maria' accompanied by the organ while Anne's friends, Antoine and Pauline sang 'Bless the Lord, My Soul'. At the end of the ceremony, Marine entertained everyone with a medley of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and 'What A Wonderful World'. This time she was accompanied by Xav on the electric guitar.

The dinner followed right after and was held in this old restored French farmhouse which had a huge compound, a cool dance floor and the dining hall big enough to fit close to 200 people. I can't speak for all French weddings, but from what I've learnt so far, weddings in France are confined to those people whom the couple really know. This is quite unlike us Malaysians who invite the whole town and its extended family in other towns as well! Xav and I were seated at the main table, along with close friends of Anne and Cyril. The main table here does not necessarily refer to family members only. We had place cards of where we should be seated at the table. All couples were separated and seats alternated between men and women. This puts me in a pickle as I was a few heads away from Xav and in between two men I barely knew. In spite of this, I managed to carry on an interesting conversation about language with these guys. They were describing the difficulties of the Spanish language compared to French and the present increasing use of English in France.


Everything from aperitif to dessert was simply delectable! The champagne and red wine were particularly exquisite. Somewhere in the middle of the cheese course, Marine and close friends of the couple gathered before them to sing the surprise, rewritten M song to the electric guitar tune played by Xav. We had distributed the lyric sheets to everyone, so basically everyone in the hall was singing to the couple. This lightened up the dinner atmosphere even further and of course, eager couples branched off onto the dance floor, showing off some serious dance moves. The DJ was good and he played a mix of songs from pop to rock to swing, so even the old timers warmed up the dance floor with practiced steps and remarkable twirls. The party went on until about 5am, by which time Xav and I were turning blind, having never stayed up that late before in a long time (must be getting old!).



It was a fitting end to a wonderful two weeks in Paris, yet it was sad to leave everyone behind. But it is a comforting thought that we would be returning soon to build our lives in France.....that's a whole other story though, perhaps for another time! ;D