Writing Challenge #7

Today's writing challenge is inspired by a writing assignment I had to do for a course I was taking. This challenge is to write about your Dream Trip. Now this has to be somewhere you have never been before. This is a great exercise in developing a setting and a great way to learn how to apply research and experience to writing when you have never been there or never experienced things.

I picked Paris, France. I love Paris and I know a fair bit about it. Also there are a lot of photos online and it is a very popular place. So there is a lot of information online to help you write about it. But also that means it is a popular place and you have to write it realistically or people will know it is not the real experience.

My Fantasy Trip would be to France, probably in the summertime. Most festivals and things are held in summer for the tourists and the crowds they attract. I would land at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris and from there head to the hotel. In my fantasy trip I would unpack my bags and enjoy a night recovering from jetlag in a beautiful Paris hotel. I’d sip wine on the balcony and watch the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

The next day I would make my way from my hotel to L’Arc de Triomphe, the beautiful arch dedicated to those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The beautiful sculpture on each pillar depicting angels and gods surrounding french warriors. And around the facades of the Arch battles and moments in France’s history are depicted, two on each side. It is all very breathtaking and to be able to see the list of names of the military leaders of the French Revolution and Empire is amazing. It is a wonderful dedication and the cherry on top is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The beautiful slab, bordered in gold, simply says Ici repose un soldat Français mort pour la Patrie 1914 - 1918 (Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914 - 1918). It is all topped off with the inspiring eternal flame.

From there I would walk down the Avenue des Champs Elysées. The avenue itself is breathtaking. The road is lined with trees that truly standout against the tall buildings. I walk by fancy boutiques like Louis Vuitton and Hugo Boss. It is truly surreal. As I walk along, whiffs of floral perfumes float out into the streets from these chique stores and other perfume sellers. Accompanying the smells of vanilla and lavender are the amazing smells coming from Le Fouquet.

Le Fouquet Paris is part of the Hotel Barriere. It is very noticeable. The canopy over their Champs Elysees patio is bright read and all the chairs and benches match. The wonderful smells are coming from patrons having lunch and it’s too enticing not to stop. I start with a beautiful glass of red wine from Crozes-Hermitage. It is a nice wine, with hints of smoke and oak flavours. It is kind of fruity also, like blackberries and figs. It is a very nice wine and it goes well with the cheese plate I ordered. The Sainte-Maure de Touraine cheese doesn’t look very appetizing with its greyish mold on the outside, but I force myself to try it anyways. It tastes better than it looks. It is very soft, like most goat cheeses, and it is tangy almost like sour cream but the cheese flavour is there. It is very creamy but not too rich. The next cheese looks a little more appetizing and what I am used to. On the menu it is called Comte 18, but in english it is better known as Gruyere cheese. The eighteen is because it has been aged for 18 months. That seems quite obvious based on the yellow almost brown colour of the rind. It is a very hard cheese but it is mild and it tastes slightly sweet. It goes very well with my wine, I can see why it was chosen. The final cheese is Bleu d’Auvergne. Even if I didn’t know Fresh the smell alone would scream, Blue Cheese. It is very pungent and the mold does not help sell it. But I have to try it. At first, it is like getting slapped in the face with cheese, it is strong. It grows on you after a while though. It isn’t very salty and it is actually creamy with a bit of a butter taste. It’s not as strong when I drink the wine with it, but still not to my liking.

Once I leave Fouquet, I continue my journey down the busiest street in Paris. I can almost lose myself in the beauty and just the surreal thought that I am finally in the city of my dream. But any day dream I may have would quickly be interrupted by the massive amounts of cars and traffic noises. The blaring horns are constant and repetitive. It seems to be chaotic at times with french being yelled so fast I can barely understand what the locals are saying to each other. Though traffic is a little loud at times, the further along the avenue I walk the quieter it seems to become. There are many parks along Champs Elysees Avenue, and the car noises are replaced with that of pedestrians and children. All of the parks seem so beautiful and so packed full of people. There are people walking with their dogs, kids playing in the grass, and around the fountains, there are even musicians playing beautiful music on their respective string instruments.

It’s easy to lose time just sitting on one of the not-so-soft benches in the park but as the sun starts to set, the wind starts to pick up. The cool wind seems nice on sunburnt skin. After the long day, the walk from the subway to the hotel feels like the longest walk of my life. I can feel the small pebbles on the sidewalk through my flip flops more now than ever. The air conditioning of the hotel is a welcomed sensation over my skin and I go to bed that night with a smile on my face, under the softest sheets I have ever laid on in my life.