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From Our Paris to Oui Paris! In Friendship
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© 2004 Bonita Productions Inc.
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Flags of Texas and France
From Our Paris to Oui Paris! In Friendship
By Bonnie Neely
Paris, Texas Paris, France
Traveling from the world's second largest Paris to THE Paris is an exciting experience at any time of year, or any stage of life. At this time when relations between our two countries are strained, we were particularly hopeful of promoting good will in our own limited way. We were visiting a friend, Walter Wells, who is Editor of The International Herald Tribune. Wells, an American who has lived and worked in France for several decades, and Jean-Marie Colombani, a native of France and Editor of Le Monde, the major French newspaper, together recently wrote the book Dangerous de-Liaisons about the relations between the United States and France. Wells loved the little Eiffel tower with the trademark red cowboy hat, which we present to our friends and associates everywhere we go.
He was fascinated to learn that we have a Texas-styled Eiffel tower. He began asking questions about our Paris as we meandered through his Paris, and it made us ponder that, although the two cities are vastly different in size and international importance, they have many interesting note-worthy comparisons. It became a fun challenge to see what our Paris had that could be considered similar to her namesake city.
He was fascinated to learn that we have a Texas-styled Eiffel tower. He began asking questions about our Paris as we meandered through his Paris, and it made us ponder that, although the two cities are vastly different in size and international importance, they have many interesting note-worthy comparisons. It became a fun challenge to see what our Paris had that could be considered similar to her namesake city.Our boat tour on the Seine River through the heart of Paris reminded us of the fun Paris Texans and their guests have boating on Pat Mays Lake. And Pat Mayse was never used for a sewage channel, as the picturesque eine was in former times!
Seinne, Paris France
Pat Mayse Lake, Paris, TX
While we don't have a courthouse quite like the unbelievably beautiful and elaborate, classic architecture of Hotel de Ville, Paris' town hall, the Courthouse in Paris, Texas, is of equal historic significance to our area and currently being restored to its original architectural beauty.
Paris, France Paris, TX
Of course, we don't have the Arc de Triomphe for entering our town, but we do have an attractive Welcome to Paris entrance on Highway 19/24 which guides our traffic around the classical white fountain in our town square. Much of the traffic in Paris, France, is routed around the famous Place de la Concorde obelisk
Paris, France Paris, Texas
Wonderful family play areas for children's activities in Paris, Texas, are Wade Park and the new Sports Complex and Pavillion near Love Civic Center. While wandering through the other Paris, we discovered that Luxembourg and Tuileries Gardens, once of more formal beauty for the palaces they surround, are now family parks with amusement rides. For floral beauty these two locations still have some lovely gardens, but not to be outdone, our crepe myrtle city of Paris, Texas, also has two renowned gardens which ship plants all over the United States: Castlebury Day Lily Farm, and Landfair Iris Farm, where visitors can enjoy exquisite blooms during spring and summer.
Luxembourg Jardin, Paris, France
Wade Park, Paris, TX
A typical image of Paris, France, is the artist with his beret and palette as he paints on his sidewalk easel in the area of Montmartre, where crowds daily come to observe and to buy. Paris, Texas, also has been the training ground for many young artists, and our Spring Art Fair and the Plaza Art Gallery are places to see local Paris artists at work and to purchase their creations.
Louvre Art Gallery
Paris, TX
No visit to Europe's Paris is complete without a day at the Louvre, marveling at paintings by the great masters. While we waited in line to see the Mona Lisa by da Vinci, we told several other English-speaking tourists about our Paris' fine, state-of-the-art Hayden Museum of American Art. This is the private collection of Dr. and Mrs.William Hayden, who so generously open it to the public and is rapidly gaining recognition in the world of connoisseurs.
Sidewalk Art in Montmarte, FR
Spring Art Fair in Paris, TX
After touring the grand Notre Dame Cathedral, we walked a few blocks for a concert in the incredible beauty of the very small 13th Century La Sainte Chapelle, where the brilliant cobalt and red stained glass windows are some of the oldest and most beautiful in the world. Seated in the small chapel, appreciating the amazing surroundings and the moving chords of music resounding in the vaulted arches, we remembered the inspiring organ and choir concerts we have enjoyed in the majesty of the century-old stained glass windows in Holy Cross and First United Methodist Churches at home. We were proud to tell our French friends that our local stained glass artists, Vicky McMillan, Ginna Walker, and others, are continuing to design beautiful works in this wondrous glass art form.
Ste. Chapelle(Fr) Holy Cross (TX)
We also thought how fortunate our Paris is to have many musicians who generously give frequent concerts throughout the year, as well as the Friday night open-air band concerts in Bywaters Park in the summer, to inspire our community with their gifts of music.
La Sainte Chapelle Concert
Summer Concerts Paris, TX
For fashions, Paris, France, has almost no rival in the world. However, many of the designer fashions in the St. Honoré area could not be afforded or worn by most normal people, but they are so fun to see while window shopping. Now Paris, Texas, has its own unique fashions, and tourists are equally fascinated with cowboy clothing. Everyone who travels to Texas wants to be a cowboy for a day and take home a hat and boots, so our western wear and tack shops are a natural entertainment and shopping spot for visitors here.
French Fashions Texas Style
For a really unique shopping experience tourists can scarcely find anything to compare to Gene Rader's Flea Market and Auction in Paris, Texas, which could be compared to the larger, but no more fascinating, Porte de Montreuil flea market in Paris, France. In Paris on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean esoteric and exotic second-hand items are peddled each week-end.
During the time we were in Paris, France, the Tour de France was the talk of everyone. How pleased we were to be able to say that the winner, Lance Armstrong, has Paris, Texas, family roots. We also enjoyed telling French citizens that our Chamber of Commerce and local volunteers host a huge Tour de Paris Bicycle Race each year. Paris, France, gets to host the Paris to Dakar Rally annually, and Texas Parisians host part of the Vintage Car Rally for the Across-the-USA race each year in June, an event which attracts many tourists to see the vintage automobiles and their drivers.
Paris France - Dakar Rally
Paris, TX, Vintage Car Rally
As we rode the subway to the historic Sorbonne University of Paris area, we did wish for more mass-transit in the United States. We walked through the erudite and scholarly complex realizing it has a much larger enrollment, more prestigious and widespread reputation, but our local Paris Junior College has provided a solid foundation in education for thousands of students for eight decades and is also an important enhancement to our community. Like the Sorbonne, PJC is an institution which gives great distinction to our little town, as well as hosting students from other countries each year.
Sorbonne, France
Paris Junior College, Texas
Of course Paris, France, has a myriad of shows and entertainment such as the Moulin Rouge for which it is famous. But Paris, Texas, also has small town entertainment that creates fun for both locals and visitors at various times of year. Most of these, like our fun October Pumpkin Fest, are only locally known; however, known everywhere are the “Big Tent” traveling circuses, Carson & Barnes and its sister circus, the Kelly-Miller Bros.Circus, which have their winter homes near Paris and begin their world-wide tours each year by raising the big red and white striped tent at our Fair Grounds. Carson and Barnes is proud to have one of the largest and most renowned elephant acts in the world. And thinking of shows, Paris, France, may have fine thoroughbred horse shows, but Paris, Texas, has authentic rodeos, which are a wonderful attraction for locals and visitors in summer.
France Texas
Our local Chamber of Commerce does a good job of making visitors feel welcome, as does the Tourism Office in France, where guides greeted us warmly and gave us not only maps and help with hotels, tours, points of interest, maps and language assistance but also a letter from the President of Tourism, especially welcoming all American visitors. Parisians in both places are friendly, helpful, and congenial, if you are the same to them. We found our limited French with a Texas twang was not a problem, as nearly everyone there who interacts with travelers speaks good English. Contrary to the reputation France has had in the past of being hostile to Americans, the people everywhere we went couldn't have been nicer to us. It made us hope that Americans are appreciative visitors in foreign countries and that we are as thoughtful of visitors to our Paris. Most travelers come to realize that although there are cultural and language differences, all people in their hearts are the same, with hope for peace and yearning for love and acceptance.
For most meals in France we chose the little local bistros, where we could eat with the local people around us. Because we couldn't read the menu, we often ordered the plate special to savor typical food. We found this was a big savings over the formal restaurants which cater to tourists, and the food was fresh and tasty in all the places we tried. In more expensive restaurants most menus include the French favorite foods: escargot (snails) and foie gras (duck liver). It may have been our brains instead of our taste buds that screamed NO to these “delicacies.” These require palates developed in childhood, or with more practice than we could accomplish in ten days. But we really enjoyed the fine cheeses, wines, and breads throughout France. Of course, we Texans love to show off our local favorites of fried catfish, jalapeño poppers, chili, barbeque, and Tex-Mex foods to visitors…not realizing that to some people these spicy foods are also quite different and require some practice to enjoy! In Paris, France, we craved our Texas favorites!
French Fromage Texas Barbeque
While traveling affords the opportunity to expand one's knowledge and ideas, the best part of any trip is coming back home. Upon our return, our Paris looked beautiful to us with its crepe myrtles in bloom and the red cowboy hat proudly resting on our Eiffel Tower. As we travel around our little town we are thankful for so many opportunities it affords those of us who live here, and we are proud to see it with new eyes. But we can still salute her namesake, OUI Paris !
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