Europe Part 2: Paris

June 2, 2025

Let’s just take a second to appreciate trains.

When me and the fam went to New York in January, we took Amtrak from Buffalo to the Big Apple — but the Eurostar from Amsterdam to Paris was on a whole ‘nother level. Sure, comparing the two may be unfair considering they’re different types of rail service, but let’s do it anyway.

Amtrak Empire Service (Buffalo Depew → Moynihan Train Hall)

Distance: ~400 miles (644 km)
Time: 8+ hours (some delay caused by ice buildup)
Stops: 12
Wifi: spotty

Eurostar (Amsterdam Centraal → Gare du Nord)

Distance: 268 miles (431 km)
Time: 3 hours, 28 minutes
Stops: 4
Wifi: mostly okay

I know there’s lots of history, differences, and factors at play between these two (infrastructure, bureaucracy, lobbying, etc). But one aspect I found interesting about American rail is that Amtrak and freight trains mainly share the same tracks, most of which is owned by freight companies (like 70%). So jurisdiction over who gets priority when there are delays or other issues can be pretty muddied, regardless of what federal law says.

Anyway! Weird tangent — let’s get back to France, mes amis.

After our brisk travel day, we split with the in-laws to separate lodgings since they’d be going on to participate in a cruise shortly. But early the next drizzly day, we met up again to attempt to get into Notre Dame. But turns out it was Sunday right before mass was supposed to start, so the entire Place du Parvis was slam-a-jammed. Oops!

Sunlit photo of my in-laws, JJ, and Em on a bridge over the Seine — Not sure what JJ was doing here

After a change of plan (and some hearty crêpes), we all walked to the Musée des Arts et Métiers (Museum of Arts and Crafts).

There were lots of incredibly rad installations here, and I loved that each floor was dedicated to a different technological concept (construction, communication, energy, etc). But when we got to a big bevvy of typewriters and keyboards, you know I had to pause for a closer look.

One of my favorite designers/writers, Marcin Wichary, has long reflected on the history of mechanical keyboards in all their forms. He even wrote a giant, 2-volume book about it (which I’ve barely cracked into)! But also, he’s written extensively about a little typeface called Gorton — a routed font that’s more ubiquitous than Helvetica and three times as charming.

So I decided to peep through the museum cabinets and find some.

E 10 type transceiver — “E 10” type transceiver

The interior structure and architecture of the building itself seemed pretty straightforward — right up until the very last section. Turns out the museum is housed in the former priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, dating back over 1000 years before the museum’s founding in 1802.

Ornate, wooden beams and ribbed structure of the chapel roof of the Musée des Arts et Métiers

We parted ways with the in-laws that evening, and turned in early after so much walking.

The next day we’d planned to do some more typical Paris tourist-y stuff, the highlight of which was an awesome lunch cruise around the Seine.

Photo of JJ from the back, looking out over a low wall towards a bridge over the Seine — JJ keeping an eye out for our boat

Black and white photo of the Eiffel Tower from our lunch cruise on the Seine

A post-meal hike eventually brought us to the Galeries Lafayette to marvel at the multiple floors of fancy goods for sale. Also, you could access the roof!

A partly sunny skyline view of Paris from the roof of the Galeries Lafayette

A skyline view of Paris (Eiffel and all) from the roof of the Galeries Lafayette with God rays coming through the clouds.

Our last day in Paris was my absolute favorite. The weather had cleared up, and we learned that if we woke up early enough we could snag free fast-pass tickets to get into Notre Dame without waiting in line.

The front of Notre Dame with loads of people milling about and waiting in line.

Shot down the nave of Notre Dame, slam-a-jammed with visitors

Photo past a pillar and chandelier in the Notre Dame nave, up to the stained glass in one of the upper galleries

Rainbow light from stained glass coloring some Notre Dame pillars near the Sainte Anne entrance. In the center is a Madonna and child statue affixed to one of the pillars.

Em holding JJ and smiling with the exterior of Notre Dame visible in the background

Some crêpes and a playground later, we made our way to La Coulée Verte Paris (aka the Promenade Plantée or Paris Highline) — an elevated linear park built on top of a former railway. Strolling along through the flowering trees & early spring buds, admiring the shifts in architecture from one neighborhood to the next, seeing locals on their lunch breaks — this was a great final taste of the city and felt distinctly non-touristy.

Close view from the Paris Highline down to a crosswalk. There are a few pedestrians and a cyclist waiting.

Small, yellow flowering tree in front of a warm brick apartment facade

A row of large, identical, sculptured figures posing along the terraced top of a Paris apartment building

View from the Paris Highline of a street lined with white, flowering trees

Long rectangular pond surrounded by greenery on the Paris Highline

Tired from all the walking and sunshine, we retired early to pack and get ready for a pre-dawn metro and bus ride to Charles de Gaulle Airport and home.

JJ looking out an airplane window with orange headphones on (JJ, not the airplane)

And that’s it! There’s definitely lots more I could write about the trip (the travel prep alone would be worthwhile), and the first versions of these posts were considerably longer. But there are just some things I prefer to leave in my own memories or as bullet points in my travel journal.

Normal summer activities aside, our next big family outing will be back to New York in September to see my favorite band: Vulfpeck!