Saturn Returns to Aries
Paris | May 2025
I had spent my first day back in Paris with my dear friend, who had added a day stop to her itinerary so we could walk the city streets together. Shopping, eating, and taking in all that the Parisians could offer. She introduced me to a lovely Berlin turned Parisian she had met in London, and we dined at Cafe Charlotte, supposedly one of the best spots to be for people our age.
I was growing rather tired and cancelled the following day’s trip to Giverny, wanting to be still in Paris for a moment. Back-to-back flights and trains have a way of wearing one down when adjusting to a time zone. In need of some time to myself, I booked a simple room. I was much more concerned with the sites and museums I would be able to see before my last class at the Jewelers Bench.
On that Monday, Saturn returned to Aries.
It was my first free and unplanned day. My cousin was a call away, but it was my first day alone in Paris.
I figured it was best to start with a fresh croissant from Mamiche before heading to the Fourth Arrondissement for a bit of shopping. From there, I set out to the Dauphine market, at the Puces de Saint-Ouen—a sprawling flea market that housed everything from buttons and vintage designer items to jewelry, sixties light fixtures, and Renaissance paintings.I wouldn’t have been surprised if the masterpieces stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum were hidden in one of the back rooms. The plot where the flea market sat was so vast, it felt like it went on through generations of time. I wandered into Marché Dauphine and stopped at the site of an astounding orange structure resembling a flying saucer—a Futuro House created by Matti Suuronen in the late 1960s. Otherworldly by design, I wondered what sites the structure had seen before settling. Even with half of its vendors closed, it was a flea market that rivaled my favorite in Los Angeles, the Melrose Trading Post, where I’d sourced many pairs of vintage Levi's. I reached for the thought of the guy who was seemingly always on my mind and wondered what he’d select, given the vast amount of art, furniture, and home decor.
The day concluded with a stroll through the Tuilleries Garden, which had quickly become my favorite resting point, and stopping by the Arc de Triomphe and thinking, Yep, there it is, as it was when I had seen it seven years prior. It had been standing long before I had entered the realm, and will stand long after my time is up.
As night fell, a bout of loneliness hit me, having just spent nine days in a row in the company of others. While the man invading my thoughts once again crossed my mind, I gave my best friend from COVID a call. While our trio had spoken over dinner just a few nights prior, a breakup had been announced, and I wanted to check on how she was doing. We had traveled together so often that it felt foreign to be across seas without her, making the trip feel slightly incomplete, as one-third of the trio had not been able to join.
On my final evening in Paris, I sat in front of the Eiffel Tower, watching the sunset. I decided to give my parents a call, as it occurred to me my mom had never seen the Eiffel Tower with her own eyes. My dad had only passed through Paris on a layover. They turned to each other and said,
“Maybe we’ll go someday.”
Written with Honey
