Pari Roller

Greetings from France!  I came with the kids and have loved every minute I have in this beautiful country. I love the light, food, fashion, language, art and culture. And now, I have my favorite event to add to the list: Pari Roller. Pari Roller is a weekly event in Paris full of roller skaters and roller bladers along specified routes in the city. Every Friday, all year long, starting at 9:30 pm, skaters have the opportunity to skate on closed down roads for 40 kilometers. Since roller skating has become a new passion and hobby, I was excited to try it out and be a part of this unique and special celebration. At the last minute, I convinced my friend Jean from NYC to come with me for a portion of the trip *IF* she roller skated with me that night. Always positive and enthusiastic, she said she had not been on skates for 35 years but was confident in her ability and thought it sounded fun. Jean is an incredibly upbeat, fashionable and creative friend, so it was no surprise that she picked out an outfit that corresponded with her skates.

 

Jean flew to Paris with her complete outfit (on the right). I thought it would be a great idea to match her, so the DAY OF, I went to Zara and lo and behold, found the silver pants. It was like I won the lottery I was so excited.

We had the best time getting ready and were giggly and oh so happy.

Our night out…..the sitter thought we were crazy.

In the cab — Jean lacing up her brand new roller skates. Not only had she not tried them on, but she literally had not SKATED in forever.

I was a little worried that we would be late, so we left with plenty of time to get there. And of course, we had ample time, so we ended up at a bar and had our share of aperol spritzes.

Holding skates.

And the best drink in the world.

Off we go…..so I knew that we weren’t going to last the whole 40 kilometers, but the way that I had initially thought of it — we were capable of doing 10.

But…..the night ended up a little differently because bless our hearts, Jean was not an expert on roller skates. So here she was, falling and falling, and I was uncontrollably laughing and couldn’t keep it together. It was so funny. Everyone was in athletic gear (AND FRENCH), but here we were, Americans, in sparkle pants, and with one not-so-great-skater.

So after 200 meters, we called it a night (literally, that is not even out of the parking lot), and walked and laughed, and went to the Eiffel Tour.

Once we were at the Eiffel Tour, I put back on my skates and continued our night. It wasn’t necessarily a success, but it was BY FAR one of the most fun nights I have ever had. Seriously, the best.

 

So, if you are ever in Paris and like to skate — check out Pari Roller!

Anika Yael Natori, aka, The Josie Girl

Blog Home Page

Josie Girl

3 Comments

  1. I give your friend so much credit for trying !!! I don’t think I could stand up with skates on let alone move haha!

Leave a Reply to Tara Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *