Okay. I've been trying to figure out what to say about Paris, other than I loved it, I wanted to stay, and now that I'm home I miss it more than I ever thought I could miss something as simple as a location on the earth. But it's not just "a location". It's Paris. Everything about Paris is beauty in its purest form. The food, the wine, the architecture, the art -- it's all beautiful. The ugliest building in the city was built in the 70s, which was a strange time for architecture everywhere -- even that is at least more attractive than the buildings that appeared in the US at the same time.
And then there's the people. Everyone is quiet and polite. You don't have to holler at the top of your lungs and throw your elbows around to get off the Metro. A single, fairly quiet "pardon" and the crowd parts. All the restaurants and cafes are fairly small with tables crammed in as close as they can be, but you still cannot hear the conversation of the people next to you. Unless they're American tourists -- who I quickly became annoyed with as if I was already Parisian. And oh my goodness, the children. You all know that I don't like children. Well, I had NO problem with Parisian children. And at one restaurant, I learned why -- if the child is throwing a tantrum or otherwise causing a disturbance in public, you know what the parents do? They leave. They go home, taking the fussy child with them, and after a while, the child learns that disruptive behavior in public is not acceptable. I swear to you, even the pigeons were polite. You throw a pigeon a crumb and instead of begging for more or calling out to his 20 friends nearby that he found someone gullible, he'd just eat the crumb, bob his head as if to say, "merci," and move along.
I know you all want to know the specifics, like what we did, what we saw, what we ate. But I just can't make myself reduce Paris into a chronicle of experiences. It was simply THE experience. So, for what we did and saw, you can visit my mom's chronicle on her blog, starting with day one. You can also see what she ate -- I didn't record what I ate. I just ate.
As for photos, my mom has a few in her blog. You can see my photos on Facebook. I've already checked, you will be able to see those photos whether you're my Facebook friend or not.
I now know that I MUST return to Paris as soon as I'm able. So, on that note, to my dear Paris -- À bientôt!
3 comments:
I once had a workaholic boss who summed up her three week vacation through Germany, Austria and Switzerland thusly: "We ate, we wandered, we slept in, and I realized that the way I live my life is completely and utterly wrong."
I really enjoyed this post. It's snapshots of your experience, snippets of times seen through your eyes that make me want to explore Paris for myself. I don't know the French word for 'bravissima', so I'm afraid you will have to translate it yourself. Pardon ;)
Your post, your mom's and all the pictures make me really want to get back to Europe someday very soon. I've never been to Paris but it sounds like it is such an ideal place to just do and enjoy with little pressure. That sounds magnificent to me! So very glad to read you had such a fantastic time :-)
Funny, your first few lines describing how it felt like home when you left is exactly the way I feel about southern California :-)
i like this description of paris. i love to know the feel of a place and it seems very relaxing. no wonder you love it so much.
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