Au Revoir, Paris….but I will be back, again and again

I have been attempting to put together the top things I loved about Paris but the truth is, it is much more complicated than that.  I have always loved Europe, the major cities, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam…and I would put London in that category too.  Why?  I guess one could say, how could you not.  But, I wanted to put it on paper ( or a blog ).  What is it? 

So, I am going to attempt to put it into words.  I love how the sun doesn’t set until 1030 at night in the summer, the open air cafes where people are always out and about.  Perhaps because the living spaces are so small there is a need to be public.  I love the bread, the boulangeries and the patisseries.  I love the cheese and of course the chocolate and foie gras. I love the coffee. I love Soldes which only happens twice a year.  I love Cuisine de Bar for lunch, any day.  I love the food market at Bon Marche.  I love the dressing rooms at YSL.  I love the small intimate museums where you feel like you are the only person who has discovered how special it is.  I love the attitude and the fashion on the streets.  I love that we are living in 2008 and the town reads like it is 400 years old it not older.  I love the architecture.  I love the intimacy.  At the end of the day, I truly love the culture.  I love living in a very high tech world but walking the streets where there is so much history.  I love the rambling streets and the discoveries you make daily.  I love that every block has some type of landmark or statue or something of importance.  I love the laissez faire attitude but in some ways hate it too but embrace it while I am in Paris.  I love that everything shuts down on Sunday and forces you to take a back seat to the world.  I love the parks.  I love how the Seine weaves through the city.  I just love the old world elegance. 

Living in Paris for a month was wonderful for everyone.  That our kids can go back to Paris, at any time of their lives and know the streets and feel the city is something that they own.  That is special.  To connect to another world particularly as the world gets flatter and to embrace a culture for its history and substance is big. 

New York City is still my favorite place in the entire world but spending a month in Paris, makes me look at the world just a little differently and at the end of the day, that is a good thing for the entire family. 

Comments (Archived):

  1. rachel

    what a great list – you summed up so many of the reasons i love paris too. i went on summer programs in high school and college to europe and was able to stay for extended periods of time, but being able to go with the whole family is truly awesome.

  2. amy

    thanks for sharing your travels. it has been fun getting your perspectives on the city and the food! i haven’t found my way to Paris yet but it’s definitely somewhere i would love to explore one day.

    on another subject – i noticed the The Boat is on your books read list. i’ve only read a couple of the stories in the collection but i’m really enjoying it.

  3. gregorylent

    if you collect a few of these cities in a lifetime it is not possible to go back into the box you came out of. especially if they are on different continents.

    it makes for a very different kind of human being. one needed in politics, say, or business, but the constraints of the local often are too much for the truly global to be attracted.

  4. Leslie Gittess

    Thanks for the info on Paris. I am planning a 10 year anniversary trip and your list will be essential !

  5. Angela

    I understand and totally agree with your list..but it is more true to tourism than actual residents. I think that when you actually work here and have a busy job, the memories of frustrating experiences somehow damper a bit of the sparkle but that is true for all cities I expect. I am leaving Paris next week after three years here and while the bittersweet feelings are slowing creeping in, I can’t wait to come back with a fresh perspective as a tourist so that I can learn to savour the grace, intimacy and all those wonderful other things about it…au revoir Paris