Paris je t'aime!

Many of my friends back home, when asking how my stay in Paris is going, make remarks about my love hate relationship with Paris. Fair enough since Paris and I have definitely had our ups and downs. The biggest down being the stupid and rude French bakery person, which happened to coincide with the day before I headed to London (hence, leaving on a low note here meant a really high review of London, not that London wouldn’t have been great otherwise, I’m just sayin’). In any case, since I’m now facing my last week in Paris, I’ve been walking every night and day and just taking in the “I live in Paris” feeling that one can only get by leisurely strolling through the streets and on the river bank.

It’s sad to think that I’ll be leaving in a week, when I feel like I’ve only now gotten my bearings. When lost tourists ask me where something is, I can actually tell them! Even when the French ask me where something is, I can normally tell them, in French! In fact, I swear, I think my French is finally starting to pick up, better late than never I guess (though it is causing issues in my poor brain, which is fighting to keep Russian, English, and French straight)! I guess I will just have to keep practicing until I come back to experience it all over again!

Yesterday, I decided to walk along the river to Pont Alexander III and noticed all the lovely couples and people hanging out by the water, so on the way back, I decided to walk right on the river! And that’s when it hit me. It was like a wave washing over me. I love Paris. Now, this may seem silly because I have proclaimed this before. But, I really and truly love Paris. Before Tuesday, I loved Paris because it was a beautiful city and had lovely landmarks and such, but after that stroll, it truly hit me that I just love Paris for its “ambience”. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s finally spring, and the city is alive, but just being able to walk on the river and see kids hanging out and people bustling all around me, I just felt like I was almost seeing Paris for the first time again.

I’ve talked to many a Parisian (and others as well) who says that Paris is so romanticized, when in fact, it’s not nearly that romantic. But really? How can you say that? Have you ever walked on Pont des Arts and seen the couples picnicking? The locks symbolizing eternal love? The trees on the bank that have lovers’ initials carved into them? Sure, maybe it’s hokey and silly, but it’s also romantic and sweet.


And so this feeling of absolute love washed over me. But in that same walk, I felt a bit of a panic because my time here is drawing to a close. It’s like realizing you’ve met your soulmate and then realizing that you have one week left with him. I know, I know, I sound hokey and sappy, but that’s what Paris has done to me (for better or worse). The time I have spent in Paris, thus far, has been amazing and knowing that I am about to be separated from my ‘love’ makes me want to spend every waking moment with it. And so, I shall. My list of sights now includes the Loire Valley, climbing Notre Dame and checking out Invalides. But the most important things that I intend to drink in will simply be the walks along the Seine and through the gardens and little streets. My favorite walk (which I’ve done each of the last two days) is from Bastille, to Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame, along the river to the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens to Concorde and up to Champs Elysees, then to Palais de Tokyo, over to the other side and then back across Pont Alexander III, then taking the steps down to the river and walking all the way to Pont des Arts, where I cross back to Rive Gauche and walk back to Notre Dame and then through Ile St. Louis and then back to Bastille. So if you’re looking for me in Paris, this is where I’ll be every evening of the next week, drinking in every Parisian moment that I can 

Paris, je t’aime.