If Only I Was French..

Fresh crusty baguettes plastered in the windows of each bakery on my walk to Notre Dame made me realize that maybe some statements are indeed true.  Keep your friends close and you enemies closer.  For many American women, carbs indeed are the enemy so during my stay in Paris, I’ll even keep the crumbs close.  Food, fashion, art, and how can we forget, romance, surrounded me as I make my way around the city of love.

Rather than be mesmerized by the season’s latest handbag at the multi-level Louis Vuitton, I chose to be the typical tourist.  That meant in a week I would become completely familiar with Champs’ Elysees, get lost on the avenues near Notre Dame, try some escargot, and have an affair with my new camera. Of course I also told myself I would be spontaneous. Gaining 5 pounds because I had learned how to inhale croissants was completely unplanned and impulsive. Living life on the wild side is what I like to call it. 

The first few hours of the each day began by plopping down at a coffee shop, pulling out my map, circling everywhere I wanted to go with a fat red marker.  How French of me, right? I should have at least invested in a sleek, crystal encrusted, ballpoint pen? If only I were French. 

I managed to do everything I wanted and more. I had a chance to explore Shakespeare & Company – an independent bookstore in Paris right across from the Notre Dame.  I was most excited to learn that Fitzgerald and Hemingway spent much of their time in the attic there. It’s quite dusty and vintage, but paired with the endless amounts of coffee at the café next door, it seems like the perfect place to write a great novel. That wasn’t on my to-do list – but the beauty of getting lost is the places and things you can find. 

I walked more stairs in one day than I have in a year.  I had one-sided conversations with skulls at Les Catacombs. I made Champagne a part of every meal I had, and I even filled my camera with around 600 photos.  I knew I would be back some day but who would ever think I would find the place I would one day want to retire in. Pinkies up.