Friday, November 22, 2013

Becoming Parisian…



People always ask me what it's like to live in the City of Light. So I'm finally sitting down (at a café) and thinking about it.

Does the love affair of a tourist slowly transform itself into the boredom of a resident? Let's see…

Living in Paris means sitting at a café for hours and not feeling guilty about being lazy, taking time to read and discuss books, making macarons your comfort food and croissants your street food, buying fresh bread every day, mixing a designer dress with an accessory from H&M, going everywhere by foot or metro.  

My thoughts may sound fast paced, but life here isn't. Strange for a city, non? People aren't obsessed about arriving at any particular place at an exact hour. Being 15 minutes late is actually on time. A meal can unfold slowly, at its own tempo.

What this means is native Parisians or Parisians by adoption (like me) actually take the time to enjoy what the city has to offer. Good news: We don't completely give up the "tourist" status! My Parisian friends and I regularly visit permanent and traveling exhibits at the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay or smaller venues. We do most of our shopping at open-air or covered markets rather than in supermarkets. And when it's warm enough, we sit in one of the beautiful public gardens with our books.

However, it's true that the daily routine does catch up with us, even in Paris. I've caught myself hurrying through the streets of Montmartre without looking up at the Sacre-Coeur Basilica or completely ignoring the Opera Garnier as I rush to cross the street. Then, I force myself to take a moment and look around. There is the Seine. I'm standing before it, looking at everything beyond. And I tell myself to never stop dreaming of Paris.


8 comments:

  1. That's quite a sales pitch. I need to visit Paris again. It's been too long......

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  2. Ha, ha! Yes, maybe they should hire me at the tourism office... But it is true that there always is something about Paris that makes one dream. I try not to let routine or daily life get in the way -- at least not too much! :)

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  3. Sigh, you really are living the dream and I'm glad that I can vicariously live my Paris dream through your blog! :-) Maybe someday I'll get that little bookshop in Paris that I dream about! :-)

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    1. I'm glad you're enjoying my blog and hope I can bring the very best of Paris to you! And don't ever give up hope on that little bookshop... Paris is a city of literature too, after all :)

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  4. Yep!! That's so true of living in Paris! You do sort of get used to living there amongst so many beautiful sites, and then you say something like "hey, let's meet outside the Louvre" and it hits you - you live in Paris!!! Great post, and thanks for linking up with Cheers, Madame! :)

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    1. That was a great link up idea! Merci beaucoup :)

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  5. Sorry I missed this original post. You are making me really nostalgic for Paris. I suppose, as along as your writing evokes emotions, you're on the right track. Here's Mine

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  6. If my writing brings you even a bit closer to your Paris memories, I'm happy :)

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