Ten Things I Love About Paris

Paris is a lot of things. Diverse, stuck up, friendly, impatient, slow paced and incredibly crowded. Pretty much like any other large city on the planet. But in between the metro and home, you can find some of what people have praised Paris for, and a few shockers as well.

I love that on a Sunday afternoon in July, it is 80 degrees when the sun is shining and 70 when the clouds cover as they pass over you. I love that there is grass everywhere. I love that you can find a park that has statues older than some cities in California. I love that that same park becomes a weekend getaway to everyone from families to bikini beauties soaking in the rays and hoards of elderly sitting on park benches not saying a word, but watching everything with decided interest. 

I love that the color of the buildings is impossible to duplicate. I love that the trees are big and full grown and everywhere. I love that you see more fathers with their children than mothers, and more couples than singles. I love that the middle aged still hold hands and sit on benches with their head in their lovers lap. I love that married couples still flirt on the metro. I love that every French child is dressed better than I am.

I love that people aren't afraid to sit still here. There is a lack of nervous energy, the need to move. Instead it is a need to be in the moment. I love that the favorite past time of Parisians on a Sunday afternoon is to have a picnic with five or six of their closest friends and a few bottles of wine. 

I love that even though this is one of the most international cities in the world, their is a fight to hold the culture, and it produces the famed Parisian snobbery, but the smiles produced when you genuinely try to speak french and they laugh at you. I love that you can sit at a table for hours and no one rushes you out. 

I love that every woman isn't obsessed with her body, but instead is obsessed with fashion. I love that the men dress better than I do. I love that you will never see a middle aged woman without a beautiful pair of shoes on... never sandals, never casual, just chic. 

I love the sky. For some reason, the clouds feel closer here. They are always perfectly formed and feel as though you could gather them in your hand and place them behind your head to rest and it would be the best sleep of your life. I love that there is always a breeze and it seems to push the clouds faster. 

I love the joggers. Always in what seem to be the most uncomfortable clothing ever, they push on faces sweaty never wondering who is watching. 

I love the old men. They stare and they stare and they stare. And after a while you realize, they stare because they have earned the right to, and you no longer question it. They sit with their beers or coffee and laugh with their friends until a woman walks by... then they immediately stop, point her out, stare and then go back to laughing. It's as though they are appreciating and degrading at the same time... and you just have to love it. 

I love the ice cream. Good lord, it is amazing. No preservatives, no added anything, just cream and ice and a pure flavor. I love that no one eats it in a bowl except for foreigners and you never feel stupid eating it from a cone. And I love that they 17 year serving it to you is always sweating, always frustrated and always speaks better english than I do french. 

I love that everywhere you look is a picture. Be it beautiful or a story, there is still a picture everywhere. The couple holding hands, the gaggle of girls shopping, the old women walking hand in hand. It's always there.

I love that the dogs walk themselves. They are perfectly trained. I have no idea how. It is a conundrum to me. It's as though even the dogs think they are superior so they train themselves... and you know what? I'll give it to 'em.

I love that they rest. There is a time to play, there is a time to rest and there is a time to work. Granted their time to work is always in question, which does not lend itself to being the most productive country, but hey, at least they have patience. 

There are so many more things, so many more little things you see that you love. The ways of life, the interactions, the community they are intertwined in. A life is not complete without community here. It's something to behold. It's a lesson to learn. 

Somewhere in between the French and the American way, making a great blend of efficiency and life, but I haven't found it yet. What I have found is the desire to at least try though. Moet Chandon is famous for it's perfect blending of white wines for it's champagne, but by trial and error they found this. I guess that's what it will be for me. Trial and error. But as the french say... C'est la vie.