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Paris was looking a bit on the bland side this morning, I'm afraid
One of the reasons I cast this blog aside 4 years back was that I felt my life was increasingly happening elsewhere than in Aveyron.
One of those elsewheres has been Paris.
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Exquisite Sunday morning calm today near L'Eglise de la Madeleine
I started to go up, or as they say here in Aveyron, "monter à la capitale," for work in 2008.
Just 3 or 4 times a year for meetings: sometimes with an overnight stay in a slightly ratty hotel; sometimes doing an exhausting round trip the same day, during which my biggest "Paris experience" was a quick glance of the Arc de Triomphe as I emerged from the RER, in great need of the morning's fourth coffee. .
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La grande roue, looking less than grand under grey skies
Then in autumn 2012, our eldest daughter moved there, giving me more occasions to reconnect with Paris...plus a place to stay, which is not to be spat upon!
From the start of my expat experience in 1990 and until 2008, I used to sorely regret not getting to Paris that often -- maybe once every two years at best.
Since 2008, it would be safe to say I have gone up at least 25 times.
But they are always short stays, giving me the impression of experiencing Paris in bits and pieces....as I did this weekend, and as I will share with you this week.
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7 comments:
My first experience in Paris was very unusual - I got stalked by a weirdo in a pink suit, and only got rid of hi by hiding on all fours under a display in the Beaubourg Centre. On my second visit, my son stole and ate half of a postcard from a display outside a bar tabac - we were chatting and didn't notice him stretch out and pinch it. Apparently the tour Eiffel tastes very nice.
I tend to stay in the Hérault now, except for the odd escape into my favourite paradise, the Alsace.
Funny, and funny connections...one of my first and best blogging buddies, the great Chez Loulou (Jennifer Greco) used to live in the Hérault. I went to see her there several times in Cesseras.
As for the Alsace, I spent quite a bit of time there doing my Cambridge DELTA qualification and absolutely loved it. I was pretty much just in Strasbourg but it made me dream of moving up there -- such a different world!
it's so long since I last visited Paris that I'll enjoy rediscovering it.
So glad you are back.
M.D. -- It is an interesting process. I'm thinking I will stick with it though. It is fun to track down who is still blogging...the majority of my closest contacts are not, although I am still in touch with them on Facebook. (I may have mentioned this in a comment to you!)
As many times as I have walked down this same sidewalk~near the Madeleine, I wish we would have bumped into each other!! Maybe we have and didn't know it!
Actually, Jann, these aren't really my stomping grounds in Paris. I just happened to walk that way on a recent trip to see my daughter -- we were walking from the Madeleine métro station to the Jeu de Paumes gallery.
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