One of my favourite movies is Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You". Part of it is set in Paris and there is this wonderful scene almost at the end of the movie where Woody Allen and Goldie Hawn are dancing together on a deserted bank of the Seine on New Year's Eve. Actually Goldie is not really dancing but ever so gracefully floating over the bank. Oh, so wonderful!
This is Paris for me. Whenever I get there, my heart starts leaping with joy and anticipated pleasure. I'm there, in magical Paris... ready to float over the Seine bank... except that it doesn't get this real for me.
I do enjoy walking around tho.
My son, JC, who's living right now in Nice, says that as soon as his plane lands in Paris, he starts breathing again. (He obviously doesn't know about air pollution in Paris. But he's got excuses living as he does among stars and galaxies.)
Of course, our breathing is also totally and completely emotional. We both are deeply in love with Paris.
The other day, I called a cab at Gare du Nord (which means that I was coming back from Brussels) to go to JC's appartment which is very close to the Invalides. I enjoy taking car rides through Paris too (allright, allright, I know... environmental pollution at its worst).
It was a beautiful sunny day with a tinge of autumn in the air. A glorious day!
I love to chat with cab drivers. Well, actually I love to talk a lot. But that day, the cab driver did the talking. He was from Morocco and had been a cab driver in Paris for a long time.
Then he said to me while we were crossing the Seine: "You see, Madame, everyday Paris gets more beautiful for me. It's been 29 years and everyday, I discover something new and my heart gets thrilled."
What else could I say? His smile was so genuine and warm. I didn't feel like talking anymore. I basked in his happiness and in the beauty of Paris.
Well, Paris is not always this beautiful. Let's face it.
One day, last summer, on our way back from Brittany, I saw, right across from JC's building, in the most beautiful city in the world... a homeless dwelling well hidden in the shrubbery, close to "avenue de Breteuil" (Have you ever played French Monopoly?).
Hard to end today's blog like this...
Well, I LOVE Paris.
"Good Night, and Good Luck"*
*Edward R. Murrow
3 comments:
Beautiful! I would love to visit Paris one day!
Yeah, the comments are working! I know a few people for whom Paris is their favorite city! Someday i will go there, too!
Ah Paris, it really is my first love to. One day I hope to return and get lost in its streets. It really is the most beautiful city I have been in to date (and as far as my heart is concerned, ever).
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