What Draws Me to Paris...

I am often asked what draws me to Paris.  This will be my third trip in four years - my second solo, and my seventh trip overall - but I still have a hard time answering this question.

My first visit to Paris was in 1978 at the beginning of a three-week eight-country bus tour of Europe.  Truly a "If this is Tuesday, this must be Belgium" experience.  I think we had one full day in Paris. After the included bus tour of the city, Mom and I went off on our own to visit Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle . We ate lunch at the cafeteria at the top of the Samartine department store, which for some reason remains my strongest memory of Paris from that trip.  I still get a cosy feeling when I see that building, which has been empty for many years, but is now undergoing a major renovation.  At the time, I figured this would be my only trip to Europe, so when I left Paris I had no idea that I would ever return.

In 1994, Mom and I embarked on a 5-week trip through Britain and France - our trip of a lifetime, and it was.  After two weeks driving through the English and Welsh countryside, including three days in London, we flew to Paris.  We had four nights and three full days in Paris, changed our dollars and pounds into francs, bought Metro and museum passes, and packed as much as we could into those three days.  Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Arc du Triomphe, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Versailles, Louvre, D'Orsay, L'Orangerie.  We couldn't get enough, and saw just about all of the major sights in those three days before finishing the three weeks with a drive through the French countryside.  That entire trip filled my memory bank for months and years to come.

We went back for another three weeks in 2000, again spending four nights and three full days in Paris. We stayed in the Rue Cler neighborhood made famous by Rick Steves.  Our visit was a little more leisurely this time as we didn't have to go to many of the sights where we had been before.  We went to several new (to us) places like the Rodin Museum, the Marmottan, and Napoleon's Tomb.

Five years later we headed back to France, but skipped Paris and settled into a vacation rental in Languedoc for three weeks of day-tripping.  I often regretted the decision to skip Paris, but loved this southwest region of France.

In 2010, we went back for another five weeks, beginning with three days in Paris.  By then Mom's mobility was limited and she was using a four-wheel "rollator" walker.  We chose L'Open Tour hop-on-hop-off bus as our mode of transportation, using it just to see the sights as we rode by as the HOHO part wasn't a good option for us.  We took a cooking class at "Cookin' with Class", which was fun and memorable.  We stayed in the Latin Quarter only a block or so from Notre Dame, and really enjoyed Paris without doing very much at all. We left for our trip through Provence, Languedoc, and the Dordogne with a sense of satisfaction for our Paris visit. My blog for this trip is at www.daytripper-franceadventure2010.blogspot.com.

In 2013, I was watching Rick Steves' latest Paris show on PBS and was suddenly struck with a great desire - no, it was a need - to go to Paris.  So off I went that September. This was my first solo trip.  I rented an apartment in the Third Arrondissement.  I didn't do a lot of detailed planning.  I had a good idea of what I wanted to do, but made the decision of "what to do today" over breakfast.  Every morning I went out to buy a demi-baguette (half loaf).  I did a lot of walking, learned to use the bus system, visited  some museums and landmarks, sat in a lot of cafes sipping a lot of café crème, and doing world class people watching.  I had made the decision that I would not wait in line to do something I had done before, but I left Paris knowing there was still a lot left to see and do. My blog for this trip is at www.cjtparis2013.blotspot.com.

Eighteen months later, I went back.  This time with a friend and we rented an apartment a few blocks from the one I had rented in 2015.  Again, we didn't do a lot of planning.  Just let the days unfold.  We did a little more shopping, had some nice dinners, and I think saw what we wanted to see and did what we wanted to do.  It was a satisfying trip, but again I knew I would go back.  My blog for this trip is at www.cjtparis2015.blogspot.com

So, here it is 2017 and I leave for Paris in eight days.  What does draw me back to Paris?  I know of people who have been to Paris 10, 12, 20, even 30 times.  What draws them back over and over again?  I know that there is a sense of freedom there that I haven't experienced anywhere else.  Maybe it is the light.  Central Paris is old, the highest buildings are only about eight stories, and the main boulevards are broad, so sunlight gets down to street level more than it does in modern cities with canyons for streets.  Maybe it is the food.  Maybe it is the architecture, the art, the culture.  Maybe it is the Seine that flows like an artery of life blood through the heart of the city.  Maybe it is the Parisians. Although the typical tourist has little chance of interacting with locals except when dealing with hotel or wait staff, it is obvious how much Parisians love their city.  I remember during my 2013 visit, it rained all but maybe four days, but on the last day the sun came out and Parisians flocked to the banks of Seine, many stripping down to the minimum, to soak up those last days of summer sun.  Maybe it is the Eiffel Tower - that first glimpse you get after you arrive that makes you say "Wow, I'm in Paris!" Maybe this trip I'll finally figure out what it is that draws me to Paris.

Paris, je t'aime.