3rd time back in Paris within 4 months, 7th time ever.

• Paris, ville de l’amour et l’irritation extrême
• Finding joy one croissant and conversation at a time
• Sick in Paris, le zut alors!

The clerk at the hotel front desk offered me a complimentary map of Paris; I smugly thanked him, “Ce n’est pas nécessaire, merci. Je connais Paris très bien.”  (“That won’t be necessary, thank you. I’m very familiar with Paris.”). I barely made it into the elevator before doing my victory dance. #snobbybutTRUE #fittingrightin

Obligatory pic on the way to the office, for a jet-lagged afternoon of work:

I love it here. I do. Yes, it’s big, dirty and impersonal, but it feels so right. The rhythm is different, less frantic. I don’t listen to music, bc I love the sound of Paris; the cars are quieter (electric or diesel, the honks less jarring); heels clicking as people walk on the sidewalks (people walk!!); the constant chatter. The French language is so beautiful here – I’m always eavesdropping bc the simplest conversations are filled with humorous expressions and varied vocabulary. On the metro, rare is the person looking at their phone – everyone has their nose in a book. A physical book, not a Kindle. Every street has history, you never know what new beauty you’ll discover when you turn the corner.

One day I will make Paris my home.

“Ce n’est pas nécessaire, merci. Je connais Paris très bien.”