I'll Always Miss Paris

Giving Oscar Wilde my love.

Today's task in the challenge is to talk about what I miss. I'm a very nostalgic person (which is why I adore the movie Midnight in Paris), and could probably do a post every week about something different that I miss. I miss lawnmower trails, having a lower center of gravity, going to Blueberry Mountain for Smurf ice cream cones with malt balls at the bottom, jump rope rhymes, T.G.I.F., catching fireflies. . . The list goes on. 

A classic scene.

So instead of waxing nostalgic about my childhood, or any number of the other things I miss, I will talk about a place that I always miss and think of very often: Paris.

I want to live in this window.

I fell in love with Paris on my very first trip at the end of October in 2004. I was studying abroad in Poitiers and had yet to visit the City of Light. Since my birthday is at the end of October, and we also had a school break for All Saints' Day, I proposed to my good friend, Adrienne, that we should spend a long weekend in Paris. The city was bigger than I imagined, with wide tree-lined avenues and intimidating Hausmann architecture. It was the most beautiful city I had ever seen.

Paris at night- such a delight!

Every subsequent trip deepened my love for the most romantic city on Earth. Les Français were far friendlier than I had heard, and the streets were cleaner than I had been told. Boutiques were immaculate and cafes were quaintly dotted with men and women enjoying a cup of espresso while reading the morning paper. Everywhere I went, people were enjoying their surroundings, enjoying their food, enjoying their wine, enjoying each other. I was in a city that was simply alive, and that aliveness was contagious.

Le sigh.

Then there was the smell. Paris does not stink. No, Paris smells more like a Frenchwoman- well kept, though perhaps not showered, with a floral and musk scent that lingers on a breeze. During my last trip to Paris, I drank in the smell as often as I could. It's like catching the scent of someone you remember fondly who is no longer in your life- that bittersweet enjoyment of their memory. Such is that particular Parisian aroma.

I hope you have a napkin to catch your drool.

Of course, I could not get away with talking about Paris without talking about the food, the pastries in particular. To know me is to know that I have not so much a sweet tooth as a pastry/dessert tooth. I gained a lot of weight during my year abroad in Poitiers because I could not stay away from the bakeries (darn you, La Mie Caline and your maxi pains au chocolat). In all honesty, however, Americans simply cannot produce pastries the way the French do. I have yet to find a pain au chocolat stateside that is as good as anything I ever had in France. On my last trip to Paris, my very first stop was at the closest bakery to my hostel for a pain au chocolat. "This is what I have been missing!" I exclaimed to myself, much to the bemusement/chagrin of passersby. The warm, buttery, tender, flaky goodness with gooey pure chocolate is the most delectable treat when prepared by the French. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

They knew I was coming!

I also miss exploring and finding quaint little neighborhoods in Paris, and finding a little avenue that is named after me. Ok, so I know it's not named after me, but still, it was fun to stumble upon- in a cemetery. I even miss the time Adrienne and I explored a cemetery in Montmartre on Halloween and, for some silly reason, we separated, and I got spooked while walking alone among some tombs and could not find my way back to the main path. I scare too easily. But I miss that feeling of excitement while exploring something that is completely foreign to me, in a place I had romanticized yet the reality was far beyond my wildest dreams. Paris is the stuff of dreams, dreams which are a most beautiful reality.

This scene always takes my breath away.

Have you been to Paris? If so, do you agree with my sentiments? What do you miss? Leave me a comment or send me an email- I love hearing from you! Bisous!

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