Paris Primer III: Why Paris, anyway?

Without getting too metaphysical, I’ll say that Paris will meet you wherever you are in life– if you are willing to fully be there without expectation. 

If you are hoping for the EPCOT version of wherever you are, however, you will be quickly disappointed when you realize the shop owners are not being paid to be friendly and quaint towards you and your New Balances and over-stuffed camping backpack.

Paris, like all world-class cities, is a one-city-charms-all kind of place...if you know what you’re looking for. I’ve enjoyed Paris in every stage of my life: toddler, young child, middle schooler, high schooler, broke postgrad, single with friends, single with family, with a boyfriend, with a fiancé (because we got engaged there!), and honeymooner. 

Every time I go, it seems like the exact right thing it needs to be at that point in my life: fun, or historical, or culturally enriching, or dark, or romantic. But actually it’s just all of those things all the time, and it gives you what you need in that moment. In a trippy, Room of Requirement sense, yes, but also in a literal sense, since it’s a massive cultural center with some of the most famous food, architecture, history, and fashion in the world. 

I lived in France from 1992 to 2003, and because of the miracle of low airfare to Europe over the last 8 years, I have taken a trip to France every year since 2013. (That decade in between included high school and college, when I was still grappling with my relationship to France and my identity as a Third Culture Kid. Turns out I’m very proud of it!) 

Even to me, it does seem weird to take that many trips to the same place. But hey, some people take their yearly trip to Panama City Beach; I prefer to spend my time walking 10 miles a day and eating overpriced (and worth every penny) pains au chocolat. We all have different priorities!