Dreaming of Paris...Going to Paris!
jobrody
At home in Paris I take a milk bath two times a week, but here on the road it is more difficult. I miss them.
-Anna Held
I have always had an obsession with Paris, ever since I went there as a 16-year-old high school exchange student. Never mind that I was housed in a dismal suburb with a dysfunctional, anti-semitic girl and her family. I learned all sorts of obscure or embarassing words in French (squirrel, pregnant) and begun to dream in French. I continued my French studies through Freshman year of college and have made many French-American friends with whom to practice my French, and bought scarves a plenty since then. I have always aimed to capture that elusive French style in my own dress and lifestyle. Can you say "coffee in a bowl"? Not that I have ever taken a milk bath but, Damn, those French just have a way of taking care of their sensual side. Whether it's cooking simple and delicious food seemingly effortlessly or throwing a scarf on without thinking twice about how to tie it, the French just seem to have style in spades.
I haven't been to Paris in 25 years and I think it's about time. I have been to France several times, when we exchanged our home with a Barcelona couple for a month two summers ago. We went to glorious Provence, and to under appreciated Toulouse, to see the Tour de France. We got "stuck" in Toulouse when our car died and had to wait for repairs. Toulouse is beautiful, the real, un-touristed France. But now it's time for Paris! I am celebrating TEN YEARS cancer free and we are GOING TO PARIS! I am so excited I am jumping out of my skin! We will be staying with dear friends who have moved to Le Marais, an historic and central area known for it's gay bars and orthodox Jews. Perfect! I will be sketching in cafés with my husband, and eating amazing food with our friends who have been scouting out the best créperies and bistros for a year. We'll also drive to Brittany for 3 nights, staying in the beach town of Concarneau and visiting the rustic and traditionally Breton town of Quimper. I'll let you know if I take a milk bath. I will definitely eat crepes! Au revoir!