Je Suis en Paris

Saturday evening, and I`m on my 3rd incredible, action-packed day in Paris. I came to Paris with intentionally no expectations; I`d heard stories of Paris ranging from dreadful to sublime. As with my trip to Morocco, I am amazed how this place immediately and completely captured my heart.

So far, I have ordered delicious crepes and croque monsieur in Parisienne cafès. I have visited beloved Hemingway sites like Rue Mouffetard and La Place Contrascarpe. I`ve prayed at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires and Saint-Sulpice. I have picnicked on fresh bread, cheese, and strawberries in the Jardin du Luxembourg. I have sat on a park bench facing Notre Dame Cathedral writing poetry and admiring the pale-pink blossoms of spring. I have strolled through the Louvre listening to Belle&Sebastian and Margot&the Nuclear So-and-So`s. I sipped wine at the world`s best ¨nightclub¨, Club des Poetes, where poetry recitals are held nightly and the friendly locals chatted literature and life with us over red wine. I read in the bookstore Hemingway frequented, Shakespeare&Company, and sat at their typewriter spinning my own Parisian poetry for posterity. I`ve met French nuns and painters, and had dinner cooked for me by a friendly Parisian record-store-worker. I`ve walked by Place de Bastille, where the famous prison once stood, and Place de la Concorde, where the guillotine stood during the Revolution. I have watched the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower from Pont Neuf on the Seine River. I have talked and laughed with my dear Maria, planning our own marvellous futures in this city of lights and dreams.

All this, and I never want to leave. I pray Hemingway was right when he said ¨There is never any end to Paris¨...