Why I Keep Coming Back to Paris
I couldn't tell you exactly what it is about this city, but it feels magical and some dormant part of me comes alive in this city. I've been to Paris three times now, with two more trips already on the calendar this fall. It’s old and chic, romantic and lively. And keeps pulling me back in for more.
It feels like you've stepped back in time before the world of smartphones. You notice it almost immediately, locals off their phones, actually present in their own city. It's contagious as I find myself doing the same thing.
My first trip to Paris was solo. I got off a red eye, dropped my bags, and started walking with no real plan. At some point I ended up on a bridge over the Seine, the sun just beginning to rise, golden light catching the tips of the buildings, and there she was The Eiffel Tower, for the first time, in person. I'd been intrigued by this city my whole life, watching Madeline as a kid and thinking it looked like a dream. Standing on that bridge, it hit me where I actually was. It finally felt real.
Walking along the Seine is still my favorite thing to do here. Especially walking west with the Eiffel Tower in the distance, taking the upper paths where you can look down and watch people wandering along the water. It might be the most beautiful view in the city, and it always pulls me right into the present moment.
I still haven't been to the Louvre. Or the Musée d'Orsay, which feels almost wrong to admit considering how much I love museums. There's just always something else pulling me down a side street instead. Every single one feels worth exploring, and I've found some of my favorite hidden corners of the city with absolutely no destination in mind.
I think that's the real lesson Paris keeps teaching me. I love rushing, jam packing as much as possible into a trip. Paris fights against that. It asks you to slow down. And once you do, you start noticing that the art isn't just in the museums you haven't gotten to yet. It's in the architecture, the fashion, the way French sounds when someone's just ordering coffee and a pain au chocolat. Even the food feels like art here.
I don't know if some past version of me lived in this city. But I know I'll keep coming back to explore more.
