PARIS . part one

I'm in the midst of reading a new book that tells the tale of a particular journalists love affair with Paris, it travels through the mélange of myth & mystery, the arrogance & the allure...

It started me thinking & remeniscing over my own Parisian experience { a number years ago } & my own love affair with the city of light...

Paris of course for many of us has a certain je ne se quoi, we're drawn to the city of light like moths to a flame or in some cases a deer to headlights. Thankfully my pull was much like a lizard drinking up the summers heat, although much more glamorous of course & a little quicker in pace.

My personal experience of Paris was truly plum, I adored it. My man & I rented a perfect little Parisian apartment within a stones throw of the tour de eiffel & the informal yet immaculate picnics & romantic rendezvous on the lawns that surrounded it. We were to live in Paris for a little over a week & I was thrilled!

I am by nature one of those people who would happily hop a plane for a lunch date in Rome & then hop a plane back, a nature I happily shared with a gentleman I once met on a plane { unfortunately not on my way for a lunch date in Rome } he unraveled the story that his wife of 20 years did not want him to whisk her away to Paris & Rome as it was only going to be for a week. Sure, I would love to have months on end to languish in perfect destinations but sometimes when you only have a moment in a place the intoxication of it can be so intense that it will last a lifetime, not to mention the thrill of a brief indulgence. All of your senses are on alert even the strangeness of pavements & street signs hold all the wonders of the world.

My man & I held the key to our very own place in Paris & I was excited! We boarded our train from London in anticipation { my man's reasons of a little happy anxiety was for a reason apart from my own which I shall divulge a little later } . Once we emerged from the depths of la Manche I was instantly struck by that wonder that has affected so many artists & poets from centuries gone by, the light, it was magnificent & as we sped towards the city I was infatuated by the brilliance of it, it holds something very unique indeed, which I bathed in later on throughout Reims & Epernay, but I was in love already.

From fields to the heart of the metro we ambled out to the cab rank to hail our first venture into the streets of Paris & to our apartment. Our cab driver was rather sedated in comparison to the stories I've heard of near death experiences & we arrived at our polished brass door in tact.

After a bit of key jiggling we entered the cool of an alabaster courtyard streaming with green, little pot plants & bicycles strewn along our path. We ascended a winding staircase & then opened the door to our little french home, tiny, lovely, light filled.

After my ritualistic exploration of any temporary abode & a quick shower { from a Parisian tap, in Parisian water, in a Parisian bathroom, in our own spartment, in Paris } we were ready to explore.

I already felt at home.

With only our senses to guide us we set off with a luxurious stride onto the pavement & there at the end of our very own street I had my very first Parisian petite mort, it was the Eiffel Tower & I was breathless, yes I jumped up & down a little & yes there was a little tear, we were in Paris, it was real...