Paris

It's not always (or maybe even often?) true that highly anticipated experiences turn out to be as wonderful or even more so than the high expectations they created.

Paris sailed past the mark.

It really is a magical place, every bit as beautiful as anticipated.  The calm and largely seamless juxtaposition of ancient and modern, the serenity of the Seine that draws Parisians to it's banks all hours of the day and evening, the seemingly effortless elegance of Parisians, the warmth and friendliness we encountered everywhere, the breathtaking beauty of the gardens and the endless small touches of beauty everywhere you look, the deliciously simple food, the treasures of art right before your eyes....this list could go on for pages.

I was surprised by how deeply the cathedrals affected me.  I'd always considered myself a 'low church' kind of girl, and thought of the old cathedrals as maybe a bit ostentatious and...wasteful?  But the sweeping architecture, the simple furnishings, the intricate detail, the candles, the quiet beauty were very moving.  We must have visited 20+ cathedrals throughout our time in France and Switzerland, and I never lost the sense of awe upon entering one.  In some ways they were all similar, with a continuity of basic design, but each one was unique in it's detail and emphasis.  Most are still houses of worship today, so there was not a museum feel to them, but a living sense of worship continuing throughout the generations and centuries.


Before we left home I'd read 'A Moveable Feast" and 'The Paris Wife' simultaneously.  So one highlight of the trip was visiting the Shakespeare Book Company, a British bookstore frequented by Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Pound and others.  I bought a copy of The Great Gatsby there.

Le Jardin des Tuileries and Le Jardin du Luxembourg were names I learned in french class when I was 16.  Now I have beautiful images in my own memory to go with the names.  Both so very lovely, and so well used by the Parisians.

All in all, this sums it up....