Paris ~ Do you miss me ?

Hard to believe, you can plunk yourself in a city, even the city of lights, and then LEAVE.

As I look back now, I think, where on earth did the time go ? It feels like yesterday~ since I was making a total ass of myself trying to speak french. Not much changed in 18 months, I still made an ass of myself , but at least I could sound stupid in a pretty place .

The Eiffel Tower has forever intrigued me. It shocks me that it was once built as a TEMPORARY structure. HOLY BAT MAN ! Who builds that, for temporary ??!!! I don’t even like to knit a temporary square to check my knitting sizing ~ when I know I must unravel it after . I can’t even do a temporary colour test on my hair dye as an allergy test. Who does that ? Am I the only cheater ? I can’t take a trial run at anything, or I am taking it home. It is best for me to avoid car dealerships and pet stores. As Michael always says ” Don’t go puppy shopping, if you are not planning to bring one home “. Whatever. haha. Just ask me the Oliver story, and you will know why Michael doesn’t let me get near to puppies. I can relate to puppies. They are disobedient at times, just like me.

Le Tour Eiffel is beautiful…especially at night. My fave was to just stand under it , and stare up. It was one magical feeling and I highly recommend it. You will feel like a miniature person. Somehow, it is soooooo “larger than life”, it widens your perspective that most problems are pretty small.  I loved just having a throw blanket, tossing it on the grass, and just laying on the ground and GAZING UP….wow…wow ….wow…..that one made me speechless. Yes, it is difficult to make ME speechless, but the Eiffel Tower did it.

I have a confession to make. This photo was from a different flight. However, in all fairness , I do love that hipstamatic app and I couldn’t resist this airplane shot. On our flight, this time, we flew with AIR CANADA. Air Canada, I am falling back in love with you again . Your aircraft was swanky, your flight attendants were super friendly, and your movies were fanastico ! Nice work ! I had my own personal movie festival. It is not often that I get to hog my own television channel AND listen in ENGLISH. Oh, the pleasures of life.

We recently flew back from Paris to Toronto, and I met a Canadian couple. I was so excited to speak English, I think I would have talked to my seat belt if it was willing and able. All jokes aside, they were lovely, and they reminded me about all the beauty that Paris has to offer. I sometimes lost sight of the beauty, and every once in a while we are dealt little reminders to really live in the moment and feel the beauty of the place you are in , in the NOW.

One never forgets the beauty of a city. However, for me, I am forever reminded of the beauty of the soul of a Canadian. We have a big heart, and we aren’t afraid to show it.

I have two favourite walking bridges in Paris. One at Notre Dame and one at the Louvre. They are covered in locks, attached by lovers ( that just spell checked to “my lovers”, haahhahaaa….that could have started some new rumours ) , friends, anyone who would like to leave a lasting memory in Paris. You know, you can just sit on these bridges, and just take in the city. It is a gorgeous sight to see people just spending time together, sitting and talking in groups on the bridge…for hours on end. You will see people with wine, food, candles, blankets….spending hours chillaxin on the bridge overlooking the Seine. Seriously, they have it all figured out. Pay attention folks. Sit. Chill. Talk. Eat for hours on end. Spend time with who you want to spend time with. That is what it is all about.

If you can tear yourself off of the bridge, and wander into the Notre Dame Cathedral, you can experience the feeling of being overcome with a sense of complete and utter awe. It is one of the few times, where my head and heart are silenced. There are truly no words to describe this feeling. For those of us who have lost a loved one or someone near to their heart, Notre Dame is the place where you can feel them near your heart again.Yes, that does sound corny, I know, I know….but I will take the risk of sounding like an idiot, and say it anyway. The silence of the church, the smell of the incense, the dimly candle lit areas ….they just grab hold of your senses and your heart. Every time, I light a candle for my Dad. I am reminded of the love and strength he brought me. I am reminded in this beautiful place.

If you can imagine the task we all go through to do a home renovation, or work or any large scale design project…..think again…..how on God’s green earth did they construct such a magnificent structure with such incredible detail, so very long ago ???!!! Think about that. No heavy machinery. Nothing. I am never going to object  about project details again ..haha….now that Cathedral has DETAIL !!!! Dear contractors, you can now officially never complain about my attention to detail….or I will reference the Cathedral and we will all feel like goof balls that we can’t figure something out ,when they made a Cathedral from the ground up with virtually blood sweat and tears (well, and hopefully some good laughs in between ). Makes me feel like we don’t have it so bad :-)

I have a million memories of Paris, and a million more photos to add to those memories. I will leave you with a memory of how I most often felt in Paris. Naked and vulnerable, but happy, like the goddess woman in the photo, so elegantly holding on close to the bridge . I wasn’t so lucky tho. I didn’t look like a Goddess, and I most often wanted to throw myself off the bridge. Trying to balance a bridge….erhh…a family, a home and a language learning course that helped me to stop sounding like a 5 year old when speaking french.

I have three words for my french learning…..COFFEE BREAK FRENCH. A big shout of to the crew at Coffee Break French. They are a small crew, but one that make a difference. They are the number one french learning podcast in Europe ~ and for good reason. I advanced my french, by my sheer determination and the gift of figuring out that Coffee Break French was out there in the world of podcasts. It is easy to figure out….itunes….podcasts…they will change your world. Well, at least they changed my world, and I could finally order a big butt bottle of red wine in a restaurant to get some liquid courage ~ and that ~ my friends ~ I DID….liquid courage all the way…