I DON'T MISS PARIS!

I DON'T MISS PARIS!
24 July, 2013

 I don't miss Paris. Many people think I do, since I always talk about my adventures and good times there. It was great while it lasted. But all things must change. 

Yes, I have moved on - broadening my horizons, and seeing new sights, eating new foods, and speaking different languages, embracing the diversity the world has to offer. I really don't miss Paris at all... 

...that is, except every now and then when I have the urge to have a steaming, savory plate of Moroccan cous-cous - and can't find a restaurant that even knows what is is! Or when I get a whiff of freshly-baked French bread and recall the taste and texture of a real French baguette as only a French bakery can bake - hot out of the oven!

Sometimes I think of Paris when I pass the cheese section of the supermarket - and recall the aromas of the stores on rue du Commerce, and rue Lormel, where a hunderd sights and smells delighted the senses.. I even sometimes think about the Métro - its sights, sounds, smells and the music of musettes - the accordions - as they play, while being jostled about by the swaying subway train. But I don't miss it. 

But sometimes I recall the few favorite restaurants and cafés, where I would walk in and the owner and staff would greet me with a warm smile and usually a hug or kiss... and I would never order, because they knew just what I liked most. Yes, I even think of Paris at sunset - and recall the many times I sat on the bench of the Allée des Cygnes and had a sandwich - and watched the boats - and saw the Paris sun set behind the late Victorian turrets and towers of Passy. Then I walked the dark, silent streets back to the old neighborhood, where my reverie might be broken by a shout of As-salaam Aleikum! or Bonjour! from a shopkeeper standing in the doorway of a small grocery - people I have seen every week for several years. 

No, I don't miss Paris. I only carry the little Eiffel Tower key-ring for my car keys because... well, just because. 

I really don't miss Paris at all.