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“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast 


In one of my previous posts, I wrote that if I had walked the streets of Paris in the rain, I would have lived the life I imagined. Last Thursday as I was walking through the Latin Quarter and the Notre Dame Cathedral, the sky opened up; I was walking the streets of Paris in the rain!  One of my biggest life's dreams was unfolding right before my eyes.  Unbelievable! I was worried that I had built up Paris in my dreams and that when I got there, it would be never be as magical as I had imagined. I was wrong. It is that magical and amazing and beautiful and much much more. There are no words to describe it really - there is an intangible grace and a beauty that resides in its cobblestone streets that is like nothing else I have ever felt. I was comfortable in my skin there; like I belonged. I did all the touristy things like visiting the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, taking pictures of the Eiffel tower twinkling at night, walking through the hall of mirrors at Versailles, strolling the Champs Elysees and staring in awe at the gargoyles atop Notre Dame Cathedral but what really made the trip special was drinking coffee cremes in cafes with my sisters after a long day of sight seeing or sharing a bottle of Cote de Rhone in a kitschy bistro while listening to a French piano player sing American classics or eating ham and cheese crepes in the Latin Quarter surrounded by other wide eyed tourists. Every moment felt like a postcard and for weeks, months and years to come, it will stay with me.Hemingway was right: the moveable feast that is Paris stays with you.  I learned a lot watching how the Parisians live: they don't rush through meals they way we do here - they linger over their wine or coffees savoring the taste and the experience. They may eat breakfast on the run but they sit to enjoy lunch and dinner and don't work 12 hour days with their phones acting as another limb. I didn't see one gym or fitness center but I also saw no overweight people. We in America are so obsessed with weight and being healthy that we have gyms on every corner yet we have a staggering obesity problem. What are the French doing right that we are missing? I think its because they don't put too much emphasis on food - they enjoy it, savor it but they aren't counting every calorie and although they eat 2 and 3 course meals, they eat normal size portions. I never left a restaurant hungry but I also never left so full that I had to unbutton my pants. They also don't fill their diet up with processed food - everything I ate was fresh and fulfilling. We eat so much junk here and it is never satisfying so we just eat more. I ended up losing weight there despite having eaten buttery, light as air croissants, creamy cheese by the pound, indulgent chocolate, refreshing wine at every meal and endless pieces of chewy baguettes. They don't seem to obsess over every little calorie they way we do; they don't put the calorie counts on menus or offer a "light" menu option. They don't need to- they cracked the code long ago: enjoy life, go slow, everything in moderation and move a lot! When you break it down like that, it seems to simple. It made me realize that we, I, make it so hard when it doesn't have to be. I didn't feel stressed there or overwhelmed with the trivial problems of my life - yes I was on vacation and that is what vacations are supposed to do but this felt different. I felt more free than I have ever felt on a vacation - like the city was whispering its secrets to me - telling me that life is supposed to be rich and beautiful filled with love and family and amazing food and wine. I was hoping I would come home and be different somehow but that is unfortunately not reality. I believe that experiences and even places can change a person but it takes time - it can't just happen overnight.  I, we should be focused on enjoying life more- filling it with things and people we love.  I liked who I was in Paris: I savored every second and enjoyed each moment. I want to be that girl in my real life. If any city can help make you better, it is Paris!

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