paris,
you have a hold on me. a part of me is constantly roaming you, feeling the cigarette ash under the soles of my sneakers, reading a book on the balcony, waiting for the train. a part of me will always exist in you, living a life i can only dream of. a life of saturday farmer's markets and hearing the notre dame's bells ring every hour. this same girl, the parisian version of myself, will always exist. and although i am her, i envy her.
you are a city of art, of lovers, of friends, of artists, of tourists. you are a city that cries culture and smiles in monuments.
surprisingly, you live up to your "city of love" reputation. you'd find two people gingerly falling in love at every corner.
you are a city of nostalgia.
i miss the feeling of you more than anything. i miss the excitement of seeing a van gogh for the first time at the musée d’orsay. i miss the anticipation for a subway car's arrival, and the utter joy that a single piece of cheese brought to me. i miss the sense of curiosity while scanning through the book stalls. i miss the serenity of sitting on the street corner while my friends had their caricatures done in montmartre. i miss the freedom.
me at the musée d’orsay, montmartre can be seen in the distance.
april 2017
i miss the symphony of taxicabs, taking the stairs because they were faster than the elevators, the unbearable heat during the summer, because there are no AC units in old buildings. i miss the neon green lights against my cheeks from the pharmacy signs. i miss the seas of locals dressed in black, their elegant disposition as they strut past me. i miss the couples sitting by the seine waving at me eagerly on the riverboat.
the parisian form of myself is everything you are. she is a lover, a friend, an artist, a tourist... she is nostalgic for the moments when the eiffel tower lights up for fifteen minutes every other hour.
paris, je t'aime.
me, in front of the eiffel tower
july 2019
with all these days spent at home, i escape to the places i've been.
i will be writing a love letter of sorts to each of my favorite cities.
i took the cover image in 2017.
paris' coordinates:
48.8566° N, 2.3522° E
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