Paris
In the movie Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn famously says, “Paris is always a good idea.”
I’ve never actually seen that movie. I’m not even sure she says that line. [Fact Check: She doesn’t]. But I have seen the 1995 version with Julia Ormond, which I highly recommend, and Julia says it.
It just sounds better when you say Audrey did.
Anyways, I went to Paris with my husband for the first time in January. I knew the time of the year wasn’t ideal, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be too bleak. In preparation I looked up what to do there during the winter and the first thing that popped up was a blog titled, Paris in the Winter? I clicked on it and it revealed its subtitle: Never Again.
Great.
It basically said that it’s miserable, and it is in fact bleak. My sister suggested I reroute to the Bahamas or Brazil. I thought about it, and decided to buy an Eddie Bauer extra long puffer jacket instead, the kind that looks like you’ve wrapped yourself in a duvet.
Fortunately, the jacket got stuck in Ohio and didn’t arrive in time, BECAUSE the weather in Paris was sublime! It was brisk, it was lovely, and at one point it was even a bit warm. We strolled the streets and ate croissants. We walked 8 miles. We saw Mona. We got reprimanded at by a french pastry chef as we tried to order macaroons (which felt like a lovely right of passage of sorts). All in all, it was delightful.
Even so, we decided to come home a day early. That’s how you know you’re getting older, when you choose a jet lag recovery day over another night on vacation. And this was a short vacation…we were supposed to only be on the ground in Europe for 5 full days. And we decided to come back after 4. Granted, we had so many travel snags and hiccups to maneuver with train strikes and transportation issues that we were on our last leg.
But I found that very endearing, that home sounded like a good idea. I had wondered if Paris would take a hold of me, if I’d spend my days saving up to go back again. And of course I’d love to go back, you don’t have to twist my arm or ask me twice. But I was wondering if the beauty of Paris would dim my everyday life at home. Especially when some of the best restaurants in my hometown are located in brown strip malls next to Krogers. Krogers. It pains me so.
But Paris didn’t takes it’s hold, not in the way I was afraid it would. I’m happy to be home. Therefore, my conclusion is this: Paris may always be a good idea, but there’s no place like home.
