Final Thoughts From Paris

Tomorrow is our last day in Paris and our 16th anniversary. Yes! I am ready to move on, see our friends, experience new places. No! I tear up thinking about leaving behind this wondrous, complex city. I sit alone in Jardin du Luxembourg on a park bench. I hear the crack of bocci balls, the coo of pigeons, the rush …

A Portrait of the Eiffel Tower

Ali-Sun and I have walked, perhaps for miles. Along the Seine, through the Invalides neighborhoods, past cafés, brasseries, bistros, boulangeries, tabacs, tapis and patisseries. The long rectangular park appears, the cold steel Eiffel Tower dominating the skyline to the northwest as the sun dips lower in the horizon.

Paris at Sunrise

4am is a peculiar quiet. Even the subtle sounds cease. No rumble from a passing municipal bus. No rattle of pipes from water running two floors above. No hum from a passing Metro train. I am awake to hear the sound of silence. I lie in bed for an hour, then a half hour more. I rise, work for a …

Two Sides of Montmartre

Montmartre sits at the highest point of Paris. It is topped by the basilica of Sacre Coeur, as close to God as a Parisian might hope to get, at least in terms of altitude. We visit at night. It is wet, but not rainy. People gather on the steps, drinking rosé, rolling their own. Vendors hawk glow toys and gold-painted …

Paris…An exquisite Queen of the Universe…

To know Paris, is to love her. Paris is impeccably dressed for the occasion at all times, divinely inspired by the sheer genius of her creative nature, as she passionately celebrates the beauty of life in each and every moment. Her passion for life and art inspires and creates reality, naturally and spontaneously for all to enjoy. Paris, Queen of …