Something has happened!

Windows are open, tables fill the sidewalks. People drink beer on the grass and are scolded back onto the paths by park officials. With the first rays of sun, Paris has transformed before my very eyes.

I went for a jog in Parc Monceau to clear my mind and enjoy the sun...but the park was like nothing I'd ever seen before! It was "Dejeuner sur l'herbe" by Manet times 1,000! Hundreds of people were lounging on the grass. Then, it appeared that the entire population of Paris had shrunk, as I could only see troves of small children running in every direction. Strollers blocked every path, moms and babies walking 10 deep such that I had to stop running and hop the fence to get around them.

Every restaurant that I pass seems to have expanded. Merry people drinking beer, coffee or wine fill tables that extend far into the sidewalk. Places I once thought had walls have opened them, and dining customers pour out of these openings. Rollerbladers fill the streets, kids rule the parks, teenagers lounge in every sunny spot...something has happened in Paris!

More Métro Music

These men are jamming.  Métro station: Concorde.  I have seen them a few times and I always want to join in!

If you are in the mood for more...

The magic of Paris

I am going to take a little break from my cynical voice and reflect on the magical moments of Paris that I have experienced...
The moment when I came across a tiny street lined with rustic restaurants I could swear Hemingway must have haunted.  Or when a brass band started playing and everyone who passed danced.  When a round-faced little boy spinning to the music of said brass band became so dizzy he couldn't walk straight and stumbled right into me.  Or walking across the tuileries in the yellow setting sun and watching the old men play pétanque and the kids push boats in the fountain.
It is each of these experiences that catch me suddenly and linger on...a sort of secret between Paris and myself.  A little piece of Paris just for me.  And I think it is these moments in a place that start to make the difference between visiting a place and truly living in it.

An afternoon stroll in the Tuilerie gardens

Brasse ta Roquette

Mouff'tot? or Mouff'tard?  Well...in any case, this is the quaintest street I've stumbled upon yet...

...and apparently Hemingway did come here!

Street art in Montmartre

Quiet street and a cat