I do not know what it is about Paris, but I feel like I have found my heart again. Inspiration oozes from the walls of every building, character grabs a hold of you with every person you pass, and the air gives your senses an exhilarating tingle. This city makes you feel complete. You are part of something here. It is similar to a “Where’s Waldo” picture. If you look at it from far away it is just a blur of colors, but when you get close you see that each color is a unique individual. This makes you want to look at every single person on this page, each person has a purpose. It grabs a hold of your heart when you realize that not one person is the same. Paris is like a “Where’s Waldo” picture and each person is their own “Waldo.” I am “Waldo” and I see everyone else in the city, each person is very different from the next and doing something that contributes to this great city, I see all this while I am trying to find myself, “Waldo.”
It is funny that I think this because when you walk around the city there is a lot of street art that contains a picture of Waldo from “Where’s Waldo.” There is such beautiful street art here. I came across one just the other night that read, “Regarde le ciel” which means, “watch the sky,” and I have never seen a more beautiful sky. Paris’ sky is like a painting. It is so romantic when you live in a painting. As Kurt Vonnegut said, “everything is beautiful and nothing hurts,” and that is how it feels here. I feel like I am falling in love more and more everyday and that I am invincible.
Speaking of invincible, Bastille Day showed me some real Parisian patriotism. My first step outside that day was me hitting the ground and covering my head because I was frightened by an extremely loud noise. It was military airplanes flying over the city over and over again. I felt a little silly after I saw everyone walking around casually and me on the ground like a crazy person. It was a beautiful sight. The sky was clear and the planes were roaring around the skies with such pride. That night the streets were filled with people dancing and singing and enjoying the fireworks. I would say the tourist enjoying the show seemed more excited than the actually Parisians. The Parisians seemed cool and collected, however, when I looked around at all the people I could tell that the true Parisians had full hearts. I saw this because while the fireworks were going many of the people started cuddling up, holding hands, and even kissing.
Oh la la! That is something I had to get used to here. Public displays of affection are totally accepted here. I do not just mean sweet little hello and goodbye kisses exchanged between couples, I mean straight up making-out, legit French-kissing, legs-wrapped-around-each-other, in the middle of the street kind of kissing. At first I was a little uncomfortable, but now I think it is sweet. They are so passionate about their feelings for each other that they are in their own little world and do not care what anybody else thinks about them. It is beautiful. I would take a picture for everyone to see and understand better, but that would probably be a little creepy…
My phone keeps dying so I did not get as many pictures as I would have like for this week to post, but I will try to remember to charge my phone for next week’s post! I do not have a functioning phone here. I just use my phone for Wi-Fi and pictures. To contact anyone I just go on Facebook, or I actually talk to people face-to-face and plan ahead. I feel like I am in the 50s! Ha-ha! Actually though, it is pretty nice. I feel more laid back because I am prepared for anything to happen, and in Paris, ANYTHING can happen (in a good way). Well, this weekend Paris is setting up a fake beach around the Seine River, with sand and free concerts! So tune in next time to here about that! It should be trés fou! (The last 2 pictures are from http://www.facebook.com/paris of the Eiffel Tower on Bastille day.)
Sounds so great! Love you very much