It All Started With Paris

I figured since the first place I ever traveled to outside the continental US was Paris. It only made sense to me to start this journey where it all began. Paris, the city of love. The city of romance. The city of lights. All that shit, ignited a desire, a yearning for more. More knowledge, more adventure, more stimulation. In a way one can't put into words but can be guided by intuition in a magnetic way.

'All you need was that one little match, to start that whole fire.' (Michael Jordan, The Last Dance)

Paris was my one little match that started my wildfire. But why? Why this city, that tourist come and vist every year? That people have spoken at length that the locals are rude, mean, and fully aware of the line and crossing said line into being full on disrespectful. Where people have said the city is dirty and it's pungent.

Disclaimer time. This is not a review of any sort. It is not a top 10 list of things to do while in Paris. If that's what you are interested in, go see any number of the pariarticles written on TripAdvisor, US New Travel, or any other blog. I'm solely sharing my experiences based on my observations, opinions, and outlook.

Paris has everything that one could offer: history, charm, style, culture, dining all pegged down and squeezed onto one island. Yes before Paris got too big it was initally an island in the Seine River. And now it's known for what it is today. Walking down The Champs Elysees and you'll see the Arc dr Triomphe. Photos from World War II when Nazi occupied France and then the liberation afterwards flood my memory. Then a split second later recognizing the set piece from John Wick 4 enters my mind. Or from Inception. Most of my references are usually from movies if you couldn't tell. Home to the 2024 Olympics and being able to say, "I was there," during the Olympic ceremony. That's depth.

The only thing that races faster than all these call backs are the cars that take corners and veer between lanes where there are no lines to indicate which lane you are in. Or the busy streets that are mostly filled with tourist racing to get to their next tourist attraction.

Here in lies the perfect critque of Paris. Paris is juxtaposition of itself.

As fast as she moves the best way to take in Paris, to see Paris, to really feel and understand her - is to slow down and do nothing. Nothing but watch. Grab a morning espresso at any cafe and sit out on the street and watch Paris come to life. Have a croissant and enjoy the camaraderie that'll appear. That'll have you wonder what people do for living that they can sit at an outdoor cafe, smoke a half a pack of cigerattes and not have a care in the world. Then after while you can roam around, don't rush to see anything, skip the tourist stuff. No need. The big bus tours where you have someone sticking their phone in your face to snap a polaroid because they didn't get a window seat. Pass. Find somewhere interesting to eat. Walk some more. Have an afternoon wine. Go back to your hotel or Airbnb, go make love to someone if you can. But if that isn't happening maybe you swing by the Moulin Rouge. Then go and take a nap before dinner. Perhaps not in that order, dealers choice.

As for the inhabitants, the French are not stand offish. I didn't think any of them as rude. Instead I found them to be misunderstood. The easiest way to put it is they know who they are and they don't try to be anything they are not, not even for the carousel of faces that come through the city. Most will only see Paris once in a lifetime. So why be anything they are not? Which is totally understandable and admirable. They have an appreciation, a higher standard for manners and effort. That's something that can be lost on us. In America we are programmed to always move forward to the next thing. The French are programmed to move slowly and enjoy the now.

You can say 'I love you' in a hundred languages. Can you find your native tongue.

They say the French are rude, mean, insensitive to a hasty sightseer is unfair. To say they are serious and have little to zero sense of humor is a bogey. It's difficult to have a sense of humor when there's a language barrier. Unless you can speak French and can understand French, the joke is on us. We the visitor are the joke. We just aren't in on the joke. Unless you speak French of course. Once you understand the joke and their cultural standards, then you can have a higher appreciation for their way of life. And after evaluating, some of their customs can be applied to our own.

They're attention to detail is on par with their fashion choices. I lost that battle almost immediately and most likely you will too unless you're walking off the runway or red carpet and into the restaurant that needs a reservation. I'm okay with that, they are better at a lot of things than me, so I wont even try to touch that. The only ones who maybe, kind of possibly can compete with the French style without exception are Italians. Move on, get over it, they will look amazing going to enjoy a cup of coffee or running an errand. This attention to detail whether it's intentional or subconsciously runs through many threads of the French. Above all the food. You knew it was coming, can't talk about Paris without talking about the food.

Let me Mythbust this shit right here, America. Yes you can eat a lot just like you can eat a lot anywhere and gain weight. The reason you feel like you eat a lot and not gain weight is cause of multiple reasons, but I'm not wearing my training hat so I'll spare you. The food is amazing without question. Things taste just little bit differently. That's all part of the fun and experience. Compare how similar food tastes elsewhere versus at home. I never used to be an adventurous eater, I still like to stick to my staple - steak and veggies. But since traveling is an adventure why not branch out and try something local, different and cost effective or expensive.

The adventurous meal was a little whole in the wall that Anthony Bourdain recommended in one of his books or articles. It's pains me to say this, but it's the damnedest thing, I don't remember what we had to eat. I believe heart and liver was on the menu. Half the à la carte items were things I'd never buy at my neighborhood supermarket. Now the best meal or my favorite meal are different, the best meal was the steak frites. My favorite would've been at Le Grand Colbert. And that's because it was the setting of the dinner scene in Something's Gotta Give, which is one of my favorite movies.

Now the best thing one can do in order to learn and explore the city and enjoy good food and wine, is well food and wine tours. I would swear by this shit up and down. Find a great reviewed food tour, find a great tour guide and you can check a lot of boxes. Bonus points, the food and drink can be included so you get great varitey, a history and an informed discussion about the food and wine from different regions that you are enjoying. And an overall wealth of knowledge about the city you're in. Its fairly slow pace so you can really immerse yourself in all of the offerings. It's very 'French' in that particular instance. And it beats standing in line looking at a painting, not that there's anything wrong with that. And unlike those things, to a degree, if you like a part of the city you saw or a restaurant you enjoyed you can always go back on your own.

View from the Sacré - Coeur Basilica

Which Montmartre was for us. On the food tour we explored the back way up to Montmartre, on the way up there we saw and ate things off the beaten track unless you knew what to look for. Once we got to the small town, we took in everything it had to offer, especially the view. Hate to waste a view. And of course with a name like 'Travel the World with Strong Dogs', randomly found a dog park. Where surprisingly, I personally detest dog parks, all the dogs were well behaved. Which tells me these dogs are used to each other. Here is where a woman came up to me and told me I looked like Keanu Reeves from John Wick. Where interestingly enough, Rue Foyatier, the 200 step staircase fight took place which is immediately next to said dog park. And the église of Sacré - Coeur Basilica is where they had the final duel. Fun fact about the staircase, there's an elevator to get up and down, poor John John had to run up those stairs, has to be tough on the knees. But guess taking the elevator isn't as cinematic.

Rue Foyatier - 200 step staircase - featured in John Wick 4

Paris the juxtaposition capital. The city is busy and fast, but the people know how to slow down. The locals are mean and rude, but value manners. The city is rich and beautiful, but has an expansive and horrible history. My nationality or lineage is made up mainly of central and eastern European. Have some Austrian and German on my mom's side and dad's side is Serbia, Montenegro, still think some Czech but who hell the knows anymore. Seeing how I'm like United Nations squared. I see both sides of everything. I can argue anyside of any argument. I think this is why I see the duality and complexities of Paris. I see myself in the city. And I think this is why I felt so connected to Paris and wanted to explore elsewhere to see what other places, if it's possible or even probable, could have the same impact as Paris has. London, has always been one of my favorite cities. It's like my spirit home. Even before ever visiting there, I always wanted to live there. That'll be the next blog. I always wanted to live there, but would it have had ignited that wildfire to go travel more? Probably not. So in hindsight, it all started in Paris, because it had to be Paris.

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