favorites intertwined

in honor of bastille day (yesterday), one of my favoritest authors, david mccullough (author of my beloved truman) wrote an op-ed in the ny times, reminding americans of the wonderful historical ties that bind us to my favorite of all cities... paris.

so many favorites in one little article.

~k

from paris

there is so much to say about turkey: politics, people, culture, hosptiality, that i got to scratch my first item from my bucket list. but i am in paris right now, blogging from an internet cafe on a french keyboard (whoa, hard!), and have more pressing things on my mind.

fer starters, why is the "a" key on the top line, where is the question mark, and why do i have to hit the shift key for the numbers? (found the question mark). the period, btw, also requires the shift key. this is hard.

i made it into paris this morning on an early flight from istanbul, spent an hour working my way through CDG, as france is on a high terror alert and i got stopped by the french army in two places (me and everyone else at the airport) so they could investigate suspicious packages, and then the RER train from the airport is under construction so i had to take a bus to the first working stop. long story short, it took two hours to get from my plane to my hotel, when it shoulda taken an hour max...

the good news is that i still love paris, and today was the most gorgeous day i have ever had in paris: warm, sunny, and as beautiful as any day could ever be, and that it is 10.10.10 is just neato. i've also had an easy time occupying my turkishly racing mind by trying to answer a question posed to me by mon amor. he asked me why i think paris is so romantic. so i spent the day observing my way to an answer, and came to this:

paris is a city where anything goes. in addition to being charming, old, beautiful, easy to get around, and full of history and light (at day and night), paris is a place where lovers just are. everywhere i look, people are holding hands, kissing, embracing for extended periods, and looking at each other with passion and affection. the energy those lovers put out into this wonderful city is both alluring and infectious. it makes me so happy i could cry, even when i am alone.

crazy thing is that i've never been anything but alone in paris. i have never been here with someone i love, and whilst there's always been a part of me that's regretted that, i am grateful today. because today i articulated for myself and my lover why it is that paris is so romantic, and how lucky for me that my first time in paris with someone i love will be with him. whenever that may be...

back to america tomorrow, where i will set out to capture all that was utterly fascinating about turkey...

for now, bon soir!

~k

melpomene musing

sometimes i want to blog about things i don't want paris guy to know, but i hold back or i don't publish because i know he's here. and whilst i think if i asked him not to be here, he would respect my wishes and stay away. but i don't want him to leave. and even though my ego doesn't want him to know how much i miss him, the rest of me kind of doesn't give a shit anymore.

i mean, this is my place to let it all out. the place for my rants and raves, my hopes and dreams, my dog, my heartbreak. my special place for narcissistic expression. so...

in addition to being my pal, i thought scarlet would distract me from that woe, but she makes me miss him more. paris guy just celebrated his first anniversary with his first dog, so he totally gets what i'm going through, and he gets me. and knowing him as i do, i'd bet he'd probly be having as much fun getting to know scarlet as i am. no matter the distance.

i think about that a lot. along with how much better the world seemed when he was lighting up my every day. and about trying to be friends.

but i'm me, and i know i can't.

~k

insanity gone sane

i haven't made my bed in a week, haven't washed a single dish, unpacked my suitcase, or cleaned _anything_ since i returned from my travels. and i don't even care that there are piles strewn about my flat (of things. like books, cards, europe memorabilia, newspapers, clothes and jewelry). just lying around. there's dust on my furniture and dust bunnies in my corners. and i don't feel driven at all by uncontrollable compulsion to correct any of it.

can vacation cure o.c.d.?

~k

opera bastille

on sunday afternoon, i went to see 'la boheme' at paris's opera bastille. because i waited till the last minute, and it was a sold out show, my ticket cost near a king's ransom.

and it was worth every penny and then some.

the first time i ever saw an opera was in paris, at the paris opera house. it was 'carmen', and i remember appreciating but not necessarily loving it.

this time was different. i was so overwhelmed, so moved, i sat there bawling my eyes out because of the emotion expressed on stage. i mean, 'la boheme' is in italian so i don't understand a lick of the words. but the words don't even matter when the performances are powerful enough to render them meaningless, and this particular performance was really that powerful.

i'm still moved. i can still feel the passion whirling about my heart. and i hope i always do.

~k

en paree

i'm in love. i could very easily add a "the end" here and be done, but such a lackluster finale is hardly my m.o.

paris is the best city ever!

it helps that i'm staying in a very cool part of the city, montmartre- the bohemian-esque neighborhood, but it's that the city possesses such a romantic aura, the hopeless romantic in me can't help but feel a kindred connection.

for the past few days, i've mostly wandered. with very few destinations in mind, i've just kind of soaked in everything about this wonderful place. obsessed as i am with military history, i've certainly seen things to feed my intellectual curiosity (les hotel invalides, normandy (my next blog), and napolean's tomb), but it's the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of paris that've mostly fed my fancy.

i've accidentally bumped into things like la sacre-coeur and the eiffel tower, and i've gotten caught up in the whirlwind of tourist traps, but it's the side streets, the cafe's, the simplicity of the metro, and the supermarket next door to my hostel, and the immediate surrounding areas that've been the sources of greatest fascination for me.

i really am in love with paris, and have no doubt that i will someday, for some length of time, call her home.

the end.

~k

the great (re)discovery

no matter my geographic circumstance, i am a california girl. i live on the upside of beautiful, almost all the time. always on a journey, i'm ever seeking knowledge, friendship, inspiration, enlightenment, and love. and i'm lucky to find all of the above all around me. i am intrigued by surprise. i see miracles every day. i savor my solitude with the same fervency i love a really good party. i dare to fail greatly. most of all, i am a believer. and i believe i am here to change the world.

~k