I Love Paris

  I know what you're thinking... Janelle, you're all about Italy, right? True, true... but I love Paris. My first trip to Europe was not that long ago, and it was to Paris.
 We arrived on March 19th, 2003. The day the U.S. bombed the crap out of the Presidential Palace in Baghdad in what was dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom". You remember.. it was when everyone was pouring French wines down the drain, and who could forget "freedom" fries? The U.S. was "Country non-grata", or so we thought, because of our invasion of Iraq and France's disapproval of our actions.
  I thought we would be spat upon, and have tomatoes thrown at us, all that sort of thing. On the contrary, of course. The people we came in contact with were kind, helpful, interested in what we had to say. We didn't have any problems at all. No one was rude or nasty to us. It was a fantastic first trip.
  Who knows what would have happened if things had gone another way. They didn't, and we have been back to Paris several times. Johnny would love to relocate to the City of Lights right this moment, in fact. He's all about the cheese and baguettes, man. Oh, and the fantastic light... I love the light, too. The unreal quality of the light. Sometimes, when I'm feeling blue, I think about the trees along the Seine, the way the sun hits the leaves. It's one of those images I hold very close.
   I just came across a bunch of discs with photos from trips we took to Paris and Italy a few years ago. It's better than Christmas morning as a kid, for me. Below are pictures that capture some of what I love about Paris. Still waiting to go back, and we do need to take in the south of France one of these years.     For now, I'll enjoy these pictures and have some champagne.

The boat guy in the Jardin des Tuileries 

Kids hire the boats for a half hour and push them around with long bamboo poles.
Very old school. So colorful.

Windmill in Montmartre, with bird, and purple blooming tree.

The sky is what knocks me out. Pont Neuf.

Pretty.

These are the trees I dream about, with the sun just so.

Giant looming tower. I love how it totally dwarfs you as you get closer and closer.

Lovely cobbled street in Montmartre. Rue Lapin, I think.

He's saying "Now do you believe me?"
 Springtime in Paris.

This guy was painting a very nifty scene on the side of a falafal joint in the Marais.

Sweet street art.

A typical corner market.

Luscious produce.

Bakery yumminess.

All sorts of iron work in one small picture. This is such a Paris scene.