Photos and story by Nancy Kirkpatrick
Paris. A good friend told me the way to experience Paris is to slowly stroll its streets and parks. Stop often. Sit along the Seine. Take your time. Let Paris take ahold of you. And only then will you know the real attraction of Paris.
Good advice for most anywhere, this is especially true of Paris. It is stunning. Magnificent. There is so much wonderment. So much evidence that the human spirit is capable of great creativity. I was awed by the architectural detail. Simply and completely enthralled.
The Louvre Museum is massive. The statuary incredibly endless. Being the seat of Gothic architecture, ornamentation is abundant everywhere.
At the Notre-Dame Cathedral I see the intriguing flying buttresses. I whisper the term out loud. Miraculous. Harmonious.
And the cuisine! Traveling is always about the delights of dining in special places and in special ways. There is absolutely nothing more important than what one is doing at the moment and it is truly evident in the way Parisians dine: slow and pleasant.
Next time – or the first time – you are in Paris, take your time. Yes, it is the Eiffel Tower, Seine, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées. But while there, take your time. Let the realization seep into your soul that you are seeing human greatness. Savor the difference. That is the real Paris.
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