Going back to Paris
About ten years ago I was a regular in Paris. I would spend four to five days there two to three times a year. On a meager budget I would just walk the streets for hours and have a croque monsieur or a crepe for lunch or spend the entire day in a museum, not even thinking about food.
It has been almost seven years now, since I visited Paris. Finally, in a couple of weeks, I'm going back. But I can't help wondering: What will it be like? I have changed a lot as the years have passed and I am sure Paris has too. Will she remember me? Will we be able to pick up the conversation where we left it?
I know where I willgo first: Montmartre. It's where I felt most at home and where I have gathered the sweetest memories. One of my all time favorite museums is there -- the Museum of Primitive and Naïve Art at the Halle Saint Pierre.
And then there is the Sacré Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. I used to sit for hours listening to the rattling of the rosaries and the whispered prayers, smelling the incense and the melting wax of hundreds of burning candles.
It could be argued that the Sacré Coeur is just too much of a good thing, that it is gawdy. In my eyes it is very beautiful. The hopes and dreams that people have brought there through the years makes it a wonderful monument.
It won't be long now, till I'm back there. I don't think I will spend hours like I used to, but I will certainly pay my respects. And when I have enjoyed the latest exhibition at the Halle Saint Pierre, I will find a quiet café and enjoy a real café au lait (and perhaps a croque monsieur for old times' sake) while I read my paper back or just enjoy the view.
