I Love Paris Every Moment...

Every moment of the year ...

This was my third visit to the city of light and I was no less wonderstruck this time than I was the first go around in 2007.

There are so many iconic buildings, monuments and places here, it's hard to look around and not see something of beauty. To name a few, the Eiffel Tower, The Opera, Le Grand Palais, City Hall, Les Jardins de la Tuillerie, l'Arc de Triomphe, all standouts. But those landmarks aside, even the row upon row and block after block of six storey apartment buildings, with their wrought iron balconies, give you a clear indication of which city you're in.

We spent our first couple of days here hanging out with Carhy, one of Brenda's friends, who traveled here from Nantes to share some time with us. We ate, drank, wandered aimlessly through different arrondissements and even did the touristy Seine cruise on Sunday afternoon, that turned out to be most enjoyable and very informative.

On Monday, we had a brush with fame. Another of Brenda's friends, Patrice Romedenne, who she met in Vancouver many moons ago, is now a well known writer and TV journalist. He invited us for coffee at Le Cafe de l'Homme, which offers probably the best view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I have to admit, I was glad he picked up the tab because the three scoops of sorbet that Brenda ate and the very delicious, but tiny apple tatin I chose were both priced at €15.00 each. I hate to think how much his chicken caesar salad cost!

On Tuesday, Brenda and I picked up a bottle of rosé, a few spreads, falafels and vine leaves from Le Marche des Ternes and, of course, a baguette (from the bakery that won 4th prize for the best baguette in Paris in 2004), all of which we gobbled down while sitting in the sun on a park bench in Parc Monceau.

In a city where real estate prices, like Vancouver, have skyrocketed in recent years, it's great to be able to find a large green space amidst all the concrete

So now we say au revoir to Paris and fly off to our first English speaking destination of this trip: Dublin, Ireland.

I've been to Paris in the fall and in the summer when it sizzles. Now I've been here in the spring and have only to visit her in the winter, when it drizzles, in order to be able to have lived the song lyrics.

Why, oh why do I love Paris? Because my love is here. (Or at least she's with me every time I've been).Read more