"where I am home" a Paris Travel Page by statsinparis

The first time I arrived in Paris, I had been suffering from flu for three days before hand, and I still wasn't well. I remember getting to my hotel, and sleeping for the whole afternoon. I was on my own, and with such a cold that I couldn't hear anything, that there was no way I was going to manage to go to resturants or anything. Instead, I lived on juice from the local market.
On the second day, I did everything I could manage. I went up the Eiffle tower, I went to the jardins, and saw the glass pyramid. I went to the musee d'Orsay, where I saw remarkable things. The whole of Paris was mine to explore. I got myself lost in a cemetary, the one in Montmarte, close to where I was staying.
I went shopping in all the best places, and had a fantastic time, but then, I had to come home.

For Bastille day, still on my own, but feeling much better, thank you. Then I did all the things I hadn't managed before, like the louvre. I did see the Mona Lisa, I wasn't impressed! I went for much longer the second time, and actually managed to eat in resturants, which was nice. I went up the eiffle tower again, and went on the little boat. I was a proper tourist, and even went to watch the parade. The sun shone, and all was well. The best thing was the view from my hotel window, a dead mouse which had obviously been dropped down into what seemed to be referred to as a court yard, but was actually a slab of concrete with a dead mouse on it.

I have now been to Paris more times than I have been to my own capital city. I love the place. I love the smell, the people, the way of life. I love to wander around the cemetary, now no longer getting lost. In fact, it has become a part of my ritual. The afternoon I arrive, I go to the cemetary in Montmarte (where I always stay) and visit all the residents as if I knew them. I go and sit in the Sacre Coeur, listening to the mass of a religion I don't have, but which I can appretiate because of the place I am in. I go to all the tourist trap shops, and buy Parisien trash, which always bring a smile when I later present it as gifts to those I love.

I would not change Paris for anything. I will return as long as I still have life within me. Paris is home.