What I will miss about Paris

The history. I loved soaking up centuries of stories. The place is full of narrative. The French put up lots of little signs around the place marking where events happened. There are still cannonballs stuck in building walls from centuries ago. I sat on Charles V’s toilet. I walked where Napoleon walked. I walked around the keep of medieval castles. This was absolutely the greatest aspect of Paris, for me.
The food. Patisseries, chocolate, baguettes, our incredible meal on the Eiffel Tower for Alex’s birthday. The cheeses. The ice cream. It was all wonderful. I admit that I brought home 8 packets of demi-baguettes which need another 10 minutes in the oven, and 4 packets of crepes...
A sense of celebration. It seems like the whole time we were in Paris, (I’m on the British Airways Airbus right now) there was always some party happening. There was the Fete de la Musique, the Fete du Cinema, summer events, 14th July, the Solidays celebration, the Tropical carnival at Bastille, the markets…. There was a feeling of joy about.
The music. I was amazed to see Parisian buskers. Often, these would be a string octet, or quartet, an opera singer, or someone with a clarinet or a violin would hop on the metro, play for a bit and then pass a cup around. I really saw people playing piano accordions in parks and on bridges. I thought about Brisbane, and the guy who used to play under Anzac Square, with the recorded karaoke tracks…. It was wonderful!
Sleeping in. Enough said.
Totally uninterrupted family time. We spent almost every minute together. After the first few days, I wondered if we’d survive. I used to think I’d like to be one of those families that goes and lives as an experiment in an ecosphere, or in Antarctica, but after the first couple of days in Paris, I thought it mightn’t be such a good idea. After a couple of weeks, though, I decided that we would not only survive, we would enjoy it. It was so much fun being together!