Love At First Sight

Here are some of the first things I noticed when we arrived in France:

Food and drinks – I swear, every block in the city has at least one bar, cafe, boulangerie/bakery, boucherie/butcher, fromagerie/cheese store, a charcuterie/cured meat store and a small chain grocery. The cafes and bars (which are almost indistinguishable because they both sell coffee, beer and wine) are set-up for people watching.

I am definitely not missing the Walmarts, Targets and strip malls of 'murica.

Vehicles – most cars and trucks have manual transmission. Most are mid-sized. Almost no SUVs, thanks goodness. Personally, I don't see any enjoyment in driving an automatic. Some cars turn off when the car is stopped and idling – which is genius and is how some warehouse carts we drive at my job work. Scooters and motorcycles are ubiquitous. They have racks of bicycles for rent and electric cars for rent. We tried renting bikes, but you need to have €150 to deposit to rent one.

How good everybody dressed – just like what I saw in our stopover in Sweden. Maybe it's a European thing.  Haircuts, beards, glasses, coats, dresses, shirts, pants, shoes on people of all ages were like they were picked off of fashion magazines.  Or maybe it was the fashion magazines who were picking their stuff from the Europeans.  How they put things together seemed effortless.  The difference in how people dressed in Europe is like night and day from where I was in the States.  I'd take pictures of what people wear here but I don't want to seem like a creep. Maybe later after I get some more practice saying “May I take your picture” in French.

Amount and quality of graffitti – just like Stockholm, it was all around public spaces and most were well drawn. Also, somehow they aren't on places where it would ruin the view. Whoever sprayed them on still kept in mind the overall aesthetic. That, or maybe there are certain spots that have harsher consequences. I don't know.

Bicycles and bike paths – just like in Sweden. Two-laned bike paths ran together with the roads and sidewalks almost everywhere and there is also that level of respect that the cars and trucks have for the cyclists.  It's a cyclist's paradise.

Almost nobody was overweight – also, like in Sweden. Maybe it's because they're walking and biking all the time.  This also adds to the "lifted off of fashion magazines" effect. There are a lot of smokers, though.

Design – again, like in Sweden. Nothing looked like it was made to just work.  Be it a waiting shed, a car, a handrail, a manhole cover: it exuded an aesthetic of innovation.  Like someone made it a point to make it look good also.

These are what I first observed. These and the overall irresistable charm of the city. Charming and beautiful are understatements when used to describe Paris. How to describe its beauty is beyond words. It's like your first crush. It's like love at first sight. The sun shines brighter, the air seems to have more life. You know it makes you weak at the knees, but you can only try to explain why.

It has been four days since we arrived. Already, I wish that I wouldn't have to leave.