Magic Cities

Okay this is a little overdue, since we left Paris over a week and a half ago, but what can ya do. Since Heather is catching you up on our activities, I thought I would write a little sumthin sumthin on the side. And also I just like seeing how many people I can irritate with my not very insightful poetry about hot chocolate. (by the way, has anyone else read the poem '2B or not 2B'?? Its at the beginning of Russell Brand's Booky Wooky. Seriously such a good poem...)



Anyways- what I am actually intending to talk about with this post:
Coming from Edmonton, affectionately refered to as Deadmonton and home to the worlds largest mall and the worlds largest rotating easter egg (yes I know it is, in fact, in Vegreville but WE CLAIMED IT. OUR PYSANKA.), Edmonton is rather lacking in magic. In fact Id say it just basically has an obsession with size (sidenote: does anyone else think that theres a connection between the need for ridiculously large landmarks and having the highest stabbing rate in North America?). So, when you live in Edmonton, you dream about visiting 'magic cities'-- New York, Paris, Havana. They're foreign and the set of almost every awesome movie. I mean, come on, "we'll always have Boise" doesn't trip off the toungue quite like "we'll always have Paris". (dear lord I am tangential today). MY POINT BEING- there are magic cities that have a vibe like no other one. They have their own unique character.
Another example- Sex and the City- New York City is almost a character in that show- it has its own ups and downs and affects the other characters uniquely. If you take almost any still  from that film, it is identifiably New York, and no where else.
How this is related to our travels is quite simple- Paris is a magic city. There is something about it, from its breathtaking Champs de Mars or Champs Elysee, to the way you can walk for hours among buildings that have stood there for longer than Canada has existed. It has weird sex shop displays in Montmarte that make me agree with my puritanical ancestors regarding the French, yet these shops face one of the most beautiful Churches I have ever seen. But despite the diversity of the city, the whole thing has a discernable 'vibe' that is just uniquely Paris. I've only seen that in a few other cities- Havana, Montreal, New York. (Sidenote: Ernest Hemingway lived for a time in all of these cities, including Paris... Perhaps he is the litmus test for magic cities?) It's a really cool feeling, to be somewhere that has that kind of personality. Maybe I'm gushing, but I have to admit. I've got city love.

And so I leave you with the lyrics to the song 'I Love Paris' by Ella Fitzgerald (which is actually a pretty great song beyond the lyrics, so if you haven't heard it, SHAME ON YOU. Oh, and if you're looking to put a little Paris sumthin sumthin into your daily life, you can also check out 'La Vie en Rose' by Edith Piaf, or La mome as she is known in Pareeee (I think it means the nightingale). But I digress before I give you a list of every Francocentric song and movie ever written. OH WAIT-- FUNNY FACE. Not only does that take place in Paris but it has Audrey Hepburn AND Fred Astaire in the same movie. You don't GET better casts then that. OOOh, or if we're talking Audrey, then also Sabrina- and that has Humphrey Bogart. And they sing La Vie en Rose, so thats two birds with one stone.... OKAY END OF TANGENT):

Every time I look down on this timeless town,
Whether blue or gray be her skies,
Whether loud be her cheers, or whether soft be her tears,
More and more do I realize that...

I love paris in the spring time
I love paris in the fall
I love paris in the summer when it sizzles
I love paris in the winter when it drizzles

I love paris every moment



OH and will probably add pictures of Paris once we're at a computer that has both internet and pluggy things. also known as zip drive holes and something else in Nerd lingo that escapes me currently.