joie de vivre :: paris

While in Paris I didn't go to one museum or take a tour. 

Instead I spoke about happiness and had three hour lunches with my new friend Thierry,

got to see Paris through the eyes of an old friend and ate too much tartare, 

learned an old french song called Champs Élysées, and sang it while skipping down the french boulevards during the day and after drinking too much wine at night, 

spent hours people watching,

ate at the best cafe, 

found treasures in the Les Puces de Saint-Ouen and vintage shops, 

celebrated the French National Day by dancing at a fire station party with incredible people,

and found a happiness walking in Paris at night I never want to leave. 

The joie de vivre (the joy of life) is one thing I understand & can see in every aspect of Paris. 

It was mentioned in a conversation with Thierry that happiness can be an unconscious thing. Something you can see in a reflexive thought about a time in your life. 

But in Paris there were so many times I caught myself fully conscious of being truly happy. Whether it was eating the world's best ice cream along the Seine, laying in the sunshine at the Jardin des Tuileries, or the split second I saw the entire horizon of Paris upside down while on a rollarcoaster... I fell head over heels for the most beautiful city in the world. 

Then there was the Eiffel Tower. 

I had seen its image so many times I wasn't expecting to be so moved by the sight of it. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. 

Its beauty welcomes you in a singular, unforgettable kind of way. Like Paris itself. 

It's why I'm going back this weekend.