“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms...” Henry David Thoreau, Walden.
To paraphrase Thoreau, we came to Paris to live this summer to ignore the tourist stuff and learn and confront the essential daily life of the French with no preconceived ideas and see what their lifestyle could teach us. We did not want to die without having tried to have an authentic and immersive experience over here. On the one hand, we did not stay in 5-star hotels but at the same time, we were not Spartan-like either. Our apartment was compared to others very large and comfortable and it felt like home. We had hoped to explore one day and rest the next. Nature had other ideas and things to teach us. Instead, we were sick most of the time staying inside, watching TV, reading and researching the area, and getting take away. But I believe we met our objectives and learned many things. Yes, we were sick, but we were sick in Paris. Our needs were met. We could obtain medical and dental care when needed and it was easy to obtain medications. And every French person we met for the most part was happy, helpful, polite, and caring. The average American has over 300,000 items in their home. I spent decades accumulating and now cannot get rid of enough of it. Other than aristocracy, that didn't turn out well for most of them, and their opulent and grandiose mega-mansions, the average French person has much, much less. Their cars are smaller, and their homes are smaller, they have no walk-in closets. Twice a year during sales they buy the good stuff, designer clothes but where we buy 10 they buy 1 and keep it for 5 or 10 years. They have less to keep track of and less to worry about losing. After a month we immediately recognized we had brought 2X what we really needed. I hope we remember that lesson. I have read about it for a lifetime but now I have lived it for a month. Possessions don't make you happy and enrich your life as much as experiences, tastes, sunrises, and sharing those experiences with family and friends lingering over a coffee until the late hours of the evening at some cafe as opposed to watching some stupid reality show on TV.(apologies for the judgemental comment). Yes we were sick. But with friends and loved ones. It was still an experience, just not the one we had envisioned. So as best we could we embraced what we had recognizing that tomorrow brings a new day and a new chance. Tonight prior to dinner we went for a walk realizing the entire month we have been here we only walked down and around Boulevard Voltaire which is one block and intersects with Place Nation. For one month we had been exploring in only one direction. But there are at least a dozen streets that intersect with Place Nation and we could have spent an entire 2 weeks exploring a huge area and no telling what we might have found. We went in the opposite direction for the first time tonight and 2 blocks from our apartment we found an authentic family-operated Moroccan restaurant. We love Moroccan food and have not had it in decades. We totally missed it, but now have even more motivation to return to the same place in the future. We cannot control our age but we need to get home and deal with the health issues cropping up prior to returning. Paris like most of Europe is harder to walk around it, and now drive in, than the USA. Streets and paths are uneven and prone to falling. Metros have few to no elevators and you have to go up and down multiple flights of stairs. Most buildings and Hotels don't have elevators. It can be hot one day and cold the next. So hopefully next trip we will be well and better prepared. We certainly hope so. I think our main lesson here is life really is and can be simple and even more joyful. But in the end, it is up to you to make it that way, and instead of complaining about what you don't have learn to adapt and use what you do have and have joy in doing it.
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