Mes Amis!  Having had the great pleasure of living in Paris, in the 7th arrondissement, for nearly two years I can attest to the 'seduction' that is Paris!   One is able to 'peel Paris' like an orange and discover the many segments which make it  one of the most beautiful and intriguing cities in the world.   Each arrondissement offers a different  layer of its history and cultural influences.

As I walked around the city nearly every day and tried to not retrace my steps I found more beautiful streetscapes and incredible Art Nouveau doors than leaves on the ever present plane tree.  The myriad ecru colours of the buildings with their black lace-like wrought iron balconies gave a grace to the buildings beyond compare. 

Vest-pocket parks would pop up as though they were jack-in-the boxes, offering the wanderer a welcome bench,  and a great people watching venue.

Boulangeries tempt one at nearly every corner with aromatic  baguettes and other delicious items, and usually not too far away an open-air market  with all of its jewel like  fruits and vegetables.  

In the fall, when the light in Paris is 'watery'  it is magical to wander along Quai Voltaire as far as Notre Dame and pause to stand and watch the river drift by..... in that late afternoon light you can fully grasp why the Impressionists so loved painting here.  Everything  that is ordinary takes on a quality of  mystique, and the sense of the history of the city is intense, and I used to wallow in the sensuality of this time of year.

One only has to take a bus ride to see and feel the totally human scale of this city , and both the humble and the grand neighbourhoods unfold on your sojourn.  To begin a day of adventure here, to turn an unfamiliar corner, to discover a street and building that can touch your heart is to love this city as no other, and this was my privilege for nearly two years. 

It has been my good fortune to have lived all over the world from NY, to Hong Kong, Honolulu to Anchorage, to Los Angeles, and none can compare with the beauty and magical quality that belongs to Paris, alone.
Judith Dunn

Expatica 2009