paris

"if you are lucky enough to have lived in paris as a young man then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you for paris is a movebale feast. "

these words were spoken by a "friend" of mine a very long time ago. in fact before i was born he spoke these words. and with this phrase playing in my soul as i headed off to paris. ah, paris. what a place.

i went to find a piece of myself. a piece of what i felt i have lost over the last few weeks with so many things happening around me. but i guess things never happen the way you plan them in fact it turned out to be more of a giving weekend. but i reckon i found also what i was looking for.

i left the south with the notion just to go switch off and enjoy the beauty and atmosphere of paris. it was perfect. this time of the year the colours and climate is close to perfection. autumn is after all my favourite season. so to wander down the streets and allowing the inside of the city to swallow me with its passion, its art, its people and just the buzz that hangs around in st. germain and other similar cartiers was the perfect medicine for a heavy spirit.

the gardens around the chateau de versailles was my first place of interest. i knew the garden had a reputation of transforming during the autumn and the spectcle of colours was awe inspiring. every colour you can imagine. shades of yellow, orange, red, browns. the enormity of the gardens are vast and you can not possibily see all of it. none the less. sitting there and watching the world walk by was a welcome relaxing experience in itself.

the rest of the time i spent walking all the funny and small backstreets that is called "the real paris." away from all the touristy traps and vendors crowding you. i spent a good deal of time in small galleries which are like boutique shopping malls filled with haute couture food, fashion and anything fabulously expensive. it was a treat to sit there sipping espresso and absorbing the heart of what makes a true parisienne. the walks down the river and between the different quaters was interesting to notice the changes between the various places. or stopping at shakespear and co to imagine papa hem hanging around and walking there where the books are stacked all the way to the roof. i had to buy a hem book. i just had too. no surprise that i bought another copy of "a moveable feast". this time signed and stamped. call it nostalgic. i call it adventure and respect for a place that has more to it than just what meets the eye.

but the most stricking thing was the atmosphere i felt walking the streets of paris. it was as if the city was sucking me in. showing me what makes its heart beat. away from all the usual cites. away from the everyday noise and pointing me in the direction of where the "real paris" happens.

and with this it makes perfect sense what papa hem said....it is a moveable feast indeed.