Sep 9, 2024
The thing that struck me the most about Paris, as a first time visitor, is the amount of mixed-use buildings and the close integration of where people live and where communities gather.
Everywhere we look, beautiful historic buildings stand atop charming bistros or neighborhood bars. In contrast, a wine bar in our city almost got sued out of existence by a neighbor complaining about noise and crowds. But let’s not dive into all the issues with American cities.
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Paris just radiates with diversity and vitality, a city with over 2,000 years of uninterrupted human history. The Louvre is a perfect embodiment of this continuity.
I had some visceral moments at the museum. Seeing Titian’s Portrait of a Man with a Glove — its striking portrayal of the fleeting youth encased in this small, fragile wooden frame. I couldn’t help but wonder how many hands had safeguarded it over centuries. Then there was the sculpture Sleeping Hermaphroditus, depicting the Greek figure embodying both male and female traits. It’s astonishing to think that gender fluidity was a concept that existed over three thousand years ago. In front of Ingres’ Joan of Arc, I noticed a teenage girl in an oversized Stussy shirt carefully reading the descriptions, perhaps reflecting on the challenges of being a young woman today, and pushing against societal norms like Joan once did.
After the visit, I couldn’t stop thinking about how fragile culture truly is. It's so easily hidden, distorted, or lost. These pieces have survived, and I felt so priveleged to be able to see them.
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I can't talk about Paris without mentioning the food.
Whether it’s a complex traditional dish like the sweetbreads at Parcelles or the beef bourguignon at Joséphine Chez Dumonet, or fresh, creative takes on tradition from unassuming neighborhood restaurants—like the green bean salad at Café du Coin or the best razor clams I’ve ever had at Le Verre Volé—it doesn’t matter. It’s always good. The butter is a rich, golden yellow, impossibly creamy, and the wines are universally excellent without breaking the bank.
One thing that struck me was how meals are treated differently. People eat slow. They take their time, and it’s nearly impossible to catch the server’s attention. The concept of rushing through a meal just doesn’t exist.
But the appreication for food is not limited to dining.
People buy fresh produce every day instead of stocking up for the week. They have small fridges in small apartments. There’s very little processed food, which is obvious in all the grocery stores we saw.
Later in our trip, in the South of France, we watched with amusement these two elderly owners of an antique shop in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue preparing their lunch. They carefully unpacked fresh cherry tomatoes, grapes, and bread from small containers, setting out silver forks and ceramic plates.
In France, there are things that simply cannot be compromised. And food is undoubtedly one of them.