Paris is probably a way of life. European metropolis, cosmopolitan city, tourist magnet - yes, all that is true, but it does not reflect what is special. What is it that makes this unique?
photo by Volker Kraayvanger
If you live here, you feel like you're part of a story - a never-ending story, Paris is never-ending. You can choose who you want to meet - the Sun King, Saint-Saëns or Sartre, each era resonates incessantly in this city, literally sweeping those who engage with it. Yes, the charm of some places and spaces is disenchanted by the countless tourists, but even in everyday life, in some places you are fascinated every time to be part of this city. Maybe not exactly on the days when I stand in the crowded metro. But when I'm in a great restaurant, concert hall or park, definitely.
The feeling of strolling through alleys, spontaneously sitting down at a small table on the sidewalk, ordering something, only to think that it had to come just like this. Standing on historical monuments, looking at the sand-colored buildings and imagining how everything looks with horse-drawn carriages, ladies with parasols and gentlemen with top hats. Driving fearlessly into the traffic circle of the Place de l'Etoile, honking the horn and experiencing a spontaneous amnesia of all the traffic rules. Amazing. Finally arrived.
I hope this feeling of having arrived will return on subsequent visits to Paris. A few weeks after I have already "left" Paris, I return for the first time. By car, alone - for a business trip. In the evening, the rush hour traffic has already died down, I have a hotel near the Église Saint Eustache. Much is familiar, the prominent monuments facilitate orientation, the evening sound of wailing sirens and accelerating scooters penetrates through the half-open window into my car. Everything as always. Exactly as it should be. And I am part of it.
Volker Kraayvanger