Paris

My visit to Paris was so quiet, but so full of life.  I spent 9 nights in the city, completely and utterly alone.  I don't think I would have done anything differently.

I spoke mainly in French while I was there, trying as best as I could to remember the correct vocabulary and tenses.  I wanted to fit in among the crowds of Parisians as easily as I was mushed into them on the Metro.  Could they smell my foreign tongue?  I stayed very quiet for the first few days.  Observing every turn and holler, every breath and step, every tune and argument. 

It seemed to me, that these people kept to themselves more than any sort I had ever seen before.  As if it were discomforting to be urged to make contact with an unknown.  Everyone was on their own mission.  So focused.  I wouldn't necessarily call it unfriendly.  I never found the people I met and encountered there unfriendly.  It was like their minds were racing on their own discoveries.  Deep in thought, tout le temps.  This was of course, from an outsider's opinion.  I'm sure my perspective would change if I had stayed longer.  And yes there were exceptions, but from a whole, this is the impression I was left with.

The organization of the city had me in awe with every Metro stop.  Every building, every park. every palace felt placed with purpose.  The entire city appealed to me as the floorplan of an art museum.  This is where you want to sit to observe this view.  Climbing a few hundred steps here would make a great look-out over the city.  Of course you would want to walk along the river buying old books from these fold out cupboards.  Unlike any city I had ever been to, this city above all felt like it was designed for those who wish to enjoy life, leisurely, yet focused. 

The beauty of it is unrivaled.  Khaki and pastel-colored and sparkling by night.  Accordion players thumbing the keys to old songs.  The click-clack of the well-to-do in their fancy shoes.  The echos of prayers in the cathedrals.  The scratch of pencils on sketchbooks in the museums.

The air felt so fresh to the lungs.  If you could bottle the feeling of walking the streets of Paris...

Piazza San Marco & Piazza della Santissima Annunziata

Here are some photos from one of my favorite places in Florence: Piazza San Marco & Piazza della Santissima Annunziata.  The last two photos are Piazza San Marco and the others Santissima Annuziata.

I went here during my first week in Florence and saw some of the locals hanging out.  There was a man teaching another man to draw, with the learning man's son creeping over his shoulder and watching his pencil strokes very carefully.   

An older man, probably grandfather, was teaching a young boy to ride his bike.  When the boy fell over the man comforted the boy, who was clearly trying as hard as he could to hide his pain.  It was neat to see how different they both reacted in this situation I have seen replayed a thousand times back home. They were very quiet but very intimate.  There was no yelling to "walk it off"! Nor did the boy burst into a tearful rampage.  Perhaps it all depends on how different people react differently, but I still found it touching to watch these two.

Lastly on my way leaving the Piazza I caught a glimpse of a young couple, maybe 15 or 16, the girl crying and the boy with his arm around her and wiping her tears.  It looked so sweet coming from such young people.  

The pre-teens here always seem older than they really are.  For the first few weeks of my class there was one Italian girl who could not speak any English.  Since I can only speak minimal Italian, there was such a language barrier in the classroom.  I watched her come and go every day and I assumed she was nearly my age.  However on one of the last days, with our professor translating, I learned that she was only 15! The age of my younger sister! I could hardly believe how she was this young.  As I have learned since then, the youths here are permitted to dress a little older style for their age compared to Americans.  Also, the drinking age here is 16... something to think about.

Wall Art

Found this walking around the city the other day. :)