Airplane pyjama tops as activewear.  A trend that’s yet to break in Paris.  Ditto the activewear everywhere thing.  I do like a challenge though…  I still have a few days to encourage Parisians to see the light.

And it’s not even an interesting one at that.  But routine and predictability is everything, people.  Routine and predictability.

I just realised today that the city carparks are named for the streets that they’re located on.  Very handy references as you navigate the city using the map on your phone.  I’m loving the fact that the voiceover lady on my maps app has an Australian accent.  I’m pretty much loving everything about Paris at the moment, truth be told.

I think the time has come to tell the story behind this cup of espresso….

Hint.

Superior refreshments appear to just part of the experience when you shop in Paris. Basically, shopping is an experience here full stop.  There are often as many staff employed to manage queues and customers as there are staff to do the actual selling.  It’s relentless work and I don’t know how everyone remains as polite and attentive as they do in the circumstances.

Whole floors of stores suddenly become roped off to the general, touristy public during regular hours due to the presence of select customers.  Clutches of general, touristy people either lean in and make small talk with each other or eye each other warily as competitors for that last piece of a particular bag or small leather good.  Ever vigilant staff members update your waiting time whenever they walk past you.  Complimentary beverages, be they espresso or champagne, go a long way towards keeping the peace and helping everyone to stay chilled.

Champagne and super-efficient crowd control.  That’s how they do it at Louis Vuitton Maison Champs Elysee.

You can’t help but feel that we’ve entered an era of Fast Luxury.  Most customers, sensitive to the sheer volume other like-minded people who’ve done the maths and figured out just how much (about 25%) they’ll save by shopping in Paris rather than back home come to stores armed with a list or at least a number of photos on their phone to make communication as efficient as possible.  There’s no time for much more than a few polite pleasantries as people hover in the background getting tetchy about where they are in the queue.  Deciding on your purchase boils down to whether or not the things on your list are in stock as per your sales associate’s iPad.

I came, I saw, I bought, I sipped.

I never thought I’d love Paris as much as so many others do.  I don’t remember the city leaving much of an impression on me that last (and first) time I visited but this time has been different.  Perhaps it’s because of my being a solo traveller this time.

That moment when you look up casually from your phone while lugging some shopping bags and lock eyes with the Place Vendome and its column.

My lunchtime salad and a pigeon who took a peck at the baguette I dropped on the ground.  If you can’t love the one you’re with, you can at least give them some bread….

Paris has an ageless, timeless and sometimes even flawed beauty.

Paris makes you swoon.

Paris draws you in.

But it also makes you look beyond to see the bigger picture.

Sometimes there are no words to describe Paris, so you pinch yourself instead.  Just to check that you really are in Paris and not just dreaming it.

Paris is a feeling.

It’s the way you’ve imagined it to be.

Paris is also about expecting the unexpected.

Its surface is something you barely scratch as a visitor.

It’s to be experienced with all your senses.

It contrasts.

It’s symmetry and precision but it’s also about circular arrondissements which appear to defy logic.

It pulls back to give you space to wander and learn.   About yourself.  About Paris.  About you and Paris.