I am back

Back, in love with Paris.

I went through my three-month spiral in the late fall/early winter when I felt more frustrated than inspired, down and out instead of open and outgoing, sad and lonely rather than enchanted and giddy.

Thank god I have my joie back.

I know my ups and downs are to be expected. Someone told me that the path of an ex-pat is like a big w: you start going up, up, up and then you plunge downward. But if you wait long enough, you start getting high and higher once again.

So here I am again with Paris working its magic on me. I can’t help but smile when I’m walking down the street (a sign of mild mental retardation to the French). I have even been skipping and singing. I’ll catch a glimpse of Sacre-Coeur or hear church bells clanging and I think, I live in Paris! I walk across the Pont des Arts and see and feel centuries of passion and inspiration. The vitrines are charming. The architecture is arresting. And there’s just that feeling in the air that I only feel here. It’s too, too good…