The Joy of Revisiting Paris as a Tourist
Expat life in the City of Light is difficult, but visiting is delightful.
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Dear Wanderers,
In October, I returned to Paris for the first time since late 2020. During my visit, I kept a notebook, as I did when we were living there. But while the notebooks of our Paris years were alternately desperate and gloomy, the notebooks of my solo ten-day visit reflected Paris through the awe-struck eyes of a tourist.
Dare I say that living in Paris was no picnic? If you visit for a week or a month or two, it’s lovely. But living there is another story entirely.
When we lived here, I felt trapped. As a visitor, I can wander. I have no responsibilities beyond finishing the book I started here. No school lunches to make, no homework to attend to, no wrangling with SVR (the French internet provider).