Taking A Break: What makes Paris my "Paradis"

By Dan Franch

While in Paris this week, I came across a postcard that caught my eye. On it was a quote by Jules Renard that read, “Ajouter seulement deux lettres à Paris, c'est le paradis.”

It’s tough to argue with him. My wife claims it’s the air. She having lived there twice, it’s tough to argue with her, as well. So I don’t. Truth be known, I agree with them both.

There is something in the air that makes The City of Light a sort of short-stay Shangri-la; close enough to Luxembourg to visit on a whim yet far enough to not be lured too often by its Siren call.

I have to admit, it’s not its cafes and lovely "quartiers" that make it an Elysian Fields, though one would be hard-pressed to name another city as enjoyable for strolling about and doing much of nothing. The main reason I go is to meet up with friends.

That’s because Paris is the ultimate crossroads, the perfect meeting point for me and those whom I don’t often see and who, for some reason or another, don’t quite make it up to Luxembourg.

This time around it was to meet a friend from my Peace Corps days. He had just arrived from Minneapolis and e-mailed me on Sunday.

So, I bought my ticket online and boarded the TGV early Monday morning to spend the day with him and his girlfriend, a Minnesotan now living in Malawi. Needless to say, it was their crossroads, too.

Luxembourg doesn’t have that draw. People don’t choose the Grand Duchy as a place to meet. Rather, travellers treat it more as a way station, a quick stop-off before heading on to somewhere else. In fact, “Just passing through” could be the perfect bumper sticker for many cars.

But that’s alright. Not every place can be a magnet pulling people in from all over the world. That’s why we have the city on the Seine.

Pretty much right at our doorstep; “Paris is always a good idea,” to quote Audrey Hepburn from the 1954 movie Sabrina. I agree. Luckily, living in Luxembourg makes it more likely to turn that idea into a reality every now and again.

Dan Franch also co-writes our bi-monthly comic strip Table Manners.