I tried for a long time to come up with something original to say about Paris.
This is of course hopeless. Everything original that could be written has already been written about this city. Even the ‘alternative’ takes have become well-worn. All I can do is affirm what others have already said.
Yes, it’s beautiful- with its grand buildings and clipped parks and famous paintings and polished statues. And yes, it can also feel choked, like living in a strange sort of Westworld.
But Parisian Christmas is subtle, you can walk the streets and hardly know it’s on.
In the Louvre (which my dear family, much to my consternation, has begun pronouncing Loo-vRAA) I made the obligatory stop by the Mona Lisa, but baulked at the long switchback queue to get up close. I forgot how small a portrait it is (Google reliably informs me 77x53cm). On the opposite wall is The Wedding at Cana, a gigantic 10 meters across. I like to think the museum's curators had a sense of humor, to place these two works facing each other.
I’ve really enjoyed spending this week with the whole family together, and I’ve had a wonderful time, but I’m off on more adventures tomorrow.
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