Paris

It took me twenty years, but I finally made it back to Paris, the city of light. My lazy photographs don't capture how truly beautiful the city is and how wonderful it was for me to explore, with absolutely no agenda, the many sights, sounds and tastes of this city.

My favorite things about Paris:

The beauty: So much attention is paid to the presentation of things in Paris.  From the carefully packaged and presented chocolates (yes, I sampled a few), to the men in impeccably tailored suits (all ages of men in suits!), to the rose gardens that were in bloom all over the city, there is an attention to visceral beauty which is rare.
The baguettes: Seriously, the bread is unlike any other.  Every day I got myself a baguette sandwich for lunch, ate half and saved the other half for dinner.  Because the bread was SO PERFECT I truly felt like I was getting a gourmet meal.
The kindness of strangers: I don't know why France gets such a bad rap for treating guests unkindly.  I was struck, again and again, by how helpful everyone was and how patient they were with my rusty French.  Several times people stopped to ask me if I needed directions when they saw me on a street corner with my map.  It was a lovely surprise.