In LOVE city ;-)

Don't know how to start this new post but at least I have a tremendous motivation to write today ;-). I guess it is because I just came back from the city of light, Paris.

When I was in VN, I loved listening to Vanessa Paradis even though I couldn't understand any of the words she sang but French is such a beautiful language that none can resist, and I completely understand that French people are so proud of their language. Some of the old artists (poets, compositors, singers....) of Vietnam who studied in France also got most of their songs/poems written from the beauty of Paris. Recently, I read a romance that described its beauty, so of all reasons, I decided to visit Paris for four days!

Luckily, the weather was warm and sunny. I have been to Paris four times, but I really fall in love with it in this last visit. The air, the fast pace of the metropolitans, from the elegant quartier to the crowded, cheap, diry ones, Paris is packed with theaters and artists. I arrived in Monmartre on Friday morning, climbed the stairs to the top, sat down with the other toursists and listen to a street singers singing old songs in English, together with his cousin performing with a ball (whom he called the "Zidane of Senegal" ;-)). Afterwards, strolling slowly to the small streets at the bottom, looking at people selling stuffs, exchanging conversations, and went to a cafe, enjoying pancakes ;-). Then, came two bikers, they got off from the bikes, took off the protection hats, looking gorgeous with a big smile, looking at me (who was at the time looking serious at the map to figure out where to go next), then came forward asking "Mademoiselle, vous avez l'air perdue, vous allez ou?". It's so French that I accepted a drink from them later, and enjoyed our conversation in French ;-) (realised my French was pretty good ;-))

After that, I walked down to Moulin Rouge, going around, and then took the metro to go to the 13rd district where I can find my people ;-), and waited to meet up with friends. Yes, I can't escape going to Porte d'Italie where I can eat and talk Vietnamese as if I was in Vietnam, my minimum treat and cure from homesick! There you can be rude, even the French who live in that quartier are rude! It's a rule ;-). You make noise when you eat, talking and chewing, drinking cafe glace au lait a la vietnamien while eating a big bowl of PHO, I could not finish my PHO, btw. You can listen to Vietnamese on the street, reading the banners in Vietnamese...It's super cool!

Of course, the whole time I was there was mostly visiting one place to another, the last day I was even late to catch my bus because I spent time in a cafe ;-), obviously didn't want to go back. Everything is so great and beautiful in Paris, plenty of things to do and see, the public transportation is convenient, the draw back is that it's not so clean. but it is always like that when it come to big, crowded cities, I guess.