Backlog Bloggin' - Dating Paris

Awesome power couple Kyle and Seba came to Paris last week. They are currently travelling through Europe and going from random cities like Oslo to Galway, from Munich to Geneva…. from Milan to Brussels…. (man! it makes me eager to be on the road again!)

So last week they were in Paris and stayed with us for a few days. I’d met Kyle during our trip to Chile at the beginning of the year and was so looking forward to seeing her again and meeting her hubby whom I hadn’t had a change to meet in Santiago. She and Seba are incredibly talented photographers, specialized in weddings, and hands down, they are the absolute best at what they do (just check Kyle’s Flickr page if you don’t believe me). And Kyle is not only an amazing photographer; she is also an awesome blogger and a great observer of things which makes her blog one of my absolute favorites.

Needless to say, I was really looking forward to hearing her takes on Paris in particular and France in general.

Except, alas! Paris and she apparently didn’t “click” (no pun intended).


This is known to happen you know (I can hear all your frenchies out there gasping…. Yes Hubby…including YOU dear!) ‘cuz yes, Paris is not always the glamorous, chic, romantic, gorgeous city-gal she’s usually cracked up to be….


But somehow, in this case, I’m wondering if perhaps the zero-sparks situation between Kyle and Paris isn’t partly (or mainly?) our fault.


Usually, when people come to Paris for the first time they have all these expectations and pre-conceived notions about what the city should look / feel like. I can’t blame them… I had quite a bundle of these myself when I flew over the pond that first time. So of course, pressure is high on Paris to show off her best side in those first few instants the visitors set foot on her sidewalks (remember, you can never make a second first impression!). Even more so, considering chances are this is going to be more of a speed-dating sort of thing since most people wont be staying long enough to establish a mid/long term relationship with Paris.

This makes Hubby and I feel sort of sorry for her and so we try to give her a little hand whenever we can. Whenever friends stay over with us we tend to gently guide them to our favourite spots and preferred hangouts, our trusty restaurants and pretty parks, our favourite streets and beloved boutiques…. show them the good side of Paris and talk her up.

I’m not saying this is enough for love-at-first-sight sparks to start flying between you and Paris (believe me, she can be a tough cookie!) but usually it’s enough for people to get past that initial shock of discovering that not all Parisians are glamorous Dior-cladded individuals and that dog-pooh on the sidewalk is part of the scenery. Usually by the time they have registered this, the mood is somewhat set and we can gently let go of our friends’ hands allowing them to go on that first unsupervised blind-date with Paris as we watch from the sidelines, like anxious parents seeing their offspring go to prom for the first time, with nothing else left to do except stay up and wait for them to come back, crossing our fingers that Paris will turn on the charm during the date.

Only this time, Hubby and I unfortunately weren’t able to buffer up that first impression. Unbeknown to Kyle and Seba (or to us!) it turned out that their arrival coincided with what turned out to be one of our busiest weeks at work. I was so frustrated that I had to work late most of the nights and even attend a stupid two-day seminar away from home, instead of being able to spend that time hanging out with them. That's not to say we didn't spend time with them... we did and an awesome time it was too! K & S are two of the coolest, nicest and funniest people we know and I'm really glad we got to get to know them a little better this time.


But because most of this hanging out time was done from the comfy cushions of our living room sofa in the after hours of those awful work days, I feel like we flaked out on Paris and let them go on that first blind-date with her without adequately prepping them for the occasion. We forgot to tell them that yes, Paris is magnificent under the claire de lune but that if she’s standing under bad lighting you will see her pimples. And yes, she can be a little self-absorbed (she tends to think she’s the most beautiful city in the world) but it isn’t anything intolerable. And yes, her bad temper and impatient attitude can get on your nerves at first and she tends to be a little touchy when it comes to her mother tongue…. But…… but…….


but if you’re able to see past all that…. If you give her a chance, you’ll see that it’s all part of an act she puts on. At some point she must have grown tired of all the attention, the flattery, the unreachable expectations to always be perfect, lovely, gorgeous, chic… She must have grown weary of it all and decided she was going to rebel.. to show off her less attractive side, her cheap cafés and dirty buildings, her rude Parisians and annoying tourists, her bad service and awful weather… like a 12 year old sticking her tongue out the moment her father’s boss is invited over for dinner, Paris decided she wasn’t going to put up with being just another “pretty face” for everyone to come over, take a picture of and dump her just as quickly. No, from now on, if you wanted to love Paris, you were going to have to get to know Paris.


I’m not trying to elevate Paris to ethereal-city status; I’m pretty ready to dump her myself… I’ve grown tired of her childish behaviour in recent years.


But I can’t be unjust towards her. She is a mighty gorgeous Madame once you get to know her.

All photos: Hubby

Fned.