Le Fabuleux Destin de Rob

I'm sitting here listening to a track from the soundtrack to Amelie, "Une Comptine d'une autre ete", and it's making me miss my hometown of Paris. Paris was always good to me.

When this song is playing in the movie, we see Amelie doing the little eccentricities that bring her joy and comfort - cracking the sugar coating on creme brulee with a spoon, plunging her hand into a sack of grain at the outdoor market, and skipping stones on the Canal de St. Martin. Listening to this song always makes me think of all of the joy and comfort Paris brought to me, and all of the little things I fell in love with there.

The city is rich in history and culture, which I immersed myself in, but for the most part one of my favorite things to do was observe the locals and tourists. I would take the Metro from my apartment to the stop "Cite", emerge from the caverous underground station, and there in all it's majesty stands Notre Dame cathedral . There, I would find a spot to sit and just watch. Little French children with balloon-tied wrists chasing pidgeons. The Batobus traversing down the Seine, filled to the brim with tourists snapping photos. Mothers pushing their children in the stroller. An old man wearing a beret surveying the bouquinistes along the Seine. Out of all the places to people watch this was my favorite. By the end of my stalking the locals, I usually had quite an appetite.

I'd then walk across a bridge to the other side of the river to the Latin Quarter, and here nestled among the intimate cobblestone streets and alley-ways was one of the best Greek restaurants in all of Paris. You could get a world class gyro with fries and a Coke for 6 Euro. In Paris, that's a great bargain.

One (of the many) other thing I loved to do in Paris was go to the outdoor markets on the weekends. Rain or shine, you could always find outdoor markets along neighborhood streets. A gathering of neighbors and friends, vibrant colors, and fresh smells were abundant under the red and yellow striped tents. Each market was unique and usually had one stand that sold something different than the last.

The list could go on and on, but it would only make me miss Paris even more. I wish I could go back and visit, but since that is not a possibility at the moment, I'll only have my memories. As Gertrude Stein once wrote: "America is my country and Paris is my hometown." How true it is.