LIFELONG MEMORIES IN PARIS AND LONDON: ROLE MODELS FOR PORTLAND OREGON

Time spent in Paris and London brings comparisons and competition for lifelong memories.

People who live in both cities, who have apartments and houses in each, are the best judges.

Oddly enough I met just such people on a visit to Bruges, Belgium.

What are the chances of meeting people in one country and seeing them again in their home base?

Wife and I moved from a top floor room in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower to a top floor room in Bruges with church and bell towers out each window along with Ralph Lauren appointed decor, to a room under the stairs in a South Kensington boutique hotel.

Sounds pretty fancy so far? It felt fancy enough, but fancy wasn’t part of the plan. What is the plan? Creating lifelong memories to fit in with the other lifelong memories we like to share together. You know, married stuff.

From the husband point of view, a lifelong memory is making sure not to ruin the wife’s idea of memories by being a petty jerk.

I’ll save that for Portland since ragging on places I don’t live is too easy.

Slow service at food stops? How can anyone complain about time in London and Paris since it’s London and Paris. I’ve got no complaints about food, beer, transportation, or company.

The entire concept of travel is to create lifelong memories. If not that, then why bother buying a ticket to ride?

Things got more interesting during a walking tour of Bruges where another man helped the guide. It’s a role I’ve played, the help role, and sometimes it’s even helpful. The more I watched the guy talk to the guide, the more interesting he got.

Turns out we were all staying in the same hotel so we did the normal tourist thing and stopped for a communal beer in the Zot Blonde brewery. I like guys who know how to drink a beer, and they did.

With a wife as socially wired as mine, we learned that our new Bruges friends lived in London, and surprise, we were staying in a place near their homes.

When we got to London we had new London friends and met for dinner in their neighborhood. So relaxed and so welcoming I almost felt like a resident instead of a nervous tourist. When that happens I know I’m in the right place.

That’s pretty incredible on its own, meeting people in one place and reconnecting in another. I hope it happens, but how often does it really work out? I like to leave it to the ladies and I wasn’t disappointed.

After dinner wrapped up we were invited to see a real London apartment. What did I expect? I hoped to see a space I understood. After visiting museums and churches and palaces I wanted to see what passes for normal.

Our buddies did just that. They might be extraordinary outside, but in their living place they were artists, people working on canvases with an apartment decorated to inspire instead of impress.

In other words, they were my kind of folks, people who worked toward a better understanding of things instead of accepting the usual.

They sealed the deal when I asked if they had painted the work on their walls. They said no. I asked if any of their work was up. They said no, because it wasn’t up to the standards they worked toward.

How perfect is that? Hang great art and work to make the same.

What is it about the creative process that makes us all equals?

Effort. Paint, draw, sculpt, write, just make a good effort and see how it stands up.