PARIS REUNION OF THE FUTURE

A Paris reunion points to a specific time and place, where other reunions bring people from school or work or family.

In any case, there’s always someone absent, which changes the focus from who’s there to who’s missing.

Instead of guesses and speculations, try and show up and be with the others who found the time.

One Paris reunion has already happened. The people from Rick Steves had a chance to meet up and share how things went after we finished the tour.

I didn’t go because it was too soon after seeing Paris, and I had a good idea what happened after that. Some people went home, some kept rolling.

We kept rolling, which I thought was pretty amazing until I met a couple doing laundry who’d been on the road for nine months straight. The lady liked to travel with a clean top sheet.

Is nine months called travel, or getting lost? I didn’t ask any questions about the rest of their lives, but I liked the top sheet idea.

My Paris reunion includes locals who went to the City of Light before me. These are people I like and respect, gym people, strong people, with an eye out for some of the same things that amaze me.

I mentioned the idea of a Paris reunion a few times, then a few times more. Since I took a French sauce class, I volunteered to host and cook. Then coronavirus hit, the gym closed, and I fear we lost the chance.

Paris Reunion Escape Plan

I don’t blame anyone for ditching an adult slide show of ‘What I Did On My Summer Vacation.’

We tried looking at the Paris pictures a couple of times. Conclusion? Too many pictures of the same things. So I edited it down.

New conclusion? Instead of too long, now it’s too short. I imagine I’m not the only one critical of a Ken Burns style show.

Would I talk shit about someone else’s Paris experience? Never. All I’d do is ask where they went, how they liked different parts of town. I didn’t see everything and looked forward to other opinions on what I did see.

Since it’s Paris, we’re supposed to gush. Museum gush, cathedral gush, city planning gush. It’s a place to gush about.

Did you see the statue of Thomas Jefferson on the Seine? It’s near the building with the dome, the same one that inspired his dome building in Virginia.

Did you take a bike ride? Our tour guide commanded us to, “Dominate The Intersection.” Paris drivers are trained not to plow a bike tour because of the Tour de France.

Was the Eiffel Tower everything you expected? I saw a sunset, along with a full moon rising. Then the lights came on for the big show all around.

My Paris reunion would end with a final question: Would you go back? I know my answer and want to know why, or why not, anyone would go back.

Why Go Back To Paris

I’d go back to Paris, and I’d go with the same people I met last time. It’s that kind of place, returnable.

And they were those kind of people. Hailing from Tennessee, Washington, Iowa, Hawaii, and Georgia, these folks wanted to give Paris a good squeeze. They knew what they wanted, and Rick Steves’ guides knew how to get us there.

Did anyone take the Seine tour in a big boat and yell, “O O O O O O O O O O O O,” under every bridge? When I started it was only me, but by the third bridge the whole boat joined in.

Oregon Duck fans are everywhere.

Even Paris.