Wrought iron detail in Paris
My friend and I would greet the morning with a pan au chocolat, piecing together our agenda for the day before we strolled and meandered through this city of light, paying homage to monuments, memorials, museums, and memory. As hours chased the sun away, we would look back at our pictures and take notes, trying to capture the moments, ideas, and conversations we'd had just hours before.
I recently wrote about the return, of re-visiting places you have already experienced and looking at them through the lens of life experience. In my case it involved two trips -- one to Paris and another to New Orleans, two cities rich in the tangible layers of the past.
Now that I have returned home I am left reflecting -- thinking how to document, preserve, and contain the taste, smell, and the feeling of being in two cities with so much character -- while understanding that no two visitors see a place in the same way.
I am determined to not couch my experiences in the veneer of romanticism, to talk of the wonder and breathtaking views, of listening to jazz in the streets during French Quarter Fest in New Orleans, or of seeing the Eiffel Tower at the top of the Arc de Triomphe. These things did happen, and they did bring me joy. But they don't bring any realism or texture to the trip. They sound like a sentence in a guidebook rather than part of my personal narrative.
(left) Exterior of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris; (right) an attentive gargoyle.
Details matter. In my last post I told the story of how fifteen years ago I missed seeing Notre Dame because we wanted to sleep in, choosing instead to take a train to Euro Disney. This time, we made the trip to the Île de la Cité on a day filled with wind, rain, and teeth-chattering temperatures (a spell that marked most of my stay).
After touring the main nave we stepped back outside and hopped into another line to see the Towers above. For an hour and a half we waited in the cold before gingerly scurrying up 387 winding steps on half-frozen feet to the top of the Cathedral. I discovered that walking up the stairs is not nearly as difficult as coming down, and that from the top of Notre Dame the roofs of Paris bring with them a sense of symmetry.
My Paris in the details -- waiting in the cold, feeling the burn in my calves as I stepped up to the top, breathing in the cold air as I stuck my face as close as possible to examine the details of a gargoyle that appeared perched on a rooftop read to leap out onto the city below, playing the silent spectator.
Balcony performance at French Quarter Fest.
In New Orleans I barely remembered the dizzying chaos of Bourbon Street from my younger days, and I wonder if my parents shielded me from the insanity. However, this time I will remember how, despite being bone-tired (early conference wake up calls!), we went from the artistry at Mardi Gras World -- pop culture references and all -- to the Maple Leaf Bar where we heard the Rebirth Brass Band explode across my senses.
My New Orleans is in the details -- seeing oysters being smoked outside the bar, tapping my feet to the cornucopia of sound which felt like reverse onomatopoeia, each instrument speaking words of meaning, connecting the city, the food, and the music all in one place and time.
In Guy Gavriel Kay's piece about re-reading books, he states "there is also writing that needs us to have lived to respond to aspects of their resonance...." In the fifteen or so years since I visited New Orleans and Paris I have lived, and those experiences allowed me to look beyond the typical and to see these places through my love of history, place, and the past.
Put another way: Each place we travel to have different levels of resonance -- embraceable at different stages of life, unique to each individual, and in our own turn.
What place has resonated with you recently?
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.