Not Your Average Paris Fan
Dear Cafe de la Soul:
I never really wanted to go to Paris. Yes, I said it. Never had a desire to see any part of Europe for that matter. My travel interests were always focused on Africa and the Caribbean, places where I felt I had ROOTS.
So when a girlfriend of mine offered me a free ticket to travel to Paris, I REALLY wasn’t feeling it. I was like, what am I going to do in Paris? I, mean, why? What would I find to connect to? Free ticket to Senegal? Count me in. Jamaica? I am SO there. But Paris? I told her she needed to find someone else to go with her, because it wasn’t going to be me! She begged and she pleaded. I finally gave in, one because that is my girl and couldn’t bare to let her go alone, and two, really, how could I pass up a FREE TICKET (I didn’t say I was crazy, just not interested INITIALLY).
So once we arrive, she had a whole list of things for us to do…Caribbean restaurants, African museums, Black Paris walking tours, tons of stuff that I had no idea existed. For the first couple of days, I played like I wasn’t tripping off Paris; yeah, yeah, the Eiffel Tower…whatev…
But then, much to my surprise, it happened…after a night of jazz and strolling along the Seine, I fell in love with Paris. Couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it had something to do with how gorgeous the city is, the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower, the food, the activities…I couldn’t believe it, but I was actually trying to figure out how in the world I could get back to Paris!
I felt like our short trip (5 days) only scratched the surface of what Paris offers. And now of course having found this site, I know there is more to explore and look forward to coming back real soon.
Karen L., Brooklyn, NY
• Monday, March 12th, 2007
