Damsel Diaries 9 years ago Damsel Diaries // Lost & Found in Paris
To say that it has been 10 years since I have visited somewhere gives me very mixed emotion. It has been 10 years since I have visited Paris and the moment my flats hit the cobblestone streets I instantly remembered why I have always felt a tug at my heart to return to this magical city.
If it means going somewhere a few days early, or staying back a few days late, I try to find moments of solitude to explore & form my own bond with where I am. Since my traveling buddies weren’t coming out for a few days & I had the day off, I set out to explore the city in hopes to find something beautiful.
That didn’t take long.
I did as the french do and walked {and walked and walked}. Without agenda, I strolled 5.5 miles. On my walk I ducked into a few stores {Colette and Merci} and enjoyed a late breakfast at Laudurée. I even found myself in the most random, tiniest store composed of mini music boxes and trinkets.
I sat in this store for what felt like only minutes listening to an old french man speak passionately about his love for music, music boxes and collecting small trinkets. Nearly 30 minutes later I was walking out of the store saying good bye and thank you, apologizing for my broken french. He left me with a quote that I will never forget:
“For true collectors, language and culture know no barriers.”
My feet carried me to the wildy famous Shakespeare and Company book store where I snagged a book by Hemingway before making my way back home.
After walking all day, I noticed that my foot wasn’t hurting so I set out to take my first run in nearly 1 month. Tendinitis in my right foot {where I tore my ligament weeks back} has been keeping me from running anything over a mile so I didn’t have high expectations.
When I signed up to run the Nike Women’s Marathon I envisioned all of the wonderful places I would have to run. I thought about my trips to New York, Chicago and running on the boardwalk in Santa Monica, CA. At the time I never dreamed I would be running through the Tuileries Garden in Paris.
I don’t know if it was the breathtaking surroundings of Paris, the crisp bite of fall in the air or just the fact that I have taken time to let my foot heal, but 3 miles later I found my stride.
Sometimes when you allow yourself to get lost in a city, a moment or a passion, you can find yourself there too.
*I write from my heart, not from my head, so please excuse any typos*
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