Another Good-Bye

Uniqlo coat (similar)
Sezane blouse (similar)
Zara trousers (similar)
Minelli boots (similar)
Chanel handbag
Strut Jewelry ring (c/o) (similar)
Madewell rings
& Other Stories earrings
Location: Palais-Royal – Paris, France

Dear friends,

This is it. The day I’ve been anticipating since mid-week; our last full day in Paris. I wake up to grey skies, regretful of all the things I wanted to do but simply couldn’t fit into the finite amount of time we had in the city. It’s time to prepare for yet another inevitable good-bye.

I know how many people struggle to say every good-bye that life thrusts upon them. I contemplate the relative ease with which I face most good-byes as I get dressed. As a rule, I am an unsentimental person and, while I am not at all shy, I am quite content with solitude. Most of my favourite activities, like writing, reading and running, do not demand the presence of anyone but me. The attachments that I form to other people, particularly in adult life, tend to be relatively loose, their bonds based more on a shared experience or environment than an emotional connection. With about six notable exceptions, my friendships tend to ebb and flow. I enjoy them while they last but rarely lose much sleep – or even notice – when one ends.

My attachment to material objects is much the same. I love my things for as long as I love them, but am quite content to say good-bye when that loving feeling fades. There are notable exceptions to this rule, too, of course – I can’t help but smile as I pack the new-to-me Chanel handbag I bought yesterday in Le Marais, knowing it will be one of those exceptions.

Paris, too, is a notable exception. Many cities are, in fact. I can’t stop myself from getting attached to faraway places; the emotions they conjure, the discoveries they offer and the beauty they hold. I don’t fall for every new city that I visit – but when I fall, I fall hard, and the desire to return to places I love tugs at my heartstrings day after day, year after year. When I do get to go back to somewhere that means as much to me as Paris does, the reality of having to leave again means having to survive another heartbreak every time. And that means I have to make these last days really count.

Luckily, I have a plan to do exactly that.

After a bit of requisite packing, a few errands and checking in for our flight departure tomorrow, we make our way to the metro and take the train to the city centre. We have plans to meet Lyndi, who is in town for Fashion Week, at Place Colette near the Palais-Royal. When we were neighbours in Vancouver, we managed to tick lots of things off our blogging bucket list, from a trip to NYFW to an epic birthday photoshoot at the Loden Hotel. But the one thing we never did get to make happen was a visit to Paris, which we would have obviously commemorated with a photoshoot – or twelve. Today, we’re going to make it happen.

The skies are grey but dry and I know the perfect picturesque spot, a quiet street behind the Palais-Royal. The photos turn out exactly the way we wanted, and we have time to stop for coffee afterwards. Enough time, in fact, to wander until we stumble upon the most Parisian cafe imaginable, where the sidewalk seating is entirely empty – so naturally, we snap a few more photos there. Who could resist?

It’s never easy to say good-bye. Especially to Paris. But at least this year, we ended our visit on a true high note.