This is my Paris.  

Several years ago, Paul and I rented an apartment in the 1st Arrondissement of the beautiful city of Paris.  We stayed for the entire month of July.  If you travel back in time on our blog, you can find many posts about our experience and learn about how it significantly changed our lives for the better.  

This weekend angry protesters lit the Champs Elysees ablaze in response to an increase in tax on diesel fuel.  Unfortunately, the protests turned violent, and the city we know and love looked nothing like the one we saw every day outside our apartment window.  If you’ve never been to Paris, this weekend’s news might have made you think twice about ever visiting.  

Let me assure you that Paris should not be missed.  We’ve traveled there several times since our month of living there, and we fall a little more in love with the city every time we go.  Baguettes and wine by the Seine, falafel in the Marais, and bicycle rides through the Tuileries are just some of the memories still playing through our minds.

This photo reminds me that every time I want to stay home in my pajamas on a rainy day, that perhaps I should take it like a Parisian and go outside.  Unlike other cities that can look dark and dreary in a downpour, Paris wears the rain well.  They put up their polka dot umbrellas and stroll right on through.  Despite this, I hope the sun is shining on Paris the next time I see it on the news.  

If any city deserves a little sunshine, it’s this one.