Paris in July

Paris in July, what a sweet city to think about this month! I’m late to the party, hosted by Thyme for Tea, but have a quick book review and also a few thoughts on the city itself.

My experience with Paris began with books and films. It’s a romantic city, one that constantly pops up in literature. From the earliest books I read, like Madeline, to adult memoirs like A Moveable Feast, I’ve always loved seeing the city through other people’s eyes. Amelie, Moulin Rouge, Before Sunset, and Paris Je T’aime are a few of my favorite movies.

The first time I got to visit the city was something I’ll never forget. I was with a dear friend backpacking through Italy and France my junior year in college. Paris was the last stay in our trip and one that we’d both looked forward to. We saw all the big things, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, but it was in the quieter moments that Paris stole my heart.

We sat outside Shakespeare and Company waiting for the bookstore to open. When it finally did, I wandered through the precarious stacks carefully selecting a few treasures to take home with me. We bought gelato on Île de la Cité while listening to a little jazz band play on a bridge. We hiked up the stairs of Sacre Couer for a breathtaking view of the city. Those are the moments that made Paris come alive for me.

It will always be a magical city that appears in movies, but it became something real and deeper on that trip. It’s not my favorite city I’ve visited, but it’s one I would return to again in a heartbeat.

Bringing Up Bébé 

One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting

by Pamela Druckerman

★★★☆

I was curious about the buzz this one received and since I’m pregnant, it seemed to be the perfect time to check it out. I went into it assuming that Druckerman’s argument would be that everything French is better. I was prepared to take that with a grain of salt and move on. Instead I discovered that, although she was living in Paris, she wasn’t a huge fan of France or the French. That being said, she was in awe of French parenting and the seemingly effortless success they had raising their children.

Druckerman approaches the whole subject as a journalist, not as a mother desperate to figure out what works. I appreciated her factual approach. She included anecdotes about her own experiences, but relied more heavily on what she learned from other French mothers. I thought it was fascinating to learn what cultural differences are ingrained in French and American parents, respectively.

There is plenty that I know wouldn’t work with my particular style. The sheer pressure put on women to look perfect as quickly as possible after giving birth is a bit overwhelming, but there were plenty of other things to learn from. I loved seeing how the day cares in France, called a crèche, work. Where American day cares have a negative stigma attached, crèches are the opposite.

BOTTOM LINE: Interesting and informative. There are a few parenting styles that I hope I’ll keep in mind as I attempt to find what works best for my family. I particularly liked the French approach to encouraging your kids to eat a wide variety of food and sleeping through the night as early as possible. 

Photo by me. 

Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight

I can't remember the first time I saw Before Sunrise, but I remember loving it. I remember being carried away by the story of two individuals whose paths cross unexpectedly. I remember traveling through Europe on trains around that same time and so that made the whole movie more exciting. The movie introduces us to Jesse, an American, and Celine, a French girl. Both are in their early 20s and they meet randomly on a train headed to Vienna. They spend less than 24 hours walking around the city and talking. Sounds simple enough but there is something magical about their chemistry and dialogue.

Years later I saw Before Sunset when it came out. It’s nine years later in the characters’ lives and nine years later in real time as well. The two characters are now grownups dealing with the realities of life and yet they could still lose themselves in a single day together. I won’t give anything about the plot away, but it’s about as perfect as a sequel could possibly be.

Now another nine years has passed and we’ve received another segment in their story. Before Midnight is a completely different beast. Jesse and Celine are no longer wandering around with romantic versions of themselves. In the past two movies they spent less than a day together and so they could afford to share only glimpses of themselves. Now they’re together and have been for years. They’re raising children together, dealing with the realities of jobs and stress and fidelity. The mystery is gone and that makes for a very different movie.

There's more fighting but there is also more depth to their relationship. There are more conversation with other adults instead of just between the two main characters. There’s one scene I particularly loved. A group of eight adults is having dinner together and one thing they discuss is how romantic relationships have changed over the years. They discuss the shift in relationships that has happened with the progression of technology and shifts in gender roles. We see everything from a young couple newly in love to a widow grieving decades of life with her husband. It's beautifully done and the dialogue is fascinating. It is a conversation I wish I could have been part of.

For me that is the reason these movies have been so memorable. They give us opinions from different points of view. They cover a wide range of topics and Jesse and Celine wander about in a city and just talk. They show us what happens when people meet who don't necessarily share all the same beliefs. They are films that offer up a continuous and intelligent conversation. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that there have been three movies made in this series even though they make almost no money. They are gems in a sea of action flicks with little to no plot.

Rent Before Sunrise and Before Sunset and see Before Midnight while you can!