You know that Gwyneth Paltrow story about how her dad took her to Paris because, as he said, "I wanted you to see Paris for the first time with a man who would always love you, no matter what"? I love that story. In general, I'm ambivalent about Gwyneth, but I love her father for doing that for her, and I love that Gwyneth shared that story with the little girls of the world who long for a father to share that kind of love with them.
But. BUT. It's the kind of story that makes you believe that you should wait to go to Paris. Wait until you are with a man who will always love you, no matter what. Or at least wait until you are with someone who will love you while you are in Paris. Wait for the rendezvous, the pas de deux, the tête-à-tête.
I never really thought about Paris before. Perhaps in the back of my mind, I thought, maybe I should go see Paris for the first time with a man who loves me.
Which is silly, right? Here I am, the eternal bachelorette, the stoic loner, a person who calls her blog Eat Drink One Woman -- no Man. I am a romance pessimist. What was I waiting for?
But I think of the Isley Brothers' cover of the Stephen Stills song -- "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with." I know that's a song about loving the bird you've got in your hand. But what if you don't have a bird? What if nobody's ever going to take you out to dinner again, and if you want to go out and be treated like a queen, you have to make it happen? Would that be so terrible? If you have accepted that romance is not in the cards for you, don't you have to love the one you're with, even if that turns out to be yourself?
To be continued...
But. BUT. It's the kind of story that makes you believe that you should wait to go to Paris. Wait until you are with a man who will always love you, no matter what. Or at least wait until you are with someone who will love you while you are in Paris. Wait for the rendezvous, the pas de deux, the tête-à-tête.
I never really thought about Paris before. Perhaps in the back of my mind, I thought, maybe I should go see Paris for the first time with a man who loves me.
Which is silly, right? Here I am, the eternal bachelorette, the stoic loner, a person who calls her blog Eat Drink One Woman -- no Man. I am a romance pessimist. What was I waiting for?
But I think of the Isley Brothers' cover of the Stephen Stills song -- "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with." I know that's a song about loving the bird you've got in your hand. But what if you don't have a bird? What if nobody's ever going to take you out to dinner again, and if you want to go out and be treated like a queen, you have to make it happen? Would that be so terrible? If you have accepted that romance is not in the cards for you, don't you have to love the one you're with, even if that turns out to be yourself?
To be continued...
Have I told you how much I love your blog? I love it, A Lot. Just read through your Paris posts and am all atwitter all over again. That city! So glad you had a good time. So glad you didn't wait any longer to go :)
Ack, thanks, Luisa! What a city. I am totally copying you and putting together a girlfriends trip to Paris next year.
I'm so glad you went on your own. If anything, it'll make you appreciate Paris more the next time you go with a BF or lover, since you'll be sharing a place you love. Anyway, going with someone you love isn't all what it's cracked up to be. Me and my BF fought the whole time there. I think it was the combo of the jetlag and the painful shoes.