Inspiration / My past life Paris

After watching Paris je t'aime last night, I thought a lot about what my life was like in Paris, before I moved to London and changed. The life I can remember living there was much more romantic & magical than my life here has ever been. Maybe because when moving in a new territory, I neglected the magical elements to focus on the very real ones. Or maybe because I had changed and wasn't into the same things anymore.

Five years later, I realize I haven't changed. I just left a part of me disappear under various mundanities. I get inspired by my life in Paris like I would by a dream, or by someone else's life.

Of course Paris is known for being the city of lovers, so it made my day dreaming easy, but London is full of possibilities, it has a river, carrousels, beautiful parks... Many places to go and dream in, court in or enjoy being together in.

Now, I choose to enjoy Paris like a tourist, as the city I remember living in has changed & evolved just like I have. It is pointless to try and make it mine again. I left my husband for my lover & can never go back.


London, you did well when you offered Justin & me a place to sit & chat opposite the HMS Belfast one night in 2005, but it is nothing compared to the many places Paris provided... Steps in Montmartre with star like lights, my favourite place by the Seine, the top of the Eiffel Tower or just a wander around Le Marais at night. So many clichés, but the whole of Paris is a cliché when it comes to romance.

The odd thing is, I didn't find my one true love in Paris, but in London. Maybe in Paris the set was obscuring the actors. Here in London, it is a bit like the Comédie Française. A simple set, and brilliant actors. The actors make the play.

With this in mind, I am taking one of my favourite ladies on a date in London this afternoon, hoping to find in London the magic I left behind. With my parrot by my side, I am sure I will. So maybe it is just this. In London, it is not so much about the places, but about the friends you make.

Thinking about my past life in Paris brought me immense style inspiration for London, as nothing I am thinking about wearing now I would be able to wear in Paris.

London 2 - Paris 1