Day 182: Making Paris A Mix-Tape

Paris, Day 11. Have been thinking a lot about love these days. The strange Parisian laissez-faire approach to romance. The day-to-day grind of a relationship, a job, a life. The fact that being in Paris a second time feels like falling in love the second time: less intense, less consuming, less passionate.

Yesterday, I met a fellow Canadian at the airport. She's here to live a Parisian dream and she's filled with that OH MY GOD I'M IN PARIS excitement. The excitement that appears to have exited Stage Left in me.

While I waited for her to come through customs, I witnessed the single sexiest airport reunion of all time. He came through the sliding doors and enveloped his lover in an embrace. They held each other FOREVER and then kissed unashamedly passionately for ten minutes right in front of all of us waiting.

These people basically made love right there in Terminal 2B.

Eventually, they started walking toward their car or whatever, but then they stopped for another make-out break a few feet down the way. They were so into each other, nothing else mattered. Not even leaving the airport.

It was so awesome. So lovely and awesome and I WANT THAT.

Currently, my lover Paris and I are in a bit of a rut. We've settled into a pretty hum-drum routine where all I seem to notice is the dog shit, diseased pigeons and creeps selling contraband.

Don't get me wrong: I love her despite all her flaws. But we're deep in the Sweatpants Stage and, let's face it...I'm looking at other cities.

(I was on this porn site called Facebook where someone had posted all these nude photos of Barcelona. I was all over it and felt guilty afterward.)

But when I met up with Justine From Canada and she spent most of the Metro ride SWOONING over Paris and how this town is basically a menu of deliciousness and how she feels sexy and extraordinary just by BEING HERE...well. I was forced to confront my own apathy.

I got home and called Boyfriend. "I need to fall back in love with Paris," I said. "This trip has been all about gritty weirdness and counter-culture. I need to re-ignite the romance. I need to remember why I fell in love with this place. I need candlelight and flowers and..."

"You need to make Paris a mix-tape," he said.

YES, I said. I DO. Passion de Paris Make-Out Mix 2009? Here. I. Come.