“The chief danger about Paris is that it is such a strong stimulant.” —T.S. Eliot

If Paris did anything, it injected me with a passion for city life again. I left feeling a thousand different feelings and with the intention to come back 1000 times more. I had been hesitant to come to Paris. My dream had always been to come with a partner, thinking I needed that to truly absorb the romance of The City.  I was also worried that the hype would be too large to live up to. But, Paris is romantic by it’s own right, it’s own nature. It did not need me to be there with a future Fiance, nor did it care for my preconceived hesitations. Paris has a pulse and the second you arrive, that pulse draws your heart towards it, connects and does the beating for you.

When I did my vision board this year, something in me was struck by the need to go to Paris. Another element on my visionboard was to expand my yoga practice. And so, when the ability to combine the two came up, there was no way I could pass the opportunity by. As I mentioned in my post before, so many things have been taken away from me in the past few months, that when I had the opportunity to do something like this for myself, I grabbed it with both hands.

I had promised myself this trip to Paris for the yoga workshop and a trip to London to meet my brother’s new baby. Two things that then became non-negotiable for me in my 2023 travels. So, I booked both (and a flight home) and then started focusing on expanding my online yoga practice as much as I could, so I could be strong enough to participate as best as I could in the classes.  LYT yoga has changed the way I practice yoga.  It’s sole focus is on alignment and moving from a deeply connected centre.  

I feel like this has become my mantra for the year.

So much went wrong on Friday.  In trying to pay for my blog domain again, I froze my bank card.  Which meant I had no access to money for Paris.  I woke up with a frozen neck and so the yoga workshop was now at risk. The weather was swelteringly hot and then as I was about to board the plane, my brother messaged me and told me the riots were on the rise again.  I honestly considered going back to the departure lounge, jumping in my car and foregoing my trip.  THANK THE POPE I DIDN’T. By the time I landed at Charles de Gaulle, my physio had sorted out my neck, Revolut had resolved my bank issues and there seemed to be very little activity involving riots.

I landed quite late and made my way to my beautiful hotel, arrived to an upgraded room thanks to my booking.com loyalty status, checked in, opened my window and THERE IT WAS, the magic of Parisienne air hit me. I’m not exaggerating, there is something in the air that makes it feel so alive. I opened my balcony, spread my arms out wide and soaked it all in, I felt so overwhelmed with happiness. I sat on the balcony for a while, checking out some places on google maps that I wanted to go to, went down to the lobby for a cheese and charcuterie board and then went to bed with a huge amount of ambition for the following day.

I woke up and it was raining. So my sunrise run to the Champs Elysee and Eiffel tour was going to have to wait. Again, with the windows open and the sound of the rain pattering on the street, it felt kind of great to lie in bed, read my book and relax a little before our 1st yoga session.

Arriving at the studio and walking into a room filled with yogis, felt at first quite overwhelming and then within minutes, like home. It was wonderful to be able to practice in community and Lara, the founder of LYT holds the most incredible safe space. Her teaching is incredible and I feel like I will do these weekends time and time again. I had tears in my eyes as the collective energy in the room rose and the integration of the practice settled into my body. I truly felt so at home.

And from there, I walked and I didn’t stop, I went from cafe to cafe, from garden to garden, I meandered into buildings, I stumbled across the Notre Dame. I followed the pulse, moving from one energetic neighborhood to the next. By the time it was 16h00, I had completely forgotten to eat lunch. So I made my way to La Marais and discovered the bustel of another fabulous neighborhood. There is no way I could choose my favorite district, and I didn’t even make it to Montmarte, which I am told is so amazing. Instead, I encountered the only grumpy french person I met as I sat down to lunch at a brasserie and ordered my first meal for the day. While I waited for my food, I people watched, the glamorous, the tacky, the sound, the artists, the teenagers, the old couple, the huge family, the lovers. All of them are a treat for my observing goggles. During all of this, I also made a very rare and bold move in trying to connect with someone for a dinner date that night on bumble. My desire was not to spend all day on Bumble, but rather to be quite bold, set the time, and then carry on exploring on my own throughout the day.

After feasting on a delicious Rib Eye steak, I continued to wander. It was around 18h30 and the streets were bustling, all the buskers were out, and there was music and performers everywhere I went. It was magical. Pianists, Guitarists, acrobats, saxophones, flutes, a full Orchestra spread out through the streets. My favorite was stumbling across the Louvre and walking into the grandeur of the historic building while a violinist was performing a rendition of “My heart will go on.” It felt so fitting. My heart was fully on. It was loving this.

At that moment, as I stepped through the back entrance from the palazzo and saw that familiar glass pyramid of The Louvre in my eye-line, the sun sparkling off the top and sending rays across all the people in the courtyard. My breath was taken away for a moment. I was sadly unable to get tickets to get into the museum, but I was happy enough to be where I was. It was exquisite. History fills the space, and you know that there is so much culture tucked all around you. I wanted so badly to freeze-frame the moment and remind myself of this expansiveness, time and time again.

9pm in the Latin Quarter. The date was set 🙂 So, I started to make my meander home, going between walking and using the amazing lime scooters. I was chatting to my wonderful brother, who had just had his first baby and so the love was multiplied even more. Finally, as I made my final scooter trip home, I had the Emily in Paris playlist beating in my ears, the wind blowing through my hair and my smile exploding. I am not sure I could have been happier.

I haven’t had too many successful stories on dating apps and so I am not actually a massive fan. So, when, let’s call him Paris Bee, messaged to say he was at the restaurant and would see me there, my expectations were not high. I took a breath as I put my hand on the entrance door. The barman caught my eye and smiled, “I think that’s your date.” he said. Another friendly French man. Paris Bee was really striking as he got up from the table, gave the European cheek, and said hi. For a moment I started my 5000 words per minute nervous chatter but realised it wasn’t necessary, he was lovely, he was calming and the dinner and whole evening was a huge success, even ending up at my all-time favorite Cafe de The with those iconic Parisienne style chairs until all hours of the morning. I was more than pleasantly surprised, I was charmed. Maybe Bumble isn’t so bad 🙂

After very little sleep and again, no Eiffel Tower run the next morning, yoga was a challenge, the winemaking a return visit when going upside down the first few times. But I got over that, fully embraced the class, and left the workshop feeling so content with the entire experience. One to repeat for sure!