About Colleen’s Paris

 

Pinch me! I live in Paris….my grandmother would be so happy!

Once upon a time my grandmother hoped I would learn to play the harp and speak French (she was French Canadian). I remember when my cousin visited Europe as a young teenager. She wrote back that she was wearing a spaghetti-strap dress in Paris. Skip the harp; the piano would have to do! I was going to Paris (someday).

One of my earliest memories was staying in a very inexpensive room with my mother and a friend with a painted white wood panelled and partitioned closet, which contained a sink and a bidet; the toilet and the shower were down the hall. This was a VERY inexpensive hotel. We overlooked a courtyard and beyond the main carriage doors was the weekly market on the street. In which arrondissement were we? No idea! Everything looked the same: enchanting and mysterious and a little run down; it was the 1970s.

Living in Europe, attending university, experiencing different jobs and life, I moved to Paris in 1993. I continued to work as a flight attendant based in the States and return home to Paris every three weeks for about ten days. Starting in 2010, I no longer had to commute to Chicago. I could take in Paris full time (almost). Activities in an association have kept me busy full-time. But my eyes are always watching the changes and trying to see Paris with semi-virgin eyes. 

I have seen my Bastille neighbourhood transform from small family shops to clothing import/export businesses to up and coming “BCBG” and full of families. The transformation is continuing with food, wine and ethnic shops, at least five boulangeries, restaurants galore and three grocery stores. All of this within a 5 minute maximum walk!

Paris is always changing, updating and doing its best to keep some traditions alive. I love seeing this continuing reality series in action and remembering back in time. Enjoy Paris through my eyes! — Colleen Shaughnessy-Larsson