It’s All Maya!

A couple of months ago I left a comment on Richard’s blog at Eye Prefer Paris  and since then he sends me posts updates.  Well one post intrigued me when he spoke about a friend of his by the name of Polly who happens to be living the “an American in Paris” dream.  Unfortunately for her, however, that dream is about to come to an end.  Apparently Polly can no longer afford to remain in Paris and is heading back to the States after spending almost three years in the city that she loves.

As some of you know, I have made it a point years ago not to read blogs about life in France by anglophones because of my pet peeve….I figure why aggravate myself!  Therefore, I didn’t know about Polly’s blog, Polly-Vous Francais?, until recently.  Her post A Little Bit of Paris tells about the sorrow that she feels having to leave the city she has fallen in love with.

Her post left me wondering.  Could someone else be carrying on a love affair with Paris as I have been doing for 37 years?!  Paris has been my love since I first arrived so many years ago.  I conceded to sharing her with Josephine Baker and George Whitman, but I refused to share her with anyone who came after me.  I know that people around the world dream of going to Paris one day, dream of seeing the City of Lights, dream of living in this City of Love, and it’s truly hard to explain why so many people have fallen under her spell; it just is!  Polly says, “Orchestrating a departure from Paris is to me like planning a break-up with someone you’re still deeply in love with, but you know the relationship just won’t work.  Each infatuated moment together is bittersweet at best.”   No other city in the world conjures up such emotion as Paris.  Why?  I don’t know; it’s hard to explain.

Afterall, although each of us wants to claim her as our own, we realize that she’s unable to be faithful to just one.   And yet, we don’t want to acknowledge that she has seduced so many others who have fallen hopelessly in love with her; we prefer instead to pretend that it’s a unique relationship that is ours alone.  Perhaps it’s because she is so breathtakingly beautiful and has an allure that captures your heart, your soul, the very essence of you, that you jealously want to preserve this relationship as yours.  But Paris also has an ugly side, and as we all know, when you’re in love you tend to overlook your lover’s faults and so we do.  In the beginning, I wasn’t even attracted to Paris, she seduced me(!)….but it’s a tale that I’ll tell another time.

Maya Muses:  I wanted to leave this comment for Polly on her blog, but I was unable to without a Blogger account, so I’m posting it here.

Polly, let me tell you a true story that won’t change your situation, but it might give you a glimmer of hope.  It was told to me by the person who it happened to.

There was an American woman who loved Paris and she was heartbroken that she had to leave. Her dream when she arrived in Paris was to stay forever, but her financial situation was slowly but surely dissolving that dream until the day when she realized that she could no longer stay. On the eve of her departure she was in mourning. (Okay, so I may sound a bit dramatic to many of you, but not to Polly and the people who have gone through a similar situation!)

A friend of hers told her, “Come with me this evening to a party I’ve been invited to. You’re not going to spend your last night in Paris sitting here crying!” With a little persuasion the woman decided to go with her friend.

At the party she met a Frenchman who fell in love with her at first sight! He asked her to have dinner with him the following evening. She told him, “I can’t, I’m returning to the States tomorrow.” After talking to him all evening, she confided in him and he asked her not to go.  By the time she had to catch her plane, he had convinced her not to leave as only a charming Frenchman can do! (Well there are other charming European men who are just as convincing, but for my story here, I’m sticking to the charming Frenchman!)

So, although this happened years ago, the American woman decided to stay. Sorry, but for privacy reasons, I can’t go into more detail, but I will say this, she still has a beautiful apartment in the 5e.

The moral of my story: Don’t give up hope, Polly, something could happen….even at the very last moment!

Photo Credits:  Rita Crane (All Rights Reserved)