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I shake my head "It’s useless in Europe Except as a camera"

"We can walk It’s close to here"

We head back up the escalators Before we get to the automatic doors, Willem turns to me and asks, "Are you ready for Paris?"

In all the stress of dealing with otten that the point of all this was Paris Suddenly, I’m a little nervous "I hope so," I say weakly

We walk out the front of the train station and step into the shi disappointment Because the truth of it is, so far on this tour, I’ve been let down by pretty much everywhere ent Maybe I watch too many movies In Rome, I really wanted an Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday experience, but the Trevi Fountain was crowded, there was a McDonald’s at the base of the Spanish Steps, and the ruins s happened in Prague, where I’d been yearning for so But no, there were no fabulous artists, no guys who looked re Daniel Day-Lewis I saw oneSartre in a café, but then his cell phone rang and he started talking in a loud Texas twang

And London Melanie and I got ourselves co Hill, but all we found was a fancy, expensive area full of upscale shops No quaint bookstores, no groups of lovable friends I’d want to have dinner parties with It seemed like there was a direct link between nuree of my disappointment And I’ve seen a lot of reets me outside Gare du Nord is not the Paris of the movies There’s no Eiffel Tower or fancy couture stores here It’s just a regular street, with a bunch of hotels and exchange bureaus, clogged with taxis and buses

I look around There are rows and rows of old grayish-brown buildings They are unifor to ripple into one another, their s and French doors thrown open, flowers spilling out Right across from the station are two cafés, catty-corner Neither one is fancy, but both are packed--people clustered at round glass tables, under the awnings and un

Wille We cross the street and pass one of cafés There’s a wo pink wine and ss As alk by, the dog ju me and him in his leash

The wo a short skirt and high-heeled espadrilles that lace up her shapely legs She scolds the dog and untangles the leash I bend over to scratch behind its ears, and the woh

"What did she say?" I ask as alk away

"She said her dog is like a truffle hog when it coirls"

"Really?" I feel flush with pleasure Which is a little silly, because it was a dog, and also I’ is

Willeencies and turn a corner onto some unpronounceable boulevard, and for the first time, I understand that boulevard is actually a French word, that all the big streets called boulevards at home are actually just busy roads Because here is a boulevard: a river of life, grand, broad, and flowing, a plaza running down theout toward one another overhead

At a redlight, a cute guy in a skinny suit riding ame up and down until the moped behind him beeps its horn for him to move on

Okay, this is, like, twice in five nificant For the past three weeks, it’s been Melanie getting the catcalls--a result of her blond hair and LOOK AT ME wardrobe, I cattily assumed Once or twice, I huffed about the objectification of wo the point

As this lightness buoys ht Maybe it’s not about looking hot for guys, but about feeling like a place acknowledged you, winked at you, accepted you It’s strange because, of all the people in all the cities, I’d have thought that to Parisians I’d be invisible, but apparently I’m not Apparently, in Paris, not only can I skate, but I practically qualify for the Olympics!

"It’s official," I declare "I love Paris!"

"That was fast"

"When you know, you know It’s just become my favorite city in the whole world"

"It tends to have that effect"

"I should add that there wasn’tas I didn’t actually enjoy ain, it just slips out Apparently when you only have one day, you can say anything and live to tell The trip has been a bust How good it feels to finally admit this to someone Because I couldn’t tell my parents, who had paid for what they believed was the Trip of a Lifetime And I couldn’t tell Melanie, who really was on the Trip of a Lifetime And not Ms Foley, whose job it was to ensure I had the Trip of a Lifeti to have fun--and failing

"I think ," I continue "And so have you been traveling?"

"Two years," he says

"Two years with breaks?"

He shakes his head "Two years since I’ve been back to Holland"

"Really? And you were supposed to go back today? After two years?"

He throws his arms up into the air "What’s one more day after two years?"

I suppose to hi else "That just provesI’o on about how travel broadens your horizons I’m not even sure what thatfor ood at it"

He’sdozens of railroad tracks, graffiti everywhere Then he says, "Traveling’s not so"

"I don’t think so I breathe just fine"

"Are you sure? Have you ever thought about it?"

"Probablydoctor"