I first traveled to Paris in 1971 for two weeks, between stints in London, Spain, southern France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. I traveled to Paris again for a week in 1975, for a day in 1978, and for three weeks in 2002 with my husband and sons.
I was again in the French capital in the fall of 2007 for two months, September 18 through November 18, to read, walk, blog, take photographs, draw, and write. You can read my daily journal entries from that trip working backwards at http://www.kathygrossman.com/writing/
I do not speak French beyond ordering cafe cremes and pain du chocolats, but the art, atmosphere, and ambience fill my soul every time I go. If you’re not in Paris itself, I recommend you read books and watch movies about Paris. Even bad books and bad movies. And I love going to French bakeries and coffee shops even in staid old Salt Lake City.
For Christmas 2008, I revised and compiled my blogs into a spiral-bound book titled An Introvert in Paris. You can buy this book by contacting me.