Nov 17, 2015
Tricolour by nightfall
Life slowly returns to the norm. After a weekend glued to the news feed and radio and what’s not, Monday was yet another day at work and we went about our days as usual. There are raids taking place all over the country and just this morning, a pretty massive operation took place just north of Paris which took out a few more persons who had intended to cause more harm if they had been able to. Some undoubtedly feel unsafe to wander the streets at the moment, others less so, because we don’t want to live our lives dictated by fear.
The French tricolours are on display everywhere. There’s something oddly soothing in seeing these symbolic colours at public spaces, a reminder of solidarity and that we are going to weather this turbulent time together, emerging with resilient spirits. These past few days have seen the motto of Paris – “Fluctuat nec mergitur”, tossed by the waves but does not sink – being evoked time and time again. How apt.
Admittedly, I have yet to venture over to the 10ème and 11ème since last Friday and gauge a feel of the atmosphere in these neighbourhoods. While I often go round there to check out the many interesting restaurants that have popped up in the past couple of years, these are not my regular stomping ground per se. I think I would feel almost like an intruder, or a voyeur, had I deliberately find myself there “just so I can see things for myself”.
In the mean time, I am going to keep encouraging my friends and family to visit Paris, see for themselves how this city that I now call home is bouncing back, with style to boot. I will keep exploring the city myself, for there is still much for me to unearth and marvel over. There are more restaurants I want to try than I have budget for, but one by one I’ll get there some day. I look forward to a musical that F and I will be seeing in a week or so, and we’ll also be attending a concert at the Notre Dame soon – can’t wait!
That’s the spirit lil ;) and xmas is just around the corner!!!
1st and 3rd photo…awesome!