I heart Paris

How good is it to be at home? Fabulous.

How great is it to sleep in my own bed? Stunningly so.

How exciting is it to have electricity? It’s just the icing on the cake.

And let’s face it, a cake’s not a cake without icing. I mean really – who wants that doughy bit in the middle?

So, you guessed it. I’m back home, back in my own bed and the electricity is on and shining out of every lamp, screen and refrigerator. I’m so happy I could, well I could catch up on my unpacking and washing and ironing and blah and blah and blah. Being back at home also means being back in real life.

I kind of forgot that that would happen.

So, in a ‘je refuse’ moment, I put the chores to the back of my mind and headed out for a day of falling back in love with Paris. Trust me, it wasn’t difficult.

I started with breakfast at my corner café – les Artisans. It’s a good spot, close to home, and they do a great cup of coffee. I read my book for a while, enjoyed the morning sun (yes, readers, the sun is shining in Paree) and planned my day.

Figuring that I needed to get some culture into my hardened-by-head-office soul, I weighed up my choices…..my main criteria being no queuing, no greek artefacts, minimal tourists and a short, sharp dose of great art. There was no contest really.

At eleven o’clock, I walked up to the front door of the Orangerie Museum (no queue), bought my ticket (few tourists) and plonked myself down in one of the art world’s most truly amazing spaces (with no ancient greek nick-nacks, thank the Lord).

It’s not everybody’s taste, and I certainly wouldn’t want to live with them for too long myself, but sitting down in those oval galleries with the Monet Nymphéas is truly mind blowing. Empty your mind, stare at the wall, fall into the colours, the textures, the moods.

One room so calm, one so much more lively. Two amazing spaces. It’s surprising to think that you can easily lose an hour with those eight pieces. But that’s how it happens.

After a while, I like to position myself so that I can see people’s faces when they enter the gallery. It is so beyond what anyone is expecting, that the reactions are amazing to see.

I left feeling calm, happy and thrilled to have this experience so close to home.

Lunch on a café terrasse fortified me and I headed off to do some shops.

Rue des Francs Bourgeois, rue de la Verrerie, rue Ste Croix de la Bretonnerie. The greatest shops and the most beautiful people in Paris. Naturally I stopped in at BHV Homme to touch the shoes and stroke the man bags.

I got home in time to put my feet up before heading out to the cinema.

How great is my life? Well, it’s not for everyone, but for me it’s pretty near-perfect.

Which is all well and good, but now I need to get down to some serious business. Namely, falling in love.

It’s not going to be easy. But you can bet your ass I'll be writing about it.