Paris, August 2023

One thing I love about Paris is the Parisians. Elegant, well-dressed Parisians are everywhere around you — the little kids running around, the lovers kissing at the corner near the library, the people reading books in the Luxembourg Gardens. Paris is a perfect place for people-watching, no matter whether you’re on the street, in a coffee shop, or anywhere else. In France, it’s also quite socially acceptable to make eye contact with strangers, without any connotation, in a way that would perhaps make Americans uncomfortable. They may well be observing you as you are observing them.

Last September (in 2025) I found myself in Paris again. I was taking the RER-A train to the airport when I saw a mother and her daughter board at La Défense. They sat in the row opposite me, close together, constantly chatting in a voice I couldn’t quite hear. The mother was professionally dressed; the girl looked like she was still in high school. I noticed the girl had her eyes filled with tears — she seemed to really miss her mom, even though I presumed they’d see each other again quite soon, if not later that same day. As the train approached Champs-Élysées–Clemenceau, they exchanged kisses on the cheeks and waved each other goodbye. The girl watched her mom as she walked onto the platform. Her mom waved to her once more, and they looked at each other until the train pulled away. I found that to be really moving.