The Good Old Times / Le Bon Vieux Temps ........ (259)

I generally miss France; Paris in particular as that is where I grew up...a general malaise for all of Europe...here is like being on an alien planet; truly alien as compared to most Europeans and culture.

Good morning Katte, a warm Welcome to you

...... what are you missing most if i may ask ?

The entire ambience of being there; of the small towns, the train rides, the sounds of church bells; the old cobblestone streets, the old Latin Quarter,' the many bridges; all the old book shops; being to walk under la Tour Eiffel...the sounds of many different languages being spoken; the 14th of July parades; all the parks; the art galleries...in short virtually everything(except the insane drivers and traffic
The Last Time I saw Paris was in 1971 or "72. I'd love to return and see if the old house I grew up in is still standing; what the area looks like now. It was a small hunting lodge of Louis IV, my grand mere had a beautiful garden with several fruit trees, a chicken coup and one for pigeons. To get downtown, we had to take an electric trolley to the Gard de Nord or change buses at Eglise de Pantin which was still being repaired from damage caused by the only known crash of a V2 Rocket during the war... During the early 60's it really was a great place and time; artists, writers, 'les Beatniks' the Jazz clubs; the musicians; the coffee-houses ; the poets, reading aloud from their own creations, or from Villon, Baudlaire or Rimbau...it was so alive, nothing like it anywhere else save Greenwich Village in NYC. And Picasso still lived there...and would give us advice on our artworks, on the sidewalks...
If we have another, parallel self, I hope mine stayed in Paris or even just in France and made a happy lie for himself...c'est la guerre de vie.
Are you French? Just curious.

All this is very much romantic and poetic Katte, thank you for such a beautiful describtion ! You and i can say we have known the true Paris.... it's now so different... you know, the political correctness is everywhere and it changes all, step by step, the quarters, the suburbs, the soul of a town ....... not for the better, for sure !
To answer to your question, yes i am 100 % French, but i have travelled all my life and still do. I am now in the South-West of France, in beautiful Aquitaine, where life is great and sunny ! Like you, i have been in many amazing places, and met amazing people.... Life is great and all i can say is thank you that i was born in this wonderful period in such family and country, and if i was allowed to live another life, i would say... please, same again .... non, je ne regrette rien .....

Et vous Katte, parlez-vous français ?

@Alexandro, je pense que vous devez parler français, non ?

Désolée et toutes mes condoléances pour votre Père, c'est hélas la dure loi de la vie, nous grandissons au travers des épreuves, et les décès de nos proches nous laissent orphelins pour toujours ......
Je ne regrette pas vraiment les années 80, car elles ont marqué pour notre pays le début de vrais problèmes, dont nous subissons toujours les conséquences désastreuses.
L'amitié et l'amour existent toujours, bien évidemment, mais je pense qu'il faut davantage s'investir auprès des personnes ayant les mêmes affinités que vous et éviter les autres. Il est vrai que l'internet a tué pour beaucoup le charme et la poésie des vraies rencontres... je vous souhaite de ne pas y céder, et de vous tourner vers la vraie vie... Il y a des gens formidables tout autour de vous, soyez-en certain, il suffit de se donner les moyens d'oser les rencontrer et de faire un pas vers eux...peut-être par le biais associatif. Bonne chance à vous, ne restez surtout pas dans une bulle d'isolement !

Avec regrette, j' nais pas l'habitude a parlez en Francais; quelque-fois, pour une minute ou deux. J'ai oubliez jusqua tout. C'est pas besoin ici; meme chose avec Alemagne. Polski et las Russe aussi et perdue...Shona aussi.
I put my 2 children in total French immersion starting in nursery school and kindergarten My daughter attended schools in Bretagne, in Nantes, I believe, then one year at the Sorbon. The technological language gave her too much trouble and she dropped out. Last summer my son while visiting in Switzerland stopped in Paris and ran into her He lives in Victoria and attends college on Vancouver Island and she at tends classes in Calgary. Last time I was in Europe was in 2007; took my son to Berlin and Munich to get a feel for his ancestral homeland and see where I used to live. When we lived just outside Paris, my mother would take me with her to Nice, Cannes, St. Tropez, Joie le Pins (?) et Monte Carlo...me under the card table! She used to belong to the Cafes/ Tennis/ Artiste crowd before the war and was good friends with most of the Artistes who were quite famous. Of course, all that changed with the occupation and 'things never went back' to pre-war days.
"Politically correctness" is a desease of fear put unto people. Even from childhood, I would rebel at these hideous manifestation. I remain politically incorrect and am proud of it. Tampis.
If people don't like it, I politely tell them, "fou-ma la pay"...ou baissez ma derriere/cue
Delighted to meet you!