Here's to cluttered bookshops, lock bridges, good food, and sucking the marrow out of life

Paris. Wow. If it was a holiday, it would most assuredly be Christmas because we all know that Christmas is pure gold. I have been here but a day and a half, and I have already fallen madly, head-over-heels in love with this absolute dream to which they've attempted giving the ordinary name of "city."

Paris has a way of making the mind reel and whirl and twirl. Here I am, sitting in my hotel and unwinding as the day comes to a close, and my mind is still going crazy. You see, I tend to do this thing where I relive the events of the day at night. And frankly, when your day is packed full of exquisiteness from dawn til dark, there is a heck of a lot to revisit. So much grandeur and unfamiliarity and timelessness. And I'm liking it.

There is something about this place that breeds a carefree mentality. Let's just say, if becoming reckless could be seen in a positive light, then Paris has mastered such a concept. What a gift it is to simply wander, to meander, to feel the strange comfort that resides in being lost in a sea of people and being equally at peace with it. It's rather dream-like, I must say.

Today's docket included some noteworthy pitstops, like a visit to the historic Notre Dame. While hunchbacks were nowhere to be found, quite a bit of beauty was. Many pictures were snapped. Too many. But the good kind of too many, I believe. And then came a trip to the infamous "lock bridge." Here, couples usually share a lock with their names written on it, lock it to the bridge, and then throw the key into the river to signify an unending commitment to their love for one another. So naturally, I did one too. Just because. And it was actually pretty neat. Lovely, in fact. From here, we embarked on a little journey to heaven, a.k.a. Shakespeare & Company. It's this bookshop with just about any classic one's mind can implore. Essentially, you're bathing in words, rubbing elbows with the greats, entering a rare wonderland that we have erroneously deemed "boring" as of late. And it was oh so refreshing. Mmm. Delectable.

From there, we shopped and ate. But regrettably, I don't have all day to elaborate. Let's just say, a sizable amount of shopping and eating took place. And it was great.

So far, here's what I've got. Paris is nice, and the living's easy. I am finding that it's a great thing to really live life, to live deliberately. It's okay to just go with the flow. If you walk on a manhole in the middle of a crowded street and your dress blows over your head, just go with it. If you can't understand what the man on the moped is saying to you, just nod and wink. If you can't read the menu, just choose something that looks fun.

It's quite enthralling, all of this. We'll see what the Eiffel Tower & such bring tomorrow.