In a couple of months, my parents are headed to Europe.  It will be my mom’s first time back since she was a little girl, and my dad’s first time ever.  They’re headed to Paris for a few days, then off on a cruise that departs from Barcelona and makes stops in Naples, Rome, Florence/Tuscany, Nice and Marseille.  I can’t even begin to describe how jealous I am – even though I was just in my beloved England a few months ago myself.  A few weeks ago the parental units visited and I was able to share some of my favorite places and activities in Paris and Provence (where they plan to day-trip).  I loaded them up with my Rick Steves guidebooks and French phrasebook, and I’ve been day-dreaming about Paris ever since.  And even though I have a different idea taking hold for 2012 travel, oh, how I would love to go back to Paris.

Favorite Paris moments and memories–

1.  “Rue Cler picnics” for breakfast under the Eiffel Tower – wedge of Brie, demi-baguette, pint of strawbs from Les Halles, cafe creme from Rousillon, blue skies overhead and green grass underfoot and La Tour casting its shadow over us.

2.  A French footballer dazzling the crowd with complicated tricks just outside Sacre-Cour, to the tune of… wait for it… French r&b.

3.  Sniffing tea leaves to my heart’s content while a dashing and patient Mariage Freres employee took box after box down from the wall in the awe-inspiring but cozy flagship store in the heart of the Marais.  He never mocked my broken French and he was able to decipher my incoherent mumblings to figure out the ultimate perfect tea for my tastes – Etoile de France.

4.  Shivering like a leaf in a September breeze but being unwilling to sacrifice even one drop of the remarkable salted caramel ice cream from Berthillon on Ile Saint-Louis.

5.  Breezing into Oliviers & Co. and tossing off a “Je regarde!” and then hiding my face so the clerk wouldn’t see how proud I was of my rudimentary French-speaking abilities.

6.  Cafe-sitting… cafe-sitting… cafe-sitting.  Le Petit Cler was our favorite.  We munched escargots, sipped kir royale, and debated whether we should try out the gelato shop next door (that was churning out dozens of happy customers with dripping cones) or track down a pint of Berthillon.

7.  Old men meandering down the street, snacking on the end of a fresh baguette in a paper sleeve.  Did their wives expect delivery of an unblemished loaf?  If so, they were sure to be disappointed.

8.  Monet paintings taking up my entire field of vision at the Musee l’Orangerie.

9.  The sounds and textures of the foods – crisp corners of flaky, buttery croissant and the snap-snap-snap of delicate macaron shells as I bit into them, ever anxious to get to the jammy middle layer.

10.  Ordering bottles of Chorey-les-Beaune and conjuring up vivid images of the village itself, which hubby and I had just biked through only days before.

Have you been to Paris?  What did you love most?