Paris 

“The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find themself in places no one has been before.”

— Albert Einstein 

“You came here alone?” The waiter asked me as she placed a glass on my table.

“Yes.” I said, smiling up at her. I watched her watch me– I suppose there’s nothing more frightening than a woman without a man. 

“Oh wow, where are you from?”

“Je suis Canadienne.” I sipped my water and thought about her comment. I’m in Paris alone: the most romantic city in the world and here I am exploring it on my own. But how else would I see it? And why must my view of it be double sighted– or through the eyes of my lover? 

Across the road was Moulin Rouge and I couldn’t help but think of Lil Kim and Christina Aguilera and how much I wanted to be them when I was little. Not sexy, but strong. Or perhaps both. Maybe that was a strange thought to have. Though for me my independence and resilience were the most sexy things about me: my ability to be alone in a crowd yet so very comfortable. 

I broke my suitcase on my way to my 4th hotel and giggled at myself as I dragged it up the stairs. “This is why I came alone,” I thought– to love and know myself, in Paris the city of romance.