Finding the One in Paris, the City of Love

This post was posted by thehipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on October 16, 2015.

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Poet Arthur Rimbaud— who used a one-way ticket to get to Paris— once compared the sensation of love to the feeling of late night walks “beneath the green lime trees of the Promenade” after filling up on beer and lemonade in “rowdy cafes and their dazzling lights.” One-way tickets litter the streets of Paris, where young lovers meet like living symbolist poems, walking, kissing, and perspiring upon weathered cobblestones and beneath delicate corinthian cornices. Young romantics can count on feeling overwhelmed with options when it comes to the task of planning the perfect day in the City of Love. To mitigate your planning anxieties, we’ve gone ahead and planned the day for you. Je vous en prie, mon amour!

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Les Buttes Chaumont

Located in the northeast of the city in the 19th arrondissement, the park offers visitors a wide variety of features: including a breath-taking grotto with cascading waterfalls, a suspension bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel, and the breathtaking Temple de la Sibylle, which sits on the top of tall cliffs, high above the manmade lake at the park’s center. Purchase an inexpensive bottle of red wine, a fresh block chevre cheese, a baguette, some tupelo honey, and some salumi at a nearby grocery store and head to the park’s center. Ask an attractive stranger to join you for a picnic, and admire blue skies and puffy white clouds as a gentle breeze brushes your cheek. When was the last time you partook in a summersault competition? Have you ever stood on your head for an extended period of time? Les Buttes Chaumont welcomes youthful spirits, warm (and occasionally inebriated) conversations, and contented silence. Two minds, one Les Buttes Chaumont.

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La Filmothèque du Quartier Latin

On 9 rue Champollion in Paris’ Latin Quarter, just a few blocks from La Sorbonne, La Filmothèque du Quartier Latin greets every evening with its brightly lit marquee. Featuring retrospective masterworks, films by Godard, Kubrick, Allen, Antonioni, Fellini, Cassavetes regularly hit the screen. The screening rooms are small and cozy; the vibes are hospitable and warm. Take your new friend’s hand in your own and get lost in the illustrious and timeless world of the silver screen.

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10 Bar in Saint-Germain des Prés

Saint-Germain des Prés— an area in the 6th arrondissement of Paris— was once the home of existentialist movement. Coincidentally, the area is now home to one of the best bars in Paris: 10 Bar. Founded in 1955, 10 Bar claims to attract a “record crowd every night” as the “only sangria bar in the capital.” Go early and queue up some choice tunes on the bar’s classic jukebox. Grab a seat next to the massive organ-shaped mahogany mirror in the back and tell the person sitting next to you at the bar about the strangest dream that you’ve ever had, then take a few spins on the dance floor. When you’ve had your share of libations and wildness, take a short cab ride to the luxurious Hotel Bel Ami. Just a short walk away from the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Pont Neuf, and Musee d’Orsay, Hotel Bel Ami will help to keep the romance alive!

Sydney Reviews Love, Lex by Avery Aster

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

20567976Synopsis: This summer, I’d planned to celebrate my eighteenth birthday in Europe with my fellow Manhattanites—Taddy Brill, Blake Morgan, and Vive Farnworth—until I caught my boyfriend screwing my mother. According to the police report, this vomit-inducing incident happened around the same time I’d supposedly blown-up my mother’s penthouse. Like I’m walking around Soho with a stick of dynamite in my Louis Vuitton purse—not! Now, my besties and I are in jail.Officer Ford Gotti, the Harley-wheelin’ biker cop who arrested us, keeps sticking his perfectly-sculpted nose into my case. His inked body is jacked like a superhero, and he says I can trust him. He wants me to fess up. I won’t. Not again. Why should I? My friends and I had a previous stint in juvie that nearly destroyed us. I gotta protect them and keep my mouth shut. Right? —Lex Easton, women’s studies major, motorcycle enthusiast, and virgin.The Undergrad Years is a New Adult contemporary miniseries about first loves, independence, and everlasting friendships.

Reader warning: Contains mature content intended for readers 17 and up.

Review: Sometimes I read a book and enjoy it for its bookness and sometimes I read a book and wish it was opening in my local mega theater this Friday. Love, Lex is the latter. I loved it. As I read it, I keep reading faster and faster. It had a real Sin City feel to it. You know the movie by Quentin Tarantino, Frank Miller & Robert Rodriquez. Any one of them would be perfect in bring this book to the big screen. 
The heat level started off the chart on page one and built from their. I love books about crazy mega rich young adult. These kids had been through it and their loyalty, while tested, touched me. 
The sex scene at the end was a bit of a jolt and kind of jarring, but it had a satisfying ending. 
 
If you like your books written like a fast paced, hollywood exploitation film, check out Love, Lex by Avery Aster. 

A few of my favorite things

Tattoo References: Officer God – With python arms wider than my thighs, his body reminded me of The Hulk right before  his clothes would shred and he’d turn green. Hot. Smothered in ink he sports a tattoo sleeve up and down his right arm. So hot!

Movie References:  Pearl Harbor, Legally Blonde, Star Wars & Post Cards from the Edge

Favorite Line:  “Strategic. Yup, he’s convinced I strategically placed the tanks around the apartment then lit a match. Honestly, I’m not that smart.”

“My confusion nearly paralyzed me. Did my two friends lose their minds? We’d gone from hugging besties to face-slapping frienemies and now horny girls on the prowl. WTF.”

Love, Lex Purchase Links

Author Bio:  I’m a New Yorker who lives on the Upper East Side. I write THE MANHATTANITES, a contemporary romantic soap opera of full length, stand alone novels, and it’s juicy prequel companion series THE UNDERGRAD YEARS.

Website | Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

L – Love in Dallas

a-to-z-letters-lI love parks. I think they are romantic.  One of my favorites is Celestial Park in Addison.

Maybe it’s the steps with poem verses written on them or the sun dial at the top (I love the sun), but the place inspires my creativity.  I not only love the park, I fell in love in this park.

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“Where are we going?”
We’d been driving around for 20 minutes. The radio is load and I have to yell for him to hear me, but he doesn’t answer. He squeezes my leg, tries not to smile and continues to focus on the road. 
He slows down and turns into a neighborhood. We don’t know anyone in this neighborhood. I know everyone he knows.  
As I am about to yell again, he pulls in next to the curb and turns off the ignition. 
“Where here.” 
“Where?” 
“Come on, I’ll show you.” 
From where we parked, I see a trail covered with trees. I can’t see where it leads, but through the trees I sees an open area elevated from the street.  
He takes my hand and leads me to the trail. I can feel the gravel through the soles of my sandals. The air is filled with the smell of lavender and a hint of magnolias.
I notice he is still grinning. I can’t imagine what I am in for, but I can feel the excitement through his fingers as they grip my hand tighter.  
The trail takes a hard left turn up ahead. Before we reached the turn, he stops. 
“You have to close your eyes.” 
“What?” 
“Trust me,” he smiles at me, squeezes my hand and I close my eyes, trusting him completely. 
He lets go of my hand, but in seconds, I felt him standing behind me. He places his hand on the back of my arms and guides me forward. 
We take a few steps and then he turns me to the right and wraps his arms around me. He whispers in my eye, “Open your eyes.” and this is what I see. 
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“Welcome to Celestial Park.”
This is where I fell in love. 

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Unfortunately it didn’t last, I was 15, but still special.  Can you pin point the time and place you first fell in love?  

At the Golf Course

FILE CHAIR NEST PIRATE WINNER

Sydney always loved coming to the golf course early in the morning.  Everything was all fresh and new.  The sun hadn’t quite come up, yet and the dew on the ground and low hanging fog made the course look scary and serene at the same time. In the distance, Sydney could here the maintenance crew cutting the fairway and sprinklers where watering the green to add the finishing touches to make the course ready for competition.

At this time of the day, you never know what could happen at the golf course.

Sydney started setting up the tent for the days lessons.  Chair, table, flowers, books;  she repeated this set up 6 times. She took pride in creating a warm and calming atmosphere at the Academy for the executives.  Because once they stepped on the driving range, the frustrations and stress of trying to learn this game, set in.

The golf swing is such a beautiful motion, unfortunately, most of these guys look like pirates wielding  swords.  All tight and tension, no rhythm and flow.  Not like the professionals.

Sydney looked through a file on her computer and printed out the appointment sheet for the day.  His name caught her eye and she was smiling before she could stop herself.

2:00 – 2:30: John Osha.

She was really looking forward to seeing him.  Even though they only had one conversation yesterday and a series of flirty texts last night, Sydney couldn’t help but admit that she  really like him.  And, she hadn’t felt this way about someone in a long time.

She couldn’t quite figure out what it was about him, though.  He was a winner and people gravitated towards him.  That trait made him confident, but not  cocky.  The way he looked at her and asked the right questions made Sydney feel special.  She wanted to feel that again.  If even for a minute.

Sydney started to move tables and chairs around, again.  She was anxious. She felt like a mother bird tending to her nest.  She just couldn’t sit still.

To calm herself down, Sydney took a walk out of the tent on to the driving range.  The sun was fully up now and it was warm.  No one was on the main driving range so she could walk out as far as she wanted.  It was so peaceful out here.

She closed her eyes and just felt the warmth of the sun on her face.  She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.  She turned around and opened her eyes.

And, there he was, standing in the entrance of the tent smiling at her.

Early mornings at the golf course are just the best.  Everything is fresh and new and you never know what can happen at the golf course.

Thanks so much to Carrie for picking this picture.  It allowed me to particpate in Writer Wednesday Blog Hop even though I am neck deep in JuNoWriMo. I am currently working on my first novel and this is an excerpt from my novel where part of it actually does take place a at a golf club during a tournament.

Listen, Watch, Read . . .Repeat – Mike_Reverb

I saw this great post by at Mike_Reverb.

These are the books, song and movie that over and over again make me feel how I felt the first time I experienced them.

Non Fiction Book – Marriage of the Sun and the Moon – non fiction – I read it in college at a time when college was almost over and I couldn’t get any stimulation from my surroundings any longer. I just couldn’t wait to get out and see what life had in store for me. Every time I need that jolt again, I revisit this book.

Fiction Book – The Regulators by Stephen King – The first book that sucked me completely into the world and life’s of the people in the book. The book still scares me.  One of the only books that I re-read once every couple of years.

Song – Dangerously in Love Part 2 – It is how I hope to feel about someone someday. Love never gets old.

Film – Goodfellas – I own the DVD, and have it on the hard driver of both of my computers. Even when it comes on TV, with commercials, all the dubbed over cuss words and violent scenes deleted I still sit and watch it. I am also 100% into every emotion of the movie even though I know what is coming next.

What does it for you?