Travel to far off ports of call can provide an exotic change of scenery. More importantly, it opens one’s eyes to other cultures and ways of living. Your length of stay and ability to interact with locals — even within the US — can also impart a certain amount of compassion and understanding of our differences on this big blue marble.
In Paris, I arise to a sky of subtle blue, the color of newness and awakening. Cross-hatched with the white tails of jets high in the sky, it looks like summer seersucker gone wild.
It’s a lazy Sunday morning without the typical tourist need to get up and out to see the sites and make the most of the time one has in the City of Light. If it’s possible for you to do so, spending more time in one place can eliminate the need for a schedule.
There’s a certain feel to the city; a lightness of step that occurs in springtime with the mixture of days (cloudy with a bit of a chill and the threat of rain that doesn’t quite materialize; overcast but comfortable; sunny and warm where everyone is out lounging in the parks or sitting for hours in cafés).
There’s a certain aroma to Paris as well, and with spring, it’s a mixture of Hyacinth and Narcissus. The climbing vines of Clematis contribute, although you can’t ignore the beauty of Wisteria.
This fragrant Paris combines the floral with the open doors of the boulangeries, where the scent of freshly baked baguettes, croissants and Pain au Chocolat are mouth-watering.
Springtime in Paris is the very best. The sites, sounds and smells tug at you from every direction and pull you into the world.
But not just Paris … the smells, the architecture, the people are different wherever you travel. You can pick up on these differences — well, except for the smells — through books as well. The point being that if we embrace our differences and celebrate our humanity, perhaps we can understand others’ perspectives.
There’s a big world out there and you can find your perfect place for your next trip in Bookends Used Bookstore’s Travel section. Loaded with guidebooks, adventure stories and geography books, Bookends operates through the generosity of others who donate their books, time and membership dollars.
All proceeds from the sale of books support programming for Pack Memorial Library and the Buncombe County Library system, which in turn supports the community.
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