The Honeymooners – Day 1: Paris in the rain

 The Honeymooners – Day 1: Paris in the rain

People romanticize Paris. They romanticize the rain. Paris in the rain is made into movies, into songs, into arts, and into memories of people. Paris is extremely romantic in the rain. 

Except I am a cynic, and I hate the rain, and we were on our honeymoon with a spreadsheet of itineraries full of things to do outdoors. 

On the first day to Paris, after 8 hours on the flight, a little groggy, a lot hungry, and the hubby decided we need to go up a hill to visit the Sacre-Coeur (the Sacred Heart) cathedral, I was (understandably, in my defense) a bit hangry and bitchy. And then it rains. Not the drizzle romantic let’s put on the umbrella and walk under it kinda rain. It’s a flash flood rushing down the hills of the funicular kind of rain. 

We had our raincoats on, but we decided to take shelter underneath the streetlights. People ran away from the rain. We waited. The 20 days ahead of us are going to be interesting, I thought. I, a tech nerd, decided that I will not need my data roaming. He, someone who already spent too much time on the phone, will have roaming on for work and will use it to navigate us. I, an assertive type-A person who makes snap decisions in seconds will now have to take the lead from a meticulous, research-oriented, overthinking every little decision we have to make. I, a talkative Anglophone will have to rely on a more reserved, more rule-following Francophone. He, a devoted Christian and a history buff, loves to see museums and churches, to learn about the lives of kings and queens and politicians. I, a free-spirited artsy fartsy person who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the Monarchy in any country, just want to eat macarons and drink coffee while checking out European cuties in cafes. This would be a fun ride. 

People romanticize honeymoon. They romanticize lovers. 

But just like Paris in the rain, our life is not a romance novel. Our life is messy. Someday it’s a flash flood. Some days, it’s full of rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning. 

In a weird, Paris in the rain way, our life is just as beautiful. 

And maybe even a little romantic.