Don't get me wrong - Denver is a very nice city, with lots of parks and bike trails, a vibrant downtown, and many pleasant neighborhoods. However, given a choice, I would much rather be in Paris. My sister Susan and I visited there last year, and it is a marvelous place to walk and just hang out. However, actually living there would be problematic for all but the wealthy. Aziz, a former University of Denver colleague, once lived there, but had to have about 6 roommates to afford it. He told me because of that, he much preferred Denver. I took the photo on the left, by the way, on the Ile Saint-Louis, probably one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Paris. On an episode of Rick Steves' Europe, a tour guide was taking Rick around the island, and said that if he could afford to live there, he definitely would. And who in their right mind wouldn't?
I took the photograph on the right at a small neighborhood park not far from Rue Cler, a market street near where our hotel was located. This is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Paris. Rue Cler is pedestrian only, and filled with a variety of shops and inviting cafes. What a pleasure to be able to live on this street, and be able to walk out of your apartment each day to do your daily shopping, and have a drink in one the sidewalk cafes afterwards. My sister tells me she would like to visit Rue Cler again on her 80th birthday, which is still several years away. Of course, her birthday is in January, and so I imagine that it might be a bit nippy drinking wine out in the elements. However, on the plus side, the museums would definitely be less crowded. Upsides and downsides, like so much of life.
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