Paris Was Ours Quotes

“Their expressions were like those caught by Renoir in the faces of The Daughters of Paul Durand-Reul, relaxed, proper, satisfied, slightly ingenue, the background filled with spring color. It was unreal, a garden party far removed from the Revolution that surged beyond the orchard walls. Here, aristocrats dined among white-gloved servants, as in a painting, while songbirds sang in the trees.”
― Penelope Rowlands, Paris Was Ours: Thirty-Two Writers Reflect on the City of Light

“In Paris, I realized that the words the French use most are "decourage", "solitude", "ride".

The phrase inevitably used by men to reply is "Oui, mais non..."

What a foreign adventure is supposed to do: to make the mundane thrilling.

It may have been Gertrude Stein who wrote that to lead a life of any interest, one must first spend time in Paris. It is a place that defines and shapes like no other; its Aphroditic nature can overwhelm or inspire, but it can't leave you indifferent.

Regret, like desire, seeks not to analyze but to gratify itself. Proust”
― Penelope Rowlands, Paris Was Ours