RoyTennant.com

The City of Light

We all have our special places. Paris is one of mine. Interestingly enough, so is the Grand Canyon. What that might say about me I'll leave to your own imagination.

All I know is that I could spend years in Paris and never feel like I've exhausted it's pleasures. Shouldn't that be what a world-class city is all about? By contrast, I think New York is a dirty, loud, annoying place. Sorry, to anyone to loves New York and is reading this. But to me, I would much rather be in Paris, or London, or Sydney, or Singapore, or Budapest, or Vienna, or Prague, or ... than New York.

What are the qualities of a city that makes it so fascinating? There are many, certainly, but I want to point out one tiny little thing. While admiring the view of the city from the Eiffel Tower this past summer, I couldn't help but notice the homogeneity of the buildings — not only the height of the buildings, but also the architecture. Paris works as a united whole in a way that New York never could.

New York has other qualities, of course. So the point in the end is to enjoy every city for what it has to offer. Some just have more to offer than others, I'm afraid. Take Angelina Chocolate, for example. I rest my case.

Roy at the Eiffel Tower, 2004

Roy at the Eiffel Tower, 2004.