A Mogulette goes to Paris

Bonjour Mogulettes! I'm back from my trip totally inspired by the style and flair of Paris. The French love to surround themselves with beauty. Everywhere you turn there's a statue, a building, a park or some other enchanting thing to enjoy. All the seats in the outdoor cafés look toward the street so you get prime viewing of the lovely ladies walking by, who get dressed up even to go shopping. It was cold and drizzly but I hardly noticed because I was so excited to be there. My last visit was over ten years ago and the city seemed even prettier than I remembered, so I quickly embarked into a whirlwind of tours and sightseeing.

On the outbound flight I sat next to a lovely Parisian jeune fille (that's young woman - I can't stop plugging in le francais!) and by the time we landed at the Charles de Gaulle airport I had a long list of places to visit.

One of those was Les Jardins de Luxembourg, where I stopped by on my third day and was immediately smitten. Dainty little flower beds and softly gurgling fountains give this little jewel of a park an air of peace and tranquility. A large circular pond sits in the middle surrounded by a gallery of statues, which upon closer inspection I realized were all of French queens and illustrious women. Trés mogulett-ish! (Want to see more pictures? Visit my Flickr page).

The park seemed surprisingly full of people for the middle of a work day, reflecting perhaps the fact that unemployment is high in France. That topic came up the following day when I joined a handful of "locals" for lunch. The ladies (pictured below) were all Anglos - either American or British - but have lived in Paris for years. They talked about how in spite of the lack of jobs it's very difficult to set up a small business in France because of the high taxes and piles of paperwork that entrepreneurs are burdened with. We're lucky to have all the free resources and support that we have here in the states - we need to take advantage of that!

The trip ended all too soon but I returned with renewed energy and positivity. When I first started considering the idea of going to Paris the thought of spending time and money on something other than my work was terrifying. How dare I take a vacation? Coming up with a budget and getting support from my friends helped me to put things into perspective and overcome my fears. Now I clearly see the benefits of taking time off - had I not gone I'd probably be feeling pretty frustrated right now, but by spending time in such a beautiful city I came back feeling abundant, and if I feel abundant, I'm more likely to attract abundance into my life.

"Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into." --Wayne Dyer

Au revoir!