I have always been drawn to the sea. There is something about the water that has a way of cleaning and restoring new life. Whether it be the California beaches, the rivers of Vermont, or the harbor in Bretagne; I have an affinity to the power of the sea.
For the past few day I have been obsessed with watching the changing of the tide in the harbor in this "petit" village. When I wake in the morning and head to the beach, the tide has drawn itself so far back into the sea that it leaves the boats dry on the sand in the harbor. It gives a ghost town like look to the habor, as if the boats had been abandoned for years. Even on the beach, the shore line goes almost a kilometer to the water line. However, around 19:00 the tide slowly begins to make its way back to shore. Slowly the level of the water in the harbor gets deeper and deeper until all the boats are once again supported by the sea. Finally, when the sun finally begins to set (which during the summer in Bretage does not begin until 22:00) the tide has successfully recovered the shore, covering any "naked" patches and brings full life into the harbor.
I have always questioned the effects of the tide, and the relationship between the water and the moon... but why are its effects so much more profound in this part of the world? Why does the tide leave the harbor exposed during the day but remembers to gently cover it at night?
Yesterday, I finished reading Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. While he talks about his séjours in Paris with such passion and great detail, he did not formally write them down until several years later while he was living in Cuba. There is a moment when Hemingway confesses that "maybe away from Paris I could write about Paris as in Paris I could write about Michigan". While I have wanted to keep an active blog during my stay in Paris, I have been unable to find the time and the words to write about my experiences "in the moment". Maybe it won't be until weeks or even years after I return to the US until I can appropriately put in words the many wonderful experiences that this city has given me.
Tomorrow I leave la belle Bretagne and return to the "city of lights" and begin an new job for the next three weeks. My stay in Paris is almost over. However, I am truly happy that I chose to rest an extra few months for the summer. It has given me time to truly absorb the culture and spirit of the city that I would have not otherwise have been given.
At the end of his narrative Hemingway concludes:
"There is never any ending to Paris and to the memory of person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return to whatever you brought to it."
While my stay is not yet finished, I have been honored by every passing day in this city. Every encounter and interaction will serve as a memory that will guide me back. When? Like the tide that gently makes it way back to the shore, only time will tell.
