The French Kiss in the City of Light…and Love

Author Meg BortinPhoto by Erica Simone – ericasimone.comPhoto by Erica Simone – ericasimone.comFamous Kiss at the Hotel de Ville by Robert DoisneauPhoto by Erica Simone – ericasimone.com

Love is in the Paris air. With only two days away from the piercing of Cupid’s arrow, the most romantic city in the world is puckering up and we’re wagging our tongues.

At yesterday’s Parler Paris Après Midi, Meg Bortin, journalist, editor, writer and author, read from her new memoir “Desperate to be a Housewife,” referring to ‘herself’ as “Mona Venture.” While Mona’s journalistic adventures took her from the U.S. to Kabul to Moscow to Paris and to points in between and beyond in search of the ‘big scoop,’ her biggest quest of all was for love — the romantic kind that lasts forever and the kind that leads to a family life with kids, cooking and care-taking.

Mona found plenty of romance and plenty of sex and plenty of great stories to write about…except her own story, which took 40 years to research and finally write. It’s a story that many women face today, particularly those of ‘our’ generation, who experienced the sexual revolution (The Pill), the Feminist Movement (a.k.a. Women’s Lib), the right to abortion (Roe vs Wade landmark decision) and a real career (Equal Pay Act of 1963). Like Mona, we all wanted love, sex, marriage, family…but we wanted to ‘have our cake and eat it, too’ by realizing our full potentials in the work force — and we did, trying to balance both sides of life, which ‘ain’t’ easy! Mona (a.k.a. Meg) landed in the City of Light (and Love) where she never became a housewife, but found Paris to be her lover.

Lovers flock here from all corners of the globe just to bask in the city’s soft kisses. And while millions of people come to Paris as the epicenter of romanticism, either celebrating their love of one another or looking for love, romantic Paris itself can easily replace the lover one does not have. (I found this out personally when my own ‘prince’ turned into a ‘frog’ and love was gone in an instant.)

Paris as lover? “Mais, oui!” What makes Paris so romantic, anyway? Does anybody really have the answer? There are articles, essays, books and tomes written about it, but each person must discover the romance for him or herself. Blogger and author, Heather Stimmler-Hall, has “10 Reasons Paris is still the Most Romantic City,” one of which she says is the public display one’s affection — the French kiss.

“If you haven’t guessed it yet, Parisians have a soft spot for romance. They may be discreet about many things, but not when it comes to showing off their passionate side. Unlike most American cities where blatant PDA (public display of affection) is chastised, in Paris holding hands as you walk, cuddling on park benches, and even shamelessly locking lips are not only accepted, but openly admired. There’s even a popular guide book to the best spots for kissing in Paris*. We like the Pont des Arts (where Carrie and Mr. Big kiss in the last episode of Sex in the City). You can even hire your own private photographer to immortalize your own Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville (standing on the Pont d’Arcole if you want the same backdrop as Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson in Something’s Gotta Give).”

*Also see Karen Fawcett’s (of Bonjour Paris) recommendations for The best places to kiss in Paris.

According to Wikipedia.org, besides the fact that the participants tongues touch each other’s, is that the French kiss slow and passionate, considered to be intimate, romantic, erotic or sexual. Thanks to the City of Light (and love), and the romantic French, whose reputation is for “more adventurous and passionate sex practices,” the term “French kiss” came into use at the beginning of the 20th-century…and it’s been around ever since.

But there’s kissing…and then there’s ‘KISSING’…and what’s more romantic than a French kiss set in Paris?

Nothing.

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds

Director of The Adrian Leeds Group, LLC

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