Dear France, I love you.

An ode to the Hexagon, in images (also, proof that it's every bit as picturesque as guidebooks would have you believe):

1. So much cheese, you can't believe your eyes, or your nose. That first step into a cheese store, when you are slapped in the face with the smell...it's unbeatable.

As Charles de Gaulle once said, "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?"

 2. Edible art, especially where pastries are concerned. The French put presentation on a pedestal, and the end results are extraordinary. But they are too yummy not to eat.

 3. Viennoiseries, also known as croissants and the like, which fall into a category all their own.

My personal favorites, the vast varieties of escargots (the breakfast danish, not the mollusk) at Du Pain et Des Idées. PS. Check the firebread to the left!!! Another fixture in my life, once upon a time.

 4. Crêpes. Authentic buckwheat crêpes. With hard cider from Normandy. Oh.Mon.Dieu.

 5. Fashion so beautiful, and so expensive, it makes your heart ache.

"Dis moi Oui Pour la Vie" - Tell me Yes for Life

 6. The Eiffel, the Seine, the city itself.

This was taken during my morning run. Made it worth getting up, every time.

 7. The covered passageways. A figment of the past that remains, and we are all luckier for it.

 8. The simpler side of French fare: Happiness IS mopping up the garlicky herb butter sauce with crusty bread after polishing off a plate of snails.

Especially if you can get your hands on some life-changing butter that is so abundant in France, and a plate of charcuterie!

 9. Public parks, gardens, and green spaces. Being able to stumble upon nature in a city is a gift.

The Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens, in springtime.

 10. Foodshopping becomes a transcendental experience, no matter what you are buying. Every job, every interaction, and every item is to be handled with pride, precision, and a certain politesse.

So yeah, I'm a bit obsessed with Paris especially, as I have been for much of my life. Actually staying there awhile did nothing to help this affinity for the city; if my life goes as planned, I hope to return ASAP. Next time, though, I'll join a gym.