It’s the first thing I noticed.
…ok, not true. First I saw the “Bienvenue!” poster with giggled with delight at the immediacy of it — The Eiffel Tower! Live! In Person!
So it the was the second thing I noticed and just as inspiring.
Black. Black people. Black people hair. Black people lips. Black people skin.
We were everywhere. From high yellow — as my old Black southern relatives call it — to an almost shiny blue-black (and in a surprisingly complementary blue dress suit, I’d like to point out).
Some weeks before, when Ralf and I were visiting his parents, I noticed this was true of Nürnberg as well. Golly, for all the talk of Berlin’s multiculturalism, it doesn’t look it enough.
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I stood under the Eiffel Tower last night. I had already had an amazing day — eating Lebanese take-out with my host/guest/housing swapper Adrienne, standing on the grounds of the Louvre, walking the Champs-Elysees, and snapping photos at the Arc de Triomphe.
But the Eiffel Tower is glorious at night, and add the most beautiful light-and-breezy summer weather and it *is* the once-in-a-lifetime chance you’ve dreamed of. (And, because life is good, I can repeat it over and over for days.)
Ok, time for my walking tour. Wie sagt man, “see you later” auf Französich?