Place

July 2012

When my mom and I emerge from the ship, our feet meet a cobblestone street that takes some getting used to.  The streets are so narrow that it seems dangerous for two cars to pass each other.  Though no accident ever occurs, I cringe—gritting my teeth and squinting my eyes—every time.  Shops line the roads on both sides—there are small, almost imperceptible entrances as well as extravagant double door entrances.  As we walk, we pass a café (one of the smaller entrances) with two round metal tables, each surrounded by four chairs, placed just outside the door, protruding into the street and detracting greatly from the already constricted width.  The two of us, now strolling on the concrete sidewalk, hug tightly to the café as we pass, not wanting to step out onto the cobblestones.  A pair of women are seated at one of the round tables when we pass, and it is at that moment that I hear my first conversation in French.  How strange! I don't understand a single word—it sounds so elegant and foreign.  I pause with my mom with the pretense of peeking in the café's window display of treats, but really I just want to listen to the beauty of foreign language.  Although I am studying Italian at BYU, I am sure that I will never master the language enough to converse the way these two women do—so eloquently and easily.  Having stared long enough at the variety of breads and desserts in the window, my mom and I move on, up the gradually inclining sidewalk and rounding a corner where we are greeted with many more shops on either side.  The café's smells of baking bread that had lightened the air before we turned the corner are suddenly overwhelmed by the burdensome scent of tobacco smoke.  A scraggly man dressed in denim jeans and a dark polo is leaning casually against the brick-layed wall, cigarette between his fingers and toxic white smoke billowing from his open mouth.  We quickly pass him and continue on our journey, strolling along the narrow, European-styled streets and admiring the offerings of this fascinating city.

Where am I?

<3 Mel