/ essay /
Twenty years after running away to the
City of Light, Te s s Tay l o r returns
and finds shadows of her younger self.I’ll Always
Have Paris
WE WERE SPEEDING THROUGH PARIS after landing at
Charles de Gaulle, and my heart was beating fast. It had
been two decades since I’d been to the city. I craned out the
cab window hungrily. I couldn’t wait to wander the
Marais, or shop on Boulevard de Sébastopol for ham and
eggs and white asparagus to whip up into brunch. As my
husband and I made our way to the attic apartment we
had rented, I was amazed at how sharply I recognized the
churches and alleyways, and how, after a few hours, my
rusty French began to quicken on my tongue. ATYPEEK/GETTY IMAGES