I’ll admit it. The first time I went to Paris in February 2013 I was not in love with the city. I had romanticized the city in my mind. It was cold, dark, and we were overwhelmed by the language barrier and the feeling that we were rushing around trying to check things off our tourist list. I left disappointed and confused. Where was the Paris of my dreams? When we returned again in July of 2023 I fell deeply in love with the city. What I’ve realized is that Paris is much more than checking sites off a list. It is a feeling. Paris has a soul. And you can’t quite appreciate that soul until you slow down and soak it all in.