Paris

I have recently become infatuated with the iconic and romantic Paris, France. Several items on my list of things to see and do before I die are in or associated with the city, such as seeing the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, going to the Orsay Museum and the Disneyland Resort, and learning a little bit of French. This new found passion for all things Parisian has a lot to do with movies I've seen this summer and how they portray the City of Light.

Today I reluctantly attended an afternoon showing of the latest tween rom com Monte Carlo, half of which is set in Paris. This movie had a painfully cliche love-at-first-sight story line and was unrealistic, predictable and mediocre at best, but was also incredibly cute. It even made me laugh a couple times. And if you're interested in cute guys and/or romance at all, you'd enjoy living vicariously through Selena Gomez and Leighton Meester's characters just as much as I did. But the most important thing the movie did for me was remind me of my love of Paris and reignite my burning desire to go there someday.

Another movie I saw this summer, Midnight in Paris, was what really got me excited about the idea of actually going there. Thanks to its exquisite cinematography and charming story line, this movie did a much better job than Monte Carlo of romanticizing the city and its culture. I hope that when I do finally have the chance to travel to Paris, I will find the city just as enchanting as the movies make it out to be.

And this is the next one I want to see!