By carefully making sure not to step in you-know-what, you may happen upon this famous artwork scattered along the streets and sidewalks of Paris. And if you’re lucky, you’ll see it written in white cursive on Metro stops, benches, and lamp posts, too. The word is Amour, which is French for “love.” (Did I really need to translate that for you?) There are many on my street alone—I was so surprised when I kept seeing them.The story goes that several years ago, when his live-in love left him, watercolorist (and graffiti artist) Jean-Luc Duez declared, “Before her there was nothing. After her there was room for nothing else.” Trying to win her back with letters and flowers didn’t seem to work and even writing Je t’aime (I love you) along her route to and from work got him a court order not to contact her for three years!
So he began to paint the word Amour all over the city. He drew mostly in white paint—sometimes in chalk—and he struck roughly 100 times a night. Even as the little green men with their scrub brushes tried to eradicate it, the word appeared again and again; it seems there was no stopping a man in love. +-+2-14-07.jpg)
Suddenly, since I started to notice this artwork surrounding my quartier, there seems to be more Amour’s appearing on my street and around the neighborhood. Maybe because of Valentine’s Day, he’s been making a fresh sweep. Despite the little green men (who have given up), the French people encouraged him to continue the project. This is fitting, wouldn’t you say, for a city famous for love? I hope he’s found a new love… 
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Suz and I are having a nice dejeuner (lunch) at Le Grand Colbert, the restaurant featured in a scene from the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Keanu Reeves. (Being the practical girls that we are, we decided not to spend the ridiculously expensive price for diner.) Then we’ll head to the Louvre to do the DaVinci Code audio tour and then—where else? La Tour Eiffel to see if we witness any proposals.
