La Vie Romantique (The Romantic Life)
Jetlag Strategy
Day 1 in Paris I wanted to make myself stay awake all day so I could acclimate to the new time zone. Like a shark constantly moving to pump life-sustaining oxygen from the water into it’s gills, I kept myself moving, vacant and hollow-eyed, darting and weaving against the crowded Parisian city streets, so as not to collapse on any given sidewalk and perish.
I got about 4 hours of sleep before my 6:30am flight to SFO, then a 7 hour layover which enabled me to achieve a full work day at the United Club Lounge, then an 11 hour flight to Paris arriving at 9:30am Central European time. I slept about 4 hours on the flight. So, not working with much sleep but if I can hold out until Central European bedtime, I’ll be rewarded with a quicker acclimation.
Musée de la Vie Romantique
“I like that so much focus of this trip is finding love for your life too! Being open to people and love of all kinds and romance for the sake of romance!” a friend of mine texted me after reviewing my project website (that you’re currently on). That’s exactly the vibe I’m going for so I’m happy it comes across in my project outline! I’m exploring romance and “La Vie Romantique” (The Romantic Life) in all forms. I have a suspicion that living life in a romantic way is more enjoyable and fulfilling—I’ll be finding out!
While shark weaving along, I was delighted to find that the Musée de la Vie Romantique was not far from Gare du Nord. It is a petite museum with just a few rooms of paintings from the mid 19th Century and a parlor room with period furnishings. The hidden gem of this museum is the garden room atrium hidden behind and to the right of the main museum building, with a garden patio that would be enchanting in the summer and if it weren’t pouring down rain like today (in March). The rain pattered down upon the glass room as I enjoyed an espresso in a cozy corner next to a vintage radiator with a gorgeous art nouveau pattern of swirly vines etched into the cast iron.
The Romantic period of history was about beauty in design—a heater should not just serve to heat the room but also to beautify the room. Many millennial and younger Americans have been lamenting in TikTok videos that American project designers and architects have been maximizing profits at the expense of beauty in their building designs and it’s making us more depressed. It would be a hard thing to prove but I imagine it’s a big reason that Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world—because each city street is composed of beautifully designed buildings.
Check out this Buzzfeed piece about a viral TikTok comparing Chicago graystone buildings to modern bland apartment complexes made of ticky tacky.
Greed and maximizing profits has been squeezing the joy out of life in the US since, well, since before I was born, starting in the 1970s. I’d love to see the US bring back beautiful design and slow living while decentering shareholder profits. We wonder why so many are feeling depressed in the US. Living for capital over relationships or beauty isn’t fulfilling.
Romantique Ideals:
“Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. For most of the Western world, it was at its peak from approximately 1800 to 1850.” (Wikipedia)
According to Claude.ai (and sorry for whoever Claude stole this list from), romantic ideals included:
Emphasis on emotion and passion: Romantics place a high value on intense feelings, emotions, and passionate experiences over pure rationality or practicality.
Appreciation of nature and the sublime: Romantics find great beauty, inspiration, and even spiritual enlightenment in the wonders of the natural world and the sublime power of forces greater than humankind.
Individualism and nonconformity: Romantics celebrate the unique individual, questioning societal norms and conventions in favor of free expression and following one's own path.
Idealization of love: Romantic ideals often involve viewing love as a powerful, all-consuming force that transcends the physical and material world, sometimes portrayed as an almost spiritual longing.
Escapism and imagination: Romantics frequently escape into realms of fantasy, imagination, and idealized visions as an antidote to the constraints of modern civilization.
Focus on the past and medievalism: There is a nostalgic reverence for the past, particularly the medieval era, seen as a time of chivalry, adventure, and unbridled passion.
Artistic expression: Art, literature, music, and poetry are highly valued as means of capturing intense emotions, imagination, and the sublime human experience.
La Vie Romantique
My version of living A Romantic Life will include:
Talking to strangers and learning their lore (backstories), passions, and talents if/when possible.
Noticing and enjoying beautiful design which includes slowing down.
Watching films that are soft, sweet, emotion-celebrating, and full of all the different types of love (like friendship, for example).
Feeling my feelings fully.
Telling loved ones that I love them and what I appreciate about them.
Being present and meditating daily.
Packing fewer things in a day and more small moments of slow appreciation.
…
I’m sure I’ll add to this list!
