Paris a city for savoring life and where that comes from

This a.m. I was cutting grapefruit and listening to NPR's "Morning Edition." The show featured a lovely incisive and succinct report on when and why the city of Paris took on some of its characteristics as a city of light and romance.  

When War-Torn Rubble Met Royal Imagination, 'Paris Became Paris'

The prompt for the story is the publication of How Paris Became Paris Joan DeJean's latest book about French culture and history.  Joan DeJean is a Trustee Professor of Romance Languages at the U of Pennsylvania.  She writes fascinating, insightful historical studies that give an entertaining and very readable account of some of the major themes in French civilization and culture.  One of her previous works is The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour.  This morning's piece of journalism reminds us of how the pursuit of leisure and pleasure - loisir and plaisir - have molded aspects of society that we often take for granted or dismiss because they are the fun-side of life.