Paris. Quaint. Quiet. Peaceful. Beautiful. Home (Sarah Renwick, @RenwickS)

Paris has gone through a massive transformation over the past however many years and it has become a town that rivals Port Hope, Ontario in my opinion; which was ranked as one of the “prettiest” towns in Canada. 

 

Paris has a lot to offer and living there for the first few years of my life and then again as an adult, I am reminded of it every day. I remember as a kid walking to the Palm’s Restaurant where my mom and Aunt Carole worked to visit them with my Nanny. I remember that my two year old legs could handle the walk because we lived in a beautiful home on Grand River Street North. 

 

I remember being in Dr. Tom Verth’s Dental Office, nervous but having the beautiful flowing Grand to keep me calm even when he was drilling and filling. 

 

It only made sense that as an adult with a young child, we would move our family back to Paris. My daughter and I used to go for Tuesday morning walks down to the Paris Bakery, stop by Tough’s to grab some craft stuff and stop in at the Brown Dog for an Apple Fritter. We would go down to the park, walk along the trails and head our way back home. 

 

The best part of Paris was that there was this sense of community. If you walk around your neighbourhood, people acknowledge you. We made so many friends just by walking the trails, hanging at Lion’s Park which was hugely improved in 2010 through the Let them Be Kids program, and going down to Bean Park where there is access to the beautiful Grand. 

 

I had this amazing neighbour who lived across the street from me named Frank, a veteran, who passed away in early 2011. His family was aware of his friendship with me and gave me one of his glass duck figurines. It was an amazing feeling of community for me and something I’ll remember as a token of our friendship and a reminder to be a good neighbour.

 

We have since moved from Paris due to our careers. However, we go back for breakfast and walks every so often.  With a community thriving so much, how could we not?