“The first thing I missed about Australia when I came back to Paris was space,” Camille says, pointing at how closely crammed together the terrace tables are. “Everything is so vast and expansive. Except in Sydney. That Airbnb I stayed in was a lot like a typical Paris apartment, really.” She smiles at me.

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t actually been inside a typical Paris apartment. Spending the weekend at your house might have given me the wrong idea.”

“I’ll take you to Flo’s soon enough. You’ll know what I mean.” She leans back in her chair, eyes trained on the street. “While it’s true there are a lot of great museums in Paris and a lot of wonderful things to do, this is my very favorite activity and this is my preferred spot to do it from: people watching.” She puts a hand on my knee. “I’m elated to be able to do it with you.”

I sip from my wine and gaze at the people walking by on the narrow sidewalk. I could easily sit here with Camille for hours, watching, talking, drinking.

“This neighborhood has changed a lot over the decades I’ve been coming here. It has become much more touristy.” She points to the street to our right. “All those big brand name shops over there used to be little, independent stores. But times change. It still makes for interesting people watching though. Parisians are endlessly fascinating to observe, of course, but I love the mix of nationalities you get here. One of my favorite games is to guess which country someone is from.”

We play Camille’s favorite game for a while, which soon spirals into making up wild stories about the passers-by. When the bottle of wine is finished, we walk to the Seine hand-in-hand, and I’m floored by the incredible beauty of this city once again. Everywhere I look, there’s something gorgeous to see. Be it the bridges across the river, the Haussmann buildings along the avenue, or the woman leading me through it all by her hand.

“This city suits you,” she says. “You effortlessly look like you belong.”

“That’s because I’m here with you.” We stop in the middle of a bridge and look out over the water. I remember when I came here with Rebecca all those years ago, we were both pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of drop-dead gorgeous women we saw in the span of five minutes, no matter which part of the city we were in.

“Nonsense.” Camille stands close to me and kisses me on the lips.

“What was it like to grow up here?”