Eiffel Magic

It was a typically warm summer's day in Paris. Although I'd visited before, I hadn't truly felt the city for what it truly is, until this day. It's the one city I feel you could be alone in, truly alone, but feel comforted by the crowds. Whereas in other cities, they can make you feel more alone. I was in Paris, surrounded by sweaty tourists, gawking at the true magnitude of the Tower when I was approached by a photographer. An English-speaking photographer to be precise. He had a VERY thick accent but was constantly beaming which lifted my mood even further. He introduced himself as Tom, asked my name and age, and if he could take my photograph. He explained for a small sum he would give me a professional print in return. Now, this kind of thing doesn't happen to me often, if at all. So naturally I was surprised and almost laughed. But I did it. I thought why not - you're in a foreign country - Carpe diem. So he took the photograph and we parted ways.
After this encounter I was approached by another Tom - a street performer. He was American, I could tell by the accent, and asked for my help with one of his acts. He wanted me to tie him up to ensure it would be reasonably impossible to escape and then he would do exactly that. I agreed again. Carpe diem. He had attracted a large crowd which made the atmosphere almost electric. I helped tie him up and he enlisted the help of another volunteer to doubly ensure he would be unable to escape. The crowd counted down from 20 as he tried to beat his previous best time of 2 minutes 30 seconds. And he did it! In just under 2 minutes.
This day was turning out quite interestingly.
I started walking away from the 'main Tourist' part of Paris and tried to find somewhere to eat. There were several stalls selling a variety of different food and drink and I stopped at one that caught my eye. A Caribbean guy who introduced himself as Alusef approached me, asking who I was, where I was from, where I was going. He was extremely friendly, showing me a photograph of his son and told me about his family, his previous girlfriends and even offered to make me a peach and coconut drink. (Which was lovely - if you're ever in Paris, you need to find this man.)
What struck me about this place was how friendly and welcoming the people are. You might be initially compelled to visit somewhere because of the attractions but these are not what makes a place what it is, it's the people that do.