Paris
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The Scents and Sounds of Paris
So, I have this thing. I’m sure a lot of you have the same thing as well. It’s that, there are certain scents and sounds that I associate with certain cities, and Paris is no stranger to that. My nostalgia is linked with audio and smell rather than anything else. So even if I can unravel a mental map of Paris, I’m more likely to remember it based on its sounds and how it tickled my nose. The only problem is conveying my feelings to you on paper. Paris cannot be caught with its essence of scent and sound in a blog. I can, unfortunately, only give you visual indications…
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All the French You Need to Know in Paris
I learned French for three years before cracking the B2 exam and getting my diploma. But while I’m eligible to teach French in institutions in my country – India – a classroom environment didn’t prepare me for the French I needed to know on a day to day basis in Paris. The only way to actually know it is to live in France and be among the French. I’ve already mentioned how to be a local in my first post. In this post, I will be focusing more on the language that you need to get by. It requires a bit of general understanding of French from your part, and…
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Photo Walk by the Seine, Paris
In this post, I want to share, through photos, the walk that I often took after getting to Paris, by Seine, in the center of the city. I would get off at the stop Saint-Michel after taking the Metro 4 from Gare de l’Est (I lived in the suburbs where I worked as an assistant teacher). Walking by the Seine is a different experience altogether, and if you allow me to be a little dramatic, it’s downright enlightening. Sometimes, I would finish my classes and take the train to Paris in the evening, just to do this seemingly short walk. Then, I would stop by at a bakery to pick…
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The Spell of Montmartre (and what to do there)
Montmartre and the basilica of Sacré-Cœur is one of the most visited attractions in Paris, and yet it still holds a charm that tourists are just unable to take away. The Sacré-Cœur, in fact, is situated at the highest point of the city and is the second most visited tourist attraction. Although I had been to this area many times, the day I diligently took pictures of Montmartre was one of the hottest days of April and people were just swarming everywhere. And still – it was just as beautiful as I had known it to be in the past months. How to get there Okay, now the first time…
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How to be a local in Paris in 4 steps
So, I was in Paris for not even a whole year, but all of seven months. In this post, I talk about how I carried myself like a local in such a short amount of time. Know the language I can’t stress this enough. One of the key ways of assimilating yourself in Paris in no time at all is knowing French. The reason this is a sure-fire way to get you used to being a local is because no matter where you are from, if you know French, you will feel like one of the French. I am a brown girl, but not once was I an outsider, since…
