How I came to Love Paris

We all know the clichés about Paris. There is a reason why so many people want to visit what they call one of the most romantic cities in the world. There’s nothing like walking along the Seine, eating a crepe and listening to an accordion player. It’s like being in a movie! Let’s not forget to add the couples enjoying their moment on the pont des arts, full of locks from people marking their love.

Maybe I can’t see the magic or am too practical to understand why people flock to this city the way they do. I actually think that Paris is a terrible city to be single or without a special someone because everywhere you look, you see other people expressing their love. I also don’t think that walking along the Seine is romantic since it does not smell nice along the water and under the bridges. They forget to tell you that Paris is expensive, not as expensive as London, but it’s still up there! You can’t be eating all these fancy dishes for your entire study abroad stay unless you are rolling in cash. Lastly, the first musician you hear sounds great but it gets annoying when you just want to enjoy the metro ride.

Now that you know more about Paris, let me tell you some reasons why I have come to appreciate all that this city has to offer:

1. The people that live in Paris are diverse and it shows in the communities that they have created. I have already raved about Château Rouge and how I can find all the African cuisine that I want. I have never mentioned the Chinatown in the 13^th arrondissement and the other one in Belleville in the 20^th arrondissement. There are shops/restaurants/bakeries with goods from Tibet, Libya, Laos, Senegal, Cameroon and many other places. I don’t know if we hear enough about the different communities that make Paris what it is today!

2. Parks and Gardens. I have visited way too many parks while here and spent some time at Les Tuileries, Le Jardin du Luxembourg and le Jardin des Plantes. These are great places to relax, eat a sandwich and read a book. They sometimes have a playground for the kids to enjoy. You can’t sit on the grass in some places, but there are benches and chairs at your disposal.  Sometimes there’s a game of Pétanque going on and you have to stop and see what’s happening. In the evening, you can see people working out. I think that parks, gardens and other public spaces of this sort are loved because they allow for people watching. It’s very easy to sit in your chair, behind a book and observe human behavior.

3. My student ID card from Sciences Po has given me reduced tariff or free entrance into so many things. Imagine the first time I went to the Louvre expecting to pay something only to learn that I could come back and visit as many times as I wanted for free. Discovering that I like paintings, I have enjoyed the free access into Musée d'Orsay to see works by Monet and Vincent van Gogh and other great artists. Since I wasn’t taking any classes that required me to visit these museums, I got to see them at my own pace.

 There you have it! Just a few reasons as to why I love Paris and everything it has to offer!