Paris... is it like in the postcards!?

:)

Thanks to postcards we can imagine this city through someone else's eyes and lenses, but in one of the most visited countries in the world it's quite surprising to see that its heart beats strong in the way people are proud of their identity - even if not so proud of their political situation...

Walking in average 5 to 6 hours a day, I've been discovering an immense diversity, as if walking through many villages put together around the famous touristy sites by the Seine river...


The wow feeling is there of course, as any "mortal" would express by standing under more than 300m of an iron structure with the crowd's voices echoing all around together with the music of the never ending traffic... Yes, the Eiffel Tower is amazing... (and no, I didn't have my camera with me...!)
It seems unreal even to see it turning golden in the twilight. Something you surely want to see in the company of a good friend or a loved one... I had the pleasure of being there with a new hostel friend - Red-haired Emma from Australia with roots in Ireland!

Another surprise was the Montmartre area and the Moulin Rouge. From all the stereotypes about Paris, I think this is one of the interesting ones to explore and see for yourself... I pictured in it a bit of downtown Lisbon in its multiculturality - the narrow streets and the main hill with the Sacre Coeur on top, but one feels also something very unique - the soul of this city... an area where a vineyard still exists, where many well known artists lived - Dali, for example -, and where you can have an overview of Paris for free :)!! Since that rainy day and my camera didn't go well together, I guess I'll have to go back up there in my next visit!

Paris has one of the biggest mixes of people I've ever seen... Knowing that the French territories abroad are almost all continents, one can have an idea, but actually to see so many beautiful people and wonderful facial combinations is very interesting... The fashionable, stylish Parisians surely blend well with tourists in the old cafés, rushing to their lunch or piling up inside the metro like sardines, on the streets, the sidewalks and everywhere...



Speaking French takes you around well and people even will speak to you in good English if they notice you're trying to find your words or your accent is unavoidable... Grumpiness comes along too if you suddenly try to ask for directions to someone not expecting it, like outside the busy tourist areas.

Thanks to another common situation - where over breakfast or some other "hostel type episode" I end up meeting someone - usually speaking another language -, this time I met a nice Spanish girl with whom I ended up exploring Paris on a busy Friday night... Curly-haired and brown-eyed Sonia was a great company in our Spanish speaking night walk in Paris, taking photos and getting lost in the crowded and narrow streets of St. Germain... reminding me of relaxed college nights with very nice talks about everything and nothing!

At midnight, with the shiny Pyramid du Louvre in front and the glittering tip of the Eiffel Tower behind us, we headed for the last crowded metro of the day!



Time to write some postcards...


Great weekend everyone!! :)
Bisous Bisous