I don’t remember exactly when I first started dreaming of going to Paris. Sometime during university I probably watched Amélie and I know I read Sarah Turnbull’s Almost French, all the while completing a theatre degree and studying the likes of Molière, Sartre, Ionesco and Artaud. With influences like that, how could I not want to visit the city of lights?
Then, Paris seemed like a place of perfection. I pictured myself swanning down summer streets wearing Madeline-esque pinafores, taking in art and eating pastries, while absorbing whatever magical quality infuses the water that ensures the French don’t fatten. I certainly had the hair for it: a sharp, dark bob, and a penchant for whimsy to match.
Eight years later, when I finally stepped on a plane bound for Paris, I’d grown out my hair and come down to earth a little bit. I was visiting in January, so swapped my imagined summer dresses for coats and gloves, and with a bit more experience with the great cities of the world under my belt, had tempered my expectations of the magic I would find in Paris.
My trip was nothing short of amazing, though, and as a writer, I found Paris to be a place I immediately felt at home. Housed in a teeny-tiny apartment with my best friend, we packed a huge amount into three days. Even when one ankle started making a weird and painful crunch in protest of walking too much, I couldn’t get enough of the place. Cold, silver, charming and aloof, the Paris of my dreams paled in comparison to the real thing.
Parisian highlights
Even though so many people I know haven’t enjoyed Paris, I now spend my spare time scheming ways I can return for an extended stay. Below, in images, some of my favourite parts.
The views
I expected parts of Paris to be beautiful, but I didn’t expect the whole city to be so pretty. We didn’t venture a huge distance out in our time there, but I saw enough to let me know that there’s plenty more to see.
The lights
Paris at Christmas is so very, very pretty.
Shakespeare and Company
Visiting Shakespeare and Company was such a highlight of my trip, and I picked up some really beautiful books. It might be the most crowded bookshop, but it’s worth the visit.
The Catacombs
The friend I traveled with was excited to see The Catacombs, and they did not disappoint. Eerie yet intriguing, and surprisingly warm away from the winter winds, I loved learning about Paris’s history from below.
life outside the garret 