I’ve just got back from a long weekend in Paris with friends – the first time I’ve returned to the city since I spent six months living there in 2003.
Revisiting a place which I know so well and viewing it once more through the eyes of a tourist was an unexpectedly strange experience. I resisted the temptation to drag my friends off to see my old office and former apartment, but it was great to wander the same streets and stop off at my favourite cafes and shops, particularly at this time of year when the city sparkles with festive decorations. Bizarrely, though, it was the metro which jogged the strongest memories of my former time in Paris, with its distinctive smell (created by the trains’ rubber wheels) and the beeping sound made by the automatic doors making me feel instantly at home.
It was also interesting to note how Paris has changed over the last six years. Maybe it’s the fact that I was there for leisure rather than business, but the city seemed far more relaxed than I remember. It has also become a greener, less polluted place thanks to a number of improvements made by the incumbent mayor – including new tram lines, extensive cycle routes and free bike hire – although the traffic around Place de l’Étoile (which according to urban myth is the only place in the world where motor insurance policies are not valid) remains as chaotic as ever.
Over the next few days I’ll be adding a number of posts on different aspects of Paris and its attractions, including a round-up my old favourites together with a few new discoveries from this trip, so stay tuned if you plan to visit the city anytime soon.
