And the secret to Paris is…
I love to travel. Part of the reason why I chose to showcase Paris first is that it was one of the first cities I visited abroad. When I lived in London, hopping around Europe was as easy as going out to the movies. Paris was a quick stop away with the Eurostar (London to Paris in 2 hours by train) and even quicker than flying. It was always magical. Except, perhaps, the time I flew a red-eye back to Charles de Gaulle and gave myself 8 hours before my Eurostar train departure to “enjoy” the city. The magic evaporates when you’re dragging unexpected luggage around the streets and you haven’t slept. But at least the coffee is strong and croissants are still heartwarming.
Traveling to the City of Love? Here are 5 blogs & resources to help you on your way:
Every now and then I come across a blog that is outstanding. Heather Stimmler-Hall created the Secrets of Paris in 1999, and it is an absolutely wonderful resource for stories about Paris. Imagine — over 15 years of secrets… that’s a lot of mystery to uncover! The blog doesn’t just cover the usual travel tips, but dives into the many different aspects of life in the Parisian City. Indeed, beautifully written.
Savoir Faire Paris is another delightful Parisian blog. The blogs were started by Sasha Romary, an expat in Paris, who’s been writing about the city since 2012 — and has since shared remarkable stories with enjoyable insights regarding the city.
If you happen to be traveling to Paris, and just want everything summed up, this blog post is one of the most comprehensive posts I’ve seen. The “where to’s” and the “what’s up” can be easily found there.
There is a cool initiative in Paris, which is to re-design the flow of traffic — for people. This was created in order to give people more right of away, than vehicular traffic in certain areas. My first time driving in Paris taught me one significant learning — don’t do it. Why so? First, you need a small car. Second, you need to whizz down narrow streets where space doesn’t exist. If you need to park on the street, then you need to be an expert on parallel parking skills. And finally, it’s just not as fun as walking. Glad to hear that Paris is taking steps to make the city better for the pedestrian.
Lonely Planet has some excellent pointers about volunteering and studying abroad in France. I’m always proud that I went to the same London Business School as Tony Wheeler (the man who started the Lonely Planet with his wife Maureen), regretfully, I was a few decades late… they published their first guide 9 years before I was even born. But hey, better late than never!
Happy Travels!
Originally published at Aurai Online.
