Paris

For Parisians looking for a bit of nostalgia for the "Belle Epoque", or for tourists who want to experience a contrast to the French capital, try a stroll around here on a Sunday. These C19th passages are housed in the north of Paris, around the grand boulevards to the Palais Royal. There are shops, galleries, arched glass covers, previously lit with gas, and where would you find cupcakes on the weekend, or make adjustments to a dress. Far from the bustle of the boulevards, passages allowed past centuries to do their expensive shopping calmly and without worrying about rain or bad weather, and sellers leave some things outside for people to look and touch.

The first "arrondissement", or division of Paris, is the heart of the city. It is the town hall, hotel de ville, something is always happening, blood donation, political campaign, a demonstration, in summer big screens to watch the football and rugby, and in winter there is public ice skating, and you only have to rent skates. Also in this district are the banks of the Seine where there are pet shops, flowers, and Paris Plage, the artificial summer beach on the banks. A little more inside, large type stores are English Court of the Rue de Rivoli, the BHV was once a hardware store and now sells fashionable clothes, and below you can still find nails and hardware as sold 100 years ago.

Oh Paris - you walk the city without stopping, you visit and when you go back you love her more. On my last visit the weather was divine so I went to Fat Tire Bike ('https://fattirebiketours.com/paris') at 24, rue Edgar Faure (near the Eiffel Tower) and rented a very comfortable bicycle with a basket. It was a blast, I stopped here and there and walked the two banks of the river from end to end. Riding down Las Ramblas, Sena is like riding on a bicycle path fairy tale. The

Paris was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. There was no building, bridge, or church that did not have illuminating detail. I was definitely inspired in many ways, yet the architecture and sculptures took my breath away and gave me a feeling I cannot describe. I literally fell in love with this city.

I decided to hit all the major spots of Paris in only 3 days! It was quite a workout... But I managed to see the Louvre (nearly killed me after walking around its halls for more than 6 hours, but it is so worth it!), visiting the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Paris Catacombs, and a couple of other museums! It was a whirlwind but it was awesome!

Paris is divided into districts called "arrondissements", numbered from 1 to 20, which in turn define different city neighborhoods, although in some cases an "arrondissement" can have many neighborhoods or there can be a neighborhood that is halfway between two "arrondissements". This is the case of the famous Quartier Latin is located in the 5th arrondissement, but does not extend over the entire district. The 5th arrondissement is just south of the Seine and is a central neighborhood because of its geographical position and its concentration of activities. In the area around Place Saint-Michel