Viva la France

I arrived in the touted “City of Lights” in the mid-afternoon heat engulfed by an all-encompassing smog which made it a bit hard to breathe. So goes the secret of the shrouding mist that creates the accidental romantic ideal of Paris – it does make for good photos though.

Just as it is daunting to write about London, it is no less for Paris – what can be said that has not been said in countless novels and other travelogues?

Paris is massive, and sprawling (tourists crawl every available space unfortunately) – it is as though the French Kings competed to build palaces after palaces using the large space. It is easy to caught up in the ornate architecture, only to be stunned into seeing a superkarmet or something else complete modern at its base. Specialty stores – the heavenly bakeries (boulangeries), boucheries, fromageries and all, abound however, as there is still a stratum of traditional Parisians who don’t believe in mass consumerism.

Photos to come soon – watch the space.