It will almost be a week since I arrived in Paris. A week! My goodness, time does fly. My first ever experience of living abroad -by myself- has been all right so far. After arriving to a room which I have to share in the month of September, and carrying two heavy luggages along with a backpack and a handbag all by myself, I thought I would want to book the first trip back to London. However, I am still here, and there is a smile on my face.

My 'foyer' as they like to call it here (student residency) is located just next to the Luxembourg gardens along the Boulevard Saint Michel. From the terrace I have the most wonderful view of Paris, where both the Tour Eiffel and Montparnasse appear on the horizon. With the Notre Dame just minutes away from me, I couldn't ask for a better location. Walking the streets of Paris, and discovering the most cutest petits rues along the way, has been a highlight of my experience. Streets full of cafes and restaurants that grab your attention with their shabby and parisian decorations, the cobbled pavement and narrow streets that look like they have come out from a pop-up children's book, and the cute markets with the smell of fresh bread and fromageries just aligned across the street, has been so enjoyable to discover. My camera is always packed in my bag, because I never know what I will stumble upon or what will capture my eye.

I spend most of the evenings in the Luxembourg gardens, sitting on one of their famous green chairs with an open book on my lap, headphones in my ears and the sun shining on my face. The weather has been wonderful! It doesn't feel like the end of summer at all! I just wish it could stay like this forever!


On one of my little trips around Paris, I decided to go visit the famous bookstore: Shakespeare and Company.

This bookstore has the most welcoming and cosiest interiors I have ever come across in my life. I honestly wanted to stay there all day. Unfortunately they didn't let us take pictures inside, but the place even had beds for you to rest on while your mind wandered into another realm. They have books that are quite ancient and tend to be second hand, however, they do sell new books (which takes most of the downstairs floor) that vary from children's books like Rold Dahl to John Green for young adults to all kinds of genres and English authors one can think of.

The original shop, which doubled as a library, publisher and boarding house for aspiring writers, was opened by American Sylvia Beach and was featured in Ernest Hemingway's memoir, A Moveable Feast. The store closed during World War II, and was reopened in its current incarnation in 1951 by George Whitman, whose daughter, Sylvia, runs things today. And they even have a small message stating this on the side of the store.

Also, the place has its own cat! It's white and so cute, I have actually petted it.


The nearby restaurant Le Procope, is said to have had guests of luminaries like Voltaire, Rousseau and Verlaine, and that its walls are adorned with author-signed title pages. However, I have yet to visit that restaurant, but it is definitely in my to-do list!

That is just one of the many places I have and have yet to visit here in Paris.

[100happydays, Day 3]