Living in Paris (photo: flowers at the market near my apartment)

Where do I begin to describe what it is like to live in Paris? France is the most visited country in the world, which I assume makes Paris the most visited city. So how to avoid the innumerable clichés: city of love, city of light, city of Amélie?

After seven months here, I realise that as I discover more of this beautiful city, I am slowly falling in love with it (as melodramatic as that may sound). Paris has often been compared to a moody lover, who seduces you at one moment and frustrates you the next. I think this is an apt description – as anyone who has ever experienced the horrors of the French administrative system will tell you, Paris can be pretty damn frustrating. But cross the Pont des Arts at sunset, or lounge under the Eiffel Tower for a picnic, or mingle with the crowds on a Saturday night in the Latin Quarter or the Marais… and you will see how Paris can be seductive as well.

Maybe I’ll start with the people. Parisians are usually characterised as being rude and obnoxious, as unwilling to talk in English or help tourists. Whilst this may be true of some waiters in tourist restaurants, on the whole I’ve found that Parisians can be quite… nice, to use a neutral term. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they are warm or outgoing. Even amongst young people, there is a level of detachment (a lack of desire to make new friends) that is quite discouraging. Perhaps this is a reflection of the university that I am attending, which has a reputation for producing the future political leaders of France – and thus the students are very intellectual, very serious, and not particularly friendly. If I make the effort to start a conversation, it won’t last outside the classroom. But, I do live with two lovely French girls, which has helped me to not be totally discouraged! When I ask French people about this seeming coldness, the only explanation they can come up with is that it is ‘just the French way’. What I find particularly stifling is the attitude of my teachers. As I said, the atmosphere at my university is quite formal, and whilst last semester my teachers were all quite friendly, this time around it is very structured. We only ever use the formal manner of speech, and teachers never call me by my first name. Frankly, being called ‘Mademoiselle Moore’ makes me… uncomfortable. But that’s just part of the academic culture – very different from Australia, where you’d be more likely to share a beer with your tutor at the end of the semester!

Speaking of ‘culture’: Paris may also like to claim that it is the most cultured city in the world. The wealth of art here is certainly amazing, and I have taken full advantage of free student evenings at the Louvre. I have to say that the Mona Lisa is rather disappointing, and I much prefer the Michelangelo sculptures or the Middle Eastern art. The Louvre is absolutely immense and very daunting: it has been said that if you just glanced at every piece of artwork, it would take nine months! So I have been taking it in more manageable pieces. Of course there are many other museums and galleries, my favourite of which so far is the Musée Rodin. Rodin was an incredible sculptor (‘The Thinker’ is his most famous work), and his works are set in landscaped gardens around a beautiful old house which also acts as a gallery. These tranquil gardens are amongst my favourite in Paris, as you can relax in the presence of some beautiful artwork and the golden dome of Les Invalides rising up above the hedges which cut you off from the outside world.

I have also been to the theatre and the ballet. The play that I saw was a bit boring (about Napoleon, and how he was forced to leave his first wife who was his one true love etc), but I went for the experience. It was a very small and intimate theatre, so you really felt close to the actors, and they did pretty well with a minimal amount of props. I went to see the American Ballet Theatre Company (amongst the best dancers in the world) perform at Châtelet Theatre. I had been inside this theatre once before, and its ornate beauty struck me so much that I was determined to go and see something there. The ballet was beautiful – the first time that I had ever been to one. After seeing those ballerinas perform, I cannot imagine the amount of training and skill it takes to perfect their moves, and I admire this dedication.

But of course, I don’t go to the theatre and ballet very often! Even my museum visits are confined to once every two weeks or so. Most of my time is simply consumed in living a normal life. The rhythm of life here is not different to any other city: people go to work, do the grocery shopping, the laundry, the gardening, take their dog for a walk, run in the parks… the only difference is the surroundings. I have to say that even when I walk down to the supermarket or the metro station, I am always struck by the beauty of the old Parisian apartment buildings. I think there is something about the light in Paris that is different to other cities… the way it catches buildings and strikes the Eiffel Tower in the late afternoon is something I can’t really describe. I feel like every second that I am outside, I am trying to absorb everything that I see, every aspect of light and shadow and beauty, and keep it in my memory for when I have left. Naturally, I take a lot of photos (I have put up some on Flickr of the places that I have mentioned), and I hope that I can catch the essence of the city. I realise now that I only have about three full months left in Paris, and I feel the need to see every part of this city…