Bonjour, ma chérie!

It's difficult to sum up the effect of Paris for a first timer like myself. There are two things for sure, though. Firstly, even if you have already watched Amelie, Midnight in Paris, Before Sunset and other movies set in Paris, they don't spoil anything for you. It also works for tons of Paris pictures you've seen from posters, blogs, social media and anywhere else. The other thing to note about Paris is that the city is awesomely grand and it is much more than just Eiffel, Louvre and Arc de Triomphe. I was only able to visit 62 out of 126 places on my itinerary. Yeah, six days is hardly enough to explore the city.

Someone once said, be a traveler not a tourist. So, instead of eating at a restaurant, I bought baguette more often from local stores and ate in the parks. Instead of taking metro from one place to another, I only took metro twice in a day and walked during the day. Instead of shopping in Galleries Lafayette, I bought some "treasures" at local markets. I saw Paris and its beauty from the stairs of Sacre - Coeur rather than going up the Eiffel tower. I bought cheap souvenirs at a riverside bouquiniste instead of buying it from museum shops. I rode the carousel near the Eiffel tower and saw its lights and fountains show rather than going to Disneyland.

With Spring upon us cherry blossoms are blooming everywhere

The beauty of Paris from the stairs of Sacre - Coeur

The bouquinistes (book sellers) along the left bank of Seine River

Having lunch in Les Jardin des Tuileries

In front of Musee d'Art Moderne (I love the posters anyway!)

I captured lots of beautiful windows in Paris! This one was found in a lovely passage around the rue Oberkampf

At the biggest flea market in Paris (and even they said, it's the world's largest flea market),

Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen

Did you know that Paris is also known as the City of Carousels?

This one was in the Les Jardin des Tuileries

Two important things: my itinerary and Paris map (oh, plus the metro map!)

This city knows how to amaze me: the fancy apartment which is full of pastel colors; the typical Parisian cafes where all the seats are placed on a row, looking on the street and the small round tables which are so close to each other; the signs, directions and public information which most of them are provided in French only; the smell of fresh baked pastries from boulangeries and the smell of perfume in luxury shops; when I heard people said "Bonjour Mademoiselle!" every time I enter the shop and markets; the hot French men and chic Parisienne; seeing a big pile of books in some old bookshops in which sometimes the owner has to take the book by the ladder (which remind me too much of one of the scenes in Beauty and the Beast movie); a similar climate condition with UK which has cloudy and rainy days; and, oh, why nobody told me there are "bajaj" in Paris! Hmm, what else? So many things I want to tell you about my days in Paris. I will keep it for the next few posts!