On the Small Pleasures of Parisian Life ⛲️

As a short recap, here's what I love most about Paris:

The weather affects the quality of your life less here than in Finland.

You see many more people with different sorts of gorgeous curly hairstyles.

You hear Italian and Spanish often around you. I especially love the metro announcement in Spanish: "No olviden recoger todo su equipaje" (for some reason the Spanish woman in the recording pronounces the s-sound in a very delicious way).

No matter what kind of food you feel like eating, you can find it here. I feel like there are specialty stores and restaurants for any sort of food culture here (I've loved tasting for example Greek, Lebanese and Armenian food).

Nothing can beat a fresh baguette tradition from a boulangerie.

Except for an exquisite crêpe with dark chocolate or caramel sauce eaten on a terrace.

The different layers of architectural heritage. It's fun to see some very crooked buildings from the 17th century (for example in the Latin Quarter). But most of all I love the Haussmann-era buildings whose style is copied and pasted across façades all over the city.

Their austere cream-colored stones make an interesting contrast with the beautiful ornamental wrought iron balconies. The repeating architectural style makes the city feel homogeneous and conservative, but cozy at the same time – you can always rely on seeing the same type of balconies wherever you go. It's a very different look compared to, for example, the pastel colors and playful forms of jugendstil buildings in Helsinki.

Lastly, I love the culture of bise/bisous.

In Finland hugs are used as a form of greeting, but they're never easy to navigate because you never know where to put your arms – am I right, or am I right?

Whereas the bise is ever so practical because you only need your cheeks to execute the maneuver. No matter how tall or short the person is, you can always manage to connect your cheek with theirs!

On that note:

Bisous,

Elle