May 2014
The first thing a tourist will see in Paris is..Ah, yes
We flew into Paris in an interesting way, by bus from Poděbrady. The trip was long, and with the Czech teacher we immediately went on a boat through central Paris
The teacher's son yelled "BRIIIIIDGE" under every bridge
This isn't the Austria flag
Favorite shot from that trip
Got to the tower, I remember being proud of how cool I bought tickets in French
Views
Notre-Dame, hadn't burned yet
Tons of people were taking photos here - no idea what it is, but I stood in line
Louvre
In the Louvre I was busy seeing Putin's face in every painting. Counted about 7.
That year I couldn't really see Paris, we stayed in such a shithole that taking out the camera was frankly scary.
By the metro blacks were selling all kinds of souvenirs at an improvised market on blankets
August 2017
This year I really went wild around Paris
The scourge of France - invisible traffic lights. Here it's not so terrible, it gets worse
Limiters on the boulevard
By the way, boulevard. Widest street, but smartly divided. Notice the lane for public transport. Traffic calming on boulevards is noticeable, since business thrives on sidewalks
"Vavan"
Box
District indicated on street signs
The main distinctive feature of France isn't baguettes, but mopeds like this with two front wheels
Austerlitz station. I was in Austerlitz, guess which country.
All French cars are strange
"France"
Blinking sign
Liberty, equality, upyachka
Purely Parisian thing - indicating when asphalt was laid. This one's about two years old
Apartment building
French hydrants
Antiquity always three steps away
Rarely see this anywhere, official three meters for unloading
Center is beautiful
Photo with emotions. Notice the pedestrians. Walking confidently, no crosswalk. I remember standing in Paris waiting for green. A woman got fed up, went on red. Yelled at the driver, waved her hand.
I waited for green, went. Red came on very quickly. I sped up, another woman walking calmly behind me. Waved her hand at the driver and told him off.
Turned out this is a purely French thing. Not yielding to pedestrians is a stupid idea. They're not shy about saying everything they think about drivers.
Since then I look with pity and disgust at people who run as pedestrians, yield to drivers, thank them for being let through at a crosswalk. Need to be internally strong like French women and always walk proudly.
Metro
Metropolitan
Still not burning
I had a lot of respect for the French in Paris, because you always want to say "they know how to live"
Modern lamps
Scary, deep and steam coming from below
For love of typography Paris beats even Vienna
Kitty
Speaking of disrespect for drivers: 30km/h is the maximum that should be in the city, in 2017 Paris they knew about this
Signs often explain what the person was famous for
Gas on all floors
Beauty ahead
Beauty from above
And below a drinking fountain that people really drank from
Art
So beautiful that I saw guys taking Tinder photos with this background
Student district
New and old
Old and new
Dry hydrant. Don't know how to translate it and if there's such a thing in other countries, but apparently you can connect water to it so it goes straight to the burning floor
Don't know what
Cities where they drive faster suck
Rack your brains
Attention to the trash can at the bottom - cheapest and most practical model in the world
Public laundromats mean little space in homes (as far as I know, Paris is the worst city for renting housing in Europe)
City electric cars
No trash cans, how so?
Everything's perfect in this photo
Buses are buses - that year transport wasn't being addressed as actively as now
Basically, everything's good in Paris
Sometimes too pompous, but you get used to it quickly
Don't even understand the French who somehow relate to Parisians with prejudice
Need to learn how to live definitely from Parisians
Not always exactly, but almost
September 2024
Paris has changed a lot over these years, as have I
Though you can't see it in the photos
How did I end up here this time? In Berlin I met a Parisian woman who invited me to her place to hang out for a week. In the photo the gym where we went to do aikido
French people were friendly, though many had problems with English. With all that I felt quite at home there
This time I noticed that life in Paris is bustling. And also noticed that Paris is a wildly small city. You can walk from one end to the other in 2 hours at a leisurely pace, which I did all week
I also disproved my own misconception: even at Paris's terminal stations life is bustling and there's civilization. Prague, where I live - is nothing compared, there it's the ass of the world already 30 minutes from the center
Went to a museum, wasn't impressed
And generally, if you're calling something modern art, then this is it
This week in Paris I was wondering how good I feel there this time
Prices in Czechia have risen, so I don't feel like a boy in a world of evil millionaires. My French hasn't been forgotten, and I can buy a baguette. Cars drive slowly. Walking on green is cringe, stopping as a pedestrian at a light is bad form
Even visited a hospital - everything's absolutely the same as in Czechia
Found one house that's slightly falling apart, and they're propping it up with wooden planks on the windows
Biggest impressions from Paris straight from 2024:
- it's good there
- rats run around, but not scary at all
- people are absolutely normal, and all stereotypes about the French aren't worth shit
- the city is given over to pedestrians and cyclists, and God, how pleasant it is
- any baguette will be tasty
December 2024
Paris, apparently, will have to get to know better. Still amazed that 10 stations from the center life is simply bustling. And credit where it's due - finding housing "not by metro" will be quite difficult. Often there'll be two stations within 5 minutes walk. 10 minutes is already "far"
Activity in distant districts is comparable to Moscow. Structurally the city isn't at all like Prague.
I'm comparing exclusively because I've lived in both. Paris is a separate world.
In a couple weeks I even started liking the tiles in the metro - want the same in my bathroom
Can't say the same about the metro in general - still haven't gotten used to it, complain every time I enter
First thing I don't like - strange network. Different trains, incomprehensible routes, very short intervals between stops. Overcrowded. Distance-wise reminds me of Prague trams rather than metro.
Also bad - advertising, stench, and pricing: expensive, and you need a separate ticket for trams and buses. Good things - it's everywhere, literally everywhere-everywhere. And I like the fonts
Hasn't gone anywhere
Traffic still very calm. Funny thing - after two weeks in Paris I confidently went to cross a Prague crosswalk. The driver looked at me strangely. In Paris standing at a red light is pathetic.
Main irony of life: my first real European Christmas in my 11 years in Europe I spent in France
