A Québécois in Paris (2014-2019) | An Anthology
 

I am from Montréal, Canada. From 2014 to 2019, I have been living part time in Paris for studies and work. I had an occasion to work and do research on cultural landscapes in France, and then to do a doctoral thesis in the nearby city of Versailles in my field of work. 2020 is now gone, and I miss Paris and my small apartment. I know I'll go back. This city is a part of me now.

Previous to moving to Paris, I had already been there once. Living there has considerably changed my understanding of the city. My parisian adventure was heavily influenced by the political context. The sweet beginnings were soon marked by the uncertainty arising from the violent attacks that spread throughout the city from 2015 on. At times, it felt lonely, though these years were punctuated by hope and resilience.

Here are a few pictures (well, a lot for SSP I guess) from life there. This thread is going to take you in the heart of the french capital. In 2014, my lense was attracted by the usual landmarks. Visiting friends and family generally wanted to go see the landmarks, and those were the moments I took my camera along with me. As the years went by, I started to discover more of the city and captured more off-path stuff. I didn't always have my camera with me, day to day, but at times, it just felt good to wander and discover an unknown part of the city. Most of the pictures were taken in these moments and throughout my everyday life, between the apartment, work, school and friends'. Though I roughly spent 36 months there, it still wasn't enough to discover half of the city and its surroundings. I still have a lot of blind spots, and that just makes me even more eager to pursue the exploration.

Pictures are presented in no particular order, though the first and last ones are actually the first and last I took during this journey.

Amazing. Thanks for sharing.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen photos of Paris where the city feels living and breathing with Parisians going about their daily business amidst its splendid surroundings. Usually tourist photos are of the landmarks as museum pieces. You’ve really added a locals’ touch to your photos.

Great stuff thanks for posting

Thank you, messieurs!

What a fantastic thread of one of the world's greatest cities.

Really nice. The more I've travelled, the more I have come to appreciate cities that feel unlike anywhere else, and there isn't anywhere quite like Paris.

Really nice thread! Paris is just so elegant. Thanks for sharing!

Magnificent!

Fantastic photos. I've been to Paris many times, and I know most of the places you've shown on the pics. But I really, really miss Paris right now and I want to go back to explore all the areas that I still have to discover.

Well done!

Great sets of pictures! I love the little bar in #296.

good old paris — great pics! also, i love a thread like this where it feels like we are walking around with you.

something that stood out to me is how much these graffiti guys get around. ive seen the exact same images here in ny, in california, istanbul, mex city, south america and i am sure elsewhere. i wonder if they get sponsored these days? i guess they must. seems like a fun life or thing to do, more so than in the past, and maybe you can even hit the real jackpot like banksy.

Superb.

Thank you!

Awesome photos, thanks for sharing. What a dreamy city...can't wait to travel again.

Ouais, that's a good plentiful thread, but to be honest, you do a bit too much of black & white.
I don't like it, it looks uselessly retro. For example, when I was a kid, I couldn't watch anything in black and white, whether on tv or in pictures. It felt too sorry and boring.
Kids always like colors. That's comfortable to them.

I'd forgotten there was that kind of old palace at the Jardin des Plantes. I think I never got in, or I forget. The garden is pleasant, but they also have a menagerie in there.

Every time I saw their panthers locked up in tiny cages, it wet my eyes and got me upset.
I won't go there until they release big cats locked up in there.

Great photos! Really enjoyed it! :tup:

Trés magnifique...!:slob:

A little advice : just "magnifique" alone, "très magnifique" sounds quite weird.
"Magnifique" is already a superlative adjective and we don't like to accentuate good things here in France. :D

Unfortunateley the opposite isn't true for bad things.

^ Forget about your French lessons, it's useless.
The guy is trying a little bit of it, it is yet something. I almost feel mercy on him.

In case you wouldn't have noticed yet, most English-speakers are absolutely pathetic at foreign languages.
A few of them are strangely skilled and can speak some fluent French or Spanish like it's astonishing. I'm always dumbstruck at these, like wondering - what kind of alien is this?
But in most cases, when you speak some French to them, their faces look like a database returning nil to you. They don't have a clue, lost in their own narrow world.

So, when one of them makes a slight mistake come straight from Google translate, you just shut your mouth and you focus on what you have to do instead of trying to teach them about anything, out of arrogance. Ok?

Their teachers will do the job. We don't have to worry about it.