Returning to Paris: the 11th arrondissement

My first travel memories are of the many times my Dad took me to Paris. I was fascinated by the Metro system, loved the abundance of crêpes stands and the proximity to Disneyland.

 

We always stayed in the same area – the quartier latin – and had a deal with each other that we could both choose the activities for one day each. Mine has always been Disneyland, his was always Versailles.

Book store in Rue de Charonne
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On the tracks of La Petite Ceinture in Paris

I heard about the Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture (French for „little belt railway“) a couple of days before I went on my trip to Paris.

 

This railway from 1852 was a circular connection between the main railway stops and ran within the fortified walls of the city. Abandoned in 1934, the remaining station and tracks are now being developed into cafés, running tracks or simply decorated with Street art.

 

For the next three days, I made my friend Lydi (you might remember her from our trip to Helsinki or to Beijing) explore these tracks all over the city of Paris with me.

Girl balancing on tracks at Charonne, Paris
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French Architecture memories in Hanoi

Hanoi was tough on me. I arrived there after deeply falling in love with Luang Prabang's calm friendliness and cute architecture, with smiling children on the street and with being greeted hundreds of times a day with a charming "Sabaidee".

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