When a Hôtel is not a Hotel

If you are like me, an initial visit to France can leave you quite confused what the meaning of the word hôtel denotes in French. I felt encouraged my first short vacation to Paris when I seemed to be picking up on a few French words. I got off the line 1 metro stop at Hôtel de Ville, looked in amazement at the building in front of me, and turned to my husband asking, "Wow, how much do you think it costs to stay there?" Then I looked across rue de Rivoli and saw a department store called BHV (Bazaar de l'Hotel de Ville). And a little later I found that many museums in the Marais neighborhood are housed in hôtels. It appeared that the French just called anything a "hotel" in the city.

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Something Old, Something New

I love that Paris encompasses a mix of historical sights alongside new concepts. There is a timeless beauty to this city yet it isn't stagnate, but breeds inspiration to create and innovate. 

Take the Jardin des Tuileries for example. These gardens between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde were originally created by Queen Catherine de Medicis in the 1500's. Fast forward to the present where the gardens still exist (albeit different in style) and hosted part of a contemporary art fair on its historical grounds.

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In Her Natural Light

 Bon lundi!

Paris is widely known as the "City of Light," or La Ville-Lumière in French. During the Age of Enlightenment, Paris played a central position as an intellectual hub. Later in the 1800's Paris was one of the first cities to adopt street lighting.  

However this nickname came about, I am most inspired by the beauty of Paris in natural light. Like when I got to unexpectedly catch a sunset over Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and the Seine river.