1. Many people wandering through Paris spend most of their time noticing the sights: Haussmannien vistas over beautiful monuments, iconic structures like the Eiffel Tower. But there are also smaller details to take in: plaques, signs, and street art that give this city even more charm. This plaque from street artist Kai always puts a smile on my face.
2. The echoes of past artists also live on in Paris. These buzzers in Montmartre (behind the infamous butte) suggest that former locals Picasso and Utrillo (and Impressionist Renoir) still live here.
3. Going even further back in time, this sundial in the courtyard of the Cluny medieval museum features a rooster (France’s official animal) with the words, “When you ring, I will sing.” I’m particularly tickled by the old-fashioned use of a -y instead of an -i as the future simple ending, but that’s the grammar nerd in me.
4. French humor is a curious beast, but this sign always makes me laugh: “In this building in 1991, a man literally bored himself to death in front of his television.”
5. Speaking of French humor, jokes here are often based on jeux de mots or word games: since so many words are pronounced similarly in French, phrases can sometimes be misconstrued for humorous effect. This is one of the last bastions of French that I still find hard to understand, but this one, le porc taille (the pig cuts) on a portail (door) was easy enough, even for me.