A Flâneuse in Paris
Alison Browne | Article & Photos
The art of slowing down has never been so accessible. In the past, decelerating the
pace of life was reserved for holidays and retirees. With COVID-19, the whole world has
been interrupted and as we cautiously resume normal life, a shift in our very existence is
present.
Slowing down a fast-paced
lifestyle has been a gift to
many. People have picked up
paintbrushes and knitting
needles. Connections, albeit at
a Zoom distance, have never
been so cherished. Millions of
book pages have been turned.
Many countries ran out of flour
with the resurgence in baking.
The amount of family time spent
together was unprecedented.
I spent my confinement in
Paris. It was a choice I made.
I arrived on a one-year visa
just weeks before the borders
closed. Slowing down in Paris
was unforgettable, a chance to
connect to the empty city laid
bare before me. Is it selfish to
speak of this gift in a country that
has already lost over 30,000 lives
to the coronavirus? Probably.
But in my small world ambling
down the middle of eerily vacant
cobblestone streets in Paris
seemed like the most unique of
situations to relish.
It wasn’t a far stretch from
my preferred way to travel.
Pico Iyer’s timeless quote is my
mantra for travel.
“Travel is like love … mostly
because it’s a heightened state
of awareness, in which we are
mindful, receptive, undimmed
by familiarity and ready to be
transformed. That is why the best
trips, like the best love affairs,
never really end.”
In Paris, I love to step into my
alter-ego of flâneuse and become
a passionate observer of lived
moments. Flâner, a common word
in France, hails from the French
poet Charles Baudelaire. In the
nineteenth century, to flâner was
a gentleman’s prerogative. The
flâneur could leisurely stroll the
streets of Paris, frequent cafés,
and observe local life.
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