Looking back at 2012

Here is the much needed, much overdo, recount of where my adventure abroad has taken me over the past few months. I have been terribly negligent of le seizième and find it rather disappointing I've not managed to share the countless stories created since my arrival; however, it does serve as a testament to how busy I've been with my many discoveries and experiences!

So, back to the beginning. You may be wondering what le seizième actually means. This title, with its excessive vowels and mind boggling pronunciation, is the name of the area in which I am so lucky to live. Le seizième means the sixteenth, as in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris. Paris is divided into twenty quarters which are called arrondissements, and le seizième arrondissement is where I call home.  It is a quiet neighborhood inhabited primarily by families and the elderly, and I love it. 

So why do I in my early twenties, fresh out of college, and quiet fond of having a social life enjoy this neighborhood that is most often described as painfully boring by my peers. To me le seizième is the village of Paris. It truly feels like a small French community while still being in the big and bustling city. Walking down the street I am always surprised by the burst of english words amid the hum of the french language, a rare feeling when living in such an international place. I have my local corner store at the end of the street, three boulangeries(1), three strictly produce markets, two fromageries(2), two boucheries(3), and two flower markets all within a five minute walk of me. The architecture of the neighborhood is truly beautiful with it's winding roads lined by elaborate building facades that could easily be mistaken as historically significant, and in fact many of them are.

Although I have allowed myself much time for wandering around the neighborhood, le seizième might still consider me as merely an acquaintance. There are so many more nooks and crannies left to discover, and I intend to seek them out vigorously as I continue my grand adventure.

(1) bakery
(2) cheese shop
(3) butcher's shop
(4) street

My lovely little rue(4).

I adore these house boats that bob along the closest part of the seine to me.

View from the Eiffel tower looking out over the 16e arrondissement.