The one thing that reading a book or talking to someone cannot do is to provide you with the experience of wandering Paris by foot. I cannot explain the serene moments I had walking to school each day along the river, or aimlessly winding through narrow streets lined with bookshops and galleries. I discovered some of my favorite places in Paris by wandering. The people watching, the sounds of the city, the colors as the seasons change, they all add to the ecstasy that is experiencing Paris as a local — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most students.