You never forget how a city makes you feel, especially when that city is as dynamic and bursting with life as Paris. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve returned, and even though I only spent less than half a year there, I still miss it deeply. It’s strange how the grass is always greener on the other side – after a couple of months away from home, you yearn to go back to where your friends and family are, yet when you’ve finally settled back home, you can’t stop thinking about the second home that you made your own in those months alone.

Paris is my living, breathing treasure chest of bittersweet ‘firsts’. I took my first-ever long-haul solo flight from Singapore to Paris after bidding a tearful goodbye to my family and friends, transiting at Helsinki, and arriving at the Charles de Gaulle airport with my almost-overweight luggage bag. I cooked my first proper meal (not just instant noodles and eggs!!) in my own mini-kitchen, and then another, and another, until it dawned on me one day that I actually truly enjoyed cooking.

I wandered down the streets and gardens of Paris under dreary, gray winter skies and brilliant blue skies alike, exploring museums and cafés and walking slowly past beautiful stores I could never afford to shop at. I made friends I never would have met otherwise, explored parts of Europe with them, and together we got lost and ran for trains like our lives depended on it. I gathered the courage to leave my comfort zone, again, by doing my first ever proper solo trip to Portugal.

Yet when I think back on my time in the city, it’s the little things that come to mind. Here’s an inexhaustive list of some of the things I miss about Paris.

1. Those tiny cups of 1€ to 2€ espressos at cafés, which you could drag out forever as you sat right on the street and people-watched. I enjoyed sitting on the terrace of the cafes with those little tables, facing the pedestrians as they walked by. One of my regrets is that I didn’t take enough photos of the streets and everyday life in the city, because now all I have left is my memory.

2. Sitting on the dark green benches under the lines of trees at the Jardin du Palais-Royal. The first time I came here was as part of a class on French culture and history, and we made a quick stop at Café Kitsuné for a break. The Jardin du Palais-Royal soon became my go-to garden oasis in the middle of the city, and I came back three more times, each time with a different friend.

3. Hearing the sound of the French language everywhere – incomprehensible except for a few quick snatches here and there, but so melodious. Despite multiple attempts at eavesdropping on others, I could never pick up anything substantial.

4. Maximizing my Navigo pass and taking the bus and metro everywhere when I finally purchased the weekly pass. Those days with a validated, unlimited public transport pass were the best. Yeah, I miss being familiar with another metro system and feeling like I’d cracked some kind of code.

5. The omnipresence of baguettes – free flow in our campus canteen, and at all restaurants. This stereotype is real.

6. Those great two-course prix fixe set meals at lunch, where one could easily get a fix of escargots and duck confit or boeuf bourguignon below twenty euros. This was the first ‘proper’ French meal my friend and I had after settling down in Paris, so you can guess how excited were.

7. Shopping at the local Simply supermarket and getting wine for five euros or less. They also sell cheap individually sealed packs of madeleines, mini-waffles, and other pastries that I loved snacking on during my explorations of Paris on foot. Going to Simply was both a fun excursion (often with friends) and a necessary routine that I had rather conflicting feelings about. On one hand, there would always be this exciting feeling of anticipation – I loved buying new, fresh ingredients to cook different things and trying out different brands of yogurt. On the other hand, I lament my lack of self-control because I would usually end up over-spending.

8. Hearing strains of music while walking along the streets, particularly at the steps outside the Palais Garnier. I’m the kind of person who will retrace my steps when I hear music and sit on the ground to listen to the buskers play for an hour, and it’s really nice to be among others who appreciate street music as well. I wish we had more of this at home.

9. The massive gardens of Versailles. I kind of miss walking all the way from the RER station at Versailles deep into the Jardin du Château de Versailles and then walking even more through the extensive, overwhelming grounds. Did you know that the gardens are so big, they span 800 hectares and contain over 200,000 trees? I had no idea. I really thought I could just walk through the garden in an hour or something, but turns out, it’s not that kind of garden.

10. Hot crepes from street vendors. Crepes are life-savers when you’re broke and starving after all that walking around. I love that the vendor makes it on the spot and hands over the steaming hot, floppy piece filled with Nutella to warm yourself up on a cold day.

11. The architecture – Haussmann’s wide, tree-lined boulevards, the cast-iron balconies on beige buildings with blue-gray rooftops, the Gothic cathedrals. Being able to walk past historical landmarks and architectural wonders on your way to explore other parts of the city will never get old.

12. The (somewhat unexpected) kindness of the people when I asked for directions, and in helping me to converse with a frustrated Amazon deliveryman beyond “I’m on my way, I’ll be there in five minutes!” when we couldn’t understand each other. In the same vein – the thrill of carrying out random conversations in French, wondering if they’ll be able to understand me, and then not fully understanding them but smiling and nodding “oui” anyway.

13. Being spoilt for choice with so many museums and art pieces to check out. Visiting the Louvre for the first time was a crazy, overwhelming experience, but I also really enjoyed going to the other museums like Musée Rodin and the Centre Pompidou.

14. I miss having trees and plants that change with the seasons. Also, I miss having a lake on the campus ground and going for a slow jog around it.

15. I miss the long, relaxing journey on the shuttle bus from the campus in the countryside, to the train station at Jouy, on board the winding RER C, to a station in the city, to another metro station closer to where you actually want to be. I’m kidding, it was way too long. I lowkey miss having vending machines that dispense 0,80€ hot coffee in plastic cups.

Unlike Portugal, my time in Paris wasn’t made up of exciting stories, but rather, a collection of small things that I will always look back on with fondness. Some more commonplace experiences are listed here, other more personal/slightly hare-brained ones kept a little closer to my heart.

Of course, Paris isn’t without its flaws. Just to give a few examples, I really gained a newfound appreciation for Singapore’s cleanliness, well-lit streets, and reliable public transport system. But despite everything, I had a truly memorable time in Paris. If you can temporarily look past its flaws, it’s easy to see why Paris is one of the most raved about travel destinations. It was everything I expected it to be and more. In the City of Lights, I felt like all my dreams could come true.

To all the friends I made in Paris, thank you for your friendship and for all the places we explored together.