Flâneur

From Wikipedia:

"Flâneur (/flæˈnjʊər/; French: [flɑˈnœʁ]) is a French noun referring to a person, literally meaning "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer." A flâneur is an ambivalent figure of urban affluence and modernity, representing the ability to wander detached from society with no other purpose than to be an acute observer of industrialized, contemporary life.

The flâneur was, first of all, a literary type from 19th-century France, essential to any picture of the streets of Paris. The word carried a set of rich associations: a person of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street. However, the flâneur's origins are to be found in journalism of the Restoration, and the politics of post-revolutionary public space. It was Walter Benjamin, drawing on the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, who made this figure the object of scholarly interest in the 20th century, as an emblematic archetype of urban, modern experience. Following Benjamin, the flâneur has become an important symbol for scholars, artists, and writers."

You can't help but be a flâneur when you visit Paris. It's an essential part of the visit. 

My sister and I spend one day walking around. You never know what you will see.

My first castle.

For a place that prides itself on freedom, there are many indications that perhaps freedom was not for everyone.

We see an old arch, but then we take a closer look.

I'm happy to see lovers.

This statue always makes me look twice.

Eventually, we end up along the Seine.

I've never bought anything here, but it's fun to look. And I always look.

There it is. It's what many fly 5,000 miles just to see. 

It makes my heart beat a little faster.

A flâneur. Yes, I think that's what I want to be when I grow up.

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Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.