The Cafe at the métro stop

Paris – le cafe, metro St. Mich image from easyart.fr It is an institution of social life for many people in Paris – the corner café, right at the entrance of the metro station. For this blogger, there are a few unique things that make the corner cafe an enriching component of Parisian sociality: 1….

Bois de Vincennes: Sanctuary, Invigoration, Enchantment

At this time of year, just before autumn, a walk through the Bois de Vincennes is a revelatory experience. There are a few dimensions of a walk in the woods to be appreciated by an otherwise computer bound student: 1. I am grateful that Vincennes is a dramatic break from the urbanised surrounding region. It…

Three happiness boosting places to eat/drink in Paris (emotive geographies 13)

This past week has come with interesting places to eat, drink, and be merry. Food and drink are probably two of the most reliable means of shifting emotions and our perceptions about the places in which we live and work, almost instantly. Alcohol in moderation, preferably consumed in wine form, seems to have a particularly…

Stillness and depth: River Thames (emotive geographies 12)

The old adage asserts that still waters run deep. The river Thames communicates this point poignantly. It always reminds this blogger to “keep calm and….” study, persist, explore, live fully, experience life, and so forth. If the Seine inspires movement, the Thames brings a sense of emotional balance. Calm. Poise. Stillness. An unruffled state of…

Attached to the river features: affective ties to the Seine and Marne ( emotive geographies 11)

The topography of Paris is fundamentally shaped by the Seine and Marne rivers. One could simply relate to them as physical aspects of the geography of the city… Yet, the rivers are also associated to the varying meanings that we attach to them and the associated feelings that come with those meanings. While jogging this…

Green Park, London: Playfulness and Open Urban Space (emotive geography 10)

The temptation to become staid, dour, unimaginative… is an ever present one when pursuing graduate studies. There is a constant urge to to prove one’s ‘seriousness’ as a scholar by being tedious and tiresome – at least for this blogger. Enter Green Park, at the beginning of the new academic year. The sun is still…

Russell Square, London: Green Space, Reset of Emotion (emotive geographies 9)

Russell Square in Bloomsbury/Camden evokes (for me) a sense of grounding. A feeling of being brought back to earth – in an almost literal sense, given the ‘natural’ setting – and on the level of emotion. The surrounding city – London – is one big ‘interstitial affective zone’. It inspires as much energy as it…

Palais de l’Élysée and Ambiguity of Affect ( emotional geographies 8)

With Syria in the news and an international response taking shape, one cannot be blamed for forgetting about France. How relevant is France in a world where the US is still very much the dominant military superpower? Yet, France has had a much greater global status in the past than it enjoys right now. Palais…

Interstitial Affective Zones: Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou (emotive geographies 7)

In between-ness, conflicting emotions, divided points of view, also form an important part of our experience of place. The emotions that spaces around us produce are at times not as clearcut as positive and negative – and this has certainly been the case for this blogger in navigating and trying to discover London and Paris….

Drive and Desire: London (emotive geographies 6)

If Paris is a pleasure inducing sight in the early hours of the morning, London (for me)  is less overpowering but rather more enticing. The phrase ‘London is calling’ captures the feeling of seeing London take shape and come to life in the early hours of the morning: I often take a morning run or…