Anything more complicated, I resorted to my French phrase book and dictionary. I did, however, learn to recognize things in writing such as the time, food and menu items, clothes, and a few others. There is so much to see and on foot is the best way to do it. Like other major metropolitan cities around the world, Paris is very spread out Nevertheless, they have an excellent metro system that can take you virtually anywhere in the city and surrounding suburbs. The main boulevards are long and scenic, carrying you to all sorts of historic monuments, cathedrals and museums.
Tourism is huge in Paris, and people come from all over the world to experience it.
This made the already electric atmosphere that much more exciting. Whatever Paris may be, it has certainly had a certain draw and mystic for many Black musicians, performers, writers, artists, students, and political exiles from all over the world for many, many years. A great many of them from the United States. Since the early 19th century, many famous Black Americans searching for social acceptance as well as racial and artistic freedom, have fled the United States into the welcoming arms of the Parisians. While many of these great artisans achieved only a modicum of success at home, their careers really flourished once embraced by the Parisians.