The Flaneur

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"In any event, the flaneur is in search of experience, not knowledge."

Walter Benjamin

If I ever come across this book here in Manila, I will definitely buy it, no matter what the cost. I think this book is as lovely as A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh series, even if, truth be told, I have yet to complete those books! 

This book gives off the same, comfortable, endearing aura as A Year in Provence, and if you were to go back, again and again, to the prettiest city in the world (for me, at least), I believe it is somewhat of a must that you read this, as it defines the true flaneur who wants to immerse himself in Paris, not in the person of a tourist, but in the person of a cross between a guest and a true blue Parisian in search of experience: 

THE EXACT NATURE OF A FLANEUR: He (or she) is not a foreign tourist eagerly tracing down the major sights and ticking them off a list of standard wonders. He (or she) is a Parisian in search of a private moment, not a lesson, and where as wonders can lead to edification, they are not likely to give the viewer gooseflesh. ~ Edmund White