The Flâneur Discovers Paris, a Step at a Time

I became a serious flâneuse (a female flâneur) when I fell madly, passionately, obsessively in love — with a street, the half-mile Rue des Martyrs in my Paris neighborhood. I was swept away by its spirit, feeling giddy when I strolled up and down the street at random hours of the day or night. I embraced its rhythm, which began at 6 a.m. when street sweepers opened valves that sent rivers of water downhill along the gutters, and ended well after midnight with the closing of the bars and the cross-dresser cabaret.

→ The New York Times