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"The Marais is what I used to picture when I would dream of Paris. It&amp;#039;s a historic district stretching across the third and fourth arrondissements, with charming buildings and narrow, cobble-stoned streets. It&amp;#039;s a neighborhood of contrasts: on one end is the historic Place de Vosgues, a lovely square enclosed by a 17th-century palace, and on the other is the massive Centre Georges Pompidou, a contemporary art complex with exposed, brightly-colored piping. The Marais has a little something for everyone \u2014 cute caf\u00E9s, chic boutiques, avant-garde art galleries, impossibly trendy bars and loads of delicious bistros and bakeries. Until last week, I had my own little haven smack in the middle of this incredibly Parisian neighborhood. The studio had bright white walls, dark wood beams and a view of Notre Dame. Every day, I would step out my front door and maneuver my way around the starry-eyed tourists lined up for falafel. I felt so lucky to live there. But unfortunately, all dreams (in this case, one-month sublets) must come to an end. Last week, I moved into a new flatshare in the 10th arrondissement. My new neighborhood is lively, but a little gritty. In the Marais,  J. Alexander lived down the street. Here in the tenth, my neighbors are Chinese import-export businesses. Believe it or not, though, I&amp;#039;m more excited about my new digs. This is the &amp;quot;real&amp;quot; Paris, the Paris that isn&amp;#039;t highlighted in guidebooks. My roommates are tr\u00E8s cool \u2014 fun, young, creative twenty-somethings who are crazy about good music and good conversation. There are three of them: Theo, an independent filmmaker; Cecile, a fashion student; and Ben, an architecture student from Munich. We cook together, watch bad made-for-TV movies and check out the neighborhood hipster hangouts. This isn&amp;#039;t the Paris I dreamed about, but it definitely feels more real! Until next week, Jess CosmoGirl Travel Blogger "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/a11097/the-real-paris/>