--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were to choose one single thing that…" description: "\"If I were to choose one single thing that that would restore Paris to the senses, it would be that strangely sweet, unhealthy smell of the Métro, so ve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg" --- # If I were to choose one single thing that that would… ![“If I were to choose one single thing that that would restore Paris to the senses, it would be that strangely sweet, unhealthy smell of the Métro, so very unlike the dank cold or the stuffy heat of subways in New York.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg) > “If I were to choose one single thing that that would restore Paris to the senses, it would be that strangely sweet, unhealthy smell of the Métro, so very unlike the dank cold or the stuffy heat of subways in New York.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The unique, slightly unpleasant odor of Paris’s metro is portrayed as an essential, authentic sensory experience that defines the city’s character. **In simple terms:** Paris’s metro smell is a vital, authentic part of the city. Key Takeaway Embrace the distinctive, even if odd, aspects of place. Themes city identity authenticity sensory perception Mood reflective nostalgic Type descriptive personal When to use this quote - travel writing - personal reflection - urban exploration Key Concepts urban culture nostalgia environmental aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - Do you seek out sensory details that define a place? - How do odd smells shape your memory of a city? A Different Perspective The smell may be off‑putting to some, limiting its appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Dank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dank/) [Heat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heat/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris/) [Paris Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris-senses-6041715/) [Restore Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restore-paris-6041716/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Smell Métro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-m-tro-6041714/) [Strangely Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangely-sweet-5358814/) [Subway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subway/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Sweet Unhealthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet-unhealthy-6041717/) [Unhealthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhealthy/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [So sweet love seemed that April morn, when first we kissed beside the thorn, so strangely sweet, it was not strange we thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bridges/so-sweet-love-seemed-that-april-morn-when-first-we-kissed-beside-the/) [Robert Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bridges/) > [Is this seat taken?" a warm sexy drawl asked and I lifted my gaze and smiled up at Dank. "Yes. I'm saving it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/is-this-seat-taken-a-warm-sexy-drawl-asked-and-i-lifted-my-gaze-and/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [Coldly, sadly descends The autumn evening. The Field Strewn with its dank yellow drifts Of wither'd leaves, and the elms, Fade into dimness apace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/coldly-sadly-descends-the-autumn-evening-the-field-strewn-with-its/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Popping champange and puffing on dank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/popping-champange-and-puffing-on-dank/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [“You weren’t meant for the ice, you weren’t made for the pain. The world that lives inside of me was not the world you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/you-weren-t-meant-for-the-ice-you-weren-t-made-for-the-pain-the-world/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“Shelves filled with jars of items meant for spells and ridiculous concoctions meant to heal bodies, inflict sickness, remove memories and countless other purposes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/shelves-filled-with-jars-of-items-meant-for-spells-and-ridiculous/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [Those forms we fancy shadows, those strange lights That flash on dank morasses, the quick wind That smites us by the roadside—are the Night's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/those-forms-we-fancy-shadows-those-strange-lights-that-flash-on-dank/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [“You're the one thing I want the most in the world yet the one thing I cannot have. Because to have you completely would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/you-re-the-one-thing-i-want-the-most-in-the-world-yet-the-one-thing-i/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [Objectivity and again objectivity, and expression: no hindside-before-ness, no straddled adjectives (as "addled mosses dank"), no Tennysonianness of speech; nothing-nothing that you couldn't, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/objectivity-and-again-objectivity-and-expression-no-hindside-before/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The real jewel of my disease-ridden woodlot is the prothonotary warbler. ... The flash of his gold-and-blue plumage amid the dank decay of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-real-jewel-of-my-disease-ridden-woodlot-is-the-prothonotary/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [The hollows are heavy and dank With the steam of the Goldenrods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/the-hollows-are-heavy-and-dank-with-the-steam-of-the-goldenrods/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted... unbidden... it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/passion-it-lies-in-all-of-us-sleeping-waiting-and-though-unwanted/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [No matter what else you came up against, if you could smile and laugh while a monkey did you with chestnuts in a dank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/no-matter-what-else-you-came-up-against-if-you-could-smile-and-laugh/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Hell is a swamp, to me - not as something fiery, but as something dank, moist, and wet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avey-tare/hell-is-a-swamp-to-me-not-as-something-fiery-but-as-something-dank/) [Avey Tare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avey-tare/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) [Jimy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimy-williams/) > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) [Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/) > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I were to choose one single thing that that would restore Paris to the senses, it would be that strangely sweet, unhealthy smell of the Métro, so very unlike the dank cold or the stuffy heat of subways in New York.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sarton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-that-that-would-restore-paris-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-that-that-would-restore-paris-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/may-sarton-897_cold_if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-tha_2406118.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I were to choose one single thing that that would restore Paris to the senses, it would be that strangely…” — May Sarton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "May Sarton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I were to choose one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-that-that-would-restore-paris-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-i-were-to-choose-one-single-thing-that-that-would-restore-paris-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```