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Published: September 8th 2012
The world's got me on a string. 7 months of sauntering across the globe, a slew of broad ranging experiences and here I was, eyes closed, operating on 2 senses.
Firstly the smell. Is there a more pleasant odour than freshly baked baguettes? Then there were the sounds emanating from behind the counters:
"Bonjour Monsieur. Vous desirez"?
"Une tradicion s'il vous plait".
"Une tradicion, oui. Et avec ca Monsieur"?
"Deux palmiers s'il vous plait".
"Deux palmiers. Tout de suite Monsieur. Voila. C'est tout"?"
"Oui merci".
"Alors, ca fait quatre euros cinquante Monsieur".
"Voila mademoiselle"."
"Merci Monsieur. Bonne journee".
A simple transaction in a boulangerie but how come I felt like I needed to go back to our studio and take a cold shower?
Paris does that to me and the bread buying process is this city in a nutshell. Sing song voices in the world's most romantic language, the bread itself (how do the French perform such a seemingly simple task so much better than anybody else) and the environs.
OK, so the streets aren't exactly paved in croissants and it doesn't rain red wine, but for me,
Paris is the city all other cities want to be. What can get up people's noses is that most Parisians know it and this can be translated by many as arrogance.
Paris bottom lip droppers will regularly pedal out criticisms such as the low-fi sounds of the city's traffic, homelessness, beggars, gypsy scammers, crime and grime, ya da ya da ya. To be brutally honest, 5 years on from my first visit, those naysayers have a little more ammunition in Paris 2012. I don't know if it's familiarity, imagination, the area we stayed or perhaps an off shoot from the GFC but Paris isn't quite as slick as last time around.
The town really could use a couple of hundred more street cleaners, the homeless and beggars have multiplied and there is an increase in the ratio of "colourful local identities". Nor do I remember the smoking etiquette, or lack there of, being so brazenly abused. Not kidding, it seems everybody smokes and the remnants litter the streets everywhere. Still my favourite town all the same.
With airbnb coming up trumps once again, we found ourselves dug down in a creaky studio in the heart of the
1st arrondissement where we planned not to play tourist so much but rather just live a Parisian life for a week. We tried to envision what a local might do for a free week in their town and mimic that. So no Moulin Rouge, Versailles, Bateau Mouche or Eiffel Tower ascents.
Not that we didn't get out amongst it. Courtesy of my favourite day of the month in Paris, Tight Arse Sunday, (gotta love the first Sunday of each month when all public museums open their doors for the grand price of nothing - if it's free, it's for me) the Musee d'Orsay and the Pompidou Centre seemed that much more alluring with the lines short and the price just right.
Jazz at the Sunside Sunset Club, a birds eye from atop Monmartre and a cosy din din with Mr and Mrs Woggy Boy to catch up on 7 months of news and footy scores from back home (not much joy there).The week though was just as much about revelling in mundane daily activities that are no longer banal when you do it as a stranger in Paris. Buying, preparing and then noshing down fresh ingredients bought from
a farmers market in a back alley. Washing that down with a 7 euro red from Chateau de Cheapskates. 5 years ago they were 4 euro reds but don't you love it when an exchange rate works in your favour and you can put your foot down on the standards accelerator.
Aah! Paris, je t'aime. Whilst meandering amongst the grave sites of Pere Lachaise Cemetery (not as morbid as it sounds), we met a gay American from from Utah, as you do. He asked me on my idea of the most striking thing about Paris. Pondering for a few moments, none of the cliches came to mind but rather the sight every lunch and evening of ubiquitous chic bistros, brasseries, cafes and restaurants full to the brim with Parisians doing what they do best - not much. They sit, they eat, they drink (and unfortunately smoke like erupting volcanoes), they enjoy life. No one seems to work.
Because of this stoic reverence to the long lunch, fast food outlets have had a difficult time gaining a toehold in this country. In this era of immediacy, the French are keeping the flame alive for the languid social dining experience
City of lights
Sorry it's not straight, no tripodbeing such an essential ingredient of life itself. A flood of McDonalds golden arches into the Paris fabric is seen as the end of the world as they know it. "Not on my watch", according to Parisians.
That's what is for me the most striking thing about Paris.
Praise Be!
Yeatesy
I finally worked out why Parisian women are all so slim. If you want to live in Paris you have no choice, the apartments are so small that a large person just could not fit inside them. There are generally no lifts so you are required to climb several crookedy flights of stairs to get to your front door. Going up and down the stairs to your apartment several times a day is exercise in itself. You are encouraged not to overspend on your groceries and only buy for the day, it's too hard to carry them home if you shop for more than that day.
Everything in the apartment is small, small table, small tv, small fridge and even smaller shower closet, emphasis on closet.
So this is also my theory of why so many Parisians smoke. Cigarettes
are light to carry, you can light up absolutely anywhere and you can toss the butt wherever you like so they are an easy commodity to carry and discard and they fill in the gaps in between and including meals.
But for a population where such high numbers are smokers, you don't see the Parisians with nicoteened stained teeth, their pearly whites sparkle. On crowded metros you do not smell the odour of this filthy habit as you rub shoulders with them, so somehow they have perfected the way to rid themselves of the odour and the stained teeth.
Our week in Paris has been great just blending into the fabric of Parisian life. Sitting in cafes with fellow Parisians, Gary chatting happily with the local shop keepers sampling fresh produce and "chewing the fat".
Whilst I am somewhat critical of the size of the apartment, it requires next to no cleaning and it does give you all day to get out and explore. I have loved walking the local streets and stumbling upon areas I have not visited before.
My highlights this trip were le Marais, with the sprinkling of antiques shops, designer studios and
a splash of Jewish delicatessens amongst it. The canals around Pere Lachaise with just a few cafes and bars and a few unknown designers trying to make it in Paris made the walks that bit more interesting.
With so many restaurants and bistros around where we lived for the week, being able to step out for a bite to eat if we wanted or being able to buy fresh produce at the farmers market made the week a lot of fun and gave us just the smallest glimpse into the life of the Parisian. Think I would have to take up smoking to be fully immersed.
Love Paris, can't wait to get back.
Penny
More images at:
www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Stellar photos, as usual!
Your photos are some of the best I've seen of Paris--really original angles, such as those of the Pompidou. How wise and wonderful, too, to spend a week, just sauntering and snapping the city--brings back great memories--thanks!