It ain't always that pretty!

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He calls it “The Nîmes Shuffle.” She calls it “The Dog Caca Dodge.” Friends, after exulting over cobblestone streets and ancient walls, vineyards and bonbons and decadent feasts, we realize that we may be losing many of you to a simple but damning human inclination: envy. This would be a shame, for you and for us, and all for want of a little perspective. So we atone, with this glimpse, seen while walking, of the shadow side of Gaul.
I went out yesterday into the all but empty streets on a holiday Sunday. It was an eerie sight, a city depopulated, locked up and dirty. Here and there a few groups of young men huddled with collars turned up and cigarettes cupped. A solitary person with purpose in his stride went by. A kiosk or two was open, but otherwise the shop awnings were drawn tight and the storefront barricades pulled down. Stores that on Friday had festive window displays and patrons inside sipping café noir were now gray walls of oxidized metal, most of them defaced with crude graffiti.
In fact, the graffiti is everywhere, on any flat or round surface, public or private. Except for the well-watched walls of the Foreign Legion compound, no site is too sacred to be spared. As I passed by the Temple Augustus, I asked, “who are you, Cecile, Lily, and Jean-Luc, that made you think we need to know you were also here?” As I turned on to rue de la Boucarie I wondered, “is the unqualified ‘fuck’ scrawled on that door a cry of despair, a subliminal longing, or just another pietist gone off the rails?” But enough! Why waste good brain time on the obvious? It’s called “vandalism.” …SIGH!
I walked along, buffeted by the gusty wind. Folks, that Mistral is darn cold. It cuts through the layers. Your visions of two pasty Canadians sunning themselves on a stone terrace bordered with lavender and overlooking a blue Med are—except for that ‘pasty’ bit—entirely mistaken! ….BRRRR!
The wind also tosses the garbage around that was not tossed in the right place to begin with. I watched tornadoes of litter swirling high and then plunking down. The city is a carnage of paper, plastic and cardboard. Twenty years ago when I lived in France, I wondered when this country would ever begin to go green, and to reduce its waste. The self-serve bottle depots are filled and spilling on to the street, both a good sign and a bad one (bad, as in, when will someone start emptying these more regularly?). But the near absence of recycling, apparently none of it mandatory, and the time-honoured tradition of nonchalantly dropping the wrapping on to the street still persists …MOAN!
Walking itself here can be a dicey affair. I didn’t mind the crunching underfoot as I stepped on the little jewels of another punched out car window. But that canine offal is nasty stuff. It can get stuck deep in the treads of your shoes. And there’s a helluva lot of it in this city. Signs of the somnolent and unwatchful are everywhere: skid marks a foot long. So I resorted again to the “The Nîme Shuffles”. Watch me now, and follow along. It goes like this: Step large, step small, step right, then watch out! Yes, I think you’ve got it! Those are the basic steps, and I must say, humbly, it’s the only dance I have ever mastered. …AAARGH!
There. Ça suffit pour maintenant. And if my SIGH, my BRRRR, my MOAN, and my AAARGH are not convincing enough, then I will bring out the clincher: cars, and the fiends within them. But that will have to wait. You see, Dawn has just brought me a bowl of olives Provençale and a chilled glass of Muscat.

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Photos

a not so pretty street
along our daily walk into the old city

Comments

[Bob]

Dog DoDo
Seems like both of you are having a great time accept for Dog caca and crap all over the streets and the cold and the------ OH well all is good by the sound of things. Xmas is great here and rain of course with the odd ray of sunshine (when my wife walks in the room) Keep up the good informative blog as love to hear about the P & D travels

[carole]

My image of France is shattered
Just checking in to say Hi and to say how happy I am to see the dog shit, ugly streets, miserable graffiti and see the ugly streets! NOT! But it does reduce the jealously quotient. Well, I wasn't really jealous. I'm delighted with the description of the warm friendships and bountiful meals you're enjoying. I love the picturesque without reservation and am always delighted with your capacity to turn a good phrase. Will stay tuned for more. hugs to you both, Carole & Rick