Reflections on Paris

Tuesday 22 September 2009 - Filed under Journal

First of all, obviously, I’m no expert on Paris. I’ve been here a couple of days. But here, nonetheless, are my observations.

1. Our hotel room is ridiculously small. We could have spent more money, of course, but it came recommended to us and it’s not exactly cheap. I think they are all like this. We had to sit on our suitcases in the elevator. If you turn around in the shower you accidentally turn the water off (or worse, turn it to scalding hot). It’s basically a bed with 2 feet of room around the perimeter. I guess that is what you get in an old city. But we have a tiny balcony and we are in a lovely part of town, so we are not unhappy about it.
2. The people here are gorgeous and thin. The pudgy American look is entirely absent. Of course, there are people of all shapes and sizes, but it is obvious that these people are much, much healthier than your average American. They walk more, bike more, eat less and eat better and it shows. The women are skinny, with bare legs, high heels and, on average, very beautiful. The men, too, just seem more attractive than I am used to. I’m sure it’s just a sort of culture shock and the trendy part of town we are in, but it is obvious.
3. We’ve had mixed reactions on the language. Most people speak enough English to help us get by. We have enough of the common phrases to get by. Most people seem to know right away we are English speakers. It’s a little disconcerting at times but in general not a problem at all.
4. One friend told me: everyone in Paris is an asshole, don’t take it personally. This has not been our experience, but it is really funny how some people go from friendly to unfriendly when we say “parlez-vous anglais?” Some become more helpful and some less. I don’t really understand it.
5. The food over all has been excellent. I doubt we are hitting the best places in town, but we have had many fine meals and none which were unpleasant.
6. There are almost no grocery stores or convenience stores that we’ve seen. We’ve walked for miles and seen exactly one grocery store. Convenience stores are equally rare.
7. The coffee is very good, and so are the pastries, but not really any better than the States. Espresso seems to be the drink of choice. Virtually no brewed coffee, although we did see two Starbucks. We did not stop in. We’ve also seen a few McDonalds.
8. Booze is ridiculously expensive. I had a gin and tonic that was $25. This was not at some fancy place. Wine and beer are much more affordable. I don’t know why — taxes?
9. The airport/customs experience was a well-oiled machine. No waiting, no fuss, in and out in no time.
10. It is a very international city. Every race, color and creed are everywhere all the time. We’ve heard every language and accent imaginable.

All in all we are having a great time and would highly recommend it to anyone. Just be ready to do things a little different than you are used to and you will have a good time.

Now we are heading out for our second-to-last dinner. Au revoir!

2009-09-22  »  lolife