Paris Notes (2)

More observations and thoughts triggered by our recent short visit:

Strolling:
Paris has given us a word: boulevardier. It conveys something
particular about the city. Paris is a place which offers much to the
visitor who simply rambles about. We rambled, and found lively
neighbourhoods, interesting buildings and monuments, parks, and
pleasant cafés in which to sit for a while to rest the feet. Wherever
you ramble, you are likely to come on some guide-book attraction. But
most of all, the appeal of wandering about is to see vignettes of the
life of the city and its people.

Paris chic:
The idea of the parisienne chic is something of a cliché, but when I
first visited Paris it appeared to me that it had some basis in fact:
the city seemed to have more than its fair share of well-groomed,
well-dressed women. It no longer appears so. Yes, there are still
beautifully turned-out women, but their numbers seem to have
diminished. Crumpled casual is the new black.
One exception that struck me was Galeries Lafayette, one of the
"grands magasins". Most of the staff, who are presumably moderately
paid rather than wealthy, are very well dressed, and put their
customers to shame. If you want to identify a sales assistant there,
look for the best-dressed people.

Frenchmen in suits:
In Ireland, a suit is usually business uniform, and wearing one is
almost a means of self-effacement, a way of blending with others of
one's ilk. But there is something distinctive about the way men in
Paris wear suits. The suits themselves are fine, usually very good and
apparently expensive. But, more than elsewhere, it seems that a
persona is donned with the garb. The suit says "Je suis un homme
d'affaires, quelqu'un d'importance ; il faut me respecter". Non,
monsieur, I don't buy it: you have no right to occupy two seats in the
métro, and I will not deviate from my path so that can proceed without
accommodating me -- I'll make a little room for you, and you make some
for me.

Bloody tourists:
I am sure that many Parisians resent the numbers of tourists who
throng their city. They should not, as tourism pays the wages of many
of their fellow-citizens.
But there are problems, not in the numbers of tourists, but in the way
that some comport themselves.
First, there are those who are mindlessly obstructive -- at least I
hope that it is merely mindlessness, but it can feel as if the
obstruction is malevolent. These people move slowly in large groups
(it is amazing how two people can constitute themselves into a large
group) and make it difficult for other pedestrians to make reasonable
progress. When they stop, they form a defensive circle, fully closing
off as many routes as possible.
Then there are those to whom la politesse means nothing in a country
where it means a lot. A few "bonjours" and "si'l vous plaits" and
"mercis" cost nothing, and it is easy to learn to ask "parlez-vous
anglais?", but not many seem to bother. Even a smile and "do you speak
English" will do much to avert French ire. A good tourist should be
culturally sensitive: you visit Paris to experience a little of French
life, and not your own way of doing things at home, wherever that home
may be.
There are tourists who generate antipathy, and I suspect that they are
the sort who go home and complain about how rude the French people
are.

An outing to Giverny:
Herself had been given a book depicting Monet's house and garden at
Giverny, and expressed a wish to go there. Initial research brought up
several coach tour options, costing €60 - €70 each.This led to more
determined research, and we found that we could do the visit using
train and bus connections for about half the cost. And we like trains.
So that's the way we did it.
The garden is indeed lovely, and the famed lily pond is well worth
seeing. But the visitor is confined to fenced pathways, and there are
not many opportunities to sit and enjoy the views (to be fair, I
should say that there were so many visitors there that it is difficult
to see how this could be arranged without cutting large chunks out of
the garden).
The house, too, is interesting, probably little changed since Monet's
day. It is surprisingly small, being only one room deep, and again the
number of visitors was a problem: we were swept through it in minutes
by the throng.
A visit which we had supposed might take three hours was completed in
less than half the time. Had we spent €70 each, we might have felt
hard done by, but it was fair value at less then €30 each.

The bad bit: the airport
Airports are a necessary evil for those who travel. Soulless,
characterless places. I would sooner wait in a railway station than an
airport (especially, in Paris, the Gare de Lyon).
We were due to take an evening flight, and decided to go to CDG early,
check in and get the bags out of the way, and then have some food
before boarding the plane. Check-in completed, we looked for a
restaurant. The only sign we found pointed towards the boarding area,
but that was all right; we went through. After some searching about,
we found a small restaurant on an upper floor -- but it was not
serving food. All the catering we could find airside was sandwiches,
and I wanted real food.
We asked a AdP staff member where we might get food, and he told us
that the restaurants were on the lower floor landside. Could he let us
through? He indicated the exit for passengers who had just landed --
where there was a long queue being processed carefully by a single
immigration officer. I made my displeasure known (politely, as I
presumed the problem was not of his making), and he smiled, shrugged,
and said "This is Paris". How much that says about the French attitude
to bad bureaucratic arrangements: an official, rather than trying to
find a solution to a problem, limits himself to explaining what the
problem is. Not everything in France is perfect.
It would round off my account nicely if I could report that we were
rewarded for our pains with a superb meal but, sadly, airport food is
airport food -- expensive and not particularly good.

And then home to contemplate our next trip (Madrid).

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Paris chic:
The idea of the parisienne chic is something of a cliché, but when I
first visited Paris it appeared to me that it had some basis in fact:
the city seemed to have more than its fair share of well-groomed,
well-dressed women. It no longer appears so.

You should visit Milan, maybe Milan is the new Paris.


And then home to contemplate our next trip (Madrid).


It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four business trips
there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the main square).

"Miss L. Toe" wrote:

Paris chic:
The idea of the parisienne chic is something of a cliché, but when I
first visited Paris it appeared to me that it had some basis in fact:
the city seemed to have more than its fair share of well-groomed,
well-dressed women. It no longer appears so.

You should visit Milan, maybe Milan is the new Paris.

Perhaps if I wanted to seek out such women. But I prefer informality.

And then home to contemplate our next trip (Madrid).

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four business trips
there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

We don't go until late October; I hope that you can bear the wait.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the main square).

You mean food with loads of chillis, burn-your-mouth-off stuff? Nah.
I'll settle for Spanish.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Padraig Breathnach wrote:

"Miss L. Toe" wrote:


Paris chic:
The idea of the parisienne chic is something of a cliché, but when I
first visited Paris it appeared to me that it had some basis in fact:
the city seemed to have more than its fair share of well-groomed,
well-dressed women. It no longer appears so.

You should visit Milan, maybe Milan is the new Paris.


Perhaps if I wanted to seek out such women. But I prefer informality.


And then home to contemplate our next trip (Madrid).

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four business trips
there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.


We don't go until late October; I hope that you can bear the wait.


(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the main square).


You mean food with loads of chillis, burn-your-mouth-off stuff? Nah.
I'll settle for Spanish.

You really should try some Mexican food. If you cannot manage Mexico I
can make some suggestions in Houston.

"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four
business trips there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the
main square).

Do you remember the restaurant's name? One thing that struck me about Madrid
was that their attempts at Mexican food were downright pathetic. It seemed
as if though no Mexican with any sort of culinary ability had ever set foot
in the Spanish capital.

Richard

"Richard" wrote in message
...
"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four
business trips there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the
main square).

Do you remember the restaurant's name? One thing that struck me about
Madrid
was that their attempts at Mexican food were downright pathetic. It seemed
as if though no Mexican with any sort of culinary ability had ever set
foot
in the Spanish capital.

Richard



http://www.madaboutmadrid.com/guide/...hi_mexica.html

Having never eaten Mexican food in Mexico, I cant vouch for the authenticity
of the food, but the restaurant was great fun. (Especially the shots from
the holster).

"Richard" wrote in message
...
"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four
business trips there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the
main square).

Do you remember the restaurant's name? One thing that struck me about
Madrid
was that their attempts at Mexican food were downright pathetic. It seemed
as if though no Mexican with any sort of culinary ability had ever set
foot
in the Spanish capital.

Richard



http://www.madaboutmadrid.com/guide/...hi_mexica.html

Having never eaten Mexican food in Mexico, I cant vouch for the authenticity
of the food, but the restaurant was great fun. (Especially the shots from
the holster).

"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four
business trips there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the
main square).

Do you remember the restaurant's name? One thing that struck me about Madrid
was that their attempts at Mexican food were downright pathetic. It seemed
as if though no Mexican with any sort of culinary ability had ever set foot
in the Spanish capital.

Richard

"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four
business trips there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the
main square).

Do you remember the restaurant's name? One thing that struck me about Madrid
was that their attempts at Mexican food were downright pathetic. It seemed
as if though no Mexican with any sort of culinary ability had ever set foot
in the Spanish capital.

Richard

"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...

It'll be interesting to see what you make of Madrid, on four
business trips there I saw no reason to go back as a tourist.

(But there was a very good Mexican restaurant just off the
main square).

Do you remember the restaurant's name? One thing that struck me about Madrid
was that their attempts at Mexican food were downright pathetic. It seemed
as if though no Mexican with any sort of culinary ability had ever set foot
in the Spanish capital.

Richard