Walk Thru the City of Couture

What better way to explore a city than to navigate on foot? This is what differentiates a traveller from a tourist, from one who has ‘been’ to one who has ‘seen’.

In getting to the famous sites that define Paris in popular culture, we steered away from more popular areas and strolled with the locals along the lesser known cobbled streets and hidden alleyways.  This has given us a unique perspective which allowed us to better understand its culture and its people.

Fit and Stylish

There was little wonder that Paris is the Capital of Fashion. Saunter through its pavements and you would marvel at how everyone looked chic so effortlessly. They don’t wear brands here or if they do, you would certainly not find it blatantly plastered.  It’s certainly worlds away from Hollywood and err, Essex.

There are no fat people in Paris – well, except the occasional English-speaking tourists – in any of is streets or public transports. We’ve heard about this, but to actually discover it yourself is quite astonishing. But it is not surprising.

Like most European cities, eating is a process that is enjoyed at leisure.  Everyone takes time – the waiter who takes the order, the chef who prepares the food and the diner who would then eat slowly and spend plenty of time talking or watching the world pass them by. 

This experience reminded me of the horror on my English family’s face when we went to the malls back home and saw the queue outside the restaurants of people trying to get in. And once seated we were constantly made aware that other people are waiting for our table. Service was quick but then so was the bill and before you know it, you have already been ushered out.

Smoking and Walking

One blog I have read online made unscientific conclusions on other possible reasons why there are no fat Parisians: walking and smoking.

French people smoke a lot (which was annoying) and could be observed littering their cigarette stubs anywhere with no such fear of being fined as their English counterparts have. So maybe if they are smoking, they are not eating.

People in Paris also walk a lot and the bicycle is a major mode of transport (aside from the Metro), a lot healthier and cheaper alternative to getting on the car.  

Art and Culture

The amount of street artists in major Paris squares was not as impressive as its European counterparts in Barcelona and Rome.  However, the plethora of art galleries in any area may suggest that artists in this country are richer and more established.  What mostly fascinated me though is the copiousness of graffiti even on the dim underground but mostly on the street walls and age-old monuments, mainly bearing political innuendos. 

Whilst on our walks we passed some kids spending their after-school hours inside an art studio, moulding clays into jars and sculptures and we marvelled at how it would have been like to be brought up in a country that is so rich in arts and culture – do these children embrace it or do they rebel from it?

This observation has prompted me to examine my own Asian culture particularly in education which featured in a recent BBC documentary on how the West went bust and what lessons could be learned from its booming Asian counterparts.  As a couple of Chinese students explained, we were brought to be the best in class, to pour extra efforts in our studies in order to get to the best Universities, obtain qualifications and get a good paying job.  A money-driven culture that has steered my country men to far-off places in order to send money home, a far cry from a lifestyle-driven culture I have come to know and embraced in the West.

Not rude

My initial apprehension about talking to the French proved to be unfounded. They may not be friendly, but they were certainly not rude and speak English if they can (mostly people with Asian or African origins in Paris do).  A more popular second language though is Italian or Spanish, which does make more sense.  Most schools in the UK and even US are now teaching Spanish as a second language.

With this change in perspective I have come to realise how it’s not the French but the English-speaking tourists who are quite rude. Fancy coming to country and start talking to its inhabitants in your naked tongue? An American teen with a group of friends in fact did just that – came in a patisserie just as we were coming out and brashly asked while pointing to the menu to the maitre d, ‘Is that the menu?’ Rightly so, she was ignored and pointed to the table.

This goes to say that we have played the role of a traveller well, we’ve taken with us a book on Essential French and it works! We asked the questions in French and then looked up the answers from the book, it takes time but it has also given us much pleasure. Besides, French is said to be a romantic language so why not attempt to speak it? Merci Monsieur!

Starbucks in Paris

It was a disappointment though when on our second day of walking we found a couple of Starbucks cafe in the Latin Quarter of the city. As John better puts it: 

Italy may have kept them out but Starbucks has managed to squirm its self into Paris. Globalisation at its most depressing. Now you can enjoy bland, overpriced and bastardised coffee and cafe culture... in a city famous for its cafés. Talk about bringing coal to Newcastle! Still not to fear, there is fortunately no decline in the number of Brasseries, Boulangeries, Patisseries etc. Seems Starbucks' aim really is to steralise and homogenise the entire world to an extent.

Like any other European City

After four days in Paris -- of walking its streets, enjoying its meals and conversing with its inhabitants -- we have come to conclude that it is certainly no more romantic than the Andalusian city of Granada, nor its structures even as impressive as those in Istanbul.  But its still as beautiful as the movies make them out. 

Yes, it had been a December to remember and another European city conquered. But most importantly it has allowed us to reflect on our experiences and gain better understanding of our selves and our own heritage.