I just spent 8 days in Paris with my wife Carolyn. The following is my impression ( or as the French say "impression") of the trip.
The first thing one notices upon disembarking from the plane in Paris is how bright and shiny everything is. Not only the airport mind you, but this carries over onto the streets, the public places...there are 800 year old buildings in Paris that are cleaner than Martha Stewart's dining room before a big dinner. This is because of two things: one, the French have what is referred to as a refined aesthetic (or as the French say "aesthetic"). The second reason is that approximately 98% percent of all people in France are employed by the State. I kid you not, 1000's of people on the streets all day long cleaning, washing, picking up dog crap ( the French do not clean up after their dogs, see "refined aesthetic"). Public workers mow the public lawns, cut the public flowers, wash the floors of the public museums, drive the public buses, and do all other manner of good public works. The result is an absolutely stunning city with breathtakingingly beautiful spaces. That is, if you visit, as we did, in between strikes.
Because everyone works for the government, strikes are very popular public entertainment. In France even high school students go on strike. (This is I believe a required course for high school students wishing to complete their baccalaureate (or as the French say "baccalaureate). But I digress...
The second thing one notices is that everyone in Paris is beautiful; women and men both. I imagine there must be some ugly people in France but they are apparently forbidden within the city limits of Paris. Carolyn and I watched, mouths agape, as thousands of beautiful people passed us each day (we eventually had to close our mouths or run the risks of being banned from the city, that aesthetic thing again). Standing on a busy corner in Paris is like watching a movie of a fantasy of...well, Paris. The people are slender; all of them. If you see a fat person in Paris you can be reasonably certain that person is American...or German. Ditto for any man over 20 wearing shorts or any woman wearing sweat pants. The French have savoir faire (or as the French say...). This means that neither men nor women just roll out of bed and leave their home. No, every single French person we saw was wearing a coordinated outfit with some sort of accessory. Scarves are very popular. Very popular. Men wear scarves, women wear multiple scarves, dogs and cats wear scarves.
As Joni Mitchell sang "In France they kiss on Main St." and do they ever. Everyone was kissing; men and women, women and women, men and men, dogs and cats. In particular there are a conspicuous number of May/December romances. Wednesdays seem to be "Take your mistress to lunch day." So with all this beauty and all this making out, it is no wonder that so many of the French have affairs.
A lot of French people still smoke...and they don't try and hide it...the thing is, they look so much cooler when they do it.
A fortunate finding was that one does not need a lot of French to get by in Paris. Two phrases that we found most helpful were: "Je voudrais une piture de vin rouge" and "Est-ce un croisant dans votre poche ou vous êtes simplement heureux de me voir?"
Stay tuned for commentary on the sights of Paris!
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