First morning in Paris

Blink, blink.

The sun beams through the open windows and I hear the clatter of pans in the kitchen below me. I shuffle between the freshly laundered sheets, too comfortable move, and then realize that I'm finally, actually in Paris.

It's the mid-way point of my four week journey in France. After spending my first week in the countryside near Charolles, the following in the metropolitan city of Lyon, it already feels like I've been gone for such a long time.

Travelling alone has been an interesting and insightful experience so far. The first thing I realized is that I feel less inclined to go visit all the fantastical tourist sites that one automatically assumes to see when in France. The experience of visiting something like the Musee des Beaux Arts in Lyon turned out to be rather anti-climatic, and I expect the same to occur when I visit the Effiel Tower, The Louvre, and so on.

On the contrary, I'm that finding most of my enjoyment is coming simply from my observations about French culture.

For example, between 12pm and 2pm, almost all the shops and businesses in France close to enjoy lunch. Lyon is known as the cuisine scene of France, and at mealtime, restaurants open and their patios are flooded with locals enjoying the beautiful weather and fine food. As someone who's quite used to eating in front of a computer screen while multi-tasking, I'm still finding it hard to stretch a whole two hours just for lunch. I can't imagine any city in North America doing such a practice. I feel like our economy would have a meltdown or something even if it tried to.

I was also taken aback by the size of their coffees here. Tiny! About the size of an espresso, and accompanied by packets of cubed sugar. Now, since I don't like to drink a lot of coffee, I happen to find their tiny cups to be the perfect size (and maybe also because I also have an affinity for miniature things). Interestingly enough though, I met a French woman here who thinks that French coffees are too small and believes that the Americans got it right with their huge cups.

So currently I'm located in Mont-montre, which is north of central Paris near the Moulin Rouge. I managed to snag a last minute apartment on craigslist the day before at only 30 euros a night, and I'm relieved that I won't have to spend another two weeks in a crowded, stuffy hostel. I won't be moving in until tomorrow so at the moment I'm staying next door with the apartment owner, Hakima... Moroccan descent, born in France with good English, and about as bohemian as you can get. We arranged to meet at a cafe, and there she was, wearing a floral-printed skirt, beer in hand, and having her portrait painted by an artist friend. Eyebrow raised, she called to me across the street in her thick French accent, 'Iz zhat you, Alee-cee-ah?'

Hakima is really interesting. I've never met anyone who had such a laissez-faire personality before. But she's incredibly nice and is letting me use her laptop for the time-being, and did my laundry for me this morning... so I was able to have clean clothes for the first time in two weeks! I met her friend Carine yesterday and we hit up a local bar last night. The French here love dogs, and Carine was able to bring her huge German sheppard into the bar with us without a problem (he sat obediently under the table). The lively, rowdiness of the bars here in Paris caught me by surprise, as I found Lyon to be much more tame. Lyon reminds me of Toronto, actually... you know, nice but boring. Paris is definitely the more hip-and-happenin'place to be, with lots of young people out, especially in this area of town.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel intimidated here. The air just feel so... French. I actually hate carrying my camera around, it just really makes me stick out as a tourist. I think the worst combo is the camera + the map + the Help-I'm-Lost expression. Being asian has already granted me lots of uncomfortable stares while in France so far as it is. Ah well, so far I have found French people to be way friendlier than Quebecois, which is a relief.

Till next time, a bientot!