I’ll be catching up on the blogging soon.

posted by The Vidiot @ 8:12 AM Permalink

Mr. Vidiot and I went away for the holiday. One of his professor’s had a friend who wanted to come to NYC for a week and well, and since she lived in Paris, we swapped apartments. I mean, it would’ve been stupid not to, n’est ce pas?

Anyway, we do have a few thoughts about Paris.

• Yes, they smoke indoors, but as of today, no more. Thank heavens. It was so gross to be sitting there eating a delicious pastry then have somebody light up right next to you.
• WAAaaaay more civilized than NYC. People dress better, nobody is as loud (except for the American and Italian tourists), and it’s very clean and friendly. I guess the Parisians got tired of all the bad press and started picking up their dog’s poop and stopped being so snooty.
• The trains are INFINITELY better than NYC. Not once did it stop in the middle of a tunnel, or hang at a station for way longer than it should. Not only that, they have electronic signs that tell you when the next two trains are due into the station. Also, the doors don’t open automatically. You have to push a button or flip a knob. You can start pushing the button as soon as the train starts to stop. Sometimes, the door opens so fast, the train is still moving a bit when the door opens. Do you know how much of a liability that would be here in the US? To have a door open before the train comes to a complete stop? There would be lawsuits every 30 seconds. Some idiot would either accidentally or on purpose take a spill and then sue the transit authority for not protecting them from their own stupidity. On top of that, the trains are efficient, the transfers are clear and the seats are cushioned. Cushioned seats wouldn’t last 5 minutes in NYC. Some animal would slash them, stick pins in them, or do something malicious to them. The only thing that’s not cool about the Paris trains is they don’t run from 1 am to to about 5-5:30 am. They run later on the weekends though, 2:15 am, but there are very few taxis. It’s a little awkward to party late at night there. Oh, and the best thing? The trains are free on holidays! They just turn off the turnstiles. We got there on Christmas day and we thought the station was broken, but it happened again on New Year’s eve after 4pm and all day New Year’s. That would never ever ever happen in the states. Here, it’s make money or die.
• They are just as bombarded with advertising imagery as we are here.
• Did I mention they dress better? I never once saw someone in white tennis shoes and sweatpants.... Unless it was an American tourist. Oh, and almost no Parisian is fat. Which is amazing considering the food they eat -- creams, sauces, meats and cheeses.
• They have fabulous stores that specialized. Shops for just cheese, just meat, just produce, just wines, just cigarettes, just pastries, just chocolates, just bread. I mean, it was wonderful and everything looked so good. They seem to really care about the quality of their food.
• They have bicycles everywhere. They give lots of space to bicycles. They use them like zip cars. You can rent one at one spot, ride it to another, and put it in the same type of rack at your destination. It was funny to see them all pedaling home after the subways stopped. They just rented a bike and in a semi tipsy way, rode home.
• Tip is included in every food and drink bill. That’s brilliant. If you liked the service, you tossed in an extra euro. That’s it. If you order a prix fix meal, which is recommended, the price included all taxes and tips.

Now, I’m not all down on the US or anything, but why on earth can’t we look at how some of these European countries do things, what’s right and what’s wrong and just do it? Nobody recycles here. Why not? Their metro systems are way more efficient than ours, and way less offensive. Sometimes, here, I get the feeling that they only begrudgingly supply public transportation. The pharmacies don’t cost much. We got a box of Sudafed for a little over one euro. I suspect that sort of thing is subsidized. As it should be.

Whatever.

Yes, we enjoyed Europe. Yes, even though we had a free place to stay, it cost as an arm and a leg to just eat because our dollar is merde. And yes, every time we heard an American accent, we ran in the opposite direction. But it all just seemed so much more civilized. So many Americans spend so much time bashing the French, which is just so ridiculous. On many things, we should be taking lessons from them.

Oh, and yes, I know fois gras comes from tortured ducks. But I don’t care. It’s delicious.

Labels: paris