Asia to Europe : Part 2 : Getting to know

My experiences about the city of Paris are not going to inform you about the best clubs- I am sober. They will not inform you about all the best foods - I am a vegetarian. Not about the amazing night life either - I am usually drunk on introvertism and youtube or work (yes, work) before going to bed.

But, I still have interesting things to tell! From the day I landed in Paris, I have observed the city deeply, being judgmental at times and becoming a great fan many other times.

Gare du Nord, one of the six largest stations of SNCF. International trains to and from Paris also hault here. The station complex was built in the mid-19th century. "Gare du Nord" translates to the "North Station" in English. It is a splendid train station.

Here's to Paris

Finding a country  with all 100% of its inhabitants is not possible, but if I say that the Parisien people are close to perfection, I am not wrong, I believe. It is important to note that I am saying this before I touch the chords on how fast the French people process paperwork.

The day I landed in Paris, was the day I stepped out of India for the first time ever. To have my heavy bags picked up and carried by different people right till my doorstep without asking for help – undoubtedly a pleasant first impression and welcome. The people have been very polite in general, as far as my experiences are concerned. It is the nation where a newbie was voted to power unanimously, in order to shun right wing extremism. This was done behind closed curtains- no one had to know. However, I have heard differing experiences from other people about how nice the people in Paris were to them.

In Paris, 99.9% of the people hold the doors for the next person behind them. The remaining 0.1% are expats who landed yesterday. In return, you would get a mandatory "merci", the second most common word used on a daily basis after "bonjour". On a positive note, even though not everyone has had the same experience, but I have seen strangers greeting each other by “Bonjour” almost on a daily basis since the many months I have lived here. It is one of the many polite civic gestures of the city. For example, once it is a bit crowdy inside the metro, people sitting in the folding chairs stand up to make more space. It is also common to hear bonjour from strangers, though many expats disagree depending on whether they come from a country where it is even more common to greet strangers. In my case, I come from India and no one has the time to say bonjour to the millions of people we see everyday.

The city of love, city of lights, city of fashion, food and the city of businesses- has something for everyone. For me, the food, except for all the sweet food (including crepes and desserts) and the cheeses, seemed to provide no sense of taste whatsoever. My taste buds were probably accustomed to strong flavors. So, I am not a fan of French food (but I am a vegetarian so I have not even tasted half of it, for sure).

Some macarons among other items in a patisserie (pastry shop).

French people take their time to mix up with the non-French, but in case they do, they are super friendly and fun!

The French people are very strong and brave. I would not like to share what made me believe in this, but I have definitely seen them coming up as strong and fearless many a times.

However, if you need a paper urgently and go to the office to collect it, they probably can’t care less. Haha, I mean they would insist in sending it to your address even though you are ready to sign on any receipt to receive that document. These paperwork stories can be discussed later in another blogpost, as they definitely deserve a whole another blogpost.

The French appreciate other cultures while at the same time being proud of their own. It is a wrong stereotype that all the French pretend that they don’t know English (yes, some indeed do pretend). For those who pretend, I just have one question, why don’t they speak Spanish when they visit Spain or Italian when they visit Italy or German when they visit Germany or Hindi when they visit India? Why do they expect the privilege of being able to communicate in English as tourists?

Well, these people are not many and also from the inside, they are very nice as well. It is just that language sometimes is a completely different topic for them.

On another note, France is by far the most heavily smoking country I have been to. Being a non smoker as well, that was a bit uncomfortable whether it is 7 am in the morning or midnight. 

The buildings on every part of Paris look similar and pretty- a combination of mustard-yellow walls with black grills. Sometimes similar enough to feel that you have been at the same place once before while you have never ever. Walking down the roads, you can come across one point of interest after every few minutes. The city has a very unique flavor which you can feel as you walk around and look. There are very few cities in the world where there are places to see, but also the city is worth seeing as well. Paris, definitely, is a city to see.

The architecture in Paris

Notre Dame Church. Image credit: Username Aleksandar T on the Tripadvisor Website.

The architecture of Paris has stories to tell. My favorite place is Ile de la cite; and to be more precise- St. Chapelle. It is simply mesmerizing. There are a number of other churches in Paris than Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame and Montmartre. Most of these are of Gothic style architecture. There are palaces( chateau) museums and monuments and landmarks all over this ancient city that has evolved a lot.

One of the churches in Paris

Through the architecture, I not only became acquainted with the beauty of this city but also with its history. After all, the history is what has made the city and its people what they are today, and hence as a resident of Paris, it was a good idea to understand the history. Residents and of visitors of Paris should definitely discover as much as they can in the city.

Today, after having been in the city for over a year, I still have not explored it enough! Therefore, if you are planning a tooiur to Europe with just a day or two in Paris, I would rather suggest to know each city like Paris a bit well enough, instead of visiting a lot of cities and not knowing them much. 
However, Paris indeed has to offer a lot to anyone irrespective of the duration of the stay. 

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