And so to our last day. We decided to go off and explore a market and get some goodies ot take back (cheese, Toulouson sausage, whatever we could really). So off we went to the Marche on Rue Moufetere in the 5th arrondissement. Then home (after a long delay waiting for one of the tour party who it later transpired had completely got the travel times wrong, and so missed not only the coach but the train as well).
Reflections on Paris - smaller, more well laid out and more spectacular than London, it is a beautiful city. Not one to live in I fear (it is almost impossible to buy and renting is inordinately expensive too - hence that large homeless population on all the streets), but worth repeated visits. The Metro is far better than the London Underground - easy to navigate, cheaper and overall more efficient.
The reputation for rudeness and pretending not to understand your French when it is obvious you are English that precede the Parisians was certinaly not proved to be true in our limited experience. Every Parisian we met was polite, most switched to English when they realised that we were not native speakers, and seemed to goout of thier way to be helpful and pleasant. Which suggests to us that a lot has to do with how we as Brits come over when we visit France (or any other country for that matter) - a willngess to learn and use the language and to try and understand the culture a bit seem to be appreciated wherever you travel to. Assuming that everyone speaks English is not only lazy but rude (even though you almost always can find someone who speaks some English wherever you travel - and I am not altogether sure how to take that, as a good or a bad thing).
Our love affair with France and the French goes on.
No comments:
Post a Comment