This is my wife; Gloria. We are in Paris to present her company at the British Embassy for French retailers. The trip was arranged to ensure that UK manufacturers were given the opportunity to create a confident platform to display their products to new international market.
I went with a mixture of anticipation and expectancy at what might be gleaned by this new venture into overseas marketing for my wife's company - Big Tomato Company , under the supposedly authoritative guidance of the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
Mixing business with pleasure we spent four enjoyable days walking, talking, drinking and eating our way through this beautiful city. This was a great opportunity to share our collective enthusiasms and Paris is one of those cities where you are positively encouraged to do this. The relaxed urban culture and pedestrian friendly city planning made this the perfect city for a short break.
And after exploring much of what the city had to offer we came away from this trip with the a few experiences I would like to share:
Observation 1. We will always have Paris: After such a short journey by train from St Pancras to Gare du Nord we realised how near (in terms of distance) but how far (in terms of culture) we are to our gallic neighbors. As soon as we arrived I could sense romantic suggestions that Paris brings to a person is obvious and unavoidable. As such, most of our activity over our four day excursion paid homage to the city of life and love. We navigated our route through Paris by map and metro; but walking aimlessly was my personal favorite modus operandi.
Observation 2. Navigate with soul. Suffice it to say when husband and wife get together to navigate a new territory; maps, advice and knowledge take a back seat to trust, patience and conviction. These qualities were both our anchor and true guide throughout the various adventures through the Paris streets over our stay in the city.
On the first day we explored the Marais a once artistocratic suburb in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements. This is district has a bohemian quality in terms of culture but the architecture keeps reminding you of Le Marais regal past.
Observation 3. Keep moving - Our routes took us across Paris from the Louvre in the west to the Bastille in the east. We sampled the chic shopping districts around Concorde and the thriving african and asian cultures around Chateau D'eau. Musee D'Orsay and the Louvre to high culture, through to La Layette and then north to the Pompidou. This was a trial of adventure and mutual exploration between us both a surprise around every corner (what tourists what fun). What fun and what discovery. I do not ant to give to much recommendation on what we found and what we enjoyed as this will take away what pleasurable mysteries Paris has in store for these who wish to let go and go with the Parisian flow.
Observation 4. - Lingua Franca
I have not been to Paris from some time now and my experience is that whilst a short distance away it was the language that separates the Brits from the French. My recent experience was a shock to the cultural system. English is the most commonly heard language with a myriad of different accents. I was pretty disappointed that my rudimentary grasp of the language fell on deaf ears only revived when lazy english was spoken.
P.S. A map is not mandatory as the real route to discovery comes from the heart and not the printed page.
No comments:
Post a Comment