Its actually very nice to see smiles greeting you whenever you land at a new place...So far as Paris is concerned, I would give it, what shall I say, full marks? Definitely so! Since the second I walked out of Finnair flight - AY 879 into Terminal II D of Charles de Gaulle, to the one this piece is being written, there's not been a single moment I have felt vulnerable... You don't even know them, and yet they venture forward to help you lift your luggage - that too when they're fully suited; greet you with a smiling 'bonjour' as you walk past them; hold the door open for you smilingly to let you pass by; 'merci' if you help them with even a small errand; try and explain you the way to a particular place in French, knowing that you don't know the language, but not leaving the effort till they think you have understood the way; and so on...Its a pleasure to see that such etiquettes do indeed exist and so does such a culture!
If you have a classical taste of things, Paris is paradise for you. Beautiful architecture and maybe even this is an understatement. Be it the likes of the Eiffel or be it Cathedral of Notre-dame...Be it the classically constructed Pantheon or be it the modern pyramid of Louvre museum constructed within the walls of a breath-taking classical architecture - you will love all... The buildings stand tall and towering - it seems for once that even they pride themselves in being French!
Its somehow ironically parallel that even the basic geography of the city is very striking...My professor explained that people began inhabiting the city beginning from the centre-most isles - Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint Louis - located in the heart of the meandering Seine river as this provided protection against the invaders. Paris has grown almost symmetrically outwards since then, giving the city an almost circular map.
Its been just six days since I set foot upon this land as also in Europe...and I am still digesting the air of Paris...and I am glad I shall be staying here for another nine weeks...
Au revoir et ayez un bonjour!
1 comment:
just a few facts:
1. Almost every Parisian can speak fluent English, but will not do so when encountered by an English-speaking foreigner.
2. Eiffel tower, when built, was compared to a phallic projection, and it was promised, to the Parisians, that it will be brought down after 100 years, to save Paris from further loss of dignity.
3. Louvre, which boasts itself to be the largest museum in the world, has hardly any representation from the Indian subcontinent, where the oldest continually-existent civilization has been thriving for over 5,000 years.
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