So what should we discuss next? My stolen wallet? My train ride with bag pipers? My singing with musicians? My trip to the Loire Valley? The Eiffel Tower? So many stories, so little time...
Monday, May 17, 2010
Yes, Virginia...the Eiffel Tower IS in Paris!
Are you finding it odd that I haven't mentioned the Eiffel Tower yet? I mean, it's Paris! The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel, I should say) is what everybody in the world pictures when they think of Paris -- perhaps even when they picture France -- and yet I've not said a thing about it! Sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be discussing it in this post, either! Pourquoi? Parce que...
You see, I became a Parisienne. I did not necessarily always do the "tourist thing", but rather soaked in the daily life of Paris. I'd stroll along the Seine and watch artists create their paintings; I'd sing with a group of musicians every Sunday outside of Le Centre Pompidou; I'd play cards with friends at a local cafe; I'd go to the flea market and bargain for items that I couldn't live without; I'd visit the local flower shop; I'd sit in the Luxembourg Gardens and watch men play "boules" and children float their model boats in the fountains; I'd go to the kiosques and discuss politics with the vendors -- life was good.
Paris was so very interesting to me that I almost forgot that the Eiffel Tower was there. I was fortunate to realize that I wasn't in France just to run around and snap pictures of famous buildings and monuments. I was there to experience their way of life -- to really listen to their stories, their values, their beliefs. I may not have seen the Eiffel Tower as early I as I would've thought, but I did meet very many interesting people along the way. Guess that's what they mean by "taking time to smell the roses"...
So what should we discuss next? My stolen wallet? My train ride with bag pipers? My singing with musicians? My trip to the Loire Valley? The Eiffel Tower? So many stories, so little time...
So what should we discuss next? My stolen wallet? My train ride with bag pipers? My singing with musicians? My trip to the Loire Valley? The Eiffel Tower? So many stories, so little time...
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20 comments:
I don't really get the title....
But anyway, I think it would be a lot more fun to really live like a Parisian then do the 'tourist thing' as you say. In my mind you would get a better experience out of it :)
And ohmygosh you're right about there not being enough time! You'd better get started with all these stories! I'd like to hear about the train ride with bagpipers and the singing with musicians. (Yep. You could've guessed, right?)
I want to hear about singing with the musicians, that sounds so cool!
Living in Paris like a Parisian sounds like the way to live.
I hope I get to live there someday :]
all of that sounds like it would be a blast. the part the sounds the most appealing to me is probably sitting at the café with my friends eating, joking, telling stories, card playing and just having a good time.
I'd like to hear a bout your wallet and what happened. "The Tales of Madame Schmearer's Long Lost Wallet", I'll make it a book.
See, if I went to Paris probably one of the first things I would do is go to see the Eiffel Tower. I have dreamed of seeing it and when the day comes for me to go to Paris I can't wait to go see it. But I liked how you soaked all of Paris in a little at a time, you seemed to have a lot of fun and enjoyed being there a lot. So now I'm thinking I might do that as well, being a Parisienne would be more fun than being a tourist.
I would like to here this story about your stolen wallet. That would be very interesting.
Oh yeah and I don't understand the title, same as Sally.
I have always wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower. You should discuss musicians next. You should also talk about the art . The loove or however you spell it.
I used to like going to the flea market but eventually it came to a point were I would need to be dragged in because we went to much. It's cool that you weren't a tourist and actually went and enjoyed yourself. I think tourists might annoy me because they're all excited. On the other hand I have no idea how I would react to being in a city like Paris.
I would like to hear about the bag pipers.
I'm not sure if I would do the getting used to living there thing on my first trip there. I think I would visit Paris and be a tourist and take pictures. But on my second trip I would do the whole living there thing. I'm not really sure what topic to talk about...probably the stolen wallet thing and bag pipes in the same one. Yeah!
oh my gosh! i would see the Eiffel tower first thing when i got there. i have always wanted to go there and go in the eiffle tower, but i think it would be cool to see all of the things going on on the streets like the artists painting on the side walks that would be the coolest!
I would like to see the Eiffel Tower before I went home but I don't think that would be the first thing I would do. I would want to get food first. That would probably be the first thing on my list if I was in France. I like how you became part of the community rather than just being a tourist. That would be important in getting the entire experience of Paris.
That sounds tres fantastique! See I have a very hard time not acting like a tourist because no matter how hard I try, I still find myself freaking out and talking pictures of every place my foot touches.
I really think you should talk about the lost wallet next because that happened to my brother so hearing and comparing the two is something I would like to hear next
Wow I think that singing with the musicians would have been a really great experience. I have to say that for me it would be a little hard to get in the hang of every day life i would probably be all over the tourist stuff but thats just me. :)
If I were to go to Paris, I know the Eiffel tower would probably be one of the first things I would do,because after I would have done a lot of the tourist stuff the I could really relax without worrying that I had missed something.
I want to hear about the stolen wallet! I don't know what I would do in a foreign country without my ID etc. I have never really been interested in the Eiffel Tower, I know it sounds strange- but when I think of Paris I think of cafes and old shops and Chanel- not just the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre. I just wish I could be in a place as amazing as Paris long enough to stop and smell the roses.
It's so nice you spent enough time in Paris to actually do all that stuff. If I ever went there with my family, we'd have something to do or somewhere to be every day. Someday I hope to be in Paris long enough to slow down and appreciate the little things...
I have always wanted to go Paris because the buildings and monuments seem amazing but when you said that you didn't just go to the Eiffle Tower I kept reading but it also seemed like you never even knew that you had left your home.
Oh my goodness! That is really interesting that you didn't do the "tourist thing" all the time and actually got to explore Paris! It must have been fun to just walk around the town and experience everything it has to offer. Oh and I think in the next post you should explain to us the stolen wallet story!
I've always wanted to do something like that, especially in a different country. Every time I go on a trip with my family we have to be like weird tourist people. Hopefully someday I'll get to go to a different country on my own and not be like a tourist, like you did! oh, and I still love those pictures!
I am still unclear on wether or not you have gone to the Eiffel Tower.
When you write about all of the wonderful thing you experienced in Paris, even while you stayed away from all the very tourist filled things, it really opens my eye to what a wonderful place Paris can be without going to all of the tourist sites!
If I ever went to France I would go to the Eiffel Tower first out of all the things I would want to do. Your experiences sound a lot of fun I hope I come across something like that someday in the future. I think you should tell us about the stolen wallet first then the bag pipers, and the other stories if we have time to.
it's very true that the first thing i think of when i think f Paris is the eifle tower, but it seems right to forget something like that when you are just part of the life there. I mean being in a foriegn place, trying to just see how differently people live!
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