People Watching is the Ultimate Paris Pastime by davequ
People watching at a cafe. I like to find a good location somewhere in the city:
(Opera, Montparnasse, Latin Quarter or the Champs Ellysees but almost any cafe in Paris will do);
order my favorite beverage
(carafe vin de la maison rouge, juice, an espresso, whatever);
light up, ... and just sit there & watch Paris go by.
What else is Paris for?
"Happiness is the best facelift...." Joni Mitchell Copyright Joni Mitchell
I tried my best to learn enough polite French to avoid as much as possible being perceived as "le touriste americain laid grossier."
Conversational French ( especially hearing & understanding it at normal speed ) was and is still difficult for me but I worked at it for weeks before I flew to Paris for the first time.
One day I needed to use a telecarte phone card I had purchased at a tabac, but could not get it to work. The call was important and I was very tired and frustrated.
I stopped a typically fashionable and lovely Parisian woman on the street and struggled in my primitive French to apologize and explain my small problem.
She immediately took me by the hand into a phone booth, got my card to work, and made the call for me.
When I thanked her simply in French ("Merci beaucoup, Madame") she smiled, hugged me, and in perfect English (she spoke it all along...) said "and thank you sir for the 'Merci Beaucoup!' You are very polite and it was my pleasure."
I will never forget her or her wonderful example of "parisian gentilles."
Madame, wherever you are, Merci... Vous etes tres gentile, et tres aimable. x
At upper-left is my homage to a classic cafe shot from Anthonys "Street Scenes" collection you can find here:
An Anthony Atkielski Facelift
Thank you Anthony.
