The Top 10 Things to Like about Paris (according to Gin)

1.    Walking

Especially when you don’t have to be anywhere in particular- I find a different way to walk home every day. Sometimes my forty minute walk home ends up taking 2 hours but the city is so pretty and gorgeous boutiques are tucked away in the least likely of places.

2.    Beaucoup des Jardins

There is a beautiful garden/park every couple of kilometres- some are famous and some are tiny little playgrounds for the local kiddies. When I grab some lunch, I can bet on a garden to eat it in within a 5 minute walk in any direction. When it was lighter and warmer, one of my favourite things to do was to have a picnic at one of the local parks (Place des Vosges) or a little farther a field (Jardins du Trocadéro with a view of the Eiffel Tower).

3.    Fresh baguette at 7pm

Whilst walking home from work, it is possible to pop into the bakery next door, the bakery down the road or the bakery a couple of blocks away and pick up a baguette straight from the oven- warm and amazingly tasty. Often the same can be said for 7am and 12pm.

4.    Bread

While I’m on the subject of fresh baguettes, I have to mention the bread. It is possible for me to eat half a baguette (because it’s so delicious, not because I’m necessarily hungry) without my stomach taking on the appearance of a balloon. The bread is delicious, always fresh and never lasts long (probably also because they don’t pack preservatives into it). A friend of mine said to me the other night- “they say Americans buy bread twice a week, the French twice a day.” I’d believe it.

5.    Shop opening hours

As a general rule, the majority of shops in Paris open late in the morning and close at around 7.30 in the evening. Therefore I can leave work at 6pm, wander home and check out at least 500 pairs of boots (still not yet finding a pair I actually want with the exception of a pair at Camper – of course I have to choose the expensive pair) and arrive home by 7.30pm.

6.    Bars – small and full of character

It seems in Hobart that a lot of our more successful bars are large and stylish- think T42, Quarry, Bar Celona and Onba. In Paris, it’s the opposite. There are a multitude of tiny bars full of quaint and unique atmosphere (my local, which you can see in the image on the left, is Le Kitch and as it’s title suggests, the décor is kitsch and gorgeous) with people spilling out of them and onto the pavement every night from 6pm until the early hours of the morning. Happy hour runs from 5.30pm sometimes for the prescribed hour and sometimes up to 9pm.

7.    Eating Out

When you plan to eat out in Paris, you have time to leave work at 6pm, wander home, do some pilates, have a shower and change your clothes and by that stage it may be around 8pm and you might think about meeting your dinner date at the local bar. You’ll be lucky to eat by 9.30pm and definitely won’t be in bed by midnight. But somehow you can get up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to do it again.

8.    Quiche

The French know how to do quiche- it’s cheap, tastes fantastic and can be found in any bakery (of which there are many- see point 9). I need to learn how to make my quiche taste this good. A typical Aussie bloke after being swayed to eat quiche in Paris is now of the opinion that real men do eat quiche.

9.    Boulangeries, Charcuteries, Patisseries, Boucheries, Poissoneries etc. etc. etc.

Paris is made up of thousands of small bakeries, butcheries, fish shops, chocolate shops, cheese shops… the list goes on. Walk up any street and you have a choice of many in every direction you look. There are such a lot of them that you wonder how they can all survive competing on top of one another? Maybe they don’t? I know I will always choose the shop that has a line up outside and it hasn’t failed me yet.

10.    Shop clumping

More often than not, if you want a particular item in Paris and you manage to find a shop that has that item, every shop in the near vicinity will also have that item. There are streets dedicated to cameras and accessories, art, paper, home wares and of course clothes to mention just a few. It’s a little like if Wendy King, Polly, Betts, Williams and Fauls all set themselves up along Criterion St. Very handy.

Comments

[TheBestMusic]

I've never been to Paris. But it is included to my must visit place list. And now you encourage me to go there soon.
TheBestMusic