The special city of Paris

Almost a week in Paris has passed partly working, partly on vacation.
Having not been to Paris since about the age of 14 this was really the
first time to really explore and get to know the city. And what a city
it is.

Much of what makes it great is the same as anywhere in France: the
patisseries with their wonderful dessert;, the boulangeries with
wonderful breads and kind, personal, owners; crepes (pancakes)
available everywhere; coffee available even more 'everywhere'; the
(sometimes very thick)hot chocolates; the plat du jour (dish of the
day) and set menus; and, due to even the French going smoke-free, the
outside heating areas in front of every cafe whose tables are in the
highest demand.

Then there are some things unique to Paris, a city barely touched
architecturally in hundreds of years: the small streets; uniformly 6
storey buildings with shutters; the numerous squares; the hilly windy
backstreets of montmatre; the incredible mansions of Marie; the
impressively long queues for falaffels outside the jewish bakeries;
the boulevards; and of course the major sites: Eiffel, Notre, L'Arc,
L'Ouvre et al. All incredibly amazing structures.

Then there was the surprise packages: the amazing morocan tagines
(stews), the literary walking tour of the places where many of the
world's great writers, poets and thinkers found inspiration, and the
crazy business district (La Defense) which is 10km west of the city
and houses the only tall buildings in the city -an area that seems to
have been in the 70s like Beijing is now: a playground for architects.

Apart from the prices, which seem to be around 20% more than even
London (maybe that is because of the bad exchange rate), there aren't
too many faults with the city. But I did find some in my short stay. I
did feel somewhat unsafe walking around the ethnic neighbourhoods at
night, and I was getting bored of the uniformity in the buildings. But
at the end of the day, the vibe, different to London generated by the
many many independent cafes and bakeries etc was fantastic.

I didn't get as much of a sense of history or diversity,or of the
centre of things and future of things, as I do in London; or of
excitement and intrigue from the nooks, crannies and corners of
alleys, pubs and historical buildings that I get in London. But then
Paris has something, something special that means I can now understand
just why it has the reputation it has.

Same old England -and not such a bad thing

Everytime I come back to the UK, its often the same: joy at how
beautiful London is, amazement at the history and culture and
diversity, the wonders of the pub and the countryside etc. This trip
it has been the same: walking around Poultry in london or Ham in the
cotswolds, enjoying small theatres in watford or newbury (the theatre
is an old watermill), enjoying british town centres where there is
still some individualism apart from the chain stores (though this is
rare), having cream teas, cakes and deserts; utilizing the highly
efficient debit card system instead of using cash and the list goes
on.

And of course, enjoying the picturesque villages and high streets in
the countrysides, thatched roofs, pubs, all sorts of footpaths, and
examples of the craziness of the good 'ol times in the countryside
when there were very rich people doing strange things when the country
was strong.

In Bath, one of the most georgious cities in the world: old,
interesting, diverse, historical, intriguing, independent.... it
really is one great place to discover. Whilst there we came across
Sham Castle on a hilltop -built by someone crazy who wanted to see a
castle on the hills when he looked out of the window from his house in
the valley. Thus the front wall of a castle was built, and nothing
else. The sheer craziness of it is so english. The castle is really a
sham, but a great one at that.

It really is impossible to avoid character in London: in any bar, pub,
restaurant, hotel or even station there is something special about the
place. All these places are out there waiting to be enjoyed, although
at a price. Although nothing that is good is cheap, there are some
compromise options. It's not Beijing. It's wonderful.

on way home

After work I cycled off with 3 plants in my bike basket and in plastic bags over the handlebars to take them to a friend to look after while I am gone for the next 2 and a half weeks -working and vacationing in both London and Paris as well as to other parts of the UK to get everything done. It's just the right time to leave China as the New Year holiday is upon us, starting this weekend. Lots of people already started their vacation since last weekend, and the roads are already noticeably emptier. The fireworks stalls are now set-up on most major street corners and outside supermarkets; some people have even started letting them off, although its illegal before (and after) the holiday officially starts.

 

Happy New Year to everyone -and I'm looking forward to seeing many of you in the next couple of weeks. It seems i got lucky with my flight, leaving on the 28th feb with the next BA strike likely to start the day after!