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Impressions of ParisBy Walter Glaser
I know I shouldn't even have been listening, but I almost found myself nodding in agreement. There is a special magic about France and especially about Paris that defies exact description. Ambience, charm, chic, history, colour, architecture, geography -- all come into it. But somehow I can't define all this with anything even remotely approaching precision. I love France more with each visit and I know exactly what that lady meant. The layout of this city is unbelievably beautiful. Wide, elegant boulevards, with large chestnut trees everywhere. Colorful plantings of multi-hued flower beds enhanced by statues are to be found at nearly every intersection. And the woods and parks which encircle the city are restful havens ideal for strolling or sitting. I realize that Paris has totally captivated me -- as it has done with visitors for so many generations. Why?
Yesterday I took a three-hour tour with "Paris Vision", who use a double-decker bus with multi-lingual recording devices. (With these you set your earphones to your choice from five languages to get the whole background story of the area you are in. Much better than having to listen to glossed-over generalities in five languages of which you can't understand four.) It was on this tour that I realized what it is that makes Paris so different. Other cities have splendid sections and areas of interest, but these are interspersed with dull and often dingy suburbs on the tour route. Paris however, is a complete feast of beauty -- one magnificent building after another, each steeped in history. The residential blocks all seem to have richly carved stonework, lacy wrought-iron balconies, and beautifully carved wooden doors and doorways. Every building is a work of art in itself, and vies with fountains, monuments and street-gardens for attention. I won't sing the praises of the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral or the Eiffel Tower because their splendours are known to all. It's the thousands of individual buildings, erected in the stylish 1800's which make up Paris that boggle the mind. Each one would, in most other countries, get 'Oohs, 'Aahs' and a National Trust classification.
If you are in Paris in summer and take a boat trip along the Seine, you will get yet another perspective. At 5.00 pm riverbanks are still crowded, with people everywhere on the sunny embankments, and enough of the sunbathing girls stripped to the waist to make a man’s concentration on the architecture somewhat difficult. Years ago I heard frequent criticism of the French as arrogant, unfriendly and haughty. If this was once so, there is little trace of it now, although they are by nature much more reserved and less ebullient than some of their North American, Australian, or Asian counterparts. Many more French people now speak a little English and even with those who don't, patience and a will to communicate somehow seems to get me by without any knowledge of the French language.
The restaurants are all you'd expect them to be in Paris where the French take their food very seriously. I bought a pocket restaurant guide (several versions of these are available at Smith’s, the English-language bookstore in the Rue Castiglione) which takes each suburb and rates the leading restaurants there on a points-out-of-twenty basis. There's a map of each suburb and a price guide for each. Thanks to this, I have been able to avoid the excessively expensive restaurants and still enjoy superb meals. Brasseries, too, are a wonderful place to dine for informal meals. My favorite here is probably the Brasserie Lorraine in the Place des Ternes. If you are not guided by the local food-critics expertise however, you may find yourself eating in places that do not live up to the reputation of the fine Parisian cuisine. I remember wandering into a pizza restaurant off the Champs Elysee (the one street in Paris which is really ‘touristy’) and having the worst meal of its type ever. Spaghetti that had been boiled into submission till, limp and waterlogged, it had set into a glue-like paste in which each strand was past separation. You are right if you have guessed that every person eating there was a foreign tourist!
Shopping in Paris is a delight. The merchandise is stylish and generally of excellent quality, but prices can be steep in comparison to your home currency. One way to overcome this is to be in France for the mid-year or end year sales. If you are there at these times, shopping becomes fantastic because unbelievable bargains abound. People fall in love with Paris for their own personal reasons. For some it’s the architecture, for others it’s the romance, for yet others it’s the culture. Once hooked, one tends to want to go back to this lovely city again and again. It has certainly affected me in the same way as it did Ernest Hemingway when, in a letter to a friend, he wrote in 1950: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you like a moveable feast." RESOURCES:Best time to go -- March to November. Avoid August if possible as all Europe is on holiday, and Paris can get very hot indeed. Hints for Paris dining -- When going to any of the recommended restaurants, it is wise to make sure that:- 1. You dress well - conservative - NOT TOURISTY. French restaurateurs take great care in balancing their set menus perfectly -- they are usually better priced and feature the best house specialties. Meats in France tend to be cooked on the very underdone side and if you order "well done" you will get what would be "rare" at home. When ordering from waiters who speak little English, smile, speak clearly, slowly and softly. If unfamiliar with local wines, Sancerre and Muscadet in whites and Beaujolais in reds are safe and usually inexpensive wines. If in doubt, order a "demi" or half bottle to try any label that is unfamiliar. Burgundy wines are generally light. Bordeaux wines are generally heavier. If you want to be taken seriously as a diner, order wine, not beer, and never spirits with your meal. A cognac afterwards however, is fine. Restaurants:(B) = budget -- (M) = medium --- (E) = expensive Le Grand Vefour, 17 Rue de Beaujolas. Ph: 33 1 42 96 56 27 (E) This restaurant, which recently received the award of best restaurant in Paris, is sensational, and if you have to lunch on dry bread for a week, have one meal here! Dinner and wines are expensive, but there is a secret hint of how to make a meal reasonably affordable at this superb three-Michelin-star restaurant with its great history -- go for lunch! First, look it up on the web -- www.relaischateaux.fr/vefour -- to whet your appetite. Order the set lunch menu, and pretend you are a teetotaler unless you have a reasonable budget for wine. You will enjoy the best meal of your life, with the most perfect service and ambience. Ask them for their little English-language card that will give you the fascinating history of this superb restaurant. Then go for a walk in the lovely gardens of the Palais Royal, which this restaurant faces. Le Petit Colombier, 42 Rue des Acacia. Ph 33 1 43 80 28 54 (E) Chez Francis, 7 Place d'Alma. Ph 33 1 47 10 86 22 (M) La Petite Auberge, 38 Rue Laugier. Ph 33 1 47 63 85 51 (M) La Fermette Marbeuf, 5 Rue Marbeuf. Ph 33 1 47 20 63 53 (M) (request the Belle Epoque Room) Relais du Sud Ouest, 148-150 Rue St. Honore, no reservations (B) Cafe la Jatte, 60 Boulevard Vital Boubot, Neully Sur Seine (M) Le Bistrot du Breteuil, 3 Place de Breteuil. Ph 33 1 45 67 07 27 (M) Restaurant du Palais Royal, 110 Galerie de Valois. Ph 33 1 40 20 00 27 (M) Pizzeria Veronica, 65 Rue St. Dominique. (B) Restaurant Guy Savoy. 18 Rue Troyon. Ph 33 1 43 80 40 61 (E) Interesting Paris Hotel:A four-star hotel we thoroughly enjoy, with great position, service, English-speaking staff, and excellent rooms, is the Victoria Palace Hotel. Check it out at www.ila-chateau.com/victoria . This group also have some outstanding French and international properties. Insiders tip! For the best deal here, book through the Web and ask for one of the standard rooms ending with No.13. It will NOT be your unlucky number! |
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TM
The French lady collecting her luggage at the airport
terminal was speaking to her American companion. "I'm so happy to be back
here for a visit. One must leave France to really appreciate her."
There is a multitude of reasons, but the main one is
the stunning beauty of this city. Paris has enthralled visitors for
centuries and has been a magnet for artists, musicians and writers, nearly
all of whom have extolled the virtue of this unique and lovely city which
has charmed them with its beauty. Ruskin summed it up when he said: "You
who have ever been to Paris, know -- and you who have not been to Paris --
go!! " (John Ruskin, A Tour Through France, 1835).
Even the "uglies", like the Pompidou Center, which
looks as if built from plumber's leftovers, has a grand scale that must be
admired. I don't pretend to understand far-out art and architecture and
instinctively dislike most of it, but when the French do something,
half-measures are not in their vocabulary.
Two nights ago I was taken to "The Crazy Horse". I've
rarely seen anything as good as this two hour revue which has become a Paris
icon -- beautiful girls, great dancing, imaginative staging and a magician
who left the audience gasping in disbelief. The only down-side was the
smoke-filled atmosphere -- you will notice a lot of people still smoke in
France.
Price incidentally, is not necessarily a guide to
quality when it comes to Paris dining. Some of the inexpensive
establishments serve absolutely sensational food at prices that are
incredibly low. The 'big name' restaurants can sometimes be too formal for
my liking and have price tags that are way past the means of the average
person.