City of Lights but also City of Dog Shit
2009-11-23

Paris. City of lights, city of beautiful women, city of good cheese and wine, city of the Moulin Rouge, city of Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame. Is that all? Well, wait and see.

I have been to Paris a couple of times but never really spent any time there just to stroll through the city and do the tourist things. A quick weekend-like stint of a day and a half wouldn't hurt, I figured.

Air France brought me to Paris. That was an adventure by itself. I don't give a damn about which airline I fly; usually the cheaper, the better. France has a bad reputation in many countries for being intolerant concerning the language used by tourists and for being impolite. But that is a just a reputation, or isn't it? I put such opinions away as stereotypes that shouldn't be trusted and naturally I always give all people the benefit of the doubt. One shouldn't conclude too much from a few single experiences and some hearsay. The Air France staff taught me another lesson. Sometimes reputations are built on facts. The flight attendants snapped at me like Rotweilers with rabies would snap at a blind passenger hiding on board illegally. They make sure to let you know that they hate serving you. They skip you when it comes to meal time, they ignore it of course if you press that little attendant light and if you dare to lift your hand to point out that you didn't get any food, they are deeply insulted, give you a demeaning look implying "who the hell do you think you are that you can wave at me" and keep ignoring you even more. My neighbor didn't have any more luck either. He didn't get a meal and when he asked for a glass of water later the answer was simple "not now" with the facial expression adding "get lost". A lovely attitude. True politeness in its most pleasant form. It gets even better though. Somebody was on strike at Paris' CDG airport and many flights were canceled. When I inquired who is on strike the following conversation started:

Well, once on the ground it turned out that Air France, and Air France only, was on strike. I smiled as I had the please of leaving Paris on SAS where they know the meaning of the term 'customer service'.

Again, one shouldn't draw general conclusions about all French people based on such an experience, it just happens to be another not-so-positive sample point. It is also funny to notice that out of the 4 times that I flew to Paris, this was already the second time Air France was on strike. The last time the plane had to be rerouted to Lyon as it was not allowed to land and we had to switch to a bus in Lyon.

My stoic attitude towards such situation made me forget the flight experience quickly. When I checked into the hotel in downtown and the reception desk lady was friendly, kind, and English speaking I was nearly in heaven. For most of the day I strolled around Paris touring all the famous sights that are known around the world: Pantheon, Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, Centre Georges Pompidou, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, Place de Concorde, Camps Eysees, and the Louvre. A more than tight package for a single day. My personal highlight was the Sacred Heart (Sacre Coeur) as it surely gives a great view of Paris, but above all because the live performance of the female choir of nuns was memorable and soothing, my own little start of the Christmas season. It was so comfortable that I didn't want to get up even after the performance was over. Good music, Enigma style, fit for meditation or to let your mind wander.