Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [251]
A: I would say that both for anyone thinking of moving here and for first-time visitors, come with the idea that things will be different. Look at the buildings, try to learn even the most rudimentary history, say “Bonjour” and “Merci,” and know that not everyone speaks English. We’re guests here!
Q: What are some reasons why you feel living in Paris is rewarding?
A: I have such a feeling of safety, for one. I like being able to walk anywhere in my neighborhood and stop for a drink. And I am constantly amazed by the wonderful people I meet. I love feeling as if I am living in a global society.
Q: In a typical week or month, how do you spend your time in your quartier, and what places do you frequent?
A: No two days in Paris are the same, but I spend a lot of my life behind the computer working on Bonjour Paris. It’s my passion as well as an addiction, having spent the past fifteen years typing away and sharing my love of, and more than occasional frustration with, France. At least once a week, I try to make a pilgrimage to a neighborhood with which I’m not familiar, but a lot of my free time is limited by the weather. As much as I try to go to the Luxembourg Gardens each day, if it’s freezing cold or raining I don’t make it.
I’m desperately trying to stay away from daily pilgrimages to Kayser, the wonderful bakery that’s less than a block away from my apartment (even though I may have only one croissant on a visit, the calories gravitate to my thighs). My money is better spent at Monceau Fleurs, where you can buy moderately priced flowers, which, although ephemeral, give me pleasure. Rather than going to the gym, my exercise consists of walking and walking some more. When taking the Métro, there are invariably stairs involved, and even though I know better, I jog from one platform to another when changing trains, as if I’d have to wait an hour if I missed the next train pulling into the station. I do take taxis occasionally, when I’m very dressed up, but that’s pretty rare since Paris has become a substantially less formal city (unless it’s a three-star restaurant, men often don’t wear ties anymore).
People who live in France usually have a favorite café, and it’s more than a place to drink coffee: it’s a front-row seat to observing others and living theater. My cafés tend to change according to where there’s the most sun. And as much as some visitors assume all Parisians eat out all the time, those days aren’t frequent unless you’re made of big bucks. When I first arrived in Paris, I was horrified by the few kitchens I was allowed to see [typically, guests would not be welcome to visit the kitchen], because they looked like dungeons. The French are now into chic kitchen design—all you need to do is walk down boulevard Saint-Germain near rue du Bac in the seventh and you have your choice of one über-expensive kitchen store after another.
My main shopping venue is Ed, located at the end of my block on rue Notre-Dames-des-Champs. Initially, the store was kind of a dump where the neighborhood’s residents would pretend they didn’t see each other. The grocery store stocks its own inexpensive Dia brand and many generics that cost less than comparable items at Paris’s mainstream groceries. This doesn’t mean I don’t go to La Grande Épicerie at Bon Marché if I want special goodies to serve to my guests. And I’ve become a dévotée of Picard, a chain that sells the best frozen foods anywhere. You can order via the Internet and a delivery truck will arrive the next day. One of the joys of living in France is the availability of first-rate cheese, one of my greatest weaknesses—it’s hard to say no to a Vacherin Mont d’Or at its runniest perfection.
I’ve come to the realization that it’s okay to let a place annoy you on occasion and still know it’s an integral part of your heart and soul. At a party I went to recently I was greeted by a sea of unfamiliar faces, and people were from a great number of other countries. Everyone spoke French and English, and many people said they came to Paris on a year’s