A Walk Around Paris
Like a lot of great cities in the world, it is tempting to have a taxi drop you off where you need to be and then have one pick you up and take you back to your hotel at the end of the day. I recommend that while in Paris, you pick a general destination, have a taxi take you there and drop you off, and see if you can walk the rest of the day. You won’t regret it, you’ll see things you would never see on a tour. While walking around Paris, places like the Eiffel Tower are so huge, that it becomes a daunting experience when you see how vast the area is. A beautiful lawn that goes on for football fields, where lovers linger on blankets, and the weary sit in the shade on benches. Depending on which side of the Eiffel tower you’re on, you might have to walk quite a way to get there! The subways in Paris, which are called the Paris Métro or Métropolitain, are a welcome sight to behold. Coming from New York, where the subways are essentially a breeding ground for every infectious disease in the world, the Paris Metro is an unbelievable juxtaposition. There is freaking artwork on the subway platforms! If you did that in New York it would be covered in graffiti in a matter of minutes! The Paris Metro floors are shiny and clean; there is nothing New York about the place. Make sure you visit the Metro, and go somewhere. Anywhere! It’s a beautiful experience. While walking around Paris and getting to know the town better… viewing the shops and the people walking by with their baguettes, is a great way to get to know the town. I saw an drunk sitting on the sidewalk, he might’ve been homeless I don’t know. But only in Paris might you see, someone so destitute and yet drinking such a good wine. Remarkable! One of the best things you’ll find while walking around are the doorways. these are works of art in and of themselves. I became fascinated with many of them and presented here are a few and there are hundreds worthy of framing. So much to see and so little time; and a word to the wise… I saw a Starbucks being built right across from a Parisian café, that had probably been there for hundreds of years. Paris as it is today and as it was, is going away at a modern-day pace. Corporate America will not rest until every place in the world looks the same and taste the same as every other place in the world. get out there now while the going is still good!
