Random Musings Post Paris

Just some thoughts and observations I want to remember after visiting Paris. Some entertaining, some mundane...

Parisian men aren't stinky like people used to say. In fact, they have better style overall then Toronto men and good hygiene.

Ever wonder where this speedo thing for men came from? Guess no more. Public swimming pool REGULATION requires men to wear speedos! No poop.

Public swimming pool regulation also requires people to wear swim caps. There goes feeling sexy swimming in Paris. We visited an art deco swimming pool surrounded by two floors of old school personal change rooms. One guy holds the key to all the rooms and remembers where everyone goes. I told him he was famous (I had been told about his unique ability). He smiled and said he doesn't always get it perfect.



Foot wear for both men and women tends to be better whether it's casual or sassy.

Almost no one I saw except tourists has any structure to their hair style. That means no flat irons or freakin round brush blow outs. Natural hair texture people. No helmet heads and no stripper hair.

For the first time I waved at boats going by on the Seine and when they waved back I felt a little special.

Almost no one I saw had the fake looking chunky highlights many women can't give up. Let em go.

There is no waste of space in Paris and people live in tiny spaces. It's clear we just adapt to the space we are given.

You can't recycle metal in Paris...maybe all of France. Shit! That's so yesterday.

Word of advice. Don't ask a store clerk for help if they're restocking product. They will lose it on you especially if you don't catch on they're just pretending they didn't hear you.

I didn't see as many homeless people as I do on the streets in Toronto.

I break out into a cold sweat when I have to order food. Instead of trying to butcher my french, I ended up pointing to things and said silvuplay with a big smile.

The metro in Paris is freakin amazing but line 4 is the stinkiest. Seems it's the one that heads up north out of the city into a crummy neighborhood.

The metro in Paris was amazing but also was a bit like one of those mazes kids do on paper. There are many paths to point B from point A and if you are unlucky one of your stations might be closed.

The picasso museum is closed for 3 years. I understand a reno taking 3 years in the olden days without modern tools and electricity but what kind of reno takes three years in today's age?

The bathrooms in Paris are set up in such a way that men and women share the same sink in restaurants and sometimes urinals are in the common hand washing space too. I wasn't lucky enough to be washing my hands whilst a stranger went pee beside me.

Although you can't recycle metal, the lights are often on timers and energy conservation has always been a part of their culture.

Clafouti pastries are as good as the ones I got at numerous places in Paris although they could try to do an almond croissant with a squirt of chocolate in the middle.

We don't get the kind of aged goat cheese you can get in France very easily. I ate it at least 5 times in salad there. If we can get it here it's going to be ridiculously expensive.

French women are getting fat. Maybe not the old school french women but this whole french women aren't fat thing is starting to fall apart.

I only saw one gym and one martial arts studio the whole time we were there...in all of Paris.

My friend who lives in Paris said french women wouldn't accept the almost puke type of workouts we often engage in at Urbanfitt. End of discussion.

The only really muscular guys I saw in Paris were clearly gay.

Many Parisian playgrounds have really cool structures that almost look like sculptures.

Jump suits are huge in Paris but north american travelers who bought them and wore them couldn't pull them off partly because they didn't get where to put the waste/elastic/belt. Dare pantsuits only if you're sure.

Rose is extremely popular with lunch during a heat wave.

Small floral print dresses, pant suits, skirts are totally all over the place in Paris.

Only tourists walk around in running shoes, chucks or stylin sneakers excluded.

Sandles with a thick strip of leather or fabric around the ankle are big. Again, proceed with caution.

Bright red, short nails are in too.

Bright red lips and nude eyes are happening.

The strappier the sandal the better.

I heart Parisian pizza and I've never had anything like it here.

French men, even the hot ones, don't look for body perfection in themselves and even have little soft bellies. The operative word here in LITTLE.

It's hard to find brown bread in Paris and while the bagettes were a treat, I got bored of them fast unless I slathered a little cold butter on 'em.

They use the same type of lettuce at almost every restaurant I went to and kept thing simple with the salads instead of adding 12 different things.

More people smoke in Paris than Toronto but it's not fashionable the way it used to be. You can't smoke anywhere but outside now and people will shoot dirty looks at others who light up on patios. Major cultural shift.

The best thing I saw in Paris was the Yves Saint Laurent Exhibition at the Petit Palais...by far. Thanks Pia.




Most fashionable little girls don't wear bright colours.

In France, parents are allowed to get mad at other people's children in public even if they're strangers.

My daughter met her first bullies at Place de Vouges. Even though I kept staring them down to get those nasty five year olds to leave her alone, they were relentless even fearless.

Kids start going to full time school at the age of three which might explain their different level of toughness.

Generally the only really overweight people I saw were ethnic minorities or tourists.

The normal serving size of a Parisian ice cream cone is the size of a golf ball.

Last time I visited Paris, it was rude to walk around eating food. Now more people, not only tourists, eat on the run.

Coffee serving size in Paris is about a quarter of the size of a tall at Starbucks. We have a reputation for being caffeine-aholics.

They have hard core locks on their doors in Paris. Four deadbolts and upper and lower locks. Maybe we're more trusting in Canada?

A heat wave is better experienced in Toronto vs. Paris. We have no problem milking the planet to power air conditioners here.

Taxi drivers in Paris even have style and grace albeit too much attitude at times. Our first taxi driver upon arriving dropped us off in the middle of nowhere after he couldn't find our address. We had no cell phone and my daughter had just finished getting sick in the cab (no on it, in a bag). Where's the heart man?

An apartment in downtown Paris that is comparable in size to my house would cost about $1.5 million bucks, way way more than the price of my house.

Last but not least, the shit is off the streets. There is way less dog poop on the streets than there was in 1995. Hooray!

That's about it for random musings. It's about 4 am Paris time and I need to turn in and get back on Toronto time.