These days, I am in Europe with one of my friends to visit some of the world's most amazing cities. Shortly into our trip, I have already experienced some of the most eye-opening adventures ever--daunting, yet exhilarating. For the upcoming weeks, I will be featuring surprising things I've encountered and learned about each city during my time there. First up, 14 surprising things about visiting Paris, France.
On first impressions
When my flight started descending into Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, I had a few moments of sheer panic. I remember staring out the window at the rising sun and growing more and more terrified of my first time abroad--ever--and my first solo trip without the guidance of my well-traveled family.
I kept thinking how this was my first time on this side of the world, on this continent, in this country. The first thing I noticed from the plane was how different the streets looked in France. They were not perpendicular to each other or straight like in the States; they all seemed to meet in the center and then spiral out from each other in all directions, sort of like a pinwheel.
The streetlights, too, seemed to twinkle; the entire landscape looked so pretty and luminous. The streets also curve snugly around the land, so I got this awesome first glance of the layout of the hills and countryside.
My friend, who drove through the country, said the roads do not cut through the natural landscape like they often do back home; they move with it, so the roads are very windy. The twinkling views from the plane window foreshadowed the rest of the city, and got me excited all over again for my trip.
On the impressive parking and driving downtown
Second thing I noticed about Paris--the cars are tiny. About 90 percent or more of the cars I saw there were smaller than my ’99 Toyota Camry at home. It makes sense because the streets are so narrow and parking is very limited. It is true that all Europeans have to learn how to parallel park, but especially in Paris it is a must.
I also noticed the vehicles looked so much less flashy than the ones I am used to at home. They were all either black, grey, or white….I saw probably one green car, no crazy or attention grabbing colors that stood out. The cars all looked strikingly similar in make and model. I think in Paris, people are more relaxed about cars; they are not as much a part of one's image as they tend to be in the U.S.
People seemed much more relaxed about driving in general--there were no traffic lanes (I could not imagine), if there was no parking available, someone would just back up halfway onto the sidewalk, and all of the license plates had scuffs on them from getting hit by other cars trying to park.
The friend I was traveling with got a kick out of this--she told me she once saw someone who was attempting to parallel park back up into a car, inch forward and hit the other car, back up again and hit the first car, and repeat this cycle for several minutes before they got out of their car and walked away, like nothing had happened!
On the street signs
The Metropolitain is the subway that runs through Paris. All of the signs marking it looked exactly like above. They reminded me of an entrance to a haunted house. Also, the street signs were almost always hidden, displayed on the sides of buildings and not in the actual intersection.
Navigating was quite an adventure! More than once, we found ourselves walking down a street hoping the next road would have its name clearly on display so we could figure out whether we were headed in the right direction or not.
On not paying subway fare
Metro “hopping” or “jumping” is very common in a lot of cities, but in Paris, the locals will actually help you pass through the bars if you do not want to pay (who said Parisians are snooty?!)
If you stand there long enough and look confused, they will actually urge you along with them. My friend’s ticket did not work once, and the man in line behind her said “Go” as he inserted his ticket.
Same thing happened to me, and without uttering a word, some random woman who had passed through the entrance opened up the exit door for me to pass through when my friend asked for help. And I will never forget the Parisian woman holding the entrance door open for a bunch of us tourists to “hop” in--she just kept waving us on until we had all made it through.
One of the girls in the group ahead of us said “Sorry, sorry, we’re American, we don’t know what to do!” and the woman nodded with an expression that could only mean “I do this all the time. What can you do?” It is nice that no one will tattle or lecture you for committing such a minor offense--people tended to mind their own business about that and not care, something I could not imagine happening in my hometown. Just don't get caught metro hopping--the fine is 50 euro!
On the Eiffel Tower (and how it is even more amazing in person)
My friend and I checked out the Pantheon crypts one day, and on our way out, when my back was not facing it, I caught my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.
The sight of it stopped me dead in my tracks. It was absolutely breathtaking! I cannot put in to words what it was like to experience it; so far, it has been the most moving part of my trip. Growing up, I read Madeleine and other French books and watched cartoons that featured it. "Le Tour Eiffel" was this motif that kept popping up, so at last seeing it in person was very special to me. We picnicked that night underneath it and walked around the periphery. It was huuuuge, much bigger than I would have ever anticipated. And so much more amazing.
On the translation
I speak French, but even someone who does not know a word of it would still fare just fine in Paris. Many street signs and menus have the English version written, and many of the locals speak some of it, if not entirely fluently.
My advice would be to ask a shopkeeper or vendor for directions when they are not helping another customer. Whenever we were not speaking French, we would ask if they spoke English, then proceed with our question. Usually then, people are happy to help--not once were we shooed away or given the cold shoulder.
Also, even though there are many English speakers in Paris, I still found a couple translation or syntax differences. My favorite was the French version of Spongebob--“Bob L’éponge” which directly translates to “Bob the Sponge” (which I find adorable and hilarious).
On local fashion and beauty
I remember hearing a piece of French fashion advice: before leaving the house, remove one accessory you put on. I loved the French style. Parisian men and women alike dress in very monochromatic outfits that are always streamlined, conservative, and effortlessly chic.
There were very few vibrant colors--lots of navy blues, blacks, whites. The most patterned garment I saw were black and white striped shirts. The women’s hair was either up, or styled down in what looked like their natural texture. And their makeup was very minimal, too--very natural and not caked on like what I am used to seeing in LA. They looked so put together and fashionable, but probably in half the time it would take me to get ready.
On two wheeled transportation
Bikes are everywhere in Paris. Everywhere! There is a service where you can pay to rent a bike from the streets--the “grey bikes” were what they were referred to as. Sidewalks were filled with rows of these rental bikes, and both tourists and locals used them for sightseeing, transportation, or plain old grocery shopping.
We saw them biking through traffic everywhere--and no one (gasp!) wore helmets. Because smaller, more compact modes of transportation are ideal, there were also a ton of motorcycles on the streets and parked all along the curbs.
There were so many on one street, parked in this herd outside of a restaurant, I asked my friend if they were for rent too, like the bikes, and she laughed and said, “No, there are just a lot of motorcycles here.”
On the chocolate and macaroon shops
Especially in the tourist-y sections of the city, there was an insane number of chocolate shops lining the streets. There was chocolate-dipped fruit, chocolate pastries, boxes of chocolates, and the most creatively displayed macaroons you would ever see. There is also an Italian gelato shop called Amarino that is found all over Paris--they serve flavors of gelato arranged in rose petal formations on a cone. And in every "pâtisserie," there were freshly baked goods, including the ever-famous "pain au chocolat," or chocolate croissant.
On the romantic architecture
Almost all of Paris has the exact same architecture--very romantic, European-looking, all of the same height. The buildings are white, beige, or pastel colored, and the top floors have porches with flowers and plants on the balconies.
They look straight out of a storybook. The architecture completely fit the stereotype, but it looked so charming. Oftentimes, the first floor is for businesses (the majority of shops there were family owned and local, not big name companies managing them), and the other floors are apartments. I would love to live right above this pâtisserie we visited for breakfast and coffee on Rue Saint-Michel. The buildings are also all very old, and there are so many historical sites- one on every corner it seems.
We visited tons of old churches--Notre-Dame, Panthéon, and Saint-Germain--that have been there for hundreds of years and have been through so much of Paris’s history.
On getting approached by Parisian men
Parisian men as a whole seemed less pushy towards women, even American tourists. The extent we got was a casually-toned “Bonjour Mademoiselle” or “Bonjour Madame” as we walked past them in the streets. On the surface, their approach seemed less cocky and dominating than what we are used to at home, but I am sure the actual intentions--appropriate and unacceptable alike--are each still as common as they are in the US.
On dancing
My friend had studied in Paris for several months, and went out one night to go dancing with other students in her program. They talked to the bartenders and learned that a lot of the dancing we do here--think twerking--is very shocking to do publicly in Paris. If someone at club danced like that, the crowd would probably be mortified.
On PDA
Similarly, couples are not overly affectionate with each other in Paris. It is so funny--Paris is supposedly the most romantic city in the world, and yet, native Parisians rarely kiss or even hold hands in public. I saw maybe one French couple holding hands downtown.
PDA-wise, France is a lot more reserved than the US. A local told us that they are taken aback whenever a couple, obviously from out of town, made out on the streets or were too lovey-dovey with each other in public. To Parisians, expressing affection is much more subtle, and anything that draws too much attention is not seen to them as classy.
On the Parisian cuisine
The local pâtisserie, dessert and pastry shops, were fun to visit. Imagine rows of French bread topped with different flavored icing and fruit. For most of our meals, we headed to the boulangerie and grabbed baguettes. We would pair them with a jar of jam for breakfast or a wedge of cheese for lunch, and have ourselves a relatively inexpensive meal right there. Paris is a fairly expensive city to visit, so these types of meals were easiest for us.
Sometimes though, we would grab sandwiches from the shops as well--the meat in Paris was delicious, all of it cured or smoked rather than cooked so there was still so much flavor in them. There was this neat mosaic throughout the city--there would be standard French food restaurants and shops with many foreign food places as well. Thai, Italian, Mexican, even a Costa Rican bar that served fruit and fresh flowers in our drinks! So we still managed to get quite a bit of variety out of our meals.
On lasting impressions
Paris is such a magical city that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. The streets look right out of a child's storybook, the views are incredible, and the whole city is rich with a culture and history of its own. That history is still so prevalent in the architecture and streets you are walking in. It is surreal--I got to visit the graves of Voltaire and Marie Curie for crying out loud! I definitely recommend a trip, and I hope to return to that wonderful city again.
