Together in Paris

Whenever possible, I've been trying to use movie quotes as the titles for my blog entries. I've chosen this particular quote because almost (key word: almost) every time someone mentions Paris, I immediately think of the animated film Anastasia (Dreamworks not Disney, by the way). In this wonderful movie, the title character essentially spends the whole movie trying to get to Paris so that she can be reunited with her long lost family. [As a side note, if you want to watch the movie, it's on Hulu.com and I also own a DVD which you're welcome to borrow.] Anyway, just for fun, let's compare and contrast Anastasia and myself...

Similarities:

- She's a girl. I'm a girl.

- She doesn't have much of a sense of fashion. Neither do I.

- She made a trip to Paris that included some train travel. So did I.

- ...I'm out.

Differences:

- She's a princess. I'm not.

- She's an orphan. I have a family.

- She started in Russia. I started in Scotland.

- She was going to Paris to see her Grandmother. I went to Paris to see a friend.

- She named her dog "Pooka." I would never do that.

-...obviously there are hundreds more.

Now why did I take you through this pointless exercise? Glad you asked. Good writing is all about the clever transition. (Yes, I realize that it loses its cleverness when I point it out and that it's a stretch in the first place.) So, that said...

In lieu of writing out a detailed account of my time in Paris with my friend Andrew, I've opted to examine instead the similarities and differences between life here in Stirling and life (as I perceived it) there in Paris. For those of you who read Andrew's blog too, I'm afraid you may have heard some of this. But I'm hoping that it'll give you a taste of my experience there and enlighten you a bit more about my experiences here. We'll start with something simple:

Food: A sheep's innards boiled in its own stomach vs. soft cheese spread over fresh baguette

Scotland - Food in Scotland has not been a disappointment. In order for it to be a disappointment, it would be necessary for me to have had positive expectations in the first place. Let's be honest, the British isles aren't known for their food. Aside from foods that I've already described in detail (pastries and mussels), the best meal I've had here is my own cooking. And that's saying something. I have enjoyed sampling the many Tesco-brand products, though. My current favorite is TESCO Pomegranate and raspberry wheats. Essentially, they are shredded wheat squares with fruit filling. Tasty. but nothing to write home about. (Did you catch the irony there?)

Paris - Food in Paris was also not a disappointment. I expected the food in Paris to be the best sampling of food I've ever had in my life, and I think that it was. From the bread, madeline, chocolate and wine that Andrew greeted me with upon arrival, to the all-you-can-eat fresh baguettes with jam for breakfast every morning, to une crepe au jambon et au fromage at a creperie near Notre Dame, to the elaborate, delicious pastries we managed to fit in between most meals, Paris was a glutton's paradise. I guarantee you that if I had spent the summer in Paris I would have finally gained my "freshman fifteen," if not more. Two days didn't hurt, though.

My favorite meal, and I use the term "favorite" very loosely, was probably the small picnic of baguette, soft cheese and white wine that we enjoyed on my last night in Paris. It's remarkable to me how delicious something so simple can be. But I think true culinary skill is found in doing the simple things well. Fittingly, this is the only meal that I remembered to photograph (...after we'd finished, that is...):

Weather: Northeast Ohio vs. Southern Ohio

Scotland - It's funny to me that Scotland gets such bad publicity when it comes to weather. To be honest, I think that so much of it is just that people like to complain. From what I've experienced, Scotland in the summer is very similar to being back home in the spring. It's cloudy a lot. It rains a lot. One minute it's around 40 degrees and the next you're burning up. Sound about right? We had a little heat wave a couple weeks ago, but at the moment the temperature is hovering right around 60 degrees, which to me is perfect. I couldn't ask for better weather, really.

Paris - Having only spent a couple days in the Parisian climate, my view is a bit off, probably. In general I think that Paris tends to be a bit warmer than Scotland and a bit less rainy. However, I was in Paris during the tail end of a heat wave which brought the temperature to around 80 degrees or so both days. Not my favorite. But, I was in Paris, so no complaints here. It didn't rain at all during my stay, which I was very grateful for.

One bonus of the hot weather was that I got to witness the latest fashion among French men -- something I like to call manpris. Capris for men. Although the native French men don't wear shorts, they do wear strangely tight capri-like pants. I'm not sure why they don't just give up those next couple inches. Maybe they're embarrassed about their chubby knees.

Public Transportation: Cheers, love! vs. doors that cut off hands

Scotland - First, let me note that the large cities -- Glasgow and Edinburgh -- have subway systems. But Stirling doesn't and I never use them, so buses and trains are my usual forms of public transportation. I've become quite accustomed to the bus system in and around Stirling. Some of my favorite parts of riding the bus and trains are...

- When the bus driver yells at pedestrians out his window and they shout back.

- Seeing the bus fit through remarkably tiny spaces that it should not fit through (think Night Bus in Harry Potter)

- Hearing "Cheers" (sometimes "Cheers, love") in response to your "Thank you" as you pass by the driver on your way out.

- When the attendant comes down the car on the train to check your ticket (traveling papers?) So many movie references come to mind each time.

- Train Stations. The hustle, the bustle, the surroundings. Enough said.

Paris - Similarly, there are buses and trains in Paris, but I didn't use them. I only used the RER and Metro. They were a joy to say the least. I almost began to type a description of the systems, but I know it wouldn't compare to Andrew's so if you'd like to understand what I mean by "joy," read this -- La Porte de l'Enfer.

I will share one personal story, though. During one of our trips, Andrew and I were seated (a nice rarity) on one side of the car and a man playing an accordion got on just after us and stood to our left. He was quite good at playing his tunes. However, one key thing to remember while enjoying performers is that when they are done, they will turn into someone who is begging you for money. And that the amount of effort that they put into those requests will directly relate to how much you appear to have enjoyed the performance. So, Andrew and I kept our heads down and slight scowls on our faces, despite the fact that it was very amusing. In this instance, keeping a straight face was particularly difficult because just behind the accordion player were two young boys (around age 7, I'd guess). The boy on the left was quite the dramatist and made faces and hand gestures to go along with the music and to amuse his friend, who wanted nothing to do with him. When the man was done playing the accordion I was tempted to get up and give money to the young boy for the show, but I figured that wouldn't be taken well. Alas...

Buildings: Function vs. finesse

Churches -

Scotland - Church of the Holy Rude

Paris - Notre Dame.

Highest Point in the City -

Scotland - The view from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh.

Paris - The view from Montmartre.

Museums -

Scotland - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

Paris - Musée du Louvre

Famous Towers -

Scotland - The William Wallace Monument

Paris - The Eiffel Tower

I could probably spend all night continuing this journey of comparisons and a few more telling you about all of my adventures in Paris. But I think it's important that I leave some things for in-person conversation or else I'll be having a LOT of awkward meals and conversations when I get back:

"So, what was your favorite part of St Andrews?"

"Oh, there was this great pastry pla..."

"...ce called Fisher and Donaldson. I know..."

*silence*