An Englishman in Paris: Observations & Reflections

This time last week I had never been to Paris. Not for any particular reason, mind you, other than for the simple fact that I had never had cause to go. Nevertheless, even for someone who has never visited the French capital, the mere mention of Paris evokes such a wealth of familiar sights and sounds that you could quite easily persuade yourself otherwise. After all, isn't Paris the Tour Eiffel, the Musée du Louvre, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame? Is it not the Arc de Triomphe and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées? Surely, by the same token, Paris is even the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo? Having now spent time in the capital, I can honestly say that the answer is yes; it is everything that the non-resident thinks it is. And yet, as with every tourist destination, Paris is more than it's defining landmarks and, although they may be reason enough to visit, it is the experience of the city itself that sticks in the mind. This is the Paris that is not immediately obvious; the living, breathing city that exists in the shadow of it's own immortal status. Therefore, although I enjoyed visiting the Parisian monuments, if only to prove their existence, it was the subtle differences in culture that I found most interesting.