Paris is certainly one of the great cities of the world. The city itself has a population of around two and a quarter million people while the greater metropolitan area counts close to twelve million residents, making it one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. AskMen, the British journal, ranks it eleventh in the world as a desirable place for men to live. Whether it would receive the same ranking from women is, of course, another issue. It is always difficult to define what makes a city liveable or what accounts for its ranking. The lifestyle magazine Monocle publishes an annual list of liveable cities. The list in 2009 was named "The Most Liveable Cities Index" and presented 25 top locations for quality of life. In 2010 Paris ranked seventh after a 2009 ranking of eighth. According to a panel of Time Out magazine, Paris ranked as the third greatest city in the world, behind New York and London. According to Business Insider, it is ranked third best city on earth and number one for quality of life.
Needless to say, we agree with the high rankings, but we suspect that there are a number of reasons for its liveability. First of all, Parisiens are used to living very much cheek to jowl with their neighbours and as a result have developed a very comfortable pattern of small courtesies. We mentioned in an earlier blog the kindness of strangers on public transport and, of course, in a city the size of Paris the last thing one wants is to have a car. Public transport is good, efficient and relatively cheap. But the casual courtesy goes well beyond the buses and the Metro. If somebody needs to pass you in the street, you are more than likely to hear about it when they beg "Pardon, Monsieur." If you catch the eye of a stranger as you are walking, they are likely to greet you with "Bonjour." Such courtesies grease the wheel of daily existence. On entering a shop it is common practice to greet the proprietor or sales person with a cheery "Bonjour." And on leaving there are usually casual remarks. To the person not used to this, the casual chatter in shops can seem annoying. After all one is there for service and this is delaying the process. But it is all part of life in the French world.
The area in which one lives may well be the only area one knows, or at least knows well. The shops, restaurants, and other amenities are all local. Going to a large grocery store (although they do exist and people do use them) is, for most people, as alien as for an Australian or an American to spend the morning almost every day moving from the butcher shop to the cheese shop to the fish market, to the greengrocer and to the bakery. Here, freshness is prized!
Here are some pictures that were all taken within a one or two minute walk of our flat. These are the shops of our neighbourhood but a stroll through almost any neighbourhood in Paris would produce similar shops.
The absolute staple of French diet is bread. And the best French bread is the baguette. Sure, there are all other kinds, but the baguette is the "vin ordinaire" of French breads. It is sold in thousands of bakeries where it is baked several times a day.
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| Neighbourhood Boulangerie |
One thing that we have noticed is that while the French like salads, they are not great vegetable eaters. But, having said that, when they buy fruit and vegetables they demand the highest quality. Strawberries, for example, are always beautifully displayed as are all the goods. There are several small shops near us that sell fruit and vegetables and a couple of small grocery stores where in addition one can get basic canned and packaged goods.
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| Strawberries |
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| Our local "grocery" store, an alimentation generale |
Although it is possible to buy fish in a large grocery store, like Monoprix, why would one want to do so when it is cheaper and fresher bought from your local poissonnière.
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| La poissonnière |
Packaged cheeses? "Non, non, monsieur." Why would you do that? There are from 350 to 400 distinct types of French cheese grouped into eight categories and there can be many varieties within each type of cheese, leading some to claim closer to 1,000 different types of French cheese. For cheese, one goes to la fromagerie.
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| la fromagerie |
For meat, there is la boucherie and outside the shop one can frequently find the rotisserie on which chickens and pork are being roasted. French chicken, by the way, is much stronger in flavour than either the watered down American or Australian model.
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| la boucherie |
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| la boucherie |
Finally, in our little gastronomical tour of the neighbourhood. There is the charcuterie. Here are smoked meats, sausages, pates and all sorts of wonderful and delicious goodies.
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| La charcuterie |
After all this, I think it is time for a "pain au chocolat" and an espresso. So, until tomorrow ...
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