aude
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Posts: 114
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Post by aude on Jun 19, 2007 10:44:44 GMT -5
For me, a great deal of the appeal of Paris is visual -- starting with the Haussmann architecture, and ending with the tiniest details in the design of a glass in a bistro or the faucet in my hotel room. These all let me know without question that I'm in Paris. I can't pass a flower shop without stopping to look. The beautiful bouquets combining leaves, flowers and berries in such unusual and gorgeous combinations -- they just have a completely different style than what I see in flower shops in the US! I also love the way that chairs in sidewalk cafes are always lined up neatly facing the street -- not placed around the tables. I'd love for you all to answer this question: What catches your eye when you're in Paris?
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Post by sistereurope on Jun 19, 2007 10:53:41 GMT -5
Really handsome men
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Post by luvparee on Jun 19, 2007 10:58:14 GMT -5
I love all the shop windows which are always so beautiful and so creative. I, too, can't pass a flower stall or shop without just drooling -- you're so right, the French have tons more creative "genes" than we! I also love how the market vendors display their fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jun 19, 2007 12:16:57 GMT -5
This will sound like I'm ducking the question, but for me it's the combination ("the whole is greater than the sum of the parts"). I love when the taxi is rolling into the inner arrondissements, because I could not mistake Paris for anywhere else in the world (regardless of whether any of the landmarks are visible) -- the cafes (with the two-color rattan chairs at the tiny tables, all lined up facing the street/sidewalk so people get what they paid for with the "rent"), the tabac signs, the architecture, the shops, the remaining Deco style Metro entrances! And, when walking around, I do love just looking in shop windows and walking by the stalls in the market areas -- very visually pleasing, always!
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Post by Shoesy on Jun 19, 2007 12:39:08 GMT -5
I love looking at the architecture because it's so different from what I see here and in the States.
In addition, I absolutely adore looking at the Seine and all its different-looking bridges.
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Post by sistereurope on Jun 19, 2007 12:45:22 GMT -5
Well, I was only sorta kidding when I answered handsome men to the question "what catches your eye?" (sorry lovely mr sistereurope ) I do think that Parisian women are also a sight to behold - I admire their easy sense of style... But I agree - I love the architecture that is particular to Paris, and the street markets, and of course the METRO signs (how could I not mention the metro?! ;D)
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Post by Happygoin on Jun 19, 2007 13:05:27 GMT -5
Like Shoesy, I love the bridges. Especially the Pont Alexander. It is so ornate! Who else but the French would have such highly stylish bridges of all things! I am thinking about one of the days I'm in Paris at the end of this year, I might try to walk, in a sort of zig zag to cross them all. A bridge wander, you might say.
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Post by sistereurope on Jun 19, 2007 13:13:31 GMT -5
happy- the tour guide we had on the Vedettes du Pont Neuf gave a really nice history on the bridges...now that I know more about them, I think that they are even more beautiful.
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Post by Truffaut on Jun 19, 2007 13:19:30 GMT -5
What catches your eye when you're in Paris? The attention to perfection. Certainly, not everything in Paris is perfect, but the way small pastries are arranged in diagonal rows in the window of patisserie, the way oranges are stacked neatly at the primeur, the way a ribbon is tied on a bouquet of flowers, the way a suit is displayed in an haute couture boutique....
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Post by Happygoin on Jun 19, 2007 13:22:56 GMT -5
I might try to find a book about them, to read up on the history, now that you mention it. Good idea, SE...tx
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Post by phread on Jun 19, 2007 13:25:57 GMT -5
WOmen wearing skirts and heels and scarves and getting their hair done weekly!!!!
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Post by Ray(aka) tripnebraska on Jun 19, 2007 14:09:55 GMT -5
I agree with Truffaut, the shop displays stand out to me. It's like edible artwork. When I sat down to read this thread, I turned on the adjacent TV and "GIGI" is on Turner Classic Movies. Old Hollywood version of Paris Style.
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aude
Full Member
Posts: 114
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Post by aude on Jun 19, 2007 17:43:42 GMT -5
I'll add some more because I'm showing off my brand new avatar!
The disctintivie and beautiful handwriting on menu boards and signs, the bright green coveralls worn by the street cleaning crews, the signatures on the walls of the Cluny-La Sorbonne Metro station, the purses at Bon Marche -- some of the evening bags are crazy!, the women's hats at Bon Marche -- many of them are wild and crazy and gorgeous, the holiday decorations at Bon Marche....the holiday decorations above the doors and windows of many shops, created with some sort of very shiny reflective ribbon.
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Post by andi on Jun 19, 2007 17:47:13 GMT -5
I love how they arrange the flowers on the stalls (so different than back home) and just as I am entering the suburbs of Paris, seeing the high rise buildings and the graffiti on the walls tells me I am arriving at the Gare Du Nord. Also seeing a mono or franprix because they don't exist in the uk. ;D
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Post by luckyluc on Jun 19, 2007 18:05:11 GMT -5
There are so many things! The buildings, the large avenues with a view and the small streets. The Seine, the parks, and of course the food. But the most important is less tangible: the café culture, the fact that one can shop where one lives, and the energy that draws and retrain all the creative and dynamique people. That would be for a start...
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Post by thehatlady on Jun 19, 2007 20:26:12 GMT -5
Okay, my variation on sistereurope's theme will not surprise some of you: the handsome WAITERS.
Other than that, I notice how clean the streets are. I never see litter, which amazes me in a city that size.
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Post by Shoesy on Jun 19, 2007 21:50:08 GMT -5
Ray - How nice that "Gigi" was on T.V. while you were checking out this site! It's been ages since I saw that movie. I loved it as a kid.
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aude
Full Member
Posts: 114
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Post by aude on Jun 20, 2007 7:57:31 GMT -5
Handsome waiters are handsome French men that you actually get to interact with
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Post by andi on Jun 20, 2007 13:15:36 GMT -5
I have more too..........the stylish posters in the metro stations, the superb artistry of the pastries in shop windows, the ladies in mini skirted suits and high heels on mopeds rushing off to their next meeting, the craziness of the traffic, the cosiness (like warm pyjamas and slippers) I feel when I am there.
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Post by susanb on Jun 21, 2007 18:39:07 GMT -5
Just like Truffaut says, everything they give you is such a gift. No shoving things in a bag because there is a line with 10 people in it. They take their time and wrap the package with utmost perfection. And I love all the big heavy doors. I take alot of door pictures!
S
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