A flaneur's observations

Waiting for plane to Napoli. It's hotter than blazes in this glassy terminal. Nevertheless, your old flaneur (moi) would like to share some random observations about things he's made so far on this trip, not to mention some meta-cognitive drivel about foreign travel in general.

See also my reply to brooklynguyloveswine about my generalizations on Touraine and other Loirish vins at the end of the previous post's comments.

1. US commentators love to point out that the French spend a lot on big infrastructure programs, as if they were a mad extravagance. Guess what: it looks like they do and the results are pleasing and functional. Things seem more modern here, and kept up far better. Note this, right-wing ideologues: the privately owned highway I drove from Amboise to Paris was well-designed, in top shape, and wide. Wish I could say the same for the ramshackle highways from Long Island to New York, for example.

This progress and upkeep goes way beyond highways. See trains, subways, telecomms, public health and cleanliness and so on.

1. There are a lot more homeless men, many of them "publicly drunken," than in Italy. Sort of like New York?

2. People in the smaller towns and cities at least were more than polite. They were very welcoming and (mostly) didn't laugh at my execrable French.

Ken and his family didn't have such a wonderful first day in Paris yesterday. There was a problem with the ticket lady at what was thought to be the bateaux-mouches window and with a taxi driver who tried to screw an extra 3 euros out of them. When Ken protested, the guy went off and started yelling to his buddies that he had a real Jew here--didnt want to part with 3 measly euros.

When Ken went after him in French the driver got angrier and shouted back that he too was a Jew. Ken told him (in French) to fuck himself and it ended as well as one might expect (no one drew blood). Nice intro to Paris for the niece and nephew.

1. I've never seen a place where there were so many wives/girlfriends taller than the husbands/boyfriends. Like a lot taller, up to a head taller. These chicks are really tall. Is the age of true sexual equality upon us here en France?

2. Coffee still doesn't touch Italy's, at least from Rome south.

3. We've had excellent weather. Made for us flaneurs.

4. We haven't made it to Italy yet and already I'm tired of pig flesh in its various manifestations.

5. Sad but true: when you first travel overseas who gobble everything up with your eyes, hungry for the new and typically "foreign." After a while you can't be bothered to look out the window, happy to stay glued to the BlackBerry or zone oit on the iPod.

6. There was a small, inert army of flaneurs in the Marais yesterday. We knew each other by sight. But we betrayed no sign of recognition. That would have required us flaneurs to break our code. As my handlers might have told the press, "Let Strappo be Strappo."

Et voila'.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Comments

[gianpaolo]

Trés bièn Monsieur Strappò, ou bièn Monsieur Déchire....

[tracie b]

response to no.1: those highways are fantastic and that damn well better be. i drove across southern france on the autostrada and remember having to stop every 20 minutes or so to pay a hefty toll.

fastidiosissimo!

[Laura Browning]

I love your blog and observations. Unfortunately, cannot travel this summer, but I am experiencing Europe through your insightful blog. Keep up the good work and grazie mille!

[Strappo]

Thanks very much, Laura. I appreciate a kind word from Texas every now and again.