1. 1. Free bread – One of the bakeries in our neighborhood is called Max Poilane, a branch of the famous Poilane bakery in Paris. (And you all know my history with Parisian bakers….) The lady running the Lyon shop gave me a free loaf (not a measly baguette, but an entire loaf) of their excellent bread because she thought, personally, that the baker did not put enough salt in the dough, so it should be free for me. I should not have to pay for her baker’s incompetence. I looked around for the video camera, once again, waiting for someone to say “Ha! You are on a reality joke show, sucker!” But no. In fact, she even ranted on about how nice Canadians are.
2. 2. Empty movie theatres – We sauntered over to the movie theatre down the street just a few minutes before the show started, figuring we’d give it a try but knowing that we’d likely just have to turn around and head home. You see, in Paris, you need to order your tickets online (like a day before!), then spend 40 minutes on the metro getting to the theatre, then wait in line over an hour and then fight a mob to get two seats together. In Lyon, we walked five minutes, got our ticket from a live person, and were the only two in the entire theatre. Miraculous.
3. 3. Streamlined Visa permits – The Lyon version is that you take your 1,000 photocopies, head over on a Thursday morning (any Thursday), walk in, line up with say 20 people and then spend half an hour getting your papers, address update and visa permit all approved at once, and off you go a legal foreigner. No formal appointments needed. In Paris, you call 6 months in advance for an appointment on a specific day, at a specific time. You go on that specific day, on that specific time, with your 1,000 photocopies, then you go through a metal detector and wait in line with half of Africa and half of China. Next, you get harassed by the woman at the welcome desk because, I mean, is your husband REALLY French? Then you wait some more (like 3 hours). Then you have your appointment (5 hours late) and get a sticky note to come back two months later to do the entire thing all over again to actually get your visa.
4. 4. British grocer – Craving a pop tart? Cheerios? No need for digging out the credit card (in Paris, pop tarts are 7.50 euros or like 50 Canadian dollars… just kidding!) or overseas orders now. There is a fully stocked (!) British grocer a 7 minute walk away.
5. 5. Helpful vets – Thinking I might be fresh off the boat, our new veterinarian talked slowly and kept repeating herself so that I would not ‘miss the important things’. I didn’t correct her or tell her that I just spent the last year producing communications for which I had to read about gas-insulated substations in FRENCH. Anyway, she filled out all of the pet insurance and microchip update papers, like you would for a kindergartener, and she even put them all in pre-paid envelopes. I’m English, not stupid, but still – awww.
6. 6. Obedient hairdressers – For the first time in a long time, I asked the hairdresser to cut off two inches and no highlights and that is EXACTLY what he did. I would ask the same thing in Paris but the guy who cut my hair always said “Look, you are cute and all but this is Paris, honey. You want to keep your French husband, you need to bring it.” He would then trim off barely half a millimeter and blonde-highlight me to the max.
7. Polite teenagers – The young guy I nearly tripped with Lucie’s retractable leash did not lash out and call every name in the book (which has happened in Paris, when it was not my fault, on more than one occasion, and I mean EVERY name in the book). In fact, he kept saying ‘I’m so sorry. I really should look where I am going. I am so sorry, so sorry’. It was totally my fault, and I really need to pay attention, but still, what a nice kid.
8. 8. Forgiving post office people – Though I have now spent a good portion of most days in line at the post office, as is French life, I didn’t know if the person helping me was a he or a she. I tried looking for a name tag, or a bra strap, or girly earrings. Nothing. So I took careful measure to just say ‘Merci’. Until one afternoon I came out with ‘Merci Monsieur’. Uh-oh. Wrong! Had to pour on the accent and add a hasty ‘Parrrrdone, parrdone, je veux dire MADAME!’ Oy! I am going to have enemies everywhere if I keep this up. Moral of the story – ‘merci’ is always good enough.
9. 9. Quick cashout lines – Monoprix (major grocery chain) and Fnac (books, music and TVs) are always a nightmare because they are crowded and the line ups take so long, no matter when you go. We purchased a stereo on a Saturday afternoon in under 15 minutes at Lyon’s busiest FNAC. Success.
10. Chocolate Art – Elaborate boxes of white, dark and milk chocolates? Sure. Little figures with marzipan and sprinkled nuts? Of course. Truffles? Most definitely. Everyone has that but Lyon one-ups them: Check out the “Chocolate Medusa”!
sounds like a different world! Can't wait to visit! (and sample the bread!)
ReplyDeleteJacky