Skip to main content

Shutting down

There is a very interesting phenomenon that happens in Paris twice a year and I have experienced it both times. In the summer (last 2 weeks of August) and Christmas, the city shuts down almost entirely and it is very interesting to watch. I sometimes think that calling NYC the "city that never sleeps" is wrong. NYC sleeps every day, but if you want to be awake or get a coffee or buy a bagel, you can get it. I often think that title should be relinquished to Las Vegas (which also deserves "Sin City" ahead of NYC). But by comparison to Paris, NYC is as awake as an insomniac. Paris, on the other hand, sleeps nightly and on these two calendar events, goes into hibernation.

First is the prelude. You start seeing some notices about 2 weeks before the closures when stores will be closed. But sometimes you see nothing. The locals know it is about to happen and begin to prepare. You buy non-perishables, you get the wine in advance. You get a little extra cheese to hold you over. Then, one by one, the stores close. You head out to your favorite resto... closed. Go to get a part for the broken toilet? Gone for 2 weeks, try later. 

Very different in NYC. There, you get sales going on before the event, but many things are open throughout the holiday. I remember going out at about 10pm on Christmas eve, to go to the corner green grocer. True, there was a certain silence and many stores were closed. But there was the 24/7 green grocer, the 2 pharmacies, all open and planning to be open all night. 

I am not sure how I feel about this. I do love that people get time off collectively and get to have a holiday. I also love to get what I want when I want it. More and more in the US, the holiday is becoming meaningless and stores seem to want to be open 24/7. Take a look at the hubbub at Thanksgiving: stores are rushing to open and barely have a few hours before the madness of Christmas shopping begins. I would love to see more of a balance.

Helmut and I arrived back in Paris about 8PM on Christmas and we decided to have a little something to eat. Chinese maybe? Closed. How about the local wine shop? Closed. Something at the Tabac? Gone. We did find a convenience store just about to close and got some vegetables and cheese and went home to make some risotto. I was almost ready to have an apple and some cookies and be done with it.

The reboot of the city takes longer than you would think. Stores sleepily begin to get back to normal. Day after Christmas? Don't kid yourself, especially when it is a Friday. Saturday surely things will have to be starting to open. Yeah, right; still closed. Sunday brunch? Maybe in the tourist area, not in the neighborhood. OK, so Monday things get started, right? Nope. Monday is still the day things are closed, so.... Tuesday! Open? Well, not for lunch. Maybe dinner on Tuesday. Some restos begin to open between Christmas and New Years, but begrudgingly. Then, of course we have New Years, so this cycle begins again. Like dominoes, the stores close again.

By Wednesday after New Year's day, we begin to see things as fairly normal. Of course, when are they going to take down the decorations? I am hoping it is better than in NYC, where February rolls around and you can still see some tardy christmas posters or a string of lights or two. We will see.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Politesse

The way women are treated has changed dramatically in my lifetime. I was born in 1956 and my memories date from about 1962. At that time, the standard gender roles were in place and women were the homemakers. It was unusual in my hometown for a woman to have a job outside the home. Of course, then came the 60s and 70s and the US female population demanded changes that have changed how we view and treat women. In NYC, I have found that women are, for the most part, treated similarly to men. Some of the niceties of the past era are gone or at least greatly diminished. You can hold a door open for a woman or pull out a chair, but you may get a strange look or told that she can do it for herself. I spoke to Helmut about how women are treated in Paris and he tells me that women here universally will appreciate the niceties and are, to some women, expected when going out socially or romantically. He tells me that while women have advanced and are paid similarly to men (maybe 10% less), the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chronomically challenged

Parisians are ALWAYS late. I think New Yorkers run the gamut, but Parisians are late. They always have a good reason: traffic, the weather, kept at work, the Métro, the dog, the kids, garbage truck. But late. I am in a period of adjusting to this. My tendency is to be on-time. I call it the German in me. Helmut, who was born in Germany, is Parisian now and so I am alone in this bit of frustration. For the most part, people are 15 to 30 minutes late but for some it can be a bit extreme. For instance, meeting my friend Laure means scheduling a 1/2 hour (at least) for this arrival time. I want to emphasize, this is my issue, not Paris'. BUT There are extreme cases. One time Helmut and I were supposed to meet someone for dinner at (let's say) 8 (16h). She called and was going to be late. About an hour and a half after our original meeting time, we left for dinner. She knew where we would be, so she could meet us. At this point I had my doubts if she was going to come at all....
3 comments
Read more

Shaving the Yak*

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am planning to make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas here in Paris. Very American, chocolatey, how can I go wrong? "And," I think, "I have always made everything from scratch, so I will have no problems getting my ingredients." I even think I have put in some safeguards and bought some items in NYC, just to be sure. Baking soda? Check. Baking powder? check. The oven is celsius, but armed with a browser and Google, I'm good to go, right?Here are the ingredients: flour (all purpose), baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, egg yolk milk vanilla extract, chocolate chips. My first inkling that things may not be as easy was the chocolate chips. I was planning on buying them, but Helmut told me the chips can easily be found in Paris ("of course they are.") and he was right. BUT... they are tiny. If I used these, they would melt, and would turn the cookie into a chocolate cook...
Post a Comment
Read more