Parisians rude? Nah…Paris#5

There’s accepted myths about every nationality and many of them are wide of the mark.Mostly they’re insulting in nature which probably just hides some deep seated insecurities about the perpetrator’s of said myth…anyway the French,and particularly the Parisians,are perceived as rude & arrogant but in my limited interactions with them I have found the truth to be anything but that…they also have a reputation of being particularly ruthless when a non native speaker tries to speak French but again I don’t see it.Today I was in a shop,tried a bit of French and the fella had a sly giggle to himself,I saw it,laughed a bit,raised my eyebrows and shrugged a little in a knowing way,we both ended up laughing about the situation so no harm done and I got what I wanted…don’t get bent out of shape about it,embrace the absurdity and life will be easier,and funnier…

My French is laughably bad but I know the basics of being polite and that gets you a long way.Once most people suss you’re not an arrogant fuck and are just trying your best to muddle through they’re fine with you.That’s what I have found these last five days ( and before) anyway…

Rant over.I just feel the French get a bad rap,not that they care the arrogant SOB’s…Paris is expensive.On a par with London prices I’d say.Where I am staying is a trendy(ish) area and a pint of blonde is about €8.Luckily for me my hard partying days are mostly over apart from when visiting Wolverhampton where a pint is a penny and thruppence with a bowl of gruel seasoned with pork scratchings thrown in…however it’s not all bad as my local does coffee at €2-20 a pop.

Talking of my local cafe/bar it’s a cool place,usually pretty busy once the dark sets in.Bit of a jazzy vibe and the staff are very friendly and greet me like a local but,and this is not a criticism in any way,nobody has attempted to engage in small talk,for which I’m eternally grateful.They’re always busy,even the attractive woman who speaks English with me unfortunately,S’pose I will just have to grit my teeth and accept I’m not the centre of the universe…

I have been thinking of going to a football game whilst here.There was a time when myself & a mate ( bonjour Pete) where making plans to come over to watch a PSG game many moons ago before they went demonic,like at the same time Man City were playing Port Vale in the league,but the plans came to naught.They’re playing Monaco tonight and it’s not my bag.Another team playing tonight are Paris FC but they’re backed by Red Bull so that can fuck off…the other two teams are Red Star FC who are the lefty team but unfortunately they’re playing away and Racing CFF who were once the big club in Paris.They play tomorrow and I might pop along.The one sticking point is their website is so sketchy I can’t figure out if you have to pre book tickets or pay on the day( only €5) will see how I feel tomorrow…

Whilst trundling around on the metro today I noticed how many stations are named after people.Robspiere,Ella Fitzgerald & Rosa Parks to name just three out of dozens.I like it a lot.Shame we didn’t do that on the tube….not seen one for froggy faced fraud Farage yet but they do have Place Monge so maybe that’s their tribute…

Until tomorrow.au revoir…