This summer I spent a day in Paris, and there were some peculiar cultural differences that struck me about the city.
1. Their drinking water is undrinkable ! Absolutely disgusting . I'm not super picky when it comes to water I'll drink any water as long as it doesn't taste like sink water and spit, and thats exactly what the bottled water in France tastes like, spit. It was so thick. I survived off of the leftover Aquafina I had at the Miami airport before taking off.
2. So many stairs ! Walking all of those stairs had me questioning how to people with disabilities and families with strollers get around the city. There are lot of places that are within walking distance from each other, but you'd have to go through 5,000 flights of stairs to get there. I spent only a few hours there, but I definitely felt like I lost some weight. It was definitely a wake up call to get my big fat American self in the gym.
3. The food is quite bland. I had sandwiches, steak and fries , ice cream ( that was pretty good ) , McDonald's and Haitian food . The steak tasted like water, and the salad I had at McDonald's tasted like school lunch salad. However the chicken tender in the salad was pretty good. Even the Haitian had a different taste. It wasn't bad, but it tasted like it needed a bit more epis (green seasoning).
4. Everything closes so early. I still haven't recovered from Walmart changing their closing time from 24 hours to 11p.m. In France, everything like grocery stores, seems to be closed by 6. I get it. Europe has better work-life balance than we do in the states , but if Publix closed at 6pm, I don't think I'd be able to survive.
5. No A/C . Before I landed in France, I was told by my older cousin to bring summer clothes because there was a heat wave in France. When I landed in Paris, it was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit . It felt like Florida, but much hotter because there is no A/C. I was able to get by the weather with my 5 Below portable fan that blew like 5 pieces of air . I don't understand why they don't have A/C. Its not news that the weather is changing across the globe. Also, their fridges are warmer than the ones in the States. I felt like my drinks and food barely got cool. Maybe that was just the Airbnb's fridge that I was at , but considering that they don't have A/C , its probably a French thing.
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I love Paris. Its one of my favorite places that I've been to. I loved the architecture. While I was there, my younger cousin wanted to take the bike to go to the mall. While riding, I lost my family, so I followed my GPS. the bikes were electric, and I've never ridden an electric bike. My anxiety was through the roof. The bikes went so fast and they're right next to traffic . My phone fell out of the phone holder. I fell off the bike TWICE . At one point I got off the bike and just walked the rest of the distance. 🙃
All I got to see was the Eiffel Tower, which was beautiful and surreal to see in person. Next time I return to Paris, I'd love to go see the Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles , Notre Dame, Palais Garnier, Galeries Lafayette and so much more. I want to give the food another try. Also, the people DO NOT wear deodorant and its very apparent when taking the metro. It smelt like Eau du Funk up in there. 🥴
