Random ramblings

Week three in Paris has ended and we are starting to feel well and truly at home. We've been doing lots of exploring of our area, doing a new walk and discovering a new quartier each day.
Yesterday, we walked out of Paris proper, crossing the peripherique ring road to the wilds beyond. There's an old railway viaduct near our apartment that has been turned into a promenade plantee, a walkway bordered by gardens. The walkway is about 4.5 km long, and takes you all the way to the edge of Paris. From there, you cross the motorway and end up in leafy suburbia, a world away from the bustling city, and eventually end up at the Chateau de Vincennes, a real life castle right near the city. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the chateau.



The castle was a mishmash of styles, the earliest bit dating from the 14th century and the latest bits from the 19th. It had a huge moat, which was unfortunately no longer full of water, turrets, and a fancy chapel. Not bad a place to go for an afternoon stroll!

Other than that, we've just been acquainting ourselves with French culture and customs. Here's a few weird things we've noticed:

1. French people do not use measuring spoons. You can not buy a set of measuring spoons at even the most well-equipped kitchen shop in Paris. Apparently, they just use ordinary teaspoons and dessert spoons. Very strange but guess it works for them!

2. Toilet paper only seems to come in pink colour (??)

3. Game shows are still the pinnacle of televisual art here. If you start watching TV at 5pm you can watch about 4 in a row. Genial!

4. Converse shoes are THE shoe to be seen in if you a young, hip French girl. They don't seem to own any other type of shoe.

5. Every car in Paris has at least one dent or scrape and usually more.

6. If you are on a motorscooter and you have a choice of a) riding the wrong way down a wrong way street, or b) riding down a busy footpath at high speed, the correct choice is always b). Answer c), going the correct way down the street isn't an option.

That's all from us for the moment. Till next time...