Strolling the Boulevard

22 April 2007

Le Weekend continues!

Another glorious day and we slept in! After the usual morning processes, we decided to take a stroll along the Champs d'Elysses.

The Champs d'Elysses is beautiful and interesting. Eight lanes of traffic make it almost impossible to cross, but that doesn't matter because whichever side you are on there is plenty to see.
Despite its obvious elegance, there are clear signs that the Americans are making inroads. There are at least two Macdonalds! Being fair, however, they are not particularly intrusive and they have clean rest rooms something that cannot always be said for restaurants in France.

Speaking of rest rooms, yesterday we went to the famous ones in Place de la Madeleine. These are belle epoque and date from 1905. Art nouveau treasures they are very colourful, very elegant, very clean! The only problem is that for some reason they are only open for limited hours; 10-12 and 1-6. Well, the attendant needs to have a lunch hour and if you are caught short that's just your bad luck.

But back to today! After wandering around for a while and ducking into a few shops, we wound up at Louis Vuitton. One look at their prices convinced us that Samsonite was the way to go! Of course, one is paying for the name and that in turn is based on the whole concept of conspicuous consumption. I was reminded of the book by Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), in which he makes much of this idea.

By lunchtime we had wandered and looked enough and decided to dine outside - the weather still being beautifully unseasonable - and watch the world go by. After looked at a variety of places we settled on Le Deauville where we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch. Anyone can find a place to eat on the Champs d'Elysses that will meet their means. At the one extreme, there are stands selling filled baguettes for prices no higher than you would pay anywhere else in Paris, and these often have an area on the pavement where you can sit and watch the passing parade just as if you had paid 100 Euros for lunch dining a Fouquet's. The difference is in the food and the fact that in the latter you would be seated on red velvet setees whereas in the former, you are more likely to be sitting on folded chairs. Nonetheless, whichever you choose, it is likely to be better than Macdonalds.

Today is election day and there is much excitement. Yesterday we avoided a demonstration in the third arondissment, at the Mairie. The French take their politics very seriously. It will be interesting to see the outcome of the voting and the direction in which it takes France. Especially interesting will be how, if at all, it changes this country's relationship with the United States.
The rest of the day was spent quietly at home doing all those things one needs to do, not to mention homework, for it is back to school for Virginia tomorrow.