Trees, Dogs, Schools and Balconies

26 April 2007

One of the most interesting sights one sees walking around Paris is the greenery that Parisians grow in window-boxes and on the little balconies outside of their windows. Now, no one would be surprised at a window-box of geraniums, but some of the balconies have full grown trees on them. And these balconies are usually only a shelf of 8-10 inches outside a window. In some instances it is quite clear that the massive greenery is grown to keep the afternoon sun off the window, but in other cases it appears almost as if it is a challenge to see just how much and how big a plant can be grown.

France is a series of contradictions. Even in Paris life is very laid back (except when one is in traffic), yet it is also a country in which the bureaucracy can quickly drive one mad. Here's an example. A couple Virginia knows have a dog. The dog's name is Babette. It is Babette because it has to begin with a "B" since according to regulations dogs' names must begin with particular letters depending upon the date of the animal's birth.

Never have we seen so many mobile phones. For a country that is laid back, they sure do talk a lot on mobile phones. Walking, riding on the bus, in the Metro, the mobile phone is constantly in hand against ear. More worrying is the number of bicyclists and motorcyclists who use them as they ride along. It can't be easy riding a bicycle through Paris traffic while using a mobile phone and smoking, but it is a not uncommon sight.

Every day, when Virginia walks in to her school, she passes a primary school. Schools here are kept very secure. They are surrounded by high walls and one cannot see inside. Indeed, one only knows they are schools by the sounds that emanate from within. The gates in these high walls, through which one must pass to enter the schools, are guarded so that anybody who is not connected with the school, who is not a student, teacher or parent, cannot get inside. One thing that we did notice was that increasingly students are not carrying backpacks. There has been a government initiative to provide pull-along cases for students to carry their work in. The cases have the school logo on them so are easy to identify. Certainly, all the evidence suggests that this is much better than the strain kids put on their backs using backpacks, especially when so many hang them from one shoulder only instead of wearing them in the proper way. It is an initiative that we would like to see in Australia. If you are a parent with young children, take it up with your school council and get some "brownie points."

And while we are on the subject of security, today I took the bus through the centre of Paris and as it passed the Louvre I noticed a car that had obviously broken down on the side of the road. Standing by it were three very serious looking military types all holding automatic weapons and wearing black berets. I assume this was in case the car was actually a bomb. Security generally is high in Paris and while one generally doesn't actually "see" much of it, enough is visible to let one know that it certainly exists.

I paid a return visit to the Musee d'Orsay today and saw a fascinating piece of artwork. I first went to look at Manet's "The Balcony." Then I went to see a video based on the painting. It is a simple concept in which in a slow and methodical way the characters from "The Balcony", played by actors, engage in a variety of small tasks such as putting on gloves, kicking a ball, etc. It is a brilliant way of bringing the painting itself to life.

After some time in the museums, I took a ride on the bus out to an area called Chatillon-Montrouge. It is just past the peripheral road surrounding Paris, but is certainly different from the area Virginia went to the other day. It is made up largely of relatively recently constructed flats. Bland, boring and unexciting is about the best one can say for them. Although not yet run down, it is inevitable that in a few years they will look just like the high-rise flats in the poorer areas of London, Singapore, Sydney and every other large city around the world.

Enough for today. Virginia had a very interesting lunch with friends and we will tell you about that tomorrow.