Paris Living - Slowing Down To Enjoy Dessert
Tapping Into My Inner French Girl By Taking My Time
"The French girl's notion of time is that of flâneur - a stroller, one who does not go places with a particular objective or precise schedule but allows the ambling course of general intentions to guide her into unplanned encounters and special unexpected pleasures...time isn't money to the French, time is life." Debra Ollivier
I've decided to put this into practice while I'm here in France to get the most out of my French experience. Each day I wake up, I don't plan my day or worry about how much time I spend at a cafe. I'm taking my time to enjoy my surroundings and wander the streets of Paris without a map or a care in the world.
I do what the French do...I take my time and I don't worry about when my check is coming. If I want to leave the cafe, I simply get up and pay. I don't sit there like a typical tourist looking frustrated because the waiter hasn't come yet.
Just the other day, I was enjoying tea and dessert at George V when this man approached me and started chatting me up. I always welcome conversation and meeting new people, especially when traveling alone. My philosophy is that you never know who you're going to meet.
He wasn't someone I was interested in sexually, I just enjoyed his conversation. He wasn't staying long as he only came to grab a quick drink because he saw me, but he had friends to meet later for dinner. So he picked up my tab and said he would make a table reservation for me outside on the patio for dinner...just for myself.
I thought that was very kind of him and decided what the heck, you only live once. My plan was to go back to my flat after my tea and get some work done. Instead I decided to go with the flow and not have any plans for the night.
Here was a nice gentleman offering me a free dinner at a gorgeous, expensive restaurant. You're not going to get that offer everyday so I took him up on it.
As I headed to my table, he asked me how I was getting home. I told him by metro and he said, "No take a taxi." Then he slipped me 100 euros even though the taxi only costs 10 euros.
I gladly accepted! Then he left for his dinner with friends and I headed to my table, by myself, where I had a delicious dinner.
All this came about by not having any plans for the day and just wandering the streets of Paris, coming across George V and deciding to have tea at the bar. I could have blown this gentleman off when he first talked to me but I didn't. I was open to conversation and having no plans for the night, and I left with a free dinner and 90 euros richer.
- Naughty Travel Guide to Naughty Cities
