Entre Les Murs

Août and About

August in Paris is a very different creature indeed.  Back home the traffic is lighter at this time of year; here it's just about absent. Mid-day on a weekday and there are only a smattering of cars on the road.  Granted there's been a lot of rain, but the air seems palpably clearer.  With everyone and their dog away, the sidewalks are also less polluted.

Parisians clearly take their August holiday quite seriously. The Paris Plage is set up by the city so that those who can't get away can still have a little bit of beach.  Janet read recently that you can even apply for a small bursary if you couldn't otherwise afford to go on vacation.

Many of the shops we frequent are closed for all or part of the month, in particular the bakers, cheese shops and butchers.  Fortunately we are near a decent supermarket (or "hypermarché" as the Carrefour likes to call itself), but the hardship of not having warm baguette and artisanal cheese just around the corner does makes us wonder how we'll ever adjust when we go back home.

posted 17.8.06