It seems to me that the French are constantly engaged in a fight with globalization. Parisians seem to be rather unique in their dedication to small business. You want to try French cheese? Neither one of the 5 (? according to my observations) most popular food chains sells the real deal. You must go to the closest fromagerie where you most likely will engage in at least 20 minute long cheese-tasting session but will come out with a wonderful purchase the taste of which you will remember forever. Especially if you are a poor student. Because the fromagerie-boulangerie-patisserie life-style is quite price and, a least for me, those are very rare gourmet moments of my stay in Paris.
I must say that in comparison to many other European capitals, Paris is very credit-card friendly city. You can pay with card almost at any location, but if you want to split a restaurant bill with your friends or pay for a drink at one of the many charming parisian cafes then you just must have cash on you. Paying with card in those situations is not impossible…but you might be perceived as being “too difficult” (nothing like the exceptionally friendly American customer service :). However, I must say, that I find Parisians to be exceptionally friendly people. Customers standing in a checkout lines love to engage in a little “complain” talk, but if the supermarket is nearly empty you are very likely to engage in a small talk with the cashier. Both are excellent opportunities to practice your French.
Well, enough about food. Let’s talk about little memory purchases. I am always curious to hear what are other people’s “must buys” when they are abroad. One of my friends, for example, always buys little elephant toys when abroad and has an absolutely wonderful and very worldly collection of those cute creatures. Despite the fact that I have been constantly in a state of travel in the past three years or so I never came up with an idea for a travel collection. I do, however, always purchase beautiful postcards whenever I am abroad and then put them together in a scrapbook…Another thing that I have noticed is that I always purchase shouse wherever I go. The tradition started on my dialogue to Japan where I bought trendy Japanese flatforms, then various handmade leather shoes in Morocco; beautiful handmade ballerinas from Vienna, the European capital of opera and ballet…But I am yet to find that perfect pair of Parisian shoes, hopefully, I will be able to find them before leaving the beautiful city of lights and fashion…
