A Dull Man’s Trip to Paris

I went to Paris for the weekend. I took the train; first a train from Grately to London's Waterloo station, then Eurostar to Paris.

My fears: Would be too exciting? Would I need to see all those dancing girls, Moulan rouge, Cococabana? Would I need to dance the can-can?

My surprise: I was surprised, and pleased to find that I would not to do all that wild stuff. I could lead a perfectly calm . . . quiet . .. and dull life in Paris. Paris is a fine town for simply wandering around town. I could meander without any problem.And when I wanted to take a break from all the walking, there are plenty of park benches where I could take a rest. Dull park benches. There are only two types of park benches in Paris.

Park Benches: Here is one of the benches:

[click on picture to enlarge]

Here is one that is even duller. It has a practical side to it, however; it has a second side, doubling the sitting capacity. Leave it to the clever French to come up with an idea like that:

It is fun to sit on the benches and watch the pigeons:

Eating . . . . “Houses of . . . .” : There were dull places to eat. There were of course the usual theme restaurants such as a hard Rock Cafe and a Planet Hollywood. But for us dull men, they have a Planet Toast:

Interesting Buildings and Streets:

I like to look at the buildings in Paris which at first look charming and interesting. With their Art Nuevo embellishments. And balconies. But these buildings are pretty much all the same. And there is a lot of gray . . . and even more beige. A lot of sameness. I liked that.Laid out with a whole bunch of diagonal streets. It is similar way Washington DC except that Washington has, in addition to its diagonal streets, a set of street laid out on a grid.I wonder what keeps these buildings being all the same. A Commissioner of Restrictions? Perhaps. I hear that France holds the world’s record for rule making. Think of all the rules and regulations they must have. I wonder whether they are translated into English. It would be fun to take them to a Dull Men's Club meeting. We could pass them around the room, each member reading a paragraph, then passing onto the next member. Keep going around and around the room. that could easily fill up our meetings for many weeks. What is the point in the streets heading off on many different directions? Some esthetic reason? I do not see it. Could it be the desire of the French to always be different?

Now there is more color in Paris: One of my favorite pictures of all the pictures I took in Paris was this one:

I was so pleased to see that UPS has come to Paris. I like the addition to the colors of Paris. That famous UPS brown is now there in addition to the grays and beiges of Paris’s buildings.

Next Trip: I'd heard that there is now a Starbucks in Paris. I couldn't find it. I guess I simply will need to make another trip to Paris.Also, there are some fine escalators to ride. The Metro, for example, has escalators at many of their stations, which is a the second reason I liked to ride the Metro. The first reason was that I enjoyed the views from the Metro.

Report filed by Grover Click. October 30, 2003

Here's a link to something interesting in Paris: http://www.dullmen.com/paris's_historic_plaques.htm

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