A common place to meet friends, shop, and eat, I went to “city center” to get lunch with my friends this week. This is an extremely crowded area given all the different types of stores it has and the fact that many different tram lines meet here at “Homme de Fer.”
What is fascinating about this square is the variety of “shops” it has. There is a Monoprix, which is a sort of mini-target; clothing stores like Mango, Zara, Etam and Galleries Lafayette; electronic and telephone stores like Apple, SFR, and Orange (SFR and Orange are phone companies like Verizon). Further more, there are bakeries, such as Paul, but also, there is also a book and poster type of market. As one can imagine, you do not bargain or haggle with actual stores, but you will see people bargaining with the book market vendors.
Depending on the time of day (and the actual day) you go to the square, you will see many different types of people. I go to the square multiple times a week to meet friends, get food, or shop. This time my friends and I went to Pomme de Pain in order to have nutella crepes (yummm). We sat there talking but also watching people for about an hour.
You see all types of people here: from the homeless gypsies to high school students, from people with young children to people walking their dogs. However, this is expected given that it is called “city center.”
While at the square, the majority of people we saw were students who were trying to get a quick bite to eat. I’m sad to say that 90% of them went to McDonalds. It is right across from Pommes des Pain so I had a clear view of it. I have never seen a place get mobbed by so many people for such a short period of time. Within 45 minutes at least 200 people went through.
The other people walking around seemed to be running an errand or grabbing a quick lunch. All fast paced, most men were alone; most women were with another person, although some were alone. Other than all the students at McDonalds, it was quite calm and organized. It was so odd to witness a zoo within a calm neighborhood.
One thing that grasped my attention was people way of dressing. It looks like there are only two ways of dressing for younger women: a black or dark green parka jacket, black pants, and short black booties. Of course, a big purse on their arm as well. For the elder women (by elder I mean mothers), all seem to wear black boots, black tights with a longer skirt or jeans, a black jacket, scarf, and of course, a black purse. I hadn’t thought about the fact that all French people love black when packing my suitcase. I made the mistake of bringing a red parka jacket. Sometimes I feel like I stand out or look like a child, but there are some people who do wear colorful jackets rather than the typical all black.
Just from watching people in the square at this time shows me how much people value their time. They don’t rush to do everything. They take their time to sit at a café, sometimes over 2 hours. They stroll around when with people. The only time they seem to be in a hurry is if they have a ‘purpose’ for lack of a better word. If I were observing the people in this square on Saturday mid-day, my experience would be completely different. The people would be walking at a much slower pace, all with their dogs and children. There would be groups of friends as well as couples.
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