:what not to do in france
Spending three months out of every year travelling the world I never tire of discovering new things about a destination
I MARVEL AT UNIQUE landscapes so different from home, I'm continually fascinated by foreign customs and culture, and never tire of savouring new flavors of the local cuisine. It all sounds so romantic doesn't it, the life of an "Intrepid Traveller"? But let me tell you that nothing beats learning about another culture and its people faster than those unscripted moments when two cultures collide – the cultural faux pas and gaffes, the "stuff ups" and disasters. In fact, it's been from our travel mishaps that we have learnt the best lessons of all – as we learnt all too well on our recent trip to France.
Lesson #1: Getting starstruck in Paris is very uncool
Coco Chanel was known to have said, "A fashion that does not
reach the streets of Paris is not a fashion". While Coco Chanel had a vested interest in the saying, one can't deny that Paris would have to be just about the coolest city in the world. It is also a major celebrity hotspot, with the likes of crowd-averse stars like Kate Moss, Johnny Depp and Kristin Scott Thomas owning homes there. Why? Because while Parisians get as starstruck as anyone else, they make the effort to appeal nonchalant and cool about it. Anything else would just be bad form.
118 | www.hermagazine.co.nz Apparently, my husband, Peter, did not receive this memo on
our most recent trip to Paris. Magnificently wined and dined at a Morroccan restaurant at Montparnasse one balmy night, we ambled our way back to our hotel on the Left Bank. Who should we bump into en route but Roman Polanski, standing alone just outside Cafe Les Deux Magots, as you do! Instantly recognising him and my heart skipping a beat, I nevertheless attempted a look of practised nonchalance. In the meantime, Peter had a starstruck meltdown. With eyes bulging and a whisper loud enough to wake the dead, he said, "Vic, did you see who that was?!". Poor Polanski. Unused to such public displays in the streets of chic St Germain des Pres, he fled the scene like a frightened rabbit. As for my practised nonchalance, it had been blown to smithereens!
What not to do in France
