The Art of the Flâneur

I love getting lost.

That statement deserves some clarification.  One of my favourite activities is setting out to explore a new city with no particular agenda for the day.  Maybe I'll have a map of the transit system or a basic guidebook, but maybe not.  Occasionally, I'll even be able to communicate fluently with the people around me but most of my city explorations have occurred in locations where I don't speak the language.  I have gotten lost in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, the UK, Russia, Mexico, and now France.  Eventually I get tired of wandering and begin actively looking for the nearest Metro station or bus stop.

Paris is especially ideal for these aimless voyages of discovery.  I spent a good five hours on Friday walking in the downtown area, exploring street markets closed to traffic.  I doubled back a few times, took lots of photos, watched people, and then concluded my evening with a stroll from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomph.  The sidewalks are as broad as the road along this route, and the people of Paris were out walking, shopping, dining, lining up at the cinemas, and just generally enjoying life.

According to Wikipedia, a flâneur is "a person who walks the city in order to experience it."   Paris is incredible.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll write about my impressions of the city.  In the meantime, here are some of the photos I took during my perambulations.

Luggage Update

Just a few minutes ago, a friend knocked on the door and announced he had good news for me, and bad news.

The bad news is that the lost luggage is no more.

The good news is that it is no more because it is here at the Institute.  It's in the secretary's office, so as soon as lunch is over I will head over there and reclaim it.  Then I suppose the next step is to un- and re-pack and then book my bus ticket to Burgos, where I will begin the walking part of this pilgrimage.  By the time I hit the road and start walking, I'll have gained 10 days in Paris and several new friends.

update

Well, I have finally set foot on the ancient Chemin de Saint-Jacques.  One of the main rallying points for pilgrims leaving Paris on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was a large church located on the north bank of the river Seine, near Notre Dame.  Today all that's left of this is the tower which is known as Chatelet.  I got off the Metro at that stop, took some photos, and then started to walk south.  The name of the street changes to rue Saint Jacques on the south bank at the church of St-Séverin.  I did make a slight detour to visit the Musée de Cluny - Moyen Age which was cool.  Lots of scallop shells on the walls and ceilings, but I think those are heraldic rather than an indication that the 15th century mansion housing the collection ever served as a hostel for pilgrims.

Then it was south again to l'église Saint Jacques Compostel.  The parish is now known as St-Jacques Haut Pas, but the older name has stuck.  There is a 14th century stone statue of St. James the Pilgrim, along with a prayer for the blessing of pilgrim's sacks and staffs.  I spent some time there today.

Leaving the church and continuing south along rue Saint Jacques, I was surprised to see a large yellow stripe painted on the sidewalk just across from the church.  From this stripe (a starting line perhaps?) a thin dribble of yellow paint led down the sidewalk for about 20 m before stopping.  A block or so later, I noticed the first yellow arrow, pointing back the way I had come, towards the church.  The arrows lasted about two blocks.  Maybe a coincidence, but a pleasantly surprising one nonetheless.  (For those of you reading this who are not up on your Camino lore, the main path through Spain is marked by yellow arrows.)

When I got back to the Institut, I bumped into Martine.  She has been a God-send.  I've been well looked after by the community at St-Serge, and Martine has spent hours on the phone with Air France on my behalf.  Thanks to her, I will be receiving 100 € from Air France plus they will reimburse me for any supplies I have bought.

The good news from today is that they know approximately where my luggage is.  They delivered it to Provence.  Because Martine has kept calling and very politely but very deliberately pushed, it looks like I may get my luggage back this weekend.

I think I will go on to Spain on Monday.  I've lost a week of walking (about 150 km or so) so I will take a bus to one of the bigger cities further along the route.  I should be able to buy what I need there if my luggage doesn't arrive in time.

I sure hope it does, because a battery charger for my camera will cost a minimum of 60 €, if I can even find one in Paris.  In the meantime, Sharif lent me his camera for the day.  Once he gets back from the library, I'll ask him where the USB cable is and start uploading photos to Flickr.

a delightful day

I now have more than just the clothes on my back!  This morning I went out to a department store and bought some clothes to wear: socks, underwear, a t-shirt, pajama bottoms, slippers.  Oh yes, and razors!  Things are not cheap in Paris and the items added up to 63 €.  Yes, I expect Air France to reimburse me fully.  Five days of wearing the same clothes was a tad inconvenient, and I still don't know when I'll be able to collect my luggage.

On a happier note, two people celebrated birthdays at St-Serge today, so there was a very nice lunch in the dining hall of the seminary.  This being France, there was a nice red wine with the meal.  This being a seminary established by Russians, there were shots of slivovits distributed as well.  After the tables had been cleared and we were drinking coffee, the singing began.  Last Thursday was the celebration of the Nativity of Christ here at St-Serge (and elsewhere in the Orthodox world) so Christmas hymns and carols in a variety of languages were the order of the day.

Later that afternoon, I headed out to run some errands.  My goals were to get my documents photocopied so I could submit the originals to Air France with my request for reimbursement, and also to cancel my train ticket and get my money back.  Successful on both accounts, with a little help again from Anne.

When I returned to St-Serge, I realized that it was only 7:00 in the evening and that I was feeling pretty good. Since the weather has warmed considerably over the past few days, I decided to head over to the Eiffel Tower again.  Even if the elevators were still shut down due to the weather, I could at least get a photo or two of the tower lit up at night.

Well.  The highest level is closed for some mid-winter repairs, but since the middle level is 120 m (394 feet) above street level, I had a pretty good view of things.  It was wonderful.  The noise from the traffic was still audible, but it actually added to the sense of peace and detachment I was experiencing.  The lights of the city are very pretty and I walked around the deck several times before I finally let the cold drive me back towards the elevator.  

I managed to get a few shots from on high before my camera battery finally died.  And guess where my spare battery and the charger are?  Well, actually I don't really know where they are, other than in my luggage.  I sure hope the airline figures out how to deliver my things to me. Tomorrow morning after the ritual phone call to Air France, I intend to head over to Sainte-Chapelle again.  I will ask Sharif if I can borrow his camera.

I am very glad I've had this time in Paris, but I am also very eager to get on the road to Santiago de Compostela.  I had hoped to be in Roncesvalles this evening, after having walked across the border from St. Jean-Pied-du-Port.  Ah well.  Church starts less than five hours from now, so I suppose I ought to log out and get some sleep.

Resourcefulness

In the very first post on this blog, I made the comment that "for six weeks at the beginning of 2010, I will become radically dependent on other people and the providence of God."  Little did I realize how rapidly I would realize the truth of my prediction.

It's late and the story is involved so I will just say that without Sharif, Anne, and especially Martine, my prospects for a speedy resolution to my luggage misadventures would be non-existent.  It turns out that the delivery company somehow delivered my luggage TO THE WRONG ADDRESS!  How they managed to do this when I had been told I needed my baggage claim ticket to get my stuff is beyond me.  Thanks to Martine,  it looks as though Air France will be paying me 100 € for my trouble as well as reimbursing me for the basic essentials I will be purchasing tomorrow.

It also looks as though I may still have a chance at leaving Paris on Tuesday. However, if my bag is not delivered tomorrow, I owe Anne more than just the meal at the Chinese restaurant.  She came with me to the ticket office at the train station to verify that I would be able to cancel the ticket and get a full refund as late as 8:00 tomorrow evening.  When I bought the ticket online, there was a disclaimer stating it was non-refundable so I had already written that 49 € off as a loss.

Here in Paris, my "resourcefulness" has amounted to a willingness to shrug, laugh, and hunker down to wait as long as necessary for my bag to be delivered and then adjust my plans accordingly.  Thankfully, the people around me are far more resourceful than that.