vendredi 13 août 2010

Paris - August Friday 13th - 8:48 a.m. GMT

I can already picture myself: i'll suddenly stop thinking GMT+1 and grab my faithful Blackberry, take a picture of whatever is in front of me, even if it is paroxystically uninteresting, then take a pen, free my Moleskine from the tight front pocket of my shoulder bag, sit or kneel down on the spot and let the flow of GMT-thoughts out, starting by 'this is me, now, i'm here, doing this, thinking that, and i feel so very strongly that you ought to know it that i'm not going to let you leave without having written all i possibly could about it'. It better be interesting though...

This is how it will work then. 'Capture the Instant', make it become sensible. Use all the might of pixels to stick a little bit of an average Parisian life into your imagination.

If you want to travel with us for a while, you might as well know who you're going to be travelling with.

'Tell me what you do, and i'll tell you who you are' is a false statement, at least i hope so for what i do for a living is quite boring. Very boring indeed but the funny bit is that my 'profession' (saying it is a 'profession' gives some status, though 'job' would be far less pompous and much more appropriate) has more or less everything in common with this Bridge thing.
'More' because i actually am paid to help visitors feel comfortable in Paris, find their way through the a-mazing corridors of the metro, buy tickets for DisneyLand and find the moisturizing lotion in the drawers of their bedrooms. And 'less' because i definitely don't take the opportunity given by the job and remain shut as an oyster whenever i'm expected to tell them what 'has to be seen' in Paris. It's quite painful really, when you know that they're waiting for answers they could find in any brochure but still insist on you having to give them every single detail in an english they don't even understand (japanese and brazilian customers mostly, unfortunately for me, i master none of these languages)!
What are you supposed to say when they're asking you how to best enjoy the Eiffel Tower: '-which is best: elevator, or stairs?' '-well Sir, i haven't got the slightest idea, but if you want to do something nice this afternoon, may i suggest that you go to this little tea room in th...' '-sorry, no understand' '-ok... stairs then, it's free.'

That's why i would love you to accept to join me (to join us both, Fernando and i) in this little tea room nobody else cares about: precisely because i'm in the 'Tourism Business' and feel so terribly frustrated, so terribly cold when i'm expected to find something attractive in the boring averageness of the postcard-style of most of the places suggested to those who want to 'visit' a city within a day (an hour for the braves).



Only a fortunate few have been allowed to visit my 'den' so far, and you will be the first ones to see my working place as i would like any person curious to KNOW Paris to see it.


Here above is my 'reception'. Empty, for i was at the time at the other end of the Blackberry, but i'm here for you, the ghostly receptionist who is going to make you BECOME Paris.

It's not a pen i should grab, but a syringe full of this very special serum, and start pushing little drops of Paris inside your veins!



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