France: Dancing in the Streets

Paris was the second stop on our 2011 European Tour.  Once again, it topped my list of "favorite big cities."  Paris impressed me with it's perfectly manicured parks, swept streets, and clean buildings. People actually used trash cans and the city provided a plethora of public restrooms, though at a small cost.

While there, I noticed Parisians continually exuded a reserved and calm nature. They never yelled or cussed at each other in public.  Can you imagine?  Strangers not yelling at each other?  Inconceivable... at least in New York. Jersey Shore wannabes and tightly wound urbanites just didn't exist there.  Although, as Ben pointed out, I probably "misunderstood" a few French comments that I assumed to be nice.

We arrived in Paris the same night as the famed Fète de la Musique, which only happens once a year.  Basically, any band of any size played anywhere in the city any time of the day and night.  Paris turned into one humongous dance party until the wee hours of the morning.

People of all ages danced in the streets to jazz, funk, reggae, rock, soul, and techno bands.  Kids threw bottles against medieval churches.  Teenagers urinated on cobblestone streets. Adults toasted with glasses of wine. Tourists flocked from band to band. Our group reveled in the once-a-year romp, or debauchery (depending on a person's perspective), and constantly wondered how any of it was legal.  The NYPD would have been all over that.

The pictures below aren't the best, but they give an idea of how many people wandered around the city.