Parisian views

PERIPATETIC

I STOOD SOAKING in a glorious sunshine (otherwise notoriously elusive) that seemed to herald a warm spring, on an apartment balcony in Paris' Left Bank.

For isn't that the quintessential Parisian thing to do... hang out on a balcony, sipping wine and gazing over the streets? (Never mind if the average balcony is a narrow ledge drizzled with pigeon droppings and wet gales to suffer in winter.)

The raucous sounds of children shouting and playing filled the air from the public school next door. Ahead of me stood "" proud and severe "" the neo-classical structure of L'Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles "" Louis Braille taught here "" the oldest residential school for the blind in the world. In stark contrast to the boisterous scholars of the day school, not a titter floated out of this building. One of life's cruel jokes, I couldn't help but think, to be born blind in a city so picture perfect.

Where else but in Paris will a military hospital (Hotel des Invalides) sport the most richly gilded Renaissance dome? And how unfortunate that they won't be witness to the knitted brow, the clenched fist and unidentified thoughts of Rodin's The Thinker... housed at the Rodin Museum just a stone's throw away.

Paris really is one of the most visually flawless cities. While blueprints of most populous cities in the world are torn between the compositions of old and forces of new, resulting in a discordant hodgepodge of mismatched structures, Paris is reassuringly harmonious (save an architectural scandal or two a la the Pompidou Centre).

Much of this stunning standardisation, is thanks to Baron Haussman's strategic beautification of Paris in the 19th century (under Napoleon III), his architectural schemes so grand he ran out of funds.

He gave the city its sweeping tree-lined boulevards, its long avenues offering perspectives on key monuments, and the apartment model that dictated everything from the pitch of the roof to the ratio of building height to street width. Traditionalists bemoaned the loss of medieval Paris then but today they hold Haussmannian Paris as the standard-bearer of Parisian elegance.

The other joy of Paris lies in its convivial atmosphere, also thanks to Haussmann who championed its transition from a politically-centred to a socially-centred city. Sidewalk cafes today are in plentiful supply and offer the perfect vantage point to make appropriate comments about everyone else's clothing, coiffure and make up.

Of course for the most expansive vistas you could choose to be Eagle-eyed on the Eiffel. Strangely, many locals, are entirely too disparaging of the city and its sights that never fails to enchant tourists. I recall the final episode of the TV show Sex and the City where a tres chic Parisienne announced, "Before the Eiffel Tower was bearable. Now, with the night lights on, it is (h)ideous, simply (h)ideous!"

How ironic, then, that visitors can't get enough of it. I, for one, was cherishing a burning desire to get a waitressing job in Paris and never leave.

Where else in the world can you smoke, occasionally sip wine on the job and laugh coquettishly at the customer winking at you, all the while dishing up Chablis and foie gras? I'd have to learn how to French Fold a napkin and learn the complex names of thirty different kinds of fish found on menus. But it'd all be worth it.

As my thoughts trailed off I noticed unhappily there were still no excited children sounds coming from the school for the visually impaired. Oh well, maybe they were just sent home early for Easter, I reassured myself.