At last the sun and I melt

by Yeoh Siew Hoon

Well, it had to happen. After days of raining on my party, She Who Must Be Respected finally relented and offered me Paris on a summer plate.

And let me tell you, Paris on a beautiful, shimmery, breezy, summery-like day is unbeatable.

I don’t care how many times you’ve been and what bad experiences you’ve had before, but Paris has a way of seducing you each and everytime. And it being the last weekend in August, and with the sun out, it seemed that everyone, Parisians and visitors included, wanted to be seduced.

Montmarte as usual was teeming with tourists. Up at Sacre Coeur, Chinese accents mingled with Indonesian, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Spanish, German and American. This has to be one of the most visited sites in the world.

Walking around the hilly streets, I recalled the first time I visited Montmarte. It was the early 80s, I was young and in love and thus, ready to fall in love with anything I saw. And Place de Tertre with its artists, cafes and bohemian feel was wonderfully different, almost liberating.

Never mind that my companion had his wallet stolen in a bar – even the encounter that followed with the French police did not turn me against Paris.

Today, with wiser and more jaded eyes, I see it for the tourist trap it is. Think Patong of Paris except the shopkeepers don’t “wai” nor do they welcome bargaining. But the visitors, they still lap it up as I did all those years ago.

I walk past the florist shop where “Amelie Poulain” worked. I eat in a lovely bistro where the waiter is wonderfully nice. I am seated next to the aquarium in which he tells me they place fresh seafood everyday, except tonight there was just a lone crab who did not move the whole time I was there.

“Is he dead?” I asked the waiter.

“No. He just likes it there, in the corner,” he replied.

“I think he is dead. He hasn’t moved at all,” I said, drumming my fingers against the glass.

“No, he is not. See,” he said, smiling, as he put his hand into the water, grabbed the crab and moved him to another spot.

The sun brings out the smiles in everyone, even Parisian waiters.

Over dessert and coffee, I watched the crab crawl back to his spot in the corner. I think he’s realised that he is less conspicuous there and thus will live longer.

I move round Paris on a scooter (see video below), which I reckon it’s the best way to get round the city. Yes, you can cycle – the Mayor’s scheme of putting free bikes around the city seems to be working, I see a few tourists using them. Or you can walk but believe it or not, it was a bit hot for walking.

But on a scooter, on a warm, sunny, windy day, you feel Paris in your hair as well as your heart.

You see clearly sights that you never tire of – the Louvre, Opera, the Left Bank, Eiffel Tower. You hop off anywhere you like and walk – the Marais for instance is a warren I’d like to burrow in forever.

You also see new sights – Le Mosque de Paris, built in 1926, is a reminder of the cosmopolitan nature of Paris. We stop off for mint tea in the Northern African-inspired Cafe de La Mosque where you feel you could be in Marrakech. I spot a little corner table in the sun.

“There?” I asked.

“No, too much sun,” said my friend.

I never thought I’d ever hear those words in my summer of 2007.

Catch more of Yeoh Siew Hoon every week at The Transit Cafe