Paris: Just don’t look down and it’ll be grand!

Gemma Good's The Good Life visits Paris.

I heard about the Paris Depression after I visited Paris. Honestly I thought it was a load of waffle that this person had come up with on the spot, as if to say I told you it wasn’t that great. So I did what everyone else does in these situations, went along with it and pretended I knew what they were on about and then went home and googled it. Turns out Paris syndrome is actually a psychological condition experienced mostly by Japanese tourists who romanticise the city so much before arrival, causing them to experience severe culture shock when the city doesn’t live up to their expectations. More severe cases cause symptoms such as hallucinations, anxiety, dizziness and sweating. Although people of all nationalities can experience the syndrome, Japanese people supposedly have a particular fascination with all things French, which is why it affects them so acutely. This is all according to google, unfortunately I have not met anybody from Japan to back this up but you best be sure it will be the first thing I ask about when I do. The cure? Book a one way flight home to Japan and never return to Paris. Harsh.

While I did not experience any of the symptoms of Paris syndrome, I wasn’t all that enamoured with the most romantic city in the world. I went with one of my friends from secondary school so, while I wasn’t expecting her to drop down on one knee or anything, the most romantic thing I saw was two rats playing with each other beneath the Eiffel Tower. Yes I am starting with the negative parts, however the rats and mice were a deal breaker for me. Now, I am from the sticks of Cavan and grew up on a farm. I am no stranger to rats and mice, my cat often trotted through the house proudly with a tiny corpse dangling from her mouth. Disgusting I know, but cat owners will be able to relate. I can deal with this.

We went for a meal in the evening in a restaurant close to our hotel. Both of us opted for steak and it was beautiful, red wine, crème brulee, the works, we know how to treat ourselves. It wasn’t the most expensive restaurant in Paris but I’d say it was middle of the road. As we sipped our drinks and chatted afterwards, I noticed something darting around in the corner of the room. Initially I thought I was seeing things, it was a quick movement. The third time I saw two little mice running around inside the restaurant. I told my friend who also saw them. We said we would finish our drinks and leave, as long as they were on the floor they wouldn’t bother us. I couldn’t help thinking that, if they were in the restaurant, then they were surely in the kitchen, possibly running around the utensils used to make the food we just ate. My train of thought was disturbed.

“Gemma, they’re on the couch.”

With her vantage point sitting in front of me, my friend could see the two mice running along the couch I was sitting on. We paid and left. My friend had just ordered a cocktail but didn’t want to finish it due to our uninvited little guests.

Later that night, we called into another bar where a rat insisted on joining us. We told the waiter who looked at us in confusion. He explained that due to the proximity of the metro, rats and mice are common in Paris. I still don’t think this is reason enough to have a meal or drink with them running around at your feet. We asked to be moved outside, which he did reluctantly. Is this a thing that is accepted in Paris? I know in Ireland the HSA would have a thing or two to say.

While I don’t think I had Paris syndrome, I did start to sweat a little with beady eyes staring at me and running around my feet. I promise though, Paris has its good points. Absolutely everybody talks about how rude the Parisians are. I have to say I experienced the complete opposite. I found the people very friendly and only too happy to switch to English when they realised my standard of French was basic at best. All museums in Paris are free to European citizens under the age of 26 years. We visited the Panthéon, which is a cruciform building where prominent French men and women were buried. You can actually go down into the tombs, which is amazing. The walls of the building are decorated with stunning paintings depicting French history. Honestly you could spend days in this building, we got there quite late so we didn’t have much time but I still enjoyed it immensely.

We visited the Sacre coeur, which is also well worth the effort. I’m no architect but these buildings are like nothing I have ever seen before, it’s surreal to see in person what we learned about in French class. The Eiffel Tower and the light show it casts across the city is magical (if you keep looking up, you can’t even notice the rats running around beneath). My bit of training in Cavan’s Fit Forever stood to me, while climbing the stairs to the Arc de Triomphe and gladly so. The view from the top is stunning and so worth it. We also got to do this for free, which was a bonus. This was by far my favourite thing to do - followed by window-shopping on the Champs d'Elysee (I was truly in my element).

To sum up, I would return to Paris. We stayed for one night, which was not enough time to explore the city and its museums, and I will definitely return someday just to do this. Like all things, sometimes the anticipation is the best part. It can’t be the fault of a city that we have high expectations. Just don’t look down and you will be fine.