September Slack

In Paris, the only thing more frustrating than finding your daily repères closed in August is finding them closed in September. As though the fermeture annuelle of your favorite boulangerie during the entire month of August weren't punishment enough, the city of Paris has decided to turn the rentrée into one endless force-fed goose chase. For one, it had the original idea of emptying out all of the city's pools at the same time. But even though swimming off the calories from all those croissants ordinaires may not be an option, you'll get quite a workout just tracking down an open pool in the area.
If only all the fonctionnaires could stay on vacation, life in Paris would be so much simpler.

Jacques Villeret, Daniel Prévost, Thierry Lhermitte, and Francis Huster as François Pignon, Lucien Cheval, Pierre Brochant, and Juste Leblanc [Online image] 1998.

The Return of Paris Angst

It's time to share Paris with its rightful owners again. No more breezy parking maneuvers and jostle-free promenades. They're back (a few shades orange-er granted) and ready to elbow themselves through post office lines and overtake sidewalks with their jumbo-sized poussettes.
Sadly enough the sun seems to be in on the whole thing. As if la rentrée weren't disheartening enough, now we have to scuttle around the crowded city in sweaters and wet feet. And even if the morning gloom and early nights will send Parisians packing for weekend getaways in no time, it no longer seems as fun to be left behind.

Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert. [Online image] 1963.