More Observations

After several encounters with this same situation, I have finally come to realize that in Europe, if someone tells you your destination is not walkable, 9 times out of 10 it most certainly is. Whether you’re feeling athletic or are trying to save money on public transportation (both of which have applied to me at some point), saying that you are walking to a given location will often draw looks of bewilderment or hurried advice on which bus or metro lines to take.

On a similar note, many French people seem to find the idea of commuting utterly perplexing. While this idea is common to most Americans and even the more metropolitan Parisians, many people from smaller towns do not grasp the concept. For example, I work in a small town in the South of France called Nîmes, but chose to live in the livelier, younger, and more entertaining Montpellier which is a 25 minute train ride away. No matter which end of the train journey I find myself on, the first question from people who learn my situation is always, “Why?!” I guess things like this seem normal when you hail from a country where an hour commute to work, a 5 hour commute to school, and a sometimes 10+ hour ride to vacations is not unheard of. Gotta love the Europe.