One obvious difference is that everyone brings his or her own trolley-type cart and uses it as not only a shopping cart, but as one giant shopping bag to bring everything home in. Another (refreshing) change is that most of the produce isn't imported solely from Mexico, it comes from all over Europe and Africa. But despite the obvious disparities, there are much more nuanced differences that I, for some reason, was very aware of.
Grocery shopping in Paris looks different. Everything is more colorful. From the orange of the oranges to the green of the green beans – everything looks more authentic and delicious.
Grocery shopping in Paris sounds different. There’s that same constant hum of shoppers, but it just sounds different. It's not that it is changed because the people here are speaking French. It sounds more thoughtful, less hurried.
Grocery shopping in Paris feels different. Everything is closer together. You brush shoulders with shoppers in every isle and basically hug the person in front of you while waiting in line. That simple sense of accidental human contact serves as a pleasant reminder of people’s shared humanity. Not to mention it’s very different from the introverted and closed-off Parisian culture I’ve experienced doing other daily tasks like riding public transportation.
Grocery shopping in Paris tastes different. I was lucky enough to score one of that last free samples of some fresh sausage near the meat counter. If there’s one thing that the French know how to do besides make great tasting bread, wine and cheese, it’s definitely how to make delicious deli meat. Sausage or "saucisson" also happens to be one of my favorite French words.
But perhaps the most notable difference is how grocery shopping in Paris smells different. With fresh fish chilling on ice, pungent smelling cheese being sliced fresh for customers and the warm aroma of baking bread filling the air, it’s a wonder anyone isn't bottling that scent and selling it in stores on les Champs-Élysées.
I guess most of this probably seems irrelevant to you, but it's really important to me. This may be the writer in me, but I'm a firm believer in the beauty of the detail. Without noticing these little differences, grocery shopping would have just been another errand for me to run, another task to accomplish. Instead, it ended up being an activity that I could enjoy and appreciate. It also resulted in this blog post, so there's that.