When in August

I can't tell you how many people have come up to me (during the course of work)to ask why everything around seems to be closed and quiet. And I find myself explaining that in August, most Parisians have gone off for the month for holidays. I think in the 4th arrondissement where we live, a good 85% of the people are away. It never fails to amaze me how institutionalized vacation time is for the French people. As soon as spring-like weather appear, vacation becomes uppermost in most people's minds and it increasingly becomes the only topic of conversation in the months leading up to summer. Where you're going? How long? And if you're one of the few (like us) who are obliged to stay the summer, you get a mix of pitying or horror filled looks that you haven't the chance to leave for some sunny destination where the most pressing decision becomes whether to swim in the pool or in the ocean.

So my neighborhood shops are closed, or have different hours. As are most restaurants except the most hardy ones. Even my florist has decided to leave. See photo below...
That said, there's much to be said for visiting the city at this time of the year. The city takes on a much more relaxed atmosphere and the people who do stay behind are less stressed and as a consequence, are more pleasant to be around. Traffic is at its minimum and things are decidedly more low-key. Going to the grocery becomes less of a chore as there are less lines and it takes considerably less time to go about your business.

And I shouldn't forget that this summer has been a real summer. The sun is out almost everyday; blue blue skies with not a cloud in the sky. Ice cream becomes an everyday treat and the city more personable and in a way more accessible. All in all, I can't complain of my August in Paris