Walking to get to know a new place - 2 june 2008  | | Istanbul Modern - Ph. by D. Santal |
My husband and I especially like independent tours because of what we like to see. We like cities best, we enjoy museums and historical places, we want to discover our own restaurants, go to performances we select and so on.
Most of all we walk at random, endlessly, whether we know a city of not, whether it’s raining or bright, hot or cold… Once we make up our minds to ignore the weather, we walk! Even in cities I know very well, Paris, Barcelona, London, New York, we walk!
I will never forget that first visit exploring Bangkok, under pouring rain; we came across a remarkable Thai craft store with exquisite handmade objects: the carved black wood elephant is still on my coffee table, looking his regal self; I also bought a lovely wrap-around skirt of Thai silk: I always have a little trouble putting it on, because I forget how to tie it! In London, I explored South Kensington; it is almost a village with its low buildings and row houses, its ethnic restaurants and its pretty shops, not forgetting the Victoria and Albert Museum around the corner. And Paris: that’s where, while walking, I found the oldest house in the city on Rue Saint-Honoré, built in the 13th century, it is still in use. One of the fun things to do is to look at street names, they can be so colorful: Rue des Mauvais Garçons, street of the bad boys, or Rue des Bons Enfants, street of the good children, Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche, street of the fishing cat! I also discovered several of my favorite restaurants, like Le Petit Mâchon, or La Castafiore, now closed, or Chez Jean. I have even gotten lost in Prague, and found one of their more renown jazz clubs, or in Havana, where a band of school children going through their calisthenics on a small square, surrounded me to wish me welcome and to have their picture taken in their smart school uniforms.
Some of the best spots I remember were discovered because I had gotten lost someplace. For instance, in Istanbul, unable to find my way out of the harbor area, I came across, entirely by accident, the Istanbul Modern, a contemporary art museum devoted to Turkish art. I will never forget stumbling upon the Pushkin Museum in Moscow: he is a favorite poet of mine, and I was desperately lost when I saw the building where he lived for many years and went inside (by the way, the man at the desk helped me find my way back). When I get lost, I can usually say “Where is such and such?” in the local language, but the problem is that I cannot always understand the answer! It’s an adventure well worth the frustration of being tired or discouraged at first: there is always a kind soul who can say a few words in a language I know. I also always carry a business card of the hotel where I am staying: I can show it to a taxi driver or a passer-by and find my way again: that was useful in Thailand where the written language is illegible to me! I cannot help but wonder about visiting China or Japan!
Although escorted or guided tours are great, especially for the lazy side of me, the unexpected is rare, except for the beauty of a city or a country. But that’s another story.
| 
