I was catching up with some of my favourite blogs the other day and came across this one that mentioned Stendhal's syndrome and linked to a definition. I'd never heard of this psychosomatic illness that some people get when exposed to extremely beautiful art.
The listing also mentions Paris Syndrome, to which apparently Japanese tourists are particularly susceptible; I gather it's a form of culture shock. Which led me to this amusing article in which the author states that 'polite French society' is an oxymoron, because she was tripped up by her ignorance of French customs. Many of her difficulties are those listed among these Top 10 French Challenges.
The first time I ever went to Paris it was with the running club to do the Paris to Versailles road race (about 10 miles). I will have to tell you about this sometime; those of us who went generally class it as one of the best weekends we ever had. But enough about France.
What I really wanted to mention was that it was this time last year that we were in Prague, (just in case you wanted to look at those pictures again). Now that's a place worth getting Stendhaled about.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thanks for the link to those French posts!
I am heading to Paris next year, and would probably find devouring anything on French culture interesting
Plus, I'm learning the language to boot ;)
What an interesting post! Although I was born in America to American parents, I'm sure I'm French! lol
I have never been to France and I'm hoping to visit soon. Would love to hear about your Paris to Versailles road race.
Post a Comment