The (Old-Fashioned) National Pastimes

For a people that is supposedly au courant and a la mode, the French cling to some surprisingly old-fashioned hobbies.

These boys, for example, playing cards in the Place des Vosges on a sunny afternoon. I'm not sure when the last time I saw kids this age playing a card game:



And on the subway, particularly at rush hour, people read books. All kinds of books, ranging from Dostoevsky to Ken Follett (all in translation, of course). Quite a difference from New York, where people tend to read newspapers or magazines if they read anything. (However, one explanation may be that the Paris Metro is just too crowded at rush hour to manipulate a newspaper or magazine. A paperback book takes up far less space.)

This is one of the quirks of the place that I like.