These Faces in the Crowd

Ya know, after the glamour of the buildings, historical sites, famous paintings and stained glass wear off, it's the people of a place that really stick with you. These pictures are in no particular order, but I found myself drawn to certain groups. In Paris it was the fashionably dressed, which includes pretty much everyone. The women know how to work a scarf, even on a warm day. They are often wearing the cutest sundresses and skirts. Skinny jeans are very popular with the teenagers, but if any aged woman is wearing jeans, they are rarely baggy or flared. Even what would be considered an unattractive woman in the States looks fantastic because of how she carries herself - they all seem so confident. Very little makeup, not a lot of time spent on hair - even slightly on the frizzy side, but always fresh and always put together and feminine. The men can make jeans look like dresswear because of what's being worn on their feet and top. Good shoes are a must - even if they are tennis shoes, they are street shoes and not of the workout variety. T-shirts are fitted. I never saw girls jeans on a French man, but they do wear a more fitted cut sitting on their hips where pants should sit - they are NOT ashamed of the fact that they have bums. They do seem ashamed to show that they wear underwear becuase I never saw a man's underwear the whole time except on the boys from Wyoming that were in our group. Sunglasses are a major accessory for both men and women, and sometimes (in addition to the scarves) are the only accessory. I would love to be a Parisian woman or man - they just always seem to look good and confident.

I was also drawn to elderly people and couples. One old man was lying on a bench in the courtyard outside the Louvre. He was sprawled out with one arm over his eyes and the other arm was out with his hand extended. The pigeons were gathering around him and one would get brave and fly up into his hand. I though he was sleeping until a bird would fly off, he would bring his extended hand inside his shirt, and would hold it out again. Another brave pigeon would fly back up into his hand and eat whatever it was he had just replenished. I don't know if he was homeless or not.

The elderly couples always hold hands or have each other by the arm. Well, couples of all ages hold hand, both in France and in Spain. The old men often have a cane. In Barcelona they walk with their hands behind t heir backs. Couples are not afraid to show affection. If I saw a couple kissing in the US, my first thought would be, "Get a room." Over there, it was normal and people didn't seem afraid to show affection, even if it was just holding hands. So it became heartwarming to see couples of all ages being proud to be seen with their significant other and declareing it.

I loved the children of Spain. The French don't have many children, and in fact I don't remember seeing many at all. I didn't see a single mini van and only a handful of SUV's there. Spain, on the other hand, has children galore. And they are beautiful! There were two boys in Barcelona that were hiding behind the potted plants of a cafe. Vendors sell these whistles that hide inside your mouth and, depending on how you blow them, they can sound like cats or parrots...vendors even use them to catch your attention to sell you something else entirely. So these two boys had them and were hiding. When women walked by, they would either make the sound of a hissing cat (if the woman was older) or the parrot sound if she was pretty, even if the woman was with a man. I missed snapping a picture of them until they came out of hiding because I was having so much fun watching them! Another time, a bus pulled up next to us full of school-uniformed children. They didn't stop waving at us until their bus pulled away. That is what I will remember about the children of Spain - happy and vibrant, waving and chasing pigeons in the public squares.

Spain is a very religious country, and you feel and see it. While France is around 80% Catholic, only about 25% are practicing. This is not the case in Spain. The cathedrals in Spain more often than not didn't allow photography to be taken inside, and I wonder if it was because the schedule of worship is a fuller day than in France where the tourist and camera flash rules. I have never seen so many nuns in my life as I did in Spain. I could have done a whole blog entry on just nuns if it weren't for seeing them mostly while in a moving bus (which makes for blurry and often discarded pictures).

For all of our differences, there is something comforting to know that wherever you go, there are people that love and play with their children. Governements and the masses of a country are not the same thing. Cultural quirks may change, but everywhere people like to be around family and friends. The way we worship may be different, but the same God watches over and loves us all, no matter where we live.