French Paradox

I cannot stop to marvel at the beauty of Bordeaux. All the houses in residential neighborhoods are different, clean and cared for. Each house has a spacious garden with many flowers and trees, which obviously take a lot of work to make them look neat. Yet, there is something strange about how quiet these neighborhoods are at night.

Israelis love gardens. It would not be honest, if I said that they take good care of them, but after a hot day they like to sit in their garden with the family or friends and have a nice chat and cool drinks. There is always a chatter of voices in the neighborhood.

Voices is what is missing in the French neighborhoods – in the evening I meet very few people in the streets. I might have assumed that they sit in their rooms whatching television, but there are few windows lighted and I have not once noticed sounds of TV or the lights from the screen on the windows.

And if they are accustomed to spend their evenings inside – why take good care about the appearance of the house and the garden? For example, Americans like to watch TV, and they are comfortable with the houses styled as a cardboard box.

Whatever the reasons are, these beautiful houses and green gardens certainly make the neighborhoods not to look deserted, even when there is no one around.