The Prix Is Right

Walking around downtown Lausanne is never straight forward. The streets are curved and intersect at odd angles, both vertically and horizontally. Most of downtown is bi-level, with buildings having an entrance at ground level and then again on the fifth floor at the other ground level. At the Bessiers metro stop I can ride the elevator either two floors down or four floors up to street level. On two occasions I have found places where streets intersect themselves. Getting around has required a lot of map work and a little finesse.

Once you know where you are going and start walking around with direction and purpose, you start to notice another obstacle: the people. The first issue is that I am American. By that I mean that once I have a destination I walk with purpose, taking large strides that go quickly but still would be identified as "walking." Compared to me, the people of Lausanne mosey. But, as I am a guest in this city and its people should be the cultural standard, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that compared to the Swiss, I charge around like a maniac.

Walking at this slower speed changes everything. The lines of who is walking which direction become less defined, people don't get out of each others' way as quickly, and most people don't really need to look at the people walking around them. This has resulted in the weird, power-walking American weaving in and out of pedestrians like a motorcycle on the highway. A few times I have run into people because they simply stopped, midstride. No warning. I thought maybe they were texting, but no (though there is an issue with that in the younger generations of seemingly every western country). The people who stopped weren't checking their watches or answering phones; they were window shopping.

Perhaps its because I have never really lived downtown, but window shopping was something I only associated with Christmas. When you have to drive to go shopping, the window display seldom has anything to do with whether you go in. In the pedestrian center of downtown Lausanne, with Rolex and Cartier around the corner from Louis Vuitton, the window displays are everything. It doesn't seem to matter what you sell. When the goal is to get pedestrians to stop in their tracks, its no wonder that the displays are changed every few days.

Even grocery stores and pharmacies have displays. Here are the windows from places that sell perfume and specialty purses. 

Some stores have displays that are more abstract, expecting the brand name to be enough to lure you in. Take, for example the widows at Louis Vuitton. Nothing says fashion like terrifying, 3-foot eye-flowers and polka-dotted tentacles. I know they put me in the mood for shopping. 

Once I slowed down and started to enjoy the displays I found myself playing some version of "The Price is Right." Otherwise window shopping in an area where most of the items cost more than my monthly food budget could have gotten depressing. At times I have been off by an order of magnitude. Apparently I cannot tell a 200 franc purse from a 2000 franc purse. I can just tell that I cannot afford either of them. I have come to enjoy this game so much, I thought I would share with you. If you feel like playing along, keep track of how many answers you get correct and put the number in the comments. Here we go!

NO CHEATING!

The Answers are:
1.  D. 13, 000
2.  B. 225
3.  A. 3,300
4.  F. 14, 000
5.  G or I. 649
6.  H. 389
7.  C. 5,480
8.  G or I. 649
9.  E. 17,800

10. B. 249
11.  C. 299
12.  A. 225

13. B. 1,750
14. D. 428
15. E. 1,100
16. C. 1,170
17. A. 588

18. E. 699
19. A. 2,980
20. B. 189
21. H. 288
22. C. 159
23. F. 239
24. G. 228
25. D. 580

26. F. 7,900
27. D. 200
28. I. 13,900
29. B. 19,500
30. G. 9,300
31. C. 7,500
32. E. 320
33. A. 6,700
34. H. 8,900

As a reward to those of you who have scrolled all the way down, I give you the most fashionable maternity dresses ever conceived by man.

Thanks for playing. Remember to post your scores!
Au Revoir!