Stating the Obvious

A little background: Sèvres is a calm, prosperous suburb southwest of Paris, just across the Seine. Compared to it's world-famous neighbor, it's a rather small town with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it city center, a beautiful park, an active citizenry, a ceramics museum, and a handful of cute shops. It also has one main street that takes drivers from the bridge to the city center...which is where today's post comes in.

This particular street is called "Grande Rue." Seriously. For those not familiar with French, Grande Rue literally means "Big Street." I love that the big street is actually called Big Street. It's succinct, unpretentious, and rather descriptive. I wondered if this was a common occurrence in France. Were other street names as obvious as this one? Is there a "Petitie Rue" out there somewhere? As it turns out, the French are just as baffled by this choice in street name as I am. While giving me a ride home from central Paris, a French friend did a double take as I was giving directions to my apartment. "Grande Rue? Can you be more specific?" No, actually, I can't!