[2023-06-25] A day to flâner and observe
I was first introduced to the term flâneur a month ago when a friend described it as a person who takes to the street for an aimless walk, perhaps stopping to have a drink, chat with a storekeeper or run into friends.
I was so taken by the word that I explored it further, ultimately writing a post on the idea (Flânerie). Though the term flâneur was originally ascribed to men, author Gabby Tuzzeo argued that it could be applied equally to women. In my post, I quoted Tuzzeo, who described a flâneuse as "The lone female walker, the woman exploring the city at leisure, the woman sitting alone at a café drinking coffee, the woman relaxing in a park, observing her surroundings." Clearly, anyone can be a flâneur.
Today, a different friend sent me a recent New York Times article on The Art of Being a Flâneur. Author Stephanie Rosenbloom describes the flâneur in many ways, but her simplest description—a definition from Baudelaire—is "a passionate spectator." Rosenbloom recounts a walk she took in Florence, saying "No longer hunting for a destination, I could finally see."
And that seems to be a recurring theme in any definition of a flâneur—someone who takes the opportunity to see things they might not otherwise have discovered or chosen to notice.
Perhaps it's a function of aging, of being retired or of having fewer obligations, but I find myself wandering more and thereby seeing more.
Today was a day for some flânerie as we sought to walk indoors because of the forest-fire-induced smoke hanging over the city. Our plan was to go to the St. Laurent Shopping Centre. En route, however, we decided to first stop by the Costco Business Centre in Ottawa's east end, as Mel had never been there. (She enjoyed sending pics to friends in other countries of buckets of mayonnaise, poutine gravy mix and maple syrup.)
On the way back from Costco, we missed our exit to St. Laurent. We thought of doubling back, then abandoned that idea. Chris suggested the Rideau Centre (not my or Mel's favourite place). I suggested Carlingwood (not Chris' favourite place). Finally, we settled on IKEA, the first destination that we could all agree upon.
We grabbed some lunch then headed for the quieter north side of the IKEA Café. The large windows allow us to observe people coming and going in the parking lot, or zipping by on the Queensway (including cars that—erroneously or deliberately—take the Pinecrest exit reserved for buses, emergency vehicles and people working on the transitway). Today, however, we tended to simply look around us. I watched a large extended family: the moms chatted to each other, while the young girls sat quietly eating their cakes and the young boys bounced off nearby armchairs. I observed young people wearing headphones, heads bent over their laptops as they typed and occasionally sipped coffee ($1 with unlimited refills or free with an IKEA family membership). I watched a toddler as her father fed her lunch; she seemed as interested in staring at us as she was in eating her food.
My favourite group to behold was five women and five men. I love seeing people—especially older individuals—getting out, seeing friends, staving off loneliness. As I passed the group (on my way for a coffee refill), I caught the eye of one of the women and smiled. She smiled back, perhaps wondering whether she knew me from somewhere. I stopped at their table and remarked, "I just love seeing groups like yours." The women grinned. I added, "I bet the conversation at this end of the table" (I motioned to the end where the women were huddled together) "is better than the conversation at that end of the table." The ladies laughed at my observation, and one man at the other end of the table gave me a thumbs up. Perhaps he agreed.
After lunch, we strolled through the IKEA Showroom then the Market Hall. As Mel and I waited for Chris to rejoin us, we noticed and remarked on the beauty of Canada's cultural mosaic. I thought of that again when I reread my post on Flânerie and the article I linked to in that piece: The Flaneur and the Flaneuse: the culture of women who wander cities. In the latter, Gabby Tuzzeo discusses the importance Italians place on walking:
Many Italians take daily Passeggiatas between 5pm and 8pm to absorb their surroundings, vibe off their city and engage in light exercise. The name originates from the verb passeggiare, meaning ‘to walk.’
La Passeggiata is a cultural phenomenon where Italians socialise with people after work. They greet their friends and acquaintances; they chat to the locals and they gossip. Women frequently hold hands and walk together. Giovanna Delnegro states this Italian custom "reinforces a sense of belonging."
Perhaps city streets, public parks and shopping centres serve an important cultural role of giving people places where they can feel that they belong.
Beyond finding places to belong, the act of flânerie allows people to be in the moment. In The Art of Being a Flâneur, Stephanie Rosenbloom writes:
This sort of aimless strolling is conducive to savoring, to finding joy in the moment, a practice that some social scientists have found can be cultivated and may help lead to a more fulfilling life. In "Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience," the scholars Fred B. Bryant and Joseph Veroff describe savoring not as mere pleasure, but as an active process that requires presence and mindfulness. It’s "a search for the delectable, delicious, almost gustatory delights of the moment," as they put it.
By walking a city in this engaged yet relaxed fashion, we may also become more open to the unexpected, to the little surprises that sometimes turn out to be the best part of a day, or an entire vacation.
Flânerie, I conclude, is not simply a function of where we go in the world, but also of where we go in our minds—what we see, what we savour, what we appreciate.
