Lesson 20 – City

When my parents retired last year, they traded the towering skyscrapers (very tall buildings) and noise pollution (excessive noise) of Los Angeles for the peace and quiet of a small coastal city (a city near the ocean) in southern France. They said they were tired of living in a high-rise building right next to an industrial zone. Now they live in a cozy little house on the outskirts of the city (on the outer edge of the city, not in the center).

Life in their new town is quite different from the hectic pace (the fast and chaotic rhythm) of L.A., where the bustling streets (busy streets filled with people) are strewn with litter (filled with garbage) and you can count on spending hours in traffic jams (stopped traffic).

Instead, the narrow cobblestone streets of the city center are lined with eighteenth-century buildings that are now home to quaint shops (charming and old-fashioned shops) and gourmet restaurants specializing in the local cuisine (the typical food of the region).

The best day to visit is Saturday, when there’s an open-air market (an outdoor market) in the main square. You can buy souvenirs from the street vendors (people selling things on the street) and have lunch at one of the trendy cafés (modern, stylish, and popular cafés) in the area. There’s virtually no street crime here, in contrast to the inner-city areas (older, central, crowded part of a city, usually filled with poor people and possibly violence) of L.A.

Is there anything that my parents miss about Los Angeles? Well, they do miss the cultural diversity. But they’re past the age where being in a place with a pulsating nightlife (having many exciting bars and clubs) is important to them.