After Jimmy Buffett, settling in some more
The weather has been so good that we're making outside activities our priority.
Sunday we caught a bus (we love our unlimited Navigo Decouvert passes AND the location of this apartment) over to the Jardin des Plantes and the Promenade Plantee. In other words, outdoors.
On an unrelated note, if you're reading this and worried about not speaking French, OR studying French, the French have given up and are all speaking English! It's a little sad. In the past I would have struggled in French, constantly worrying about how horrible my pronounciation was. Now, I stumble a bit but 80% of the time the other person rescues me by speaking English. One hint, don't ask someone "do you speak English". Most people won't say yes unless they feel confident and fluent. All you're looking for is enough to get by...
Monday was another walking day. We started at Sacre Coeur/Montmartre and walked down hill (strategic decision for our legs). From there we went down Rue Montorgueil and across town to the Marais District for falafel. Then some time sitting in the sun at the Place Vosges and home!
Tuesday we caught our breath and welcomed our friend Bill over. He was my college roommate and moved to France 22 years ago. He lives in Toulouse, about 5 hours south, and had a business meeting in Paris so we had the chance to spend some time over dinner. It's been 4 years since we last saw him, which seems way too long!
Wednesday I checked out some old favorites, only to discover that even Paris changes. First, Fauchon which at one point was a "nice" grocery store. It's now a mirror-slick store selling French food souvenirs. Hediard, another gourmet grocery store on the same street, is gone. From there I caught a bus to the neighborhood where we stayed 4 years ago...
Changes -- even in France... The building 2 doors down from our old apartment has been torn down! The local bakery is now an Eric Kayser which doesn't bake bread. In 2006 there was one Eric Kayser. It was a real bakery. Now Google says there are 20 in Paris alone. How did he get the money to expand so much? Our suspicions should have been raised when we saw (and ate in) one in NYC a couple years ago.
From there, another bus. This time over to Elysee Palace, the French White House. I was surprised to see a lot of security. I was told by one of the police that it was a "ministers meeting". Maxine checked the TV news and found out that not only was it a ministers (cabinet) meeting, but that the Interior Minister (a combination of attorney general and homeland security) resigned at it.
Nighttime was a philosophy debate group meeting at Cafe de Flore, where the old French philosophers used to hang out. We debated whether the primary goal of life should be happiness.
On an unrelated note, everyone wears black. 90%. Family and friends are a defense against change. NYC with more interesting accents.
Sunday we caught a bus (we love our unlimited Navigo Decouvert passes AND the location of this apartment) over to the Jardin des Plantes and the Promenade Plantee. In other words, outdoors.
On an unrelated note, if you're reading this and worried about not speaking French, OR studying French, the French have given up and are all speaking English! It's a little sad. In the past I would have struggled in French, constantly worrying about how horrible my pronounciation was. Now, I stumble a bit but 80% of the time the other person rescues me by speaking English. One hint, don't ask someone "do you speak English". Most people won't say yes unless they feel confident and fluent. All you're looking for is enough to get by...
Monday was another walking day. We started at Sacre Coeur/Montmartre and walked down hill (strategic decision for our legs). From there we went down Rue Montorgueil and across town to the Marais District for falafel. Then some time sitting in the sun at the Place Vosges and home!
Tuesday we caught our breath and welcomed our friend Bill over. He was my college roommate and moved to France 22 years ago. He lives in Toulouse, about 5 hours south, and had a business meeting in Paris so we had the chance to spend some time over dinner. It's been 4 years since we last saw him, which seems way too long!
Wednesday I checked out some old favorites, only to discover that even Paris changes. First, Fauchon which at one point was a "nice" grocery store. It's now a mirror-slick store selling French food souvenirs. Hediard, another gourmet grocery store on the same street, is gone. From there I caught a bus to the neighborhood where we stayed 4 years ago...
Changes -- even in France... The building 2 doors down from our old apartment has been torn down! The local bakery is now an Eric Kayser which doesn't bake bread. In 2006 there was one Eric Kayser. It was a real bakery. Now Google says there are 20 in Paris alone. How did he get the money to expand so much? Our suspicions should have been raised when we saw (and ate in) one in NYC a couple years ago.
From there, another bus. This time over to Elysee Palace, the French White House. I was surprised to see a lot of security. I was told by one of the police that it was a "ministers meeting". Maxine checked the TV news and found out that not only was it a ministers (cabinet) meeting, but that the Interior Minister (a combination of attorney general and homeland security) resigned at it.
Nighttime was a philosophy debate group meeting at Cafe de Flore, where the old French philosophers used to hang out. We debated whether the primary goal of life should be happiness.
On an unrelated note, everyone wears black. 90%. Family and friends are a defense against change. NYC with more interesting accents.
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