Random observations
I've been keeping a running log of things I notice when I'm out. No pictures, but here are some thoughts and observations from this trip:
1. STOP signs on roads say "stop" rather than "arret". Apparently it's an international agreement.
2. There's a lingerie store named "Pain de Sucre". The pain of sugar???
3. When I was in 6th grade we had French language classes. My parents came home from "Parent's Night" and reported that there'd been an uproar. Someone asked the teacher if we'd learn enough French during the year to be dropped down in Paris and find our way -- they were told no. Happy to report that is no longer the case for me!
4. I still love seeing the musicians at the various metro stops!
5. I did (finally) see someone being given a hard time for not speaking French. Not sure what provoked it, but I was in a grocery store and heard an older French man criticizing an Italian woman. She did not accept the criticism quietly.
6. At this point, I think Maxine and I can tell the difference between French people marketing and the real French lifestyle. So, less stars in our eyes when we're about and more understanding Paris in the context of it being a big city.
7. We are staying in a run down apartment on the border of the 6th and 7th arrondissements. Or, as our friend Bill puts it, the American ghetto. It's extremely convenient, and touristic. We figure this place would sell for twice what our home in Portland is worth. So, location truly is everything in real estate.
8. At a rest stop on the drive south I heard Tracy Chapman's song Revolution playing. And saw 4 of 6 coffee vending machines out of service.
9. Over the past few days I've been doing nostalgia walks through Paris, remembering places I've been before. On other occasions I would have pulled out a tour guide and read about a church while sitting inside it. Now I use my phone and Wiki.
10. We overnighted in Limoges on the way back from Thanksgiving. I rode up in the hotel elevator with a guy from Uzbekistan. He was facetiming a friend back home and included me. First time I've ever talked to someone in (or from for that matter) Uzbekistan.
1. STOP signs on roads say "stop" rather than "arret". Apparently it's an international agreement.
2. There's a lingerie store named "Pain de Sucre". The pain of sugar???
3. When I was in 6th grade we had French language classes. My parents came home from "Parent's Night" and reported that there'd been an uproar. Someone asked the teacher if we'd learn enough French during the year to be dropped down in Paris and find our way -- they were told no. Happy to report that is no longer the case for me!
4. I still love seeing the musicians at the various metro stops!
5. I did (finally) see someone being given a hard time for not speaking French. Not sure what provoked it, but I was in a grocery store and heard an older French man criticizing an Italian woman. She did not accept the criticism quietly.
6. At this point, I think Maxine and I can tell the difference between French people marketing and the real French lifestyle. So, less stars in our eyes when we're about and more understanding Paris in the context of it being a big city.
7. We are staying in a run down apartment on the border of the 6th and 7th arrondissements. Or, as our friend Bill puts it, the American ghetto. It's extremely convenient, and touristic. We figure this place would sell for twice what our home in Portland is worth. So, location truly is everything in real estate.
8. At a rest stop on the drive south I heard Tracy Chapman's song Revolution playing. And saw 4 of 6 coffee vending machines out of service.
9. Over the past few days I've been doing nostalgia walks through Paris, remembering places I've been before. On other occasions I would have pulled out a tour guide and read about a church while sitting inside it. Now I use my phone and Wiki.
10. We overnighted in Limoges on the way back from Thanksgiving. I rode up in the hotel elevator with a guy from Uzbekistan. He was facetiming a friend back home and included me. First time I've ever talked to someone in (or from for that matter) Uzbekistan.
Comments
Post a Comment