Bastille Day and Beyond!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Why does time seem to elapse even faster in Paris??? At my advancing age (I turn a year older on Sunday! Yikes...and Yay!), this isn't a good thing :)!  Well, I guess we should just all get use to the fact that I will continue to miss my personal goal of posting once a week....however, if two weeks feels like one week in Paris and I post every two weeks (or a week in Paris time), does that mean I still am making my goal?  Does a tree make a sound when it falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it?

Bastille day or le quatorze juillet was parfait!  Since I missed all the US festivities for July 4th, I was bound and determined to take part in France's national holiday that marks the uprising of common people against the royal monarch back in 1789.  I skipped class in the morning (first time ever in my entire life!) to witness the oldest and largest military parade down the famous Champs Elysees!  After one hour of standing on my tip toes I saw the below horses who were escorting non-other than Monsieur Sarkozy!!  I was thrilled!  However, I found my enthusiasm was lost on any French person I told the sighting about...apparently Sarkozy isn't very popular right now despite his wife being pregnant with a little garcon (ah, it is almost a sport for me to bring up Carla Bruni with French friends....they are so impassioned with dislike for her!!).

There were over 240 horses in this group escorting the President of France.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Mr. Sarkozy because the Russian guy in front of me decided to wave at him (arm dead center in front of my camera) right as I snapped the picture...C'est la vie. :(

I wasn't the only one at the parade...although I wish I would have been because the view would have been better...but here is a fun glimpse of how people 10 rows deep were trying to see the soldiers, horses and President.  The periscopes were hysterical, but I found it particularly amazing that some folks had the wherewithal to bring ladders to the occasion.  Apparently they had done this before.

Had I had some political connections, I would have had a nice box seat right along the Champs Elysees.  I noticed most of those woman invitees were dressed to kill with their Christian Louboutin heels and Chanel purses.

The best part of the day was when I headed to my Brazilian girlfriend's house, Andrea (she is in the middle), to drink wine, eat cheese and baguettes and go see the fireworks. She hosted a small party with a few French friends who quickly became my friends too.  One of my new adorable friends is above...her name is Lily.  The iconic Eiffel Tower is majestic behind us....we watched the fireworks on one of the quais near the tower and the Champs de Mars.

No picture is actually like being there, but this is a shot of some of the fireworks during the finale with the Eiffel Tower sparkling to the right. We were all mesmerized for those 20 minutes.

Afterwards we became part of the sea of people trying to get to their next destination.

Thankfully we didn't have to take a metro as all the stations in the vicinity were completely bondée!

The police were directing people to other, less packed stations...which I think probably became just as over-crowded.  Our group just walked 3 blocks back to Andrea's apartment and resumed our cheese eating.

It was a wonderful evening...which for me ended 24 hours later as I spent the day after Bastille day with Andrea just café hopping, shopping and then making dinner at her apartment.  Un fête inoubliable et parfait!

I have 2 more days of class left before I take a summer break (gotta do as the Parisians and do some traveling during the month of August...and September)....which means I will have to say good-bye to yet more friends....that seems to be the life of an ex-pat, always meeting and then having to say good-bye to wonderful people.  Two people from this 4 week session I will particularly miss are the vibrant, intelligent and fun girls from Venezuelans!  Carmen and Maria!!  Today we took a little excursion to Paris' first taqueria.  

YES!  I ate Mexican in Paris! And it was wonderful!

Here we are at the Paris' best and smallest Mexican restaurant, El Nopel (Maria is in the middle and Carmen is on the right).  I ordered the 3 tacos (2 poulet and 1 boeuf) and the girls got the "Burron" (a burrito larger than their heads!).

Everything was made fresh and in front of us...including the handmade tortillas that the owner rolled out and grilled on the spot.

Here is the Mexican owner, Alejandro, cutting tomatos for his wonderful salsa or guacamole.  The service was friendly and in 3 languages (Spanish, French and English)...I will definitely be going back to this delightful hole in the wall along the Saint Martin canal in the 10th.  It was a jewel! 

Well, this will be my last blog post at my current age (my Brazilian girlfriend has taught me to be a bit more quiet about my age :) )...but perhaps in my next post I will be much wiser as I will indeed be a year older :).

One can only pray! So stayed tuned, my next post just may change your life. Ha!...and since I am headed to the Champagne region to celebrate, who knows what pearls of wisdom several glasses of champagne will inspire!

In the meantime, I leave with you with some wisdom from a French proverb:

Il est bon d'avoir des amis partout.

It is good to have friends everywhere.

Bienvenue a 7eme Arrondissement!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

In The Toronto Star Weekly on February 4th, 1922, Ernest Hemingway wrote an article about living in Paris on $1,000 a year. In it he celebrates the robust exchange rate of the Canandian and US dollar compared to the franc...12.5 francs = 1 dollar.  His hotel cost 12 francs a day, his breakfast cost 2 francs and a trip on the metro a mere 4 cents.  In his words, "Exchange is a wonderful thing!"  Ah, how times have changed! :).  In fact here in Paris, I only have 2 rules for myself; I do not talk about the dollar to euro exchange rate nor the US stock market.  Both could probably cause me panic attacks if I kept too close a tabs on either...so my simple rule in both cases is ignorance is bliss! :)

Good News! J'ai déménagé last Saturday! I am now in a total different world on the Left bank of the Seine. Gone is my Paris of old with the diverse neighborhood of the West and North Africans (where I stood out like a sore thumb!) and where my Malian neighbors yelled (lovingly) at each other at the Mangrove Bar and gambled cards on the hoods of cars until late at night. Now I am in the glamorous et très parisian 7eme arrondissement. It is amazing how quickly I adapted to my previous neighborhood because I was quite shocked to see SOOOO many white people over here. :) The chic shopping street next to my apartment is dotted with men and women wearing striped tops and yellow or pink bottoms. Their hair is shiny and slick and their cars are Audis or Maseratis.  In fact my neighbor just a few blocks down is the Prime Minister of this great nation.  I am going through culture shock and I only moved a 15 minute cab ride away!  However, I am quite certain I will adapt just fine (probably too well) to my new uppercrust quartier.  I have already grown a bit too attached to a few of the boutiques.

This is the salon in my new apartment! Très beau, oui!?

I was lucky to find through mutual friends an American woman who works for Microsoft that was looking for a roommate!  I now get to spend my next 10 months in a beautiful (and Italian decorated!) Haussmannian style Parisian apartment with a dynamic, French-speaking expat named Paula. The apartment is truly amazing and I think my new roomie and I will get on like 2 pees in a pod!

The fleurs on the table are from a local florist/flirt named Tony.

This frommagerie, touted as one of the best in Paris, is a quick 5 minute jaunt from my new front door.  It is the size of a shoebox, but houses over 200 cheeses.  Every inch is covered with different raw milk camemberts, compté, beaufort  and these adorably stuffed little goats :).  It is icebox cold when you walk in and the women inside definitely know their stuff.  I particularly enjoyed during my visit that no english was spoken....so I had to reach deep into my French vocab to ask what was best to pair with a Cote de Provence rosé I was serving that night.  The recommendation of 3 different chèvres was exceptional!

As a note, it is SOLDES season here in France!!

Twice a year Parisians indulge in a tradition that we Americans get to treat ourselves to every weekend (especially now with the down economy)...sales up to 70% off the retail price.  Believe it or not, the French government doesn't allow items to be discounted (without penalty) outside one of these 2 month long sale periods.  So up until the 26th of July one can expect all the stores to be in complete disarray, lines to be long to the fitting room, and manners to be disregarded as women and men dig through sale racks. I have been elbowed, feet stomped on and shoved without one "pardon" from the offending patron...but I shrug it off.  I understand their appetite for the sale...especially with such a drought in between opportunities.

This is a tame scene from a Zara clothing store near my new apartment.  When I see such chaos I usually walk in and then walk out.  So far the soldes have yielded me 3 robes (dresses) and 1 manteau (coat).

I think I will mourn a bit when they are over....as I imagine all of Paris will do.

Escargot!

My new walk to school involves walking down the boutique lined Rue de Bac, accross the Pont Royal (build by Louis XIV during his reign in the late 1600s), through the Louvre (I walk through the Porte de Lions every morning...how insane is that!) and then towards the Opera on my way to  L'Atelier 9. A cafe I pass by both morning and night, named Cafe St. Germain, is alway packed with well-heeled folks drinking champagne and eating salads. I figured with all those people it had to be good, oui? Last night I was able to sample their plat du jour (beouf bourguignon) and try these tasty yet hard to extract :) morsels with a group of friends. 

I experienced what the fuss was about.

I am looking forward to further discovering all the 7eme has to offer...I think we will be a good match!  I leave you with one fun discovery that happened yesterday on the metro....



A boy with a bird! 

I witnessed this duo on the Metro from my stop at Sevres-Babylone to Concorde!  It was the cutest and darndest thing!

He, the bird, just sat perched on the little can of food between the legs of the garcon while the garcon drew pictures of dragons. The bird would pop his head in and out of the can to grab some seeds and then deposit the little shells all over the train floor.

I could only stare (and take 2 pictures)...at one point I was staring so much the gentleman friend I was with said, "Jen, I am over here."

Yeah, but the adorable little boy and bird is over there :).

My Baguette Belly :)

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Il fait chaud aujourd'hui...tres chaud! Today is the first day since I have been here that I have felt and experienced summer heat....in fact, as I sit her holed up in my little apartment, shutters shut tight blocking the sun's rays and my fan blasting on high, my iphone reads that the temp outside is a balmy 97 degrees (36 degrees Celsius, if you please!). Ah, swimsuit season has arrived which means my routine of consuming a baguette a day needs to gracefully and promptly come to a halt. I did order a demi-baguette today at my corner bakery as I don't think I can go cold turkey...the bread here is soooo good and I am becoming very French in the sense that the idea of a meal without the flaky, crusty staple seems incomprehensible. What will I eat all my fresh butter with!!!! :) I do lovingly refer to my growing ventre as my baguette belly...thank goodness I walk as much as I do otherwise I don't think I would find it as cute and novel :).

Yesterday in the Jardin des Tuileries the weather was perfect!

It is possible to rent little toy sailboats here! This little boy was trying to race his with his sister's...unfortunately it got stuck, but he worked hard to detangle it from the fountain plumbing :).

Just beyond this point the La Prefecture de Police de Paris orchestra was putting on an outside concert. So many people were out enjoying the weather and taking in the sun.....

Not only did the hot weather start today, but so did the 2nd half of my 8 week language class!  I am no longer a debutante - debutante, but have graduated to "false beginner"...yes, that is an actual term in the school.  My class largley consists of my classmates from last session (moins 3 who either went back to their country or are now taking some time to travel). We did add 2 girls from Venezuela (who made a very good first impression today by giving us venezuelan chocolat) and another women from the USA (who I can't see becoming a friend of mine anytime soon...I didn't understand the feet stomping when she couldn't get wifi access on her iphone at the school...really?...but hey, she could just be jet lagged.  I will remain open).

The best begginner French class dans le monde!

This picture was taken in our salon jaune last Friday on the last day of 4 week session and right before the school pique-nique.

Fabien, the homme standing, was our professor...he was incredible, funny and patient.

He is taking the next two months off to cook vegetarian food at a musique festival in Marseille and then he is headed to Senegal with his Senegalese girlfriend for a month visit and tour!

We will miss you Fabien!

I absolutely love learning French.  It is amazing the pleasure I get out of talking to my fromager or my Tunisian veggie vendor completely in French.  Of course, anything I say or ask isn't perfect....but I do create something comprehendible by putting together simple nouns and verbs. And when someone does what I ask, I just beam :).  "It works!" is usually the thought that goes through my mind when I am shown the section with the Sauvignon wines after asking for wines from the Loire Valley or the poissonier gives me the 10 shrimp I ask for after shelling one to make sure I will indeed like it. My growing confidence with the language must also be making me look more local. It is actually a phenomenon to me, but I usually get asked once a day for directions to someplace...in French, bien sur!  Perhaps it is the baguette that I usually have in hand that disguises me as an all knowing local....but the lost Frenchie is usually disappointed when I give them a sad face and "Désolé". My belly may be becoming French, but my tongue has a ways to catch-up :)...which is why I need to go do my homework now!

Before signing off...one more picture.....

Me in a stand-out chair in the lobby of  Hotel Meurice.

They serve the best bellini's in Paris (which are yummy), but for me the most delicious thing in the 5 star hotel was this chair!

Saturday Night in Paris

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

It is Saturday night.  I am settled on my couch/bed watching L'Ecole Des Fans, a cute program where children around the age of 5 get to sing a song with one of their favorite French singers.  The kids are asked pretty basic questions prior to their performance (i.e. What is your name? What will you sing?  What does your mom do?) which makes it a perfect program to reinforce my class work.  Most of the little ones freeze up or forget the lyrics so there is a lot of camera panning to parents feverishly mouthing the words at their wilting, stage frightened children.  Luckily, since all the parents are also holding video cameras, the moment is eternally caught on tape probably to be replayed at the poor child's wedding.

I do watch a bit of the tele here in Paris.....definitely more than I do at home.  But that is because at home t.v. is a time sucker, HERE it is an educational tool!! :)  It is a fun game for me to see how much I can understand...which is usually a word here, a phrase there.  I have most of my success with the commercials. Apparently the French Ministry of Work, Employment and Health has quite the campaign going on right now to promote healthy eating, exercise and not snacking between meals.  Every second commercial is a PSA requesting us, the unhealthy, stagnant, snacking viewer, to eat the required amount of veggies and fruits a day, get out and exercise and eat only during proper meal times.  These disclosures are also found written at the bottom of the commercials promoting chocolates, sweets, cookies or anything else that may not make you fat! :) And if you didn't get the point from the ongoing commercials and disclosures, there is a website to visit:  http://www.mangerbouger.fr/.  I guess this is all just the government's way of keeping the Frenchies svelte.

Me with some of my classmates trying to get our proper veggie intake!

We chose a Vietnamese restaurant for our first class outing.

It was located in the historic Passage des Panoramas.

The food was quite good, the owner was quite annoying.

He made us order all our entrees and plats at one time....which seemed to go against everything I know about French dining.  But since he wasn't French, I will give him a pass.

Today my Italian classmate, Carlotta, invited a few of us over for homemade pizza at her flat that she shares with a local Parissien.

For a Parisian apartment it was huge.

As you can see from the picture the entire place was stark white, the owner even owned 2 white cats.  She use to work in a museum so her place had a very artistic feel.  In fact in the water closet she had about 10 toilet paper roll holders mounted in different places all up and down the wall.  It was clear there wasn't much concern about running out of toilet paper...the concern was more about be able to reach it (she had some mounted close to the ceiling!).

After lunch I cut through Montmartre to go find the only vineyard left in Paris.

Wow! Tourist season must be upon us! The Sacre Couer had beaucoup, beaucoup people.  I stopped to watch a puppet show on the story of Moses and observe a street performer balance on his head a bowl with 3 goldfish while he juggled and danced.

Success!

Between Rue Saint-Vincent and Rue des Saules

is Clos Montmartre, the only working vineyard left in Paris!

This vineyard only produces about 300 bottles a year (and from what I read and hear they aren't the most spectacular bottles).  Every year in October there is a fetes put on by the vineyard where the public gets access to the vineyard and the bottles of wine are auctioned off for charity.

Some of the delights of Montmartre!

I was discreetly trying to take a picture of these 4 older French women resting on a bench in the heart of Montmartre.  They were simply adorable!

I will sign-off this Saturday night with a picture of my lunch on Wednesday.

It is langoustine ravioli  made by an Israeli chef who studied under Alain Ducasse.

I pass his restaurant every day on the way to school.  It is located on a quiet back street in the 9e. Ever since the moment I saw it and its blackboard menu I have been wanting to try it.....so I stopped in on my home on Wednesday.

The meal was amazing and I was given a lot of attention by said chef....so much so that he refused to take my money for my 3 course meal with wine.  I think he may have a little crush on me :).  Next time I go back though I must pay...I don't want him thinking payment will end up being in the chambre.

Vive la France.

Week One as a French Débutante - Fini!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

The French word for "beginner" is débutante....kinda nice, I think...and I suppose it is good that I like the word as I am sure I will be using as a self-descriptive adjective for a while!

My first week of French classes fell during a week that France also had a national holiday or un jour férié.  Ascension Day was Thursday, June 2 which meant not only was my corner boulanger and marché closed, but my 5 day class week shrunk to 4. I guess I am really easing into learning this language.

My school's name is L'Atelier 9.  It is located in the 9e close to the Galeries Lafayette, Folies Bergere and lots of great little cafes. I have decided to walk to school in the morning which a wonderful 45 minute stroll through all the side streets in my neighborhood, Montmarte in the 18th and then a small part of the 9th.  Every morning I window shop the cute boutiques on Rue de Abbesses and wish I had more time to sit at a sidewalk table with all the boho-chic, creative-looking patrons as they take their espresso and croissants (cigarettes usually too...these people smoke like the French National Assembly is going to illegalize cigarettes tomorrow!).

This is the Church of Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre that I

pass each morning on the Rue de Abesses on my way to school.

My group has the maximum amount of students allowed in a class, 9.  There is Pedro and Andrea from Brazil, Carlotta and Felice from Italy, Yuka from Japan, Hema from Spain and then Lindsay and me from Les Etats-Unis. Fabian is the patient soul assigned to teach us.  In class he doesn't speak a word of English....only his perfect French. My brain is usually spinning after class from all the new words, verb tenses and rationalizing why the French language insists on including vowels and consonants in words that aren't  pronounced! Argh!  I love my class, and I love the camaraderie that we are developing as a group...we all struggle very well together :).  Ah, fun factoid about one of my classmates, Andrea from Brazil is a bikini designer!!!  Of course la Brésilienne designs itty-bitty swimwear! 

Since I didn't have class today, I decided to take a break from conjugating the verbs Etre, Faire, Aller and Avoir to go explore Le Bonne Marche.  Called the oldest department store in Paris, it specializes in luxury fashion for men and women as well as fine house wares and furniture....but I wasn't interested in these departments today.  My goal was to witness firsthand the department called "La grande épicerie de Paris."

Place de Clichy

This is place is near my apartment and was on my way to Le Bonne Marche.

It is one of the few places in Paris where four arrondissements (the 8th, 9th, 17th, and 18th) meet at a single point.

I find that it doesn't matter how often I see the Eiffel Tower, I still reach for my camera.

Here I had to steal a shot as I passed though Place de Concorde.

There was a model shoot going on as I walked through...I don't know what designer or brand she was posing for, but since she was leaning against a Bentley I ruled out H&M :).

Made it!

Inside is 5000 different products selected from around the world. A hard-to-find bottle of mineral water from Wales, jams made by a French artisan, a famed tomato sauce from Naples!

What you can't find anywhere else, you can find it here.

Dangerous? Yes!

Just a peek inside...it was beautiful!

Not shown was the amazing fresh produce department, extensive cheese counter, Spanish ham section, colorful pastry display, and jaw-dropping cave de vin.

Uh, cool!

Either you can choose your own fresh ouefs and the colorful carton they will call home for a short time

OR

you can grab a pre-packed pastel package of 6.

Another First!

I have never seen bottles from the great Châteaux of Yquem, Moulton-Rothschild, Lafite, Latour.....and Petrus, but Le Bonne Marche carries them all!

Not exactly a wine that one opens at 5pm on a Tuesday because she is thirsty.

These cheesecakes come decorated with edible flowers. 

The little oval objects stuck in the cake like candles are individual serving size capsules of different fruit sauces to drizzle over your piece of cake.

Really, when it comes to food, the French think of everything...and package it perfectly!

The cake I bought was called "Tonka Chic."

I will learn more about it tomorrow when I eat it, but it is a vanilla and chocolate mousse cake that is apparently flavored in part by Tonka beans from South America.

These beans are used in French desserts as a substitute for vanilla.

I will report back later....but I can say now that it looks absolutely amazing.

After being surrounded by all that food...I needed to go eat something!...and do some homework.

Sitting at the bar, I did get a few chuckles as the Frenchies would look at my homework sheets.

To them, my homework looks a little like, "Dick is going to the market. Jane is going to school."

Ah, C'est la vie...at least I was able to order my entire lunch in French and even ask the difference between the two types of jambons on the menu.

I will take being laughed at if it means progress.

Le week end commence!  And the apartment search continues, but I will leave that for a later post....the whole ordeal needs its own dedicated entry :).

Here's to using my new skills this weekend! Oh, and this Sunday (1st Sunday of the month) c'est gratuit to enter public museums....perhaps the Louvre is in my future!

Home in the 17e...At least for the next 4 weeks!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Ah! So nice to be in my own space! I officially moved in today around 1:30pm. I should have been here to meet Ignacio at 1pm, but a late taxi delayed me (more and more I am learning customer service is not the strong suite of the French).  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Ignacio needed the extra time to do some final touches on the apartment and get the contract ready.  So here I am...paid, signed, official.

Me in my new 18m square studio apartment!

I am sitting on my bed and sofa :) (holding the ancient key in my hand)...a far cry from the 3700 square foot, 5 bedroom, 4 bath home back in Issaquah. :)

My landlord happens to be gay...which means every little detail has been thought about in this apartment (including those red votives complete with candles on my mini blue coffee table).  The pretty string of lights is one of the final details he took care of before I unloaded my four suitcases on the front steps.  It is from this amazing home store called, Habitat.  Possibly better than Crate and Barrel???  That is still up for debate.

Si Vous Plait, a little tour of my new abode...

The pristine new bathroom. 

 I have about enough room to just turn around in, but the shower has a head that is actually secured to the wall.....so much better than just the hand held shower head that seems to plague this country.

Ma Petite Cuisine!

No oven, but 2 hot plates :)....and when not hot, seem to work perfectly to set a glass of wine.

The refrigo is under the stove and you can see the little clothes washer right next to them both.  No dryer, but I do have a very storable drying rack.

Some potatoes I bought at the market just a 100 meters away from the apartment sit out waiting for me to chop them up for dinner.  Tonight's menu:  Seasoned Pork chops, pan fried potatoes with Herbes de Provence and Mache salade with fresh tomatoes and wine. 

I will be sautéing a lot of garlic in olive oil to get rid of the remodeled-apartment smell.

This is where I will study French :).

The apartment came equipped with cable t.v., internet, and a stereo system.  Right now I am listening to Chante France as dinner is being prepared (BTW, the Shazam app on my iPhone rocks for finding out the names of the songs that really get my feet tapping). 

If I get tired of studying, I can transform my desk into the dining room table....but if I do that, do you suppose I will ever transfer it back....I get worried :)

Shelf that also is suitable for counter work space. 

Efficient use of space is the name of the game here.

Still getting use to it!

Time Elapse: 30 minute (pronounced MEE-NOOT)

My first dinner in my first Parisian apartment.  I couldn't be more pleased.

The neighborhood I am in is a bit less homogeneous than the quartier I spent my first 2 weeks... :)....which at first made me a little nervous.  But after walking through it this afternoon, I feel like I will fit in just fine.  Most of my neighbors, like me, are from far away lands....French isn't our first language, but we are here to be a part of Paris.  I am surrounded by restaurants named "La Mangrove," epiciries that specialize in African, Asian and Indian food, salsa music that blares from apartment windows, Arabic that is spoken on the street corners. I stopped in a general store today to buy a Bialetti expresso maker and was greeted by the shopkeeper in French.  He quickly registered my blank look and said, "Ah, you don't speak French." To which I answered, "Ah but you speak English!"  He was from Madagascar!  Head covered with a  taqiyah and a stiff white beard he welcomed me to Paris and even offered to take a few Euros off the expresso maker.  I ended up not buying it, but I will always remember him....he was the first person I ever met from Madagascar!

Grocery Shopping was actually a huge treat for me here! 

For those who know me well, know that I REALLY dislike to go to the grocery store....for a variety of reasons...but, apparently, put me in Paris and that all changes.  I had a marvelous time amongst the specialty cheeses, fresh veggies, salamis and the French version of "t.v. dinners".  As an added bonus I was able to buy sea salt for .63 euro cents and a jar of Herbs de Provence for .69 euro cents (I didn't believe the price because I paid around $14 for them at William Sonoma!).  I may not have the exchange rate in my favor, but the spices are cheap!

The little treats above are mini-brochettes (seasoned meat on a stick) that you put in the micro-ondo for one minute, and Voila out comes a fun, healthy snack...perhaps even a dinner if I added a salad and baguette!

There was also a micro-ondoable Salmon fillet with broccoli mash potatoes that got my taste buds salivating that I will try sometime soon.

BUT right now what is calling my name is the Gateau au Fromage Blanc (vanilla cheesecake) that I grabbed on the way to the check-out garcon.

Getting a little nervous for my getting prepared for bed...in the past when I slept on my couch, it was because I was drunk. :)  Kinda strange to think that is what I am going to have to get use to here.

Saturday night in mon quartier of the 17th arrondissement.

The Eiffel Tower and I wish you a bonne nuite.

Temporary Apartment Found!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

So I haven't found THE place, but I have found a really cute little place to lay my head for the next 4 weeks...maybe 8.  Thanks to my language school, I found a furnished studio that was JUST renovated in the 17th arrondissement.  In fact I will be its first occupent and the first to use all the new utensils and linens from Ikea :). This is great news for me because, frankly, my feet need a rest....it is quite possible that I am starting to wear grooves in some of the rues here as I keep up the apartment search.  I move in either this Friday or Saturday...I should know in a few hours when my new landloard, Ignacio, calls me (yes, he is from Mexico City).

Even though it isn't quite my perfect spot, it is still darn cool!

Check out the little peek-a-boo view of the Eiffle Tower from my street!

A Metro stop is close by and there is an award winning Boulanger on the corner.

I think I will be manage here just fine!

I must admit I am exhausted after just 2 weeks into my stay.  I walk more than I expected (mostly my own fault cuz I prefer to walk over the metro in such nice weather) and there is a bit of an emotional fatigue (<- ooooo, which is also a French word!) in having to adapt to a new life. It is all stuff I anticipated, but it is easy to talk about expecting to be tired/overwhelmed...it is a little different to live through it :).  As soon as I settle into the new place, I think I might need to find a spa :).  I start my language class on Monday, so perhaps one of my first inquiries to my teacher will be how to ask, "Where is the closest spa with a 90 minute hot stone massage?"  I wouldn't mind a facial too. :)

I recently jointed an Anglophone group called WICE that provides cultural, educational and social activities to the international community in Paris. I haven't quite figured out what the WICE stands for (and I have looked in many places on their website), but I know it is a non-profit that was started by women back in 1978 to meet the intellectual, professional, and self-development needs of English speaking women in Paris.  Today the group boasts some 900 members (both men and women) and offers 200 - 300 events and courses a year.  It is a pretty fantastic organization from what I know about it after only a week.  Yesterday I participated in my first activity, a market walk of the Les Halles area.

Up until 1969, Les Halles was the central market in Paris (started in the 12th century) and was called "the belly of Paris." We walked through the streets were it once existed and visited some of the restaurant and kitchen supply shops from that time that still exist today. 

This is me in front of one of those kitchen stores! Inside one could buy kettles as large as me or itty bitty tartlet pans. It was a bit like going back in time entering that store.

This little delights are from a pattisserie that was founded in 1730, Stohrer.

It also is touted as having the BEST eclair in Paris...which of course I tried, but I think it could be a detriment that I started with the best!

Francoise, the chef and cooking school instructor at WICE, was our guide.

There is so much I have to learn about food here!

For example, this picture is of one of the best kind of chickens you can buy, Poulet de bresse.  It is also important to look for chickens with black feet (the butcher will take the head and feet off before bringing it home).  I also learned that the French prefer to each female duck over male because the females are plumper.  And always buy peche (hooked or caught) fish at the market vervus farmed, because the farmed fish are fattier on the inside. Never buy scallops out of season.

In case I need a Foie Gras fix, this store is entirely dedicated to it!

The night before the market walk, my girlfriend Kisara was back in town!  We went without seeing eachother for 13 years, but now have seen eachother twice in the last two weeks!  One of the many treats of Paris so far!  We went stumbled on one of Michelle Rostang's restaurants in the 1e.  Dinner was wonderful, and even got some future restaurant recommendations from the Austrian and Parisian gentleman sitting at the table next to us who decided to join our conversation :). Somehow we ended up closing the restaurant down...luckily I still made my metro home.

WICE has a talk on Josephine Baker this afternoon that I am off to join, and then dinner with a local Microsoftie :). 

It is true, "Paris is a moveable feast."

Which you can bet will be the next book on my kindle too :).

So Much For Blending!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

My year in Paris has officially begun!!! Actually it began last Thursday at 10:58am France time when my plane landed 30 minutes early at Charles de Gaul airport.  I welcomed myself to my new home upon pulling up to the jet way, but it didn't really hit me that I was absolutely in Paris with no return ticket until I heard my first, "Bonjour." Yikes!  And then I looked around to see all the signs in some foreign language. Bigger Yikes!  The reality of the dream took hold in that moment...no longer was it a romantic fantasy.....here I was. In Paris. To live.

Day 1!

I am in posed in one of the neighborhoods in which I am looking for apartments.

It is in the 17th arrondissement...and not too far from the Arc du Triomphe and all that shopping on Champs Elysee (please excuse lack of accent marks over the "e"s in Elysee...it is but one of the things I have yet to learn how to do here...that and speak French.)

However, one thing I have learned is that I do not pass at all, let me repeat, at all as a Frenchy :).  I can be walking down the street eating a baguette, wearing a cute little scarf, NOT wearing white tennis shoes and not saying, singing or humming an English word....yet if I am bumped or if I just look in someone's direction I am greeted with perfect English!  WHAT! Can't they pretend I speak French and let me stumble around with my words enough to tell then I don't...if nothing else it would be amusing to them!  The other night I determined my lack of blending was at the ridiculous level when I stepped into a restaurant to use their bathroom.  Before my mouth even opened, the server looked at me and said, "Toilette? Eet eez downstairz." Sigh. So downstairs I went....stomping the whole way.  

On my first Saturday in Paris I met up with a dear girlfriend, Kisara, who I haven't seen in 13 years!!!

She and I lived in Costa Rica for a year back in 1998. It wasn't until now and in Paris that we were able to reunite. She currently lives in Dusseldorf, Germany and was in Paris on business. Kisara was just as remarkable and joyous as had I remembered, and meeting her husband, Das, was an added bonus!  He flew in from Germany to accompany Kisara on her business trip. We were quite the international group; Kisara from Japan, Das from India, Jen from America and my friend, Adel, from Algeria.  We met at Willi's Wine Bar which is credited as being the first wine bar in Paris.  It opened was in 1980 by an Englishman.  We all took great pleasure in a glass of tasty Touraine Sauvignon Blanc (okay, maybe I had 2!).  The wine was almost as perfect and harmonious as the English all the servers spoke there.  It was clearly an Anglo-Saxon hangout....which was a purposeful choice of mine.

So I have been to the museums of Paris, I have been to the shops of Paris and I have been to the restaurants of Paris, but never have I been to the flea markets of Paris.  That all changed on Sunday morning when I decided to go visit Paris' largest and oldest flea market, Les Puces de Saint Ouen (or just Les Puces...which translates to The Fleas...appropriate, eh?)

My idea of a flea market is clearly different than Paris' idea.

 I had visions of dusty antiques in open stalls where I would barter with gypsy-looking folk who may or may not have missing teeth.  Hardly.  At times I felt like I was more in a museum than in a modest market.....like I had literally walked into one of Napoleon’s apartment rooms that I had seen at the Louvre last November.  Mirrors were ornate, furniture was gold gilded and the tapestries were all silk.  It was clear the 40 Euro I have shoved into my Tumi purse before I headed out the door to hop on the metro wouldn't get me far in this place!  But it was incredible. Once I get my apartment, I will head back to Les Puces to find a few vintage prints to dress my walls!  I have become a fan of the Paris flea market scene.

Much to do tomorrow...and it is midnight now...plus I am fighting my first cold in France.  A girlfriend asked me today if a "cold feels better in Paris??"  :)  I can't say they do, but the "Bonne Nuit" Ricola cold medicine sure was fun to try....in fact, I am going to take some now.  Bonne Nuit!

Up-close details of one of the four main sculptures on the Arc du Triomphe.

La Résistance de 1814

Driving up Champs Elysee!

What a site!

T-Minus 1 Day! The City of Lights Awaits!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Ah, back to blogging....I kept warning I would start my blog back up once I got to Paris, and I am true to my word. Well, I am a little ahead of my word.  I actually don't leave to Paris until tomorrow.  In fact tomorrow morning at this exact moment I will be at the Missoula International Airport checking my 2 gargantuan pieces of luggage and praying that both are under the 50 lb limit -one of my bags was 20 lbs over the limit on the flight from Seattle to Missoula which meant I had to fork over $90 to the Delta agent.  I refuse to do that again as $90 USD is probably good for at least a week's worth of croissants and baguettes in gay Pairee....however, at the current Euro to $ exchange rate I may be being generous :).

Oh, and YES, I am going to Paris...not Provence as my last blog post suggests.  Paris seemed like the more obvious choice after some research and an inspiring coffee date with a woman author who lived in Paris for over 3 years.  I think the fit will be perfect. Me = Love for food, wine, shopping, people, Paris = great food, wine, shopping, people.  Therefore: Me + Paris = Harmonious Match   :)  Of course, I do have to learn the language to maximize the experience, which I will.  I plan on spending the first 3 months in an intensive language school broadening my current vocab and mastering the French accent (ha!).  Lets hope the Parisian folks are patient with this American girl.

This is a picture I took when I was in Paris in November of last year.

The weather will be decidedly better when I land on Thursday....temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s!

It will be nice to be reminded what sunshine looks and feels like!!!

So with my year long French Vistor Visa (Carte de Sejour) squarely adhered to page 18 of my US passport (I only had to travel to San Fransisco and promise to name my first born son "Sarkozy" for that thing!), a bag of M&Ms, and enough clothes and toiletries to get me through the summer I think I finally feel like I am ready. That feeling of course will change once I land....but I will enjoy it for now.

Me in front of my parents' pond in Montana.  

I am posing with my coveted French Visitor Visa!

I read a quote recently in an article on France that my financial advisor gave me that I think I need to remember as I embark on this journey.  The quote was made by a French Michelin three-star chef to the ariticle's author.  He said, "Please tell people in America that Parisians are not unpleasant only to them.  They are unpleasant to everyone."  Well, good to know. Then I won't take it personally :).

Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux:  chez soi et à Paris.
(There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.)
-Ernest Hemingway
Let's go find out!