The Sound of Bubbles

It's a Vélo-lution!

2007-09-16T17:11:00.000-04:00

So, some of you may have heard about this bike thing in Paris called Vélib...some of you may even live in or near cities that are currently investigating the idea (Chicago for one). “What” you ask “is this Vélib thing”???

What is is:

Vélib stands for 'vélos en libre service' – free service bicycles. Not free in the sense of no cost, but free in the sense of available for your use. It's a community bike sharing program. All over Paris are hundreds of vélib stations, the plan being to eventually have at least one within 300m, no matter where you are in Paris. A station might places for anywhere from around 10 to 30 bikes. The bikes are locked into attachment points, and there is a terminal at each station where you can sign up for a short or long term “abonnement” if you haven't already, enter in your account number, and select the bike number you want. Once you've selected the bike, the system unlocks the bike, and you can remove it from it's attachment point, and off you go!

How much?

You can sign up for one day (1 euro), one week (5 euros) or one year (29 euros). These rates give you the right to rent a bicycle for that duration – it does not mean that you keep the bike the entire day, week, or, year! After the initial fee, the first half hour is free, than the 2^nd half hour is 1 euro, than 2 euros, than 4...I'm not sure if it stays at 4 or keeps going up. The system is designed for short trips – running errands, going to the movies, biking home after a dinner or night out, etc. You do not have to return the bike to the station you got it from – you can re-attach it at any station. For example a recent Saturday I used it 4 times – once to go the gym where i play tennis, then again to return home, then later to go to the movies, then later to go home again after going out to dinner after the movies. All trips less than half an hour. :)

How are the bikes?

Sturdy, heavy 3 speed city bikes. I will have to take a photo...they are quite unique looking. And they all come with a basket so easy carry around your purse, backpack, shopping bags, etc.

Is it popular?

It is HUGE. The first day it started, in the 5 minutes walking to the park to do my run, and the 5 min coming back, I saw 10 vélibs. Yes, i was counting. I certainly don't even bother to count now. They are absolutely everywhere. On nice days especially, most Velib stations are empty are only have a few bikes. You would always see lots of bikes in Paris anywhere – especially compared to American cities – but now it's even more.

One time of day that sees a lot of Velibbing which wasn't expected is the wee hours of the morning! But in a way in makes sense – the métro in Paris shuts down early for a cosmopolitan city – 1am, and 2am on Saturdays. So now if you've missed la dernière métro and can't find a taxi, or don't want to pay for a taxi, you can just vélib on home! That is, if you're not to tipsy to handle the bike... I myself have vélibbed at 1am... it's actually quite pleasant to bike among the quiet and still streets.

And not to worry, the bikes are equipped with very strong reflector lights...you can see a vélib from miles away at night!

A whole new vocabulary has sprung up – for example in French the word for “single” (having no romantic attachments) is célibataire. Well now there is vélibataire! Mean a person who rides vélib and is single...supposedly the stations are prime spots for meeting people...

I'm not sure how many actual romances have sprung up so far, but there is a definite sense of community among the vélibbers – people help others who are trying to rent a bike for the first time, they ask one another how they like the service, the bike, they make sure you re-attach your bike properly (if not, it's not registered as being returned! And no one else will be able to use it!), etc.

There are a few other cities in France and elsewhere in Europe that have Vélib, and more cities are planning to start it. I really hope the idea takes off in America, that it helps cities to promote means of transit other than cars, and that it helps Americans to realize biking can be an efficent – and fun! - way of moving around a city. If the US doesn't start to move in this direction, I might just stay in Europe....:)

More mountains

2007-09-12T16:09:00.000-04:00

Neither Kodak Gallery nor Snapfish will let me upload photos. How annoying, especially since I already have several albums on KG. So if it let me before, why not now? Anyway, until i figure that out, here are some more lovely mountain photos...

Les montagnes

2007-09-05T16:27:00.000-04:00

I think I blogged about this before, way back when, but I just can't get over how weird people dress at the gym, particulary women. For example today, there was a women wearing a light grey cotton bodysuit. So her pantylines and sweat stains were clearly visible. Plus there was some weird cutout in the back, and a strange black and grey patterened built. Where do people even buy these things??
Another women had on a fleece jacket over her top. Um, fleece? Where did she think she was, in les montagnes (in the mountains)??
(And that's exactly how i thought it "does she think she's in les montagnes?" not even realizing until i was writing this that it was the French world for mountains that came to mind, not the English).

And speaking of les montagnes...last weekend I went to Geneva, Switzerland with a friend, to visit one of her friends living there. We were there Fri-Mon, but both Sat and Sun we took day trips to France. Sat we went to Chamonix, a town nestled in the Alps, by the Mont Blanc Massif mountain range. From there we took the téléphérique (cable car) up to l'Aiguille de Midi, which is a needle shaped rock fixture, and they have terrasses for viewing in all directions, and offers a spectacular view of Mont Blanc. It was absolutely magnifque!! I don't mean just Mont Blanc, i mean all the snow-capped mountains around us. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was. I honestly think it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in nature.

On Sun we went to Morzine, a ski town also in the mountains, but they are not as high - no snow this time of year! There we did a nice day hike.

I absolutely have to try winter sports this winter. I'm a bit hesitant about downhill skiing, but i think i'd like cross country or les racquettes (hiking through snow on snowshoes). I've heard they are both difficult, but i rather prefer a steady slog to a fast zip. It must be so peaceful just gliding through the snow....

Sun!....burn

2007-08-26T17:22:00.001-04:00

The good news - it was sunny all weekend. Warmed up Saturday, and was quite warm today. This afternoon I took advantage of the sun with some copines (girlfriends) by having a picnic in the park.
The bad news - I was wearing a strappy tank top, and have sunburn on my back where i couldn't reach with the sunblock. Idiot! Why didn't i ask someone to put it on? And how am i going to reach it to put on aloe vera gel?

And above is another picture of sunny Marseille (view from our hotel room) for your viewing pleasure.

SUN!

2007-08-20T14:28:00.000-04:00

I've just returned from a week long trip to the South of France, the cities of Marseille and Avignon. I went with my friend B who was visiting from the US. It was a fun week of sitting in cafés sipping our café crèmes and people watching, walking and wandering, visiting museums, shopping, and enjoying the SUN!!!!!

For those of you not in Paris, the summer here has been terrible. Dreary, gloomy, rainy, drizzly, cloudy, gray, chilly, miserable. London + Seattle x 1000. Paris is a much grayer and rainier city than most people realize, but even so, this summer has been ridiculous. Temperatures have rarely gone into the 70's or higher. Even when in the 60's, if it's always a rainy drizzly day, it seems cooler. People are walking around in jackets, turtlenecks, sweatshirts (well, the tourists in sweatshirts). It's AUGUST, people! Nothing sadder than a turtleneck in August.

I just checked the forecast for this week. Gee, a surprise, rain and clouds the rest of the week. But sunny and in the 70's this weekend! Pleeeeeeeeeze be sunny this weekend!

So the sun this past week in Provence was very much welcome! Every day, 80's, sunny, few or no clouds. And not even humid! Unlike how Paris or NY would be. I never thought of myself as a sun worshiper, but now I crave it. Even a heatwave would do, bring on the sun!

less mad

2007-07-23T15:07:00.001-04:00

OK. i can change my keyboard setting to act like it's a French keyboard. I can also in StarOffice Writer (StarOffice is the poor man's Microsoft Office) set up some AutoCorrects, to automatically change, say, e/ to é.
Whew.

mad

2007-07-23T14:50:00.000-04:00

I am so pissed. I bought a number pad to connect to my laptop for the express purpose of being able easily insert letters with accents. For example, alt + 0233 should get you the e with an accent going to the, er, either left or right.
It doesn't fucking work. The keypad works, but I still can't make the special letters. How the fuck am i supposed to correspond (personal, not at work) in french? pissed, pissed, pissed off.
i can still make the letters, but have to use my word processor and use Insert/Special Character each and every time, and that gets pretty frickin tedious.
ARGH

ok, so maybe i only have the world's 2nd dorkiest hairstyle

2007-06-25T14:50:00.000-04:00

Now that i'm washing my hair and not doing any weird flips while blowdrying, it doesn't look as bad as feared, though i still feel the layering could have been done better. Still not sure about bangs decision. They do look dorky too short, but maybe once grow out will look better.

No one at work really said anything, but they are mostly guys, so who knows. One woman did mention "oh, new hairstyle"! She was referring to the bangs, as with my hair back in a ponytail, the layering was not evident. J'aime pas, I said, mauvaise décision! Ah non, bonne décision, she said (good decision). But probably she was just being nice.

Gum update and hair

2007-06-24T03:29:00.000-04:00

The ice cubes did not work on the dress. I then put the dress in a ziplock bag and froze it overnight, Friday morning i discover that didn't really work either, still couldn't scrape gum off. I then went on the internet again, looking for more tips. Found one that said to use dishwashing liquid and salt, then rub i with another piece of cloth. And this nearly worked! Though i found it worked best if i let the liquid and salt sit for a minute, then I rinse off, then I rub. The stain is still there, but so faint I think you'd have to know it's there, and know where to look to find it.

Now for the hair (no, i did not get gum stuck in my hair). I went for a haircut yesterday, it had been ages since it was cut. You know how you walk out of a salon feeling like a million bucks, swinging you lovely shining hair all around? Um, this time I scuttled home, head down, anxious to get my hair back in a ponytail, hoping no other pedestrians noticed how ridiculous I looked...

All i wanted was about 4 inches cut off. That, and i decided for a very thin layer of bangs. Up until the last second I was waffling about the bangs, but it's been so long since i've had them, and they are coming back into fashion. The hairstylist also asked if I wanted my hair dégradé, meaning layered. Sure why not, thinking some layering would add some body, and I've had it done to my hair before.

Unfortunately, my hair doesn't seem to be layered so much as in 2 different lengths....shorter by my face, longer in back. There is not much graduation. Also when blowdrying and brushing it, she did some weird flip to the hair in front, so that hair seemed even shorter in comparison to the longer back hairs and just simply looked stupid. Plus she cut the bangs a tad too short, and the blowdrying and brushing rounded them and made them look even shorter. I will have to wait until I wash it, to see what it looks like all straight, with no flipping or anything. Hopefully it won't be too bad, but if it is, I'll just have to go to another salon and tell them to just make it all one length. At least of the million hair salons near me, I know which one to avoid...

Of trains and gum

2007-06-21T13:55:00.000-04:00

You may remember how many posts ago I waxed poetic about the Paris metro, and how much better it is than the one in NY. But recently, I don't know what the heck is going on, the metro, in particular line 1 (then 2nd one that i get on to get to work) has been very perturbé lately (I love how in French, to describe when the trains are not running smoothly, the trains are “perturbed”).

All this week, incidents techniques, signales qui malfonctionnent, having to let several trains go by before getting on one, having to turn around and take the RER (regional train that goes through Paris and to where I work) because couldn't even reach the metro platform, train stopping still in between metro stations for several minutes....it's just like NY!

Not only that, I get home from work today, and when changing from my dress to jeans, notice chewing gum stuck all over the back of my dress! Gum that probably came from leaning against the metro doors or seats! And it was a new dress! A dress that I wore for the first time today! A dress that cost 99 euros! Merde! I googled gum stain removal, and currently have ice packs on the gum I couldn't pull off – supposedly it hardens the residue and you can then easily scrape it off. It better work....

This time i mean it

2007-06-16T20:10:00.000-04:00

OK. I mean it this time. This time I really am back. I finally have a working Anti-Virus software on my person al pc (remark: Norton Antivirus 2007 sucks) so I feel safe going on the internet. I've barely gone on the internet at home lately, and I don't feel comfortable writing a blog from work.

Anyway. It's 2am, I've just gotten back from a wine-tasting party. The girl hosting it (OK, she's my age, but I still think of women my age as girls!) lives just a few blocks from me, and has an absolutely gorgeous apartment. Huge, sunny, and a view of the Eiffel Tower. I would have a view from my little balcony, if it weren't for that damn 12 story or so modern apartment building across the street (most buildings in Paris are 7 stories max!)
Oh well. I still love my apartment.

I'm back

2007-05-01T18:17:00.000-04:00

So, i haven't posted on this blog in quite a while. However, several people - other than my parents- have expressed dismay (or at least, mild puzzlement) on the lack of new posts, so I think I will start posting again. However - leave comments, people! Otherwise, i feel this blog goes to nowhere (other than parents). As it is after midnight, and I have to work tomorrow for the first time in 2 weeks (vacation in Costa Rica!) and I'm not thinking clearly due to a) still a bit jet lagged, and b) a nice bottle of Puilly-Fume blanc with a friend at dinner, I will resume posting tomorrow. Or Thursday. Or the weekend. Or whenever i get around to it....

bud weis er

2007-02-01T17:20:00.000-05:00

I do not miss the Super Bowl at all, people. Not at all! I would have forgotten it existed if not for a few people in the US mentioning it to me, and seeing storylines about it everytime I open up the internet (msn.com is default page). Well anyway, enjoy your parties and beer and commercials.
Baseball is another story. Don't pitchers and catchers report soon? :)

Je cherche un gars. I'm looking for a guy.

2007-01-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

Yikes. I did it. Signed up for speed-dating. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's an event at which you have several "mini-dates", maybe 10, each lasting a certain number of minutes, for example 10 dates of 8 minutes each. Then a bell sounds and the men get up and move to the next table. Everyone is assigned a number, and you have a sheet of paper on which for each person you meet you mark off Yes or No if you'd like the see them again. If you both have yes's, you are sent that person's email by the event organizers.
I did it once in NY, it was fun, but I had no matches. Now in a few weeks times I will do so in Paris. Yikes!! What if they are all awful!! What if they all think I speak crappy French!! I'm really hoping that the mistakes I make in French will seem cute and charming and just add to my allure....

Bonne Année 2007

2007-01-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

Bonne Année, meilleurs voeux, pleins de bonnes choses!

Best wishes for a happy new year full of good things! As i've just learned, this is what the French go around saying to one another the beginning of a new year. That and they font la bise (the greeting with a kiss on each cheek) with just about everybody they know, including those they don't reguarly bise. So that meant colleagues with whom usually a Bonjour will suffice were bise-ing away with me. I'm still not comfortable with this, though I'm used to it with my co-workers that I now bise routinely.

One guy I accidently brushed noses with, one women I touched her cheek but then she turned out to be a complete air-kisser, one guy wanted 4 bises, another guy I think wanted 4 but I had pulled away after 2, then I felt bad. It's so exhausting! So many different styles of bise!

Maybe next year I'll go on holiday until, say, Jan 10th or so. :)

dec 16

2006-12-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately I could not find a link to my debut as a francophone TV star (see prior post). Oh well, it was shown, someone at the auto-ecole told me.
Sorry no posts lately, too busy with the work, the holiday season, parties, etc.

I love the stick shift

2006-11-26T08:45:00.000-05:00

My driving lessons are in full swing now. I've so far had 7 hours out of 20. And guess what...I actually like the manual transmission! Now that I have the hang of it, it's really not so bad. My last 2 lessons, I've only stalled once each! (Don't ask how many times I stalled before that). I like how that car '"tells" you when it's time to switch gears. I am mostly in 2nd gear driving around Paris - there's not much chance to go faster on city streets. However there's a few times I've been able to go into 3rd gear, that's been fun. And the driving instructor said I was ready to try l'autoroute, the highway! That means high gear baby! Vrromm, vrrroooom, vroooommmmm.

All is not perfect though. The instuctor said mechanically I drove well, but I did not sense the dangers and did not know well enough the rules yet. Well, I know I don't know all the rules and signs yet, but I sense danger everywhere!!

Yesterday when I went to the auto-école, there was someone there conducting and filming interviews for a little piece on driving schools for a cable TV channel. Despite my fear of inflicting my accented and non-perfect French on cable TV viewers everywhere (or because of it?) I agreed to answer some questions. I was asked things like why am I applying for a license, what are the differences between learning to drive here versus in the US, etc. I don't have cable so I won't be able to watch it, but the guy filming said it would be on the internet too. It will be broadcast next Saturday, so I'll check it out...if I don't look like too much of a fool, maybe I'll post a link. :)

T-day

2006-11-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Enjoy the turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie!

in which I curse like a French(wo)man

2006-11-20T16:51:00.000-05:00

When I realized late in the day at work, I had made a mistake and would have to do some things over, I let out a curse "Putain merde"! (basically, f$cking sh@t, though slightly less strong than in english).
There weren't maybe people around, and on of my colleagues was surprised that it was from me, because the way I said it, it sounded like it came from a French person. I had the second syllable of merde just right!
Perhaps I shouldn't be pleased that I can cuss well in French, but I am. But oh believe me, I still have lots to learn.

itsy bitsy spider

2006-11-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Though my family will be surprised to hear this, as I usually completely freak out at the sight of a bug, when it comes to spiders, at least smallish ones, I leave them alone, as long as they stay in their corner. I figure they will do no harm, and eat other bugs.
"Okay Mr. Spider" I say, " As long as you stay in your corner there and don't crawl above or in my bed, shower, or toilet, we'll get along just fine".
So that was my attitude until eating dinner tonight, when I killed about 10 itsy bitsy baby spiders crawling along the kitchen wall. One or two spiders is one thing, but I can't have my aparment turning into the Arachnophobia movie set!
Unfortunately I don't know where the progenitor is, but next time I see him, or her I guess, it's war!

whew

2006-11-12T08:40:00.000-05:00

Finally. After living here 8 months, I have validation that my French has improved. One of my French co-workers on Friday mentioned that I had made a lot of progress. I thought so, but unless a native Frenchie who knows what your French was like in the beginning says something, you don't really believe it. Ok, whew.

Metro observations

2006-11-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

The other day I read about a poll where Franciliens (those who reside in Paris or the surrounding Ile-de-France region) were asked to rate their satisfaction on several issues, including the regional public transportaion. I don't remember the exact figure, but I think it was somewhere around 55, 60% were satisfied. Um, are they serious?? That's it?? Do they not have any idea of good they have it? Do they not realize how much the metro in Paris kicks ass over its New York counterpart? Oh, poor Parisiens, they sometimes have to wait 3 mintues for a train during rush hour instead of 2. Do they not realize in NY you often can wait up to 10 minutes or more during rush hour? Have they ever been on the WTC bound E train at 8:30am as it goes through Queens? Do they have ANY IDEA of the masses of people on the East side Lexington line? And that Lexington Ave is the only avenue on the ENTIRE east side of Manhattan with a subway line?

Maybe every few weeks, if even that, on the Paris metro there is a small delay due to heavy traffic, or an “incident' up ahead. Um, how about every few days on the NY subway! How many times have I been on a subway that's cra-a-a-a-wled it's way through a section in 20 minutes that should take 5. Or had delays due to sick passangers, a police incident, a track fire, or for no reason at all, at least none that they will tell you.

Did I mention that the Paris metro is also much cleaner than in NY??

Oh, oh, oh, I almost forgot the HEETs! High entry/exit turnstile, or something like that. No HEETs in Paris! But there are in NY. Those things suck. Those are those turnstile that are made of those series of horizontal bars that you push through like a revolving door. It takes far longer for people to enter or exit. Gee, real safe, if there's a terrorist attack and everyone has to evacuate. If the person in front of you pushed too hard, and it rotates another turn by itself just after you've swiped your metrocard, you're out of luck, have to go over to the gate agent at another entry with another set of turnstiles (normal ones) and plead your case. That's if there's one on duty! If the MTA hasn't let them go in order to “modernize”. The other thing that can happen if a person leaving the subway exits the HEET just after you've swiped and before you enter, you lose your ride then too!

The majority of my NY public transportation experience is with the subway, but I know my friend J could write a scathing report of the Long Island Railroad!

The next Parisien that complains about the metro, I'm sending them to NY to ride the E and the 6, transferring at Lex/51^st (horrible horrible transfer) every day at 9am and 6pm for a year. They'll be kissing the metro's aqua green seats when they return!

Be careful

2006-10-27T15:10:00.000-04:00

The receptionist at worked was mugged about a week ago, near her home coming in from work. She's basically OK, but did have to go to the doctor, who advised her to stay home this past week. Then today, we found out that temp receptionist was mugged last night! And that the wife of someone in the office had just been mugged as well! Scary scary stuff. I lived in NY for 10 years and never knew anyone to get mugged, then it happens to 3 people I know of in a week! I'm pretty careful as it is, but will start being more vigilant.

Vote early, vote often

2006-10-24T16:16:00.000-04:00

I just mailed in my absentee ballot. Don't think my pick Hillary for Senate will have too much trouble re-gaining her seat, though she'll be plotting her 2008 presidential bid for much of her next term.
So if someone outside the States can remember to vote, you better not forget! Unless you're planning to vote Republican in a tightly contested race. Then you can just stay home. Just kidding...sorta...

game set match

2006-10-22T15:00:00.000-04:00

If you recall, tennis is one of the many activites I have going on this fall/winter. And i LOVE my tennis lessons. The first class I went to was on a Monday, but it was too high a level for me, so I had to choose a new day/time. None of the weekday options worked for me, so I had to pick Saturdays. I wasn't too happy about it since Saturday is my run around and do errands day, and also if I ever want to go out of town on the weekend, I'll have to miss class.

But then I took one look at the instrustor, and didn't mind Saturdays so much anymore! The following are the reasons I'm loving tennis

1) The instructor is gorgeous.
2) Forget what he looks like, can he teach? All i know is, his forehand explanations make sense, and I'm finally hitting forehands over the net in bounds, instead of bouncing way out of bounds to the left, or hitting the ceiling - well, they still do that sometimes, but a lot less often!
3) The instructor is hot (see reason 1)
4) Small class size, so we get a lot of work.
5) The instructor is dreamy (see reasons 1 and 3)
6) After the past few years, of which my exercise has consisted of running, biking, swimming, or cardio machines, it's fun to do a sport which involves running and moving all around, always changing direction.
7) In case you didn't know, the instructor is gorgeous!!

i have returned

2006-10-22T14:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess the petit pause wasn't so petit after all. It's been a very busy past 4 weeks since I last posted. The last 2 weeks of September were vacation. Then no sooner was I back in the office for a few days, but it was off to NY for a friend's wedding. My 6 days there passed in a blur, between seeing friends, my sister, and workind 2 days from the NY office. The weirdest thing about being back in NY? It wasn't weird at all! It was like I had never left.

However, all my traveling (and one of my days in between vacation and NY I had to go to our Brussells office) was really started to wear me out and I was glad to get back home to Paris. Between dealing with a cold, getting up at 4:45 some days to watch live the end of Mets playoff games on the internet, along with my normal busy schedule, I was just always too tired to sit and blog. But i'm over the cold, the Mets are, very sadly, not in the World Series, i'm finally caught up with laundry, and i spent the last 3 hours cleaning up clutter and paperwork and I can finally see the top of my hallway table!

I plan on doing soon a longish post about my France biking trip – it was FANTASTIC – but for now you'll just have to be content with these photos. The one on the bottom is a town that we stopped at in the middle of a nice long hill descent, the one on top is Beynac, we stayed there after the first day of biking. We were bikng along, went around a curve, then that was our view. It was incredible. Thankfully our hotel was near the bottom of the hill, not near the chateau on top, so we didn't have to bike up! Though we were to do plenty of hills that big and bigger during the week.

un petit pause

2006-09-15T17:31:00.000-04:00

I will not be posting in a few weeks, but when I do again, it will be about my upcoming bike trip and Madrid trip, and pics!

NY bound

2006-09-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

I am going to NY! Early October, for a friend's wedding. And a chance to catch up with other friends. I am really wondering how strange it will be, to be back in the US. It was strange enough, after my summer studying in Paris during college, and even after 2 week trips to Mexico and Guatemala. How weird will it be after living here 6 months?? I know one thing, I will be saying Pardon on the metro, i mean subway, instead of Excuse me. The 2 trips I've taken to London since moving here I was doing that.

I remember going to a little American goods grocery store here, I couldn't find brown sugar at the local Monoprix. Even that was a bit of a cultural shock, seeing goods I hadn't seen in months - PopTarts, Bisquick, Quaker Oats, etc.

Not only will I see my wonderful friends and wonderful sister (who would all be more wonderful if they would comment more often on the blog, c'mon people) but I can catch some METS PLAYOFF ACTION on TV! Yes, the Mets, who just had to suck the past several years as I schleped out to Shea all summer long, are having an Amazing season, and playoff bound. My prediction - great seasons the next 3 years while I'm in Paris with at least one World Series title, mediocrity or worse once I move back.

La Rentrée

2006-09-05T16:52:00.000-04:00

It's beginning of September, La Rentrée (the Return) in other words. All the French are back from their vacation, all the businesses closed in August are back open, kids are back to school, etc. The school/office supply section of Monoprix had a line of about 20 people at the cash register, instead of 3. Luckily I didn't need any notebooks or pens, so no standing in that line for me. The bus this morning was full of moms (and a few papas) taking their tykes to school. There I did have to stand, after a summer of pleasant bus rides, sitting and reading. The trains from Gare St. Lazare to the office are back to their normal schedule, of 2 long trains (8 cars) every 10 minutes, (at 8:38, 8:41, 8:48, etc) instead of one short train (4 cars) every 12 minutes. Which meant instead of a leisurely wait until the next train, i rushed to get the next one and walk all the way down the the last car to minimize the walking time afterwards...I had forgotten how long those trains are! The gym last night was back to being packed, the Champ de Mars on my last few runs has been packed with joggers, and so on. I don't think I quite realized how empty Paris got in the summer until now!

My own Rentrée will not be until October, my vacation is the last 2 weeks of Sept. It just occured to me yesterday that I haven't actually gone on vacation (as opposed to taking days off here and there) since June 2005! Ireland with my parents! No wonder I'm so stressed lately. I need a vacation!!

mmm bread

2006-09-03T15:02:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think there is nothing better than a warm baguette straight from the oven at the boulangerie, and as soon as I get home I break off a chunk and butter it and the butter melts and I add a bit of confiture (jam)....HEAVEN.

Care to go for a test drive?

2006-08-27T15:32:00.000-04:00

I finally ran into cute glasses guy again. But not in the building, in the auto-ecole (driving school)! I was signing up for the lessons, and he came in, he was part of a gourp of students taking some of the practice code exams. We made eye contact, and I smiled and said bonjour. He said nothing and looked at me like I was from the recently demoted to dwarf planet status Pluto. Sigh. Guess he doesn't recognize neighbors outside of the elevator.

je parle bien français

2006-08-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

It is driving me nuts that after 5 months, not one of my co-workers has remarked on my progress (I’m assuming there’s at least some!) in French. I’m far from where I’ve like to be, but I do feel like I’ve improved, and it would be nice if someone would say, no matter how casusally, “oh, your French is getting better”. C’mon people, I need validation!
So I love it whenever someone outside of work remarks that I speak French well. “oh, merci” I say, though inside half of me is thinking “I suck, I don’t speak nearly as well as I’d like” yet the other half says “yes, yes, a Frenchie thinks I speak French well!” (Btw - that half of the reaction is only with fluent French speakers - if a non-French speaker says it, it doesn’t matter, you could know only 30 words and they’d think you were fluent).
However, after tonight, I don’t think I can trust French speakers either.

I attended for the first time a French/English conversation group that I had read about in some of the ex-pat manuals I had. I was afraid it’d be mostly American ex-pats barely able to speak, but my main motivation was to meet people, even more so than speak French. But there was only one other American there, and older retired man, the 5 others were French! It was half in English, half in French, so I actually got to speak a decent amount. The other American, he had lived in Paris a little over a year, he moved there with his wife after retirement. And though he could speak in simple sentences, express simple ideas, his French just wasn’t that good. Yet the other kept telling him “you speak really now”, etc. I guess he’s come a long way since moving there and speaking nothing at first, he's mproved a lot. But in the big picture his French was pretty awful. Many of the Frenchies remarked how good mine was as well, but what does that mean after saying the same thing about his??? Argh.

I think I will keep going though, the people seemed nice, and hey, it’s something to do. But come October, I will not be lacking in anything to do!! After being here 5 months, I can no longer claim I’m busy settling in. It’s time to get out of the house and meet people! I just signed up for tennis lessons, those start in October. I’ve taken lessons before, I have a racket, but I’m simply terrible at it. My forehand almost always goes out of the court, that’s if I don’t miss. And my backhand is only slightly better, though if I don’t miss, it goes into the net. Yet, I enjoy it. I’d like to get better at it.
I also have German classes starting in October! I found an institute that has all sorts of courses for adults, very cheap. It’ll be a bit confusing, learning German while trying to perfect my French, and learning it through French, rather than it’s closer cousin, English. But that’ll be half the fun!!

So add tennis and German to the driving lessons and driving courses on the la code I’ll have to take and I’ll be a very little busy bee indeed.

Prague pics 2

2006-08-15T16:02:00.000-04:00

Top 2 are examples of typical architecture.
Bottom left is Charles Bridge from castle cathedral tower.
Bottom right is Chalres Bridge - not so postcard perfect with hordes of tourists at daytime.

Prague pics 1

2006-08-15T15:50:00.000-04:00

The first is ubiquitous Pilsner beer sign.
2nd photo is giant metronome where Stalin statue used to be.
3rd - Prague Castle
4th is tram - as a public transportation lover, I of course took the tram and metro - very efficient. Yet I still exhausted myself with tons of walking!

Prague trip

2006-08-15T15:41:00.000-04:00

I’ve wanted to visit Prague since seeing Mission Impossible I. No, not because I liked the movie, though I did, but because it was filmed there and it just looked so gorgeous. And everything I read or saw about it since then confirmed that.
So I went, expecting it to take my breath away with its beauty. It didn’t. Too high expectations? Probably. Spoiled from living in Paris? Quite likely. However, once I got over the fact that it is not going to look like what it does in postcards and other photos - usually taken at dawn or sunset, with no people in the picture - you’ve all seen a picture of Charles Bridge, even if you don’t know you have - I began to see that yes, it does have beauty.

I arrived there Friday night, and discovered that though I had booked a single, I was placed in a roomy triple (still charged for a single). No complaints there, but then neither the TV nor the hair dryer worked, not that I needed either. And I then realized the half-full shampoo bottles and scribbled on pieces of paper from the former client were still there - nothing major, but wouldn’t they have cleaned that up?

Saturday morning I was up and at ‘em before 8am, eager to start my discovery of Prague. I had the buffet breakfast in the dining room. While offering a wide variety of hot and cold foods, it just simply wasn’t that good. The pastries tasted stale, even though not hard at all, the eggs were cold, the sausage was a bit blah, the oj was watery, etc. Oh well. It was included in the price and I still ate enough to fill me up. The décor, like the food, was rather bland and uninspiring, a rather 70’s or 80’s Communist décor.

After breakfast, I walked to Prague Castle (photo in other post). It was a nice walk to the castle, maybe about 30 min if you walked briskly with no detours. But I took my time, I had to walk through a park to get there, a very pleasant park on a bluff overlooking the Vltata River and the Old Town (center of Prague). The park also had a huge metronome where a giant statue of Stalin used to be - the largest in the world. What the point of the Metronome is I’m not quite sure, something to do with symbolizing the passing of time.

From the park I walked down, only to eventually, to reach the castle, have to go back uphill. Something I didn’t realize before- Prague is HILLY. I climbed so many inclines and stairs and hills - I never even touched the running gear I brought with me! The castle is in a complex that includes a cathedral (the most noticeable part of the castle), gardens, museums, the castle buildings themselves. I climbed the tower (more stairs!) in the cathedral, which gave a fantastic view of the city. One part of the complex is called Golden Lane, which is a narrow little street with small houses in different colors. I went because it was included in my ticket price (I got a ticket that included the cathedral and a few other things), otherwise you’d have to pay. Um, I don’t see why anyone would want to, or should have to, pay to visit it. All it is is some shops and some cafes. Probably all overpriced. It’s cute, yes, very lovely, but you can see streets like that in cities and towns all over Europe!!

After my castle visit, I strolled around in the nearby Malá Strana district, and had lunch in a Mexican restaurant. Don’t laugh, I’ve been craving Mexican for quite a while in Paris, and was so happy to see a menu with chicken enchiladas!! Afterwards, I didn’t visit any sites per se, other than ones I happened to bump into, but wandered for hours. I got back to my hotel (and took the metro and tram, very exciting) about 3:30 and conked out for the next 3 hours.

That evening I did a guided tour pub crawl - the city map the hotel gave me was actually an advertisement for a walking tour company, of which one tour was a 3 hour pub crawl and the price included drinks and a Czech dinner. It was a lot of fun - the group included 3 couples - Italien, Scottish, and Norwegian - 2 Brazilian friends, a Dutch guy, an Australian guy, a woman from the Virgin Islands, a guy from Seattle, and another American who had just chucked his engineering job - at the same firm where my brother works, but a different city - to go teach English in Prague. We went to 3 different pubs, and tried a different Czech beer at each one. After the official tour was over, some people went their own way, and the rest of us continued our educational tour of Czech beers. :) Everyone could speak English - I am just so impressed!!! Not just that they can speak it, but they can understand it well and take part easily in conversations - I’m still struggling with that in French sometimes!! Why is that??? Is there some language learning gene that Americans lack???

The next morning, due to the late night out, I missed the Commie breakfast. No worries, at the beginning of my wandering, I found a French boulangerie where I had coffee and a croissant and read Le Monde. For heaven’s sake, I don’t even do that in France (I read the more easily-digestible and tabloid-like Le Parisian). :) That day my wandering took me to a photo exhibit by the foot of the Charles Bridge - Prague’s famous medieval bridge - and into the Old Town and New Town areas, to the Dvorák museum, some shopping, etc. This was when I began to see that yes Prague was beautiful after all. So many buildings are baroque or art nouveau style (examples in pics). Lots of ornate designs, balconies, etc.

Once again, when back in my hotel room I took a nap. For dinner I went to a nearby French crêperie - yes I know! Why have French food in Prague when I live in France? But I love crepes so much, and I just wasn’t up to heavy Czech food. In the crêperie I saw something very unusual - a good looking Czech guy! Gorgeous even! Unfortunately he was with an unattractive Czech woman, and they seemed to be quite in love. When she went to the restroom, we chatted a bit, he asked where I was from, and even apologized for his bad English. Which was not only a thousand times better than any American’s Czech but also a thousand times better than your typical American’s Spanish or French after studying the language for years.

In general, Czechs are not a good-looking people. Must be something to do with the years under harsh Communist rule. I saw more than just a few women sporting a mullet. Hmm, maybe I should move to Prague. I’d be like a super model.

Monday, my last day, I again had the Commie breakfast. Afterwards I decided to visit Petrin Park, which like the castle and the park near my hotel, is on a hill. There’s a mini Eiffel Tower viewing tower (left over from an Exhibition fair) and a few other sights. However this hill has a funicular. Which turned out to be closed for repairs. CLOSED. So once again, I had to walk and walk and walk uphill. It was a lovely wooden park, but after 2 solid days of tramping around, I was hurtin’. And I’m in good shape! But still, the soles of my feet burned, my knees hurt, my calves were tight, etc. And on Monday I wore the same jeans I wore on Saturday and they were noticeably looser. Just from walking so much in 3 days! Despite the several liters of Czech beer, hah!

All in all, I had a good time in Prague, and it was whetted my appetite to see more of Central and Eastern Europe.

jet-setting

2006-08-10T16:55:00.000-04:00

I am off to Prague this weekend! As my friend J said "That's life on the Continent. Paris one day, Prague the next".
Whoo hoo!

Stay off the roads

2006-08-04T16:08:00.000-04:00

I am going to have to get a French driver's license. "Why Sarah," you ask, "can’t you get an international license, or won’t your US license transfer over?” Why no, I say. I could get an international license, or even just drive with my US license, but it is only valid for a year after entering France. Some states in the US have reciprocity agreements with France (and all EU countries do), but unfortunately, NY is not one of them.

Sure, I don’t own a car, and don’t plan to while I’m here. But, I may want to rent a car at some point, and you never know if you’re going to find yourself in some situation where you have to drive. It would be just stupid to let my legal blessing to drive expire.

So, I’m going to have to go to driving school. Pay almost 1,000 euros. Learn all the French road rules. Take la code, the French written exam. Fun fun. Oh wait. That’s not all. Here’s the real fun part.

The driving exam has to be done on a car with manual transmission.

And I don’t know how to drive a manual transmission.

To the great delight of my French and UK co-workers, they find this just hilarious. Apparently in Europe (and maybe the rest of the non-US world), most cars are manual, automatics are much more rare. “And so easy! You’re barely even driving!” they say.

I’m sure my Dad is groaning as he reads this, remembering my pathetic attempts to learn how to drive a stick shift in the SAU parking lot.

Well, I’m looking on the bright side of things. I will finally learn how to drive a stick shift. The 20+ hours of driving instruction will not just be a boring repetition of what I already know. My vocabulary of cars will definitely improve.

But if you go to Paris in the coming months, and see a car with the words “auto-ecole” on it, weaving down the street, or perhaps stuck in the middle of an intersection trying to shift gears, blocking all traffic, er, you might want to stay out of the way.

what a lovely lilac bra you have

2006-07-30T09:22:00.000-04:00

B and I did quite a lot of sitting in cafes and people watching while she was here, and I've got one thing to say - what is up with all the bra straps people??!?

I'm not talking about a bit of bra strap showing when wearing a tank top. I'm not even talking about straps showing because of wearing a spaghetti strap tank. I'm talking about
- people wearing racerback tanks, with a regular bra. hello, they sell racerback bras
- people wearing a halter top or similar with a regular bra. what are they thinking???
- people wearing a top with a back that goes low enough you see their entire back clasp of the bra.

what are these people thinking when they get dressed? why do they want everyone to see your underwear? is this the style now? did i miss the fashion memo??

Summer fun

2006-07-30T09:01:00.000-04:00

Who would have thought you could see beach volleyball in Paris? A professional beach volleyball tour was held in Paris this past week, a portion of the Champ de Mars park was turned into sand courts, along with a bleacher stadium for the main court.

B and I saw the women's semifinals - 2 Brazilian teams in one semi, and another Brazilian team vs the Americans Misty May and Kerri Walsh (2004 Olympic Gold medalists). The all Brazilian game was fun to watch as the announcer seemed to be obsessed with one of them, named Shelda, he repeated her name quite often. "C'est magnifique, Shelda!" or "Calmez-vous, Shelda, calmez-vous" when Shelda, who seemed quite hot-tempered, got mad at the ref. Alas, it was not to be for Shelda, as her team lost a close one in the 3rd set.
The game with the Americans was not as close, May and Walsh were dominating.

I went to the women's finals as well - the photos is of that game vs Brazilians Larissa and Juliana (I've no idea why they go by their first names). Not so dominating for the Yanks this time, now they were the ones who lost a close match in the 3rd set. In so small part due to the play of Larissa (she's the one jumping up to unleash a 70+ km/h serve) she was amazing! She seemed a bit hot-tempered as well, she and Shelda better not ever be on the same team...

Hey, who turned out all the lights?

2006-07-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

My friend B from the States has been staying with me since Saturday, so haven't had much time to post lately. We've been having a great time, lots of walking and sitting in cafes and people watching. This was our excitement last night -

I got home last night after work to see the front entrance of the building was propped open. No big deal, maybe someone is moving. Then after passing through the courtyard, I see that the electronic thingamabob that you wave a badge in front of to open the building door (the actual door to the building, not the first one from the street that only leads to the courtyard) was not working, the door opened without have to use it. Um, ok, i thought. Then i saw that the elevator floor number was not lit up. It dawned on me. Merde, qu'est-ce qui se passe? Blackout! I trudged up the stairs and B confirmed it, no electricity. And on a 95+ degree day!

We left to go to dinner and i took along my pocket flashlight just in case. Good thing I did, it was dark when we got back, still no lights. B needed more cigarettes so we took a walk to find an open tabac - along the way we could see windows thrown open, people hanging out on the balcanies. It was funny, my building was at the very edge of the affected area - to the right there was electrcity, but to the left, extending for blocks, none. And the buildings across the street from me had it! The blackout didn't start for another few bocks on the other side.

We also passed some EDF (Electricite de France) trucks and some EDF workers frantically digging in the street and as a crowd on onlookers gathered.

As we walked back from the tabac, winds started swirling and clouds started gathering. We got home just in time to avoid what turned out to be quite a thunder and lightening storm. At least it cooled things down! However, i still couldn't sleep that night without my fan, it was so hot, no air comes in from the courtyard window. So i moved into the living room and slept on the queen-sized sofa bed with B because it was so much cooler there. But then the problem was with the windows open and being right on the street it was noisy! I slept fitfully nonetheless and woke up to the beeping my landline phone makes when plugged back in. Hallelujah! Electricity! It was 5am.

All in all, not a bad blackout at all, not compared with what some residents of Queens and St. Louis are going through, with days or even over a week of a blackout, and during a heat wave. Do they even all have electric yet in Queens? Must check.

Now if this had been in NY, even just a one day blackout affecting one area, it still would have been all over the news. Here, just one sentence in the paper noting that about 6400 residents in the 15th arrondissement lost power due to heat damaged cables.

Stay cool, and make sure you keep a flashlight handy!

Turn off the TV and read

2006-07-16T12:16:00.000-04:00

"I was looking for a quite place to die. Someone recommended Brooklyn, and so the next morning I travelled down there from Westchester to scope out the terrain".

How's that for the opening of a book? When buying the finally-out-in-paperback 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' at an English bookstore, I came across the book with the above opening, Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster. It just totally grabbed me and I had to buy it.
I read the book in 2 days, on the train to and from London this week (business trip) and yippee I liked it, which means a new author to read! I always get excited when I find new authors. Now i'm reading another book by him which I found in the English section of the local library.
Don't worry I buy, borrow, and read books in French too!

By the way, I was disappointd with the latest Harry Potter installment. Much shorter than the 5th book, even shorter than the 4th. Not as much happened. And what did the Half-Blood Prince's book have to do with the plot?

Back to life

2006-07-16T12:04:00.000-04:00

It has been a week since my week-long illness, and i'm feeling 100% better, thank you. Still have not managed to find Gatorade or Powerade, but did find a boisson d'effort (sports drink) called Hydra at the sporting goods store Decathlon.
I did go there solely to look for sports drink, but hey asking me to go into a sporting goods store and leave empty-handed is like telling Dubya not to smirk when he speaks. However, it is Soldes season, so i spent very little money!
Soldes means sales, and here in France, sales are regulated by the government. Imagine how that would go over in the US, hah! There are sales twice a year, for about 5 weeks at a time, once in winter, once in summer. It's a huge deal when they begin, almost like a holiday. I remember everyone left work early when they started, including me!
I've been good though, I bought a cute pair on white summer shoes, and a fantastic white and beige skirt (which actually wasn't on sale, but it's fantastic so who cares).
And that was it until I went to Decathlon. In addition to several bottles of Hydra, i got a moisture-wicking running top for 7 euros (um, these tops can be $30!), moisture-wicking running capri tights for 15 euros, and 3 pairs of running socks for 3 euro total. All right!

Malade

2006-07-09T05:30:00.000-04:00

I was sick all last week. Not just miss a day or 2 of work sick. I missed the whole week! Fever, chills, diarreha, body aches and pain. The only saving grace was i wasn't vomiting, though if i had ate something maybe i would have.
Not to mention there was a heat wave in the beginning of the week, and i had no fans!! So that certainly didn't speed recovery.

I felt like i lost all contact with things French. Other than calling the office, i spoke no French, not even to my doctor, she's Canadian and speaks English. I read books in English and watched Seinfeld DVDs. I could have been sick in the US, except no Gatorade!! Believe me, when you're dehydrated, and have that gross coating on the tongue that happens when you're sick, and even water disgusts you, there's nothing more you want than Gatorade! How could the French not have it? What do their endurace athletes drink?? As soon as I'm back from a business trip to London Mon and Tues, i will start a hunt.

Being sick sucks on so many levels.
1) It sucks. Who wants to be feverish and so weak a trip to the bathroom is a monumental event requiring about an hour of gathering your forces?

2) I'm finding my 4th month here harder than the 1st three. I'm frustrated my French hasn't improved more, wondering how i'm going to make friends outside of work. So this week of isolation has not helped.

3) I finally felt I had resumed some semblance of a workout routine, and was running regularly, first time since hurting my knee way back in Sept. Then I tripped and banged up that same knee. Barely started to run again after that, than this!! Argh!!! I'm not asking to run a marthon, i just want to go out and run 4-5 miles a couple times a week without my knee hurting. Oh ok. I do want to run a marathon, just one, sometime in my life. New York. I still dream.......

Adios Brésil

2006-07-01T17:14:00.000-04:00

C'est fini! La France a gagné!! Horns are blaring, people are yelling in the streets, it's fantastic!

Oh, and the Mets beat the Yankees too!!

I took a little video with my camera of all the noise and commotion. I wanted to put it on this blog, but don't know how, it only lets me post photos. Maybe there's a way to do it, I just don't know how.
my sister suggested this
http://www.youtube.com/v/9ZTXvsocjdI

Allez les Bleus

2006-07-01T14:23:00.000-04:00

Big game tonight. World Cup quarterfinals, France vs Brazil. Brazil wants revenge for the 3 -0 drubbing France gave then in the finals in 1998, the only world cup game they've lost since 1986 (i think).
The game hasn't even started yet, and people all aready honking their horns, yelling in the street!

Right now i'm listening to the FAN online, Mets vs Yankees. 2-0 Mets but the d@mn yankees have the bases loaded.
But at 8:50 paris time, even my beloved Mets will have to take a backseat to le foot, ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!!

Laundry time

2006-06-29T16:51:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of the options on my washing machine which my mom took because she was so amazed by all the different ones!

Doing laundry is a bit different here than in the States, here's why

Convenience – The French win out here (vs aparment dwellers in the US). The washer is usually in the kitchen, sometimes in the bathroom, of French apartments. There's no seperate laundry room, only open certain hours. So you can throw a load in whenever, what can beat that?

Time – American washers take, what, 25-35 minutes?? Here....how about up to 2 and ½ hours?? The shortest cycle is the delicate, which on my machine is 45 minutes. Synthetic cycles are about 90 minutes, and cotton is 2 hours, except for coton att 60 degrees (warm) which is 2 hours and 20 minutes. Why the warm water cotton cycle is longer than the hot water cotton cycle, I have no idea. And acutally, my machine has a “Chronotime' cycle also, only 30 minutes. For “lightly used outerwear”.

Cycles – All the washer I've used in the states, had 3 or 4 cycles – hot, warm regular, warm permanent press (never did figure out what this was) and cold/delicate. Basically I did whites in hot, cold water stuff in cold/delicate, and all other colors/fabrics in warm. Not too tough.

Here, I have
Hot cotton
Warm cotton
Cold cotton
Warm synthetic
Cold synthetic
The 30 minute rapid one
A “Daily Magic” in cold for, um, I think lightly to normaly soiled clothes, as opposed to normal-to-heavy like everything else
Delicate cold
Delicate really cold
2 Wool options
Handwash
And all sorts of options if you want to stop before it spins, spin only, rinse only, etc.
Whew!
And i've discovered you really have to be careful to not mix colors and pick the right cycle – i've already made several items pink, and some white stuff has a greyish caste.

Oh, did i mention you can choose the spin rate as well?

Stains – Could usually get stains out in American washers, but not always. Here, they always come out. Is it the washer, the stain remover, the detergent, the fact that i'm applying stain remover right before washing instead of applying Shout then leaving in the laundry bag for a week or more? Who knows.

Noise – I guess American washers are loud, but i usually didn't stick around in the laundry room. My washer now terrifies me. The spin cycle is LOUD. Not only that, it vibrates and makes me think it's going to explode. I would love to be able to throw in a 2 hour cotton load right when i go to bed, to take advantage of the heures creuses, the cheaper electricity hours. But i tried that once, and it was so noisy i couldn't get to sleep.

Dryer – Standard in States. No so here. They have them of course, but do to space issues, many people don't buy them. They do make here combined washer/dryers though. I don't have one, but it hasn't been a problem. Most non-cotton items i've always hang dryed anyway. And the cotton loads I usually just run across the street to the laundromat and 2 euros and 24 mintues later they're dry. No biggie. This does have to be a weekend though. No time during weekday evenings to wash 2+ hours then dry before laundromat closes!

Love in an elevator

2006-06-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

I bumped into Glasses guy when exiting the elevator this evening on my way to Monoprix. He was with another guy, and said "Bonsoir". I was so flustered, I
a) said "Bonjour" instead of "Bonsoir". Bonjour is only for the daytime!
b) didn't think to be polite and hold the elevator door open (there's an automatic door, but also a door you have to open)
c) didn't hit the botton that releases the lock on the door to the courtyard, which is near the elevator, so had to backtrack

BUS

2006-06-22T15:24:00.000-04:00

I have a discovered a new way to commute to work - the bus! Instead of 2 metros, then the suburban train from Gare St. Lazare, I take the bus straight to Gare St. Lazare. It even leaves me off at the side of the gare I need to be at. It doesn't take longer than the metros either. Though my actual metro time was about 5 min on each one, there was so much time walking, transferring, etc. Now I can sit pleasently on the bus for 20 min, read my book, or watch Paris go by.

Well, this morning, I was running late, so there was more traffic, which slowed the bus down, and it was very crowded, so I had to stand. But at least there was entertainment. Apparently a man bumped against a woman who was sitting down, and she started berating him. She went on and on, telling him he should go the other way, how dare he touch her thigh with his butt, he should move away, etc. She was loud enough everyone could hear her, and everyone seemed very amused. Then she started telling the men if he did that in Isreal, he would be locked up. ??? This is where she started to lose me, she kept going on about Isreal, and the color of the man's eyes. After she got off at her stop, the bus was at a red light, and she stood outside, still yelling. The whole time, the man spoke back, but more in a bantering tone.
After the bus pulled away from the upset woman, someone said she's done that before, it wasn't the first time, and other passengers agreed. I guess she's the crazy lady of the No 80 bus!

je fais une course

2006-06-19T16:22:00.000-04:00

For those of you concerned, my knee felt well enough to go biking on Sunday. During my ride, I had yet another “will i ever learn this language” moment.

I was pedaling along, approaching an incline, and there was a woman in front of me, going more slowly. I passed her on the hill because I felt if i didn't, I'd have to slow down so much that i'd go backwards, rolling down the hill. It wasn't like I had to charge to pass her, I just kept along at the speed I was going.

She said as I was going by “Tu fais une course, Mademoiselle?” (note: a rare time someone has called me mademoiselle instead of madame! Maybe my sporty sunglasses and baseball cap made me look young).

What she asked was, if i was racing her. But my brain did not properly remember that “course” means race, instead i thought she was asking if i was following some particular bike route, or course. “Course? Moi?” i dumbly ask. “Ah, tu n'es pas francaise?” - you are not French?

“Une course, eh, pas en particulier” i respond. It wasn't until I had sped away that I realized what she was asking. Argh! So that's one more person who think i'm a non French speaking idiot.

Oh well. I had a lovely ride, along the Seine, and into the Bois de Vincennes. I ate a sandwich there and amused myself watching little French kids kick, or try to kick, soccer balls. And speaking of soccer, even the French are quite admirative of the plucky Americans, down a man, holding the Italians to a 1-1 tie!!

OUCH

2006-06-16T15:48:00.000-04:00

This evening i went for a nice little run in the Champ de Mars (park in front of Tour Eiffel). Some of the Champs is seperated from a parking area by a series of chains, and when exiting the Champs I tried to hop over the chain, something i've done several times before. This time, my foot didn't quite go high enough...

Spalt! I landed right on concrete, busting up both knees (one much worse than the other), my elbow, and the palms of my hands. Not to mention my pride. "Ca va? Ca va?" several people asked as they scrambled to help me up. "Are you ok? Are you sure? Look, your knee!" two Latin American looking guys asked as they also helped me out. Another guy ruffled through his bag to get me some water to wash the scrapes, but i told him it was all right, i lived near (true). So the one good thing I learned was that French people, and Latin American tourists, are much nicer than Americans (at least new yorkers) when helping people from a fall! I've fallen a couple of times off my bike, in view of people, and no one bothered to see if i was all right.

Sooooooo, my knee is killing me. My elbow already is getting bruised and swollen. I'll keep icing, i hope this doesn't prevent me from biking on Sunday. Currently i'm limping, but it did just happen a few hours ago. :(
I'm definitely popping open a bottle of wine tonight.

Residency card

2006-06-15T13:53:00.000-04:00

Today I picked up my "carte de sejour" (residency card)! Whoo hoo! I'm officially a resident of France!

In other news, shared the elevator today with a cute neighbor. Not the nice glasses guy, and i don't think the didn't-help-with-bike guy (could have been, so many cute guys in France, i can't tell them apart). Now did I take advantage of us sharing a small enclosed space for 10 seconds to say anything witty, introduce myself, anything? Of course not. Sigh.

Smack smack smack

2006-06-14T16:02:00.000-04:00

It is a sound i here far too often, especially on the metro. No, not the sound of chewing gum. People kissing, making out. The French seem to be very into public displays of attention. Much more so than in NY. I've seen more couples gazing soulfully into one anothers eyes in 3 months than I did in 10 years in NY.
This morning on the way to work, smack smack smack, as a woman deposited kisses up and down the neck and face of her beloved. This evening on the way home, squishy smack squishy smack as a couple voraciously devoured one another.
Of course I probably would not be so sensitive to this if I weren't single. And i admit it, sometimes I think how nice it would be if everyone married, dating, involved in a relationship, etc, would either
a) disappear off the face of the planet, or
b) at least break up.
I'm sorry, did you say i was bitter? Oh, not at all. :)

But still, even if i were blissfully happy with, say, Monsieur-cute-neighbor-with-glasses, I don't think i'd be playing tongue hockey on a crowded metro!

Il faut chaud

2006-06-12T15:47:00.000-04:00

It was well over 30 degrees today. That's well over 86 for you Farenheit folks. I went to the gym for the first time in weeks (week in Amsterdam + sick+ running and biking outdoors) and there was NO AIR CONDITIONING. It wasn't broken, there just is none. I had sweat beading on my face before i stepped on the treadmill. It was terrible. I figured the gym would be better since it was a suana outdoors and i'm a little tired of my champ de mars/eiffel tower/seine route. Too many places i have to stop for traffic. Yes, i live in paris and i'm tired of the eiffel tower!
How will i run all summer in the heat???

Blog is back

2006-06-09T16:03:00.000-04:00

Hey, i can finally go online at home! I said screw neuf telecom, and signed up for Wanadoo, and 5 days later I had the modem, the connection, everything.So yesterday afternoon, after seeing my parents off (they were here 5 days - a lovely visit!), I bought a bike! A used bike, a city bike, nothing fancy. It's a Gazelle, a Dutch brand. The Dutch are serious about their bikes, so you know it's a good one!

I had it in the back of my head since selling my road bike in NY that i wanted to get just a basic city bike, but after being in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, and renting a bike there, the idea became more concrete. Unfortunately Paris is not as cycle friendly as Amsterdam, but i still had a blast biking around for 3 hours after I bought it. And it was a GORGEOUS day. My parents were so lucky - we had such lousy spring weather in Paris, rainy, cold, drizzly, miserable. But the whole time they were here, it was sunny, not too hot, just lovely, and it continues.

The photo is of my bike - it has a bell, but no, no basket in front. I had a successful ride, and managed to find my way to the big park, Bois de Boulogne. Only almost got run over once. :)Then when I was entering my building, a cute neighbor was also entering, and opened the door for me, but then he hopped into the elevator without seeing if i needed any more help!! hello, i was going to try to fit my bike in the elevator! Though i don't know if it would have fit in the tiny parisian elevator. So i lugged it up 4 flights of stairs.

Can't wait to go biking again this Sunday - some of the quais along the river Seine are closed to traffic on Sundays in the summer.

stay away from neuf telecom

2006-04-26T13:21:00.000-04:00

Yes I know it's been a while. I STILL don't have internet at home, and work is so busy, I either don't have time or the motivation at the end of the day to post.

I have a modem from one of the many competing internet companies in France (Neuf Telecom) is this case, and supposedly teh ADSL line is ready to go. But oh no. Either the line or the modem is not working. I have made several calls to the tech support, at 34 centimes the mintue, and I "should" be receiving today something in the mail with a toll-free number i can call so they can test the line. Why they couldn't do that on the phone with me even though is s mystery.
Rather tough, dealing with tech support in FRench. The first time was a disaster, and at the time I didn't realize it was a ADSL problem, I thought it was my computer. The guy couldn't understand me, said i should call back again with a French speaker, it was horrible and demoralizing. The 2nd time days later when i screwed up the courage was better, but they were having a system problem and said i had to call back. The 3rd time was when they said they's send the thing in the mail. ARGH.

I should have opted for Wanadoo, France Telecom's (national phone service provider) ADSL, they are by far the most expensive, but best service. And biggest, so more chance of english speaking staff.

Well it's a gorgeous evening so i'm going to jet, and go for a walk and try to find a closer dry cleaner.

berries

2006-04-10T13:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's getting really annoying not having internet in the apartment. I've ordered it, but it can take a few weeks to set up.
So here i am staying late at work to update the blog, bc i care about you, the reading public. so put some comments up, dammit.

There is a market right by my apartment (on the street underneath the metro) on Wednesdays and Sundays. I went yesterday and got fruits, green beans, cheese, bread, a muffin. It all looked so good! There were also meats, and fish, and seafoods, and wine, and candies, and a few non-food items.
I stopped at a particulare fruit stand bc I was drawn by the color of the strawberries (in the photo), they were the most vibrant joyful red. Other strawberris seem so dark by comparison. And they are delicious!
OK i'm going home now to eat an awesome dinner.

Oh, and i finally have a cell phone! My provider is Bouygues Telecom. I can't even friggin pronounce it.

More apt pics

2006-04-05T16:51:00.000-04:00

Forgot to add the kitchen pic in my earlier post. You can't see the table, but it's there, in the back there's more space to the right.
Also a pic of my living room view, metro included. :)

La Bise

2006-04-05T16:43:00.000-04:00

So far at work I have gotten away with a handshake to greet co-workers, even though several male and female co-workers greet one another with la bise , the kiss greeting.
But now P has decided it's time for la bise. People never kiss when greeting in the Midwest where I grew up, and though I lived almost 10 years in New York, where it's more common, I never really quite got used to it, or was comfortable with it. But at least then, it's just one kiss, and you don't really touch your lips to the cheek. In France, it could be 2, 3, or even 4 kisses, and sometimes it's a fake air kiss, sometimes you touch cheeks, sometimes you do kiss the cheek...utterly confusing!!
So apparently with P I did it wrong (I should have touched, but didn't) so I fumbled to explain why, and said in the Midwest Personne ne baise which literally means "No one kisses"....except the verb baiser is now more commonly a slang term for to screw or to fuck. So what I said was "No one fucks"!! All my co-workers were lauging and P was all excited, "No, no, must not say that, unless it's true and no one reproduces". What I should have said was Personne ne fait la bise.
So that was my French lesson for the day.

Bonjour Madame

2006-04-04T16:23:00.000-04:00

When I studied in Paris 12 years ago I was always referred to by the French as Mademoiselle. In subsequent visits it could be either Mademoiselle or Madame. Now, I am always Madame.

Sigh.

Though Madame and Mademoiselle have nothing to do with marital status, the way Miss and Mrs do in the States, it still makes me feel like I'm someone with a husband and a mortgage and childern. I want to shout at them "I'm a mademoiselle! I have no kids nor husband! I'm single! I'm young at heart! Last time it snowed i went outside and made a snow angel!!"

My Parisian flat

2006-04-04T09:17:00.000-04:00

I'm finally moved in!! Still no internet (that actually won't be installed for a few weeks), but have found another wireless network to hop onto.

As I type this, I'm waiting for the owner's husband to come by, unfortunately there are a few problems! Turns out when the water is turned on to the toilet, it leaks from the bottom of the toilet seat, but only at night. Also, neither the oven nor the washing machine work, even though the little light turns on, which is supposed to indicate that it works. It could be that the dishwasher (which is in between the oven and clothes washer) doesn't work either, but as I've never used one before I'm not about to start now. What is strange is that the stove top does work.

Hopefully he'll be by soon, they don't actually live in Paris, I'm not sure how far their town is. He did say he was coming by today, but not what time.

Other than that, I love the place. The pictures are from before moving my stuff in, currently it is a complete mess, though everything is unpacked from the boxes (the movers did that, along with me), it's all lying around or arranged haphazardly.

When you first enter, there's a long hallway. There's bookshelves lining the hallway that came with the place, which is good, because there's no closets! So I also use them to store linens, towels, sports equipment, etc. The kitchen is off to the left when you enter, and though you can't tell from the pic, there is more space in the back of the kitchen off to the right, where thankfully my dinette table just fits! Then the WC (toilet) is just past the kitchen, then near the end of the hallway is the bedroom, and the bathroom (tub/shower and sink) is off of that. The bedroom also includes an armoire (to make up for no closets). There's still not enough hanging space, so I'll probably by a cheapo armoire from Ikea for a bit more hanging space and put it in the hallway by the entrance.

The end of the hallway has room for my desk and filing cabinet, a little mini office. It's good it worked out that way, because there was no other room for it.

The hallway veers to the left, then there's the living room. You can open the French windows and step on to a little terrace! While the bedroom looks onto the courtyard and is very quiet, the living room faces the street. And actually there is an elevated metro line that runs along the street. While I know this would bother a lot of people and would make them not consider the apartment, it doesn't bother me at all. I think I'm used to it already. And if you're ever staying with me and don't want the noise, you can have the bedroom, and i'll take the sofabed (though metro doesn't run all night)!

Ok owner's husband, please come soon so I can cook, do some laundry, and not worry about the leaky toilet...

Allright, I saved the above as a draft b/c blogger wasn't posting my pics, and it's now the evening. Though the husband didn't come by, one of the building maintenance guys did. The toilet does need to be replaced, it the meantime i just have to shut it's water off at night or when out during the day. The oven apparently you have to turn the timer all the way to 120 minutes to get the over to turn on. ?! ok, whatever. And the washer, um, the water supply to that was shut off, a twist to one of the valves under the sink did the trick. Um, excuse me, the washing machines i've used were always in community laundry rooms, i never had to ponder the mystery of where the water came from. It was just there. :)

I am still just wandering around my apt in awe of how much i love it. Since i was a kid i've alwasy been fascinated by old houses and buildings. I'll take my mouldings and heavy wooden front door, and fireplaces, and doorknobs with the original iron keys in them, and French windows, and yes, creaky wooden floors and loud plumbing and weak radiators over a sleek modern place anyday. Well, maybe next winter when all 5 radiators are turned to the max and i'm still cold i'll be singing a different tune... :)

Frazzled

2006-03-31T01:53:00.000-05:00

I woke up in the middle of the night due to some loud sounds, but then couldn't get back to sleep. Everything I had to do today kept going through my mind, so I finally got up and made a list - it had 17 items! 5 for work, 5 were relocation related, 5 personal finance related, and 2 other! I've been living like this for weeks, making lists, writing on my hand, leaving myself voicemails and emails so I won't forget stuff. I'm so tired of it, just a few more weeks, and i should be all settled, with all my utilities, ma carte de séjour (residency permit) etc. I just have to hang on....
I thought about staying up (it was 4am) but then just ironed a shirt and went to bed for 2 more hours instead.

Also there will be no more posts until Wed at the earliest! I'm not in work mon and tues, so i'll be internet-less. Even in my apt it will take a few weeks to set up.

sorry

2006-03-29T06:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry not posting much lately. Work and running around for settling-in related activities is keeping me busy, and i no longer have internet in the seviced apartment. For whatever reason it was beyond the intelligence of the corporate housing company to set up internet, (though they claim they can), and the wireless network i was piggybacking onto has probably gotten wise to me, and now requires a password.

Signing the lease today, and moving in next week! So pictures of my new place soon!

Star Wars L'Expo

2006-03-27T01:53:00.000-05:00

A Star Wars exhibition, the Cité des Sciences et l'Industrie has. Costumes, props, drawings, etc. from the 6 films, displayed they are. For the big fan, a must-see it is. Very interesting, it was. Only one thing wrong, there was. Alone, was I. With Masters Tonru, Davel, Ang'Gl, and Katbu, gone to see it, I would have, if in NY, it was. Miss my Jedi friends, I do. Too sad, I will not be. For sadness could lead to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to...suffering!! (Yoda to Anakin, Ep I).
(My apologies for those not into the rhythm of Yoda-speak). :)

Maybe being a vegetarian is a good idea

2006-03-22T16:02:00.000-05:00

Today in the cafeteria, they had burgers. Mmmm, nice juicy hamburgers, I thought. Looked cooked enough. But beware! Though the outside was a nice brown, inside looked like raw ground beef! It didn't even look rare, but raw. And as someone who usually orders burgers well-done, I couldn't touch it after seeing that. My co-workers said to bring it back, they have no problem cooking it more if you like, but i had mangled it pretty good. Next time i'm tempted by a beef offering (though that may not be for a while), i'll know to ask them to cook it a bit longer.

Today i bought chicken nuggets for dinner (yes i buy frozen food here, and yes so do other french people)! While they were cooking, i looked at the ingredients. Of the ingredient “meats” it listed
chicken 18%, turkey 10%. Um, no word on what the other 72% of “meats” were. Oh god. What did i just eat.

Housing visits Day 2

2006-03-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

Another day of housing visits! At least i didn't oversleep this time.

Visit #1 – 9^th arr. Nice, clean, big (relatively speaking) but boring. And in a boring quartier, mostly commercial area.

Visit #2 - 9^th arr again, but more towards the 18^th, so a bit more lively. Gorgeous apartment, this I loved as much as Visit #6 yesterday! They were renovating it, but keeping all the charm – the moldings, the fireplaces, etc. Big too, though no closets. Hmmmm...if this was in one of my neighborhood preferences i would have snapped it up.

Visit #3 - 7^th arr. Pretty nice, but boring area.

Visit #4 – 7^th arr again. Charming, some nice touches, stained glass, etc. But kitchen had tiniest washing machine i'd ever seen!! Even smaller than the normal small washing machines! It was like for baby clothes something. I don't even think a large beach towel would have fit!

Visit #5 – 7^th arr again....Good size, lots of closets, great kitchen. But ugly carpet, and weird layout in living room would have precluded my furniture. Anyway, i don't want to live in the 7^th, people!

Odile and I went back to Monday's #6, on Boulevard La Grenelle in the 15^th arr. I know i loved it, but it was getting smaller and smaller in my head. Luckily enough, it had not shrunk to the size that was in my head. :) But is it big enough for all my furniture? Well, no. I will have to make some decisions on what to store in the cave, what to get rid of, etc. And I will have to make some very creative storage decisions. Good thing there's IKEA in Paris (well in the suburbs at least).

But i'm happy. A charming apartment, in an old Paris building, in a pleasant neighborhood. A non-chic, non-pretentious, non-touristy neighborhood. Yet, the Champ de Mars (the large grassy area in front of the Eiffel Tower) is only about a 5 min jog away!

Despite it's non chic-ness, supposedly Brangelina lives there! Though of course their apt has a view of the Eiffel Tower. Well, i'll let you all know if i bump into Brad or Angelina at Monoprix.

Housing visits Day 1

2006-03-20T14:46:00.000-05:00

Wow. What at exhausting, and mostly, disappointing day.

The day didn't even start right. After my watch alarms went off (all 3 of them) I decided I could still sleep another 20 minutes, until 7:30, so re-set one of the alarms. I woke up to the phone ringing, at 8:34!! Then when I tried to answer the phone, I dropped it, and the batteries fell out. I put them back in, every which way, but the phone never did work again. However, it would ring, but i couldn't answer it.

After a rushed shower and dressing, I run outside to call Odile, the woman who was meeting me to look at apartments, from a telephone booth (cabine). I figured it was she calling, but it wasn't. Then i called the corporate housing provider about the phone, and they said someone would be there that day to fix it. I run back home and rush rush to get ready to meet Odile.

Ok. So my assumption of what the day would be like, we would go to one of the areas I had specified, and look at several places in that area. Um, i really wondered why they had bothered asking what my neighborhood preferences were. We saw places everywhere. Of the 9 places I saw, 3 were where I had specified (2 near Bastille/Republique, 1 in the northern part of the 15 arrondisment.) And, we drove to each one, which with traffic took absolutely forever. And the planning of the visits was all scattered, we'd go from one area of Paris to another, then back to near the previous area. Here's a summary -

Visit #1 - in the Marais, near Republique, thus one of my area preferences. Cute apartment, but TINY. No way furniture would come close to fitting. Scratch

Visit #2 – In the 9^th arr., not one of my preferred areas, though convenient for commute. Apartment was actually 3 pièces (pièce is non bathroom or kitchen room), so could be a 2 BR, or have a study or seperate dining room. 3 students were living there now, so it was rather messy, but with a non-messy person could be nice. :) Big kitchen, but was going to be non-equipée (no appliances). However even with the 3 pieces, was hard to tell if furniture would fit, due to layout of fireplaces, big windows, etc. Also, price was higher than my ceiling, but negotiable. Hmmmm.

Visit #3 – In the 11^th arr, near Bastille, thus one of my preferences. Apt was converted industrial space. Ugly. Fairly spacious, and good kitchen space and appliances, but just ugly. Too modern looking, floor was like concrete, etc. Anyway, doorway way too narrow for furniture to even fit through. Scratch.

Visit #4 – In the 7^th. A nice area, but not really for me. Nice apartment though, lots of closets!! Big kitchen, but was going to non-equipée. Also, living room rather small, judging from their sofa, I knew mine wouldn't fit. Scratch.

Visit #5 – In the 17^th arr, very chic area, but not for me. Gorgeous building though. Apartment was on the “attic” floor so had sloping ceilings. Was being renovated, and the floors were beatiful, and with a big american kitchen (meaning it had an island) tout equipée. Again, though, too small. Also, the elevator went to the 5^th floor, then 2 flights of narrow stairs, and once on top in the apartment, i felt i was just too high up. Kind of disconcerting. Scratch.

Visit #6 – In the 15^th arr, near La Motte-Piquet metro stop, one of my preferences. I loved this apartment! It definitely had character and was different from all the others. When you first go in, there's a long hallway, that has a long beautiful shelf/bookcase. There's a big kitchen, equipée, including the washing machine. Now that i'm writing this, i realize i have to check if it was washer only, or washer/dryer!!

The living room, while not large, had room for my sofa, coffee table, and tv/book shelves ( i think...). The bedroom came with a gorgeous armoire. In face i would have to get rid of my dresser, becaue there'd be no room, and use the armoire instead. The bedroom faced the courtyard so was nice and quiet, while the living room faced the street and you could open the windows and stand on a mini-mini terrace. Both living and bedroom had a fireplace, but they did not quite disrupt the layout of the rooms the way they did in other apartments.

Unfortunately no room for my dinette set. The kitchen has room for a mini-table, but not mine. But, there is a cave (storage space in basement). We took a look, it's like something out of a Edgar Allen Poe story! The basement is a long winding corridor, dimly lit with bulbs here and there, with the caves, or storage rooms leading from it. Big enough to store the dinette set if i wanted to try and sell it, or keep it until moving again!

Another negative, is that yes it had the shelves in the hallway, and the armoire in the bedroom, but that's because there were no closets! No matter what i'd have to buy some sort of closet with a bar, to hang clothes.

I told Odile I wanted it though, though now I'm having 2^nd thoughts. If I was coming with no furniture, no problem, there was just something about the place i fell in love with, but trying to make my stuff from a good-sized queens apt fit into a parisian apt is really going to tough. (Which is why a pre-housing visit before moving, which i SHOULD have had, would have been a good idea!!!! I definitely would have sold/got rid of/stored more of my stuff. Fucking Cendant). I will also ask Odile about the washer/dryer, if it's only a washer, I will ask to replace it with washer/dryer.

Visit #7 – Again in 7^th arr (me no like). Carpeted, when i had requested wood floors only. Bedroom so small only my bed would have fit. Scratch.

Visit #8 – Again in the 17^th arr (me no like). Decent size and closets, but didn't grab me. Very modern looking. Kitchen had neither appliances nor cabinets. Scratch.

Visit #9 – Back to the 7^th arr. Again decent size and closets, but wouldn't have fit dinette set (none of these apartments would have). Kitchen non-equipée, but had lots of cabinets and storage. A carpet but said they could remove. Didn't grab me though. Sigh. Scratch.

Finally got home close to 7pm, to find out the phone still not fixed. Those bastards! Um, my company is paying 3750 euros per month for this corporate housing, you're supposed to get good service!!

So that's that. Even though i knew beforehand apartments would be small, actually seeing first hand how small they are makes it a reality. It's depressing. And depressing that they showed me all sorts of places in neighborhoods I had no interest in. Oh, and now i just realized that my desk would not fit in the apartment I love, #6. Fuck. What to do, what to do. We're seeing some more tomorrow, but i don't have high hopes.

Why does america have to have such big crap!?

Sat 18 March

2006-03-18T17:06:00.000-05:00

This first picture is of the lovely parisian staircase in my building. The staircase which alas ends on the 4th floor so i have to take the small rattly elevator the the 5th.

The 2nd photo is of a street in the Bastille area where I had lunch today. I just love all the narrow little streets. The Bastille area is one of the areas i'm thinking of living in, so it was fun to walk around and pick out buildings i liked and think that could be my new home! The relocation people BETTER do a good job of finding potential apartments. The relo people here in Paris are different people from those flakey idiots based in London, so there might be hope.
I came across an awesome fruits and vegetables market in the area, I wasn't going to buy anything but then I was finally tempted by some clementines. 1 kilo for 1 euro! mmmm.
I was in the mood for a crepe at lunch, not on of those nutella crepes from a stand (not that they aren't delicious) but a creperie, a resturants specializing in crepes. I couldn't find one and ended up eating at a thai restuarant. Hey i love thai, and can't eat escargot, etc. every day. After i ate, guess what kind of place i discovered was right next door. A creperie. :) Oh well, the Thai was delicious, and now i know where to go for crepes next time i'm in the area.

Mon and Tues next week are apartment hunting days! I can't wait!!

Duane Reade

2006-03-16T16:38:00.000-05:00

I miss Duane Reade. It's the familiarity of knowing where to go for certain products I miss. Duane Reade (and by DR i mean American drugstores in general) are great. Where else can you go and get your toiletries, paper products, drugs, medicine, cosmetics, greeting cards, soda, a snack, batteries, photo prints, etc in one place???

I'm still trying to figure out where to go to get all those items for reach i took DR for granted. Though it is part of the fun of a new culture!
The pharmacies here have a lot of that stuff, but certainly not everything. I do like the fact you can always spot one blocks away - they all have a green cross outside, which flashes if it's open. And they are more plentiful than starbucks in new york. But it does seem like 95% of the products are some sort of lotion. I generally have to ask the pharmacist for what i want, and they disappear for a second and mysteriously come back with the item. Items i've asked for are

-mouchoirs (tissues). The pharmacist asked me if i wanted 1, 2, or a packet? They sell them individually?? So i said a packet, which turned out to be a packet of about 10 packets. But they are tiny packets, smaller than those travel size kleenex packet in the US! Don't french people blow their nose? I must ask my colleagues where to buy a big packet of mouchoirs.

- creme pour douleurs musculaire (cream for muscular pain). In other words i needed Ben-gay! I had a stiff neck and back after my 11 hours of sleep sat night. But i'm happy to report the french "bengay" worked wonders!

I could go on but you get the idea. I'm sure at the end of my 3 years here i will have asked for every item they stock. :)

Stereotypes

2006-03-16T16:35:00.000-05:00

So it's only been a few days, but so far the myth that the french don't work late is just a myth. I haven't left the office before 6:15 yet, and there are always still plenty of people.

And i've gotten no flak about being American. I really didn't think I would, but i was sort of hoping someone would mention Bush so i could go off on a rant about how much i hate him. :)

1st night out

2006-03-16T16:21:00.000-05:00

Last night was my first dinner out in Pa-ree. There was a training session at work, and some people from other offices where there. They all went out to dinner, as well as others in the instrat "equipe" (team) and the guy from the software vendor leading the session.
I have to say, everyone in the office, the equipe and others in the office, has been very nice and friendly. I was worried they'd be a bit standoffish at first, but it really hasn't been the case. And the equipe alwasy eats lunch together so my worries about what i'd do for lunch were unfounded as well.
Back to the dinner - luckily for me it was just a few blocks from my apt. It was a place called "Music Hall" but was designed in rather a 70's motif. There were these lights that kept changing from red to green to blue, so it was a bit bizarre. Like being in a disco, but eating dinner instead of dancing!
I had escargot to start, once i saw those on the menu i couldn't resist! And they were fantastic! The main meal and dessert weren't quite as great, but it was a good time nonetheless.

Finally!

2006-03-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

Well, i'm finally online and can post! I still don't think I have internet access from the corporate housing company, but I have wireless and jumped onto a wireless network. I don't know why I didn't think to do that before....I'll blame it all on jet lag!

I arrived Friday, and despite business class, barely slept and felt like crap. I got to the apartment around 1 and napped from 1:30 to 5! Amazingly enough I was tired again at 10 and went to sleep but woke up in the middle of the night because when I set the clock in the flat I accidently turned the alarm as well - which was at midnight! Unfortunately then I tossed and turned for several hours.

The apt is cute - a small studio. The kitchen is the tiniest kitchen I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty of tiny NYC kitchens! There's a fridge the size of a dorm fridge, and both an oven and a dishwasher the size of a microwave. Some genius decided to put the fridge underneath the hot plates (stove top? what do they call it when it's not on top of the oven?) and my ice cream melted in the freezer. :( I've been eating, or more like drinking, it anyway.
I find it hilarious that there are only 2 water glasses, but 6 wine glasses, 4 espresso cups, and 6 coffee cups. Guess i know what i should be drinking!
Speaking of wine, i bought a bottle, and the apt has a wine opener, but then i realized, no wine stopper. And i'm not about to start downing a bottle by myself. I must buy a stopper soon, i'm dying for a glass of wine!

I'm posting a photo of the tiny kitchen, as well as the view from my windows - of the building across the street. It's the same type of building as the one I'm in, so you'll get the idea.

I'm on the 5th floor (it would be 6th in America...ground floor is 0), which is the top floor. And the stairs only go to the 4th floor! Bizarre. There is an emergency staircase which goes all the way though. I wish i could take the regular staircase though, it is a beautiful curving wooden staircase. And the elevator is tiny, and tends to rattle a bit...um normal for paris right??

Saturday, my first full day in Paris, i did something which I'm sure will not surprise many of you - i joined a gym! It is just down the block. I signed up for a monthly membership, as i'll only be in this neighborhood for a month - they have other locations but maybe i won't be by one. If i like it and wind up living near one, i'll join for a year. It's tres tres cher to join for just a month, but if it's gets my recently lazy ass back in shape, and renews my motivation for running again, it'll be worth it. And i really miss running!

This internet connection is rather weak, so i'm going to post before it craps out on me...

Testing adding photos

2006-03-06T23:36:00.000-05:00

I'm testing adding photos. Why can't I get one on the main blog page itself?? argh. I'm tired and will go to bed. Will figure this out later.

1st post

2006-03-06T23:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, so my friends J and L suggested I create a blog once I'm in Paris. I figured it was a good idea because that way I could talk about things such as apartment hunting and other fun getting-used-to-paris things without sending basically the same email to a million different people. The blog will probably only last a few months, b/c hey, who can keep up posting day after day???
Probably not me, but I'll give it a try.

You're probably wondering where the title "The Sound of Bubbles" comes from. Well one day one my way to work at the corner of 6th Ave and 23rd St, someone was selling bubble makers and hundreds of bubbles were blowing in the air. At the same time, the timer on the walk/don't walk was going off, a "beep beep beep" sort of sound, which I had never been aware of before. For some reason the bubbles and the beeping sounds got mixed together in my subconscious, and whenever I'm at that corner and hear the timer, I think of bubbles. I thought that "The Sound of Bubbles" would be a good name for a short story collection. And there are many things which cause me to think "hey, that's be a great idea for a short story". But alas, I know I will never write a short story, much less a collection, so at least I can have a blog with the name.