A Day in Paris

"

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Tiramisu

Today a friend from my French class invited me over for a tiramisu preparation lesson. My father is Italian and his mother lived in our house when I was growing up. I feel like I'm a pretty decent cook of Italian food. However, one thing I've never made is tiramisu. It was so easy and delicious! She also showed me how to make a salad of Magret de Canard/duck and green beans and pasta with broccoli. It's always helpful for me to see how other people cook. The duck salad is nothing I would have ever dreamed of but it was very easy to make and would really impress out of town guests. Here is a picture of the Tiramisu -- the picture doesn't do it justice.

It was the first time to this friend's apartment. The apartment was huge... I think I counted 6 bedrooms and three toilets. That is big by most standards. It was a very typical Parisian apartment. In the good old days, everyone with an apartment this size would have a maid. The maid's bedroom and the kitchen would be off to one end of the apartment while the family living quarters would be at the other end. This apartment was more impressive than most.... the hall from the dining room to the kitchen was 35 meters long -- that is 115 feet. You never want to forget the salt and pepper in the kitchen, that's for sure.

My son is standing over my shoulder reading this blog entry. Even though he's seven it still flips me out that he can read. Last year he learned to read in French. This year he is reading English. He's smiling as he reads this. It's a great thing.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
8:48 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Two Free Tickets

After I served my daughter and her friends lunch, I brought them back to the school and headed out to the Vignerons Independants de France at the Porte de Versailles. My friend ended up getting last minute free tickets, so we went to taste some wine. Basically, there were 1000 independent French wine sellers at this exposition. As you enter the expo, they give you a wine glass and you're off to taste the wines of any of the 1000 producers. There was Champagne and Cognac too. I ended up buying a few Christmas gifts.

Another friend ended up getting tickets to the Moulin Rouge that he won in a auction. His wife couldn't go, so he asked me along. So last night, I headed out to the Moulin Rouge. I'd never been there before. What a show! There were skits with: the circus (with ponies!), a medusa act where a woman, in the end, jumps into a clear water pool with about 4 HUGE pythons (I believe they were pythons), the can-can, contortionists, a magic show, a ventriloquist (he was great), acrobats and there were lots of big, crazy outfits. For many of the skits, some women were bare-breasted. Most of the time, the women wore a decorative strap right below their chest (to hold their costume up?)and I couldn't help thinking they should just pull it up and cover up. It was a bit disconcerting for the woman to wear outfits where their whole body was covered except the breasts. But my friend didn't seem concerned by this. He had a good time, remarking that he'd like to see if he could buy one of the outfits for his wife. Well, Christmas isn't too far away.....

-- said Auntie M in Paris
7:47 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Holiday Lights

Since I had to pick up my daughter and her two friends for lunch, I dropped the kids off at school and tried to get some errands done as quickly as possible. I needed to go buy some astronaut books from Brentano's. My friend's husband is an astronaut (I think he's working on the International Space Station here) and she gave me some publicity items from his last space flight, including a picture of the crew and pins of the space station for my son's class. So I thought the least I could do is buy some books to go along with the souvenirs. Getting out of the metro I took a picture of the Galeries Lafayette lights. This was at 9:30am.

Since Brentano's doesn't open until 10am, I wasted 20 minutes at Starbucks. I bought a latte, an orange scone and listened to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" music in the background. It made me miss the US.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
1:12 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Third is a Charm

After about 10 glasses of Champagne, my three day weekend of Thanksgiving festivities has ended. Our third and final Thanksgiving dinner was last night. The kids were invited to the dinner, so it started earlier. I think we sat down to eat at 8:30pm. This was the first dinner where we had most of the traditional Thanksgiving treats ... fresh cranberries, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes... it was delicious. In Paris, you can only buy cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving or Le Bon Marche, which are far from me and I didn't bother with my dinner, so it was a real treat.
It was a relaxed evening with friends. I think, in part, that was because there were 9 kids in attendance. I realize that sounds strange -- that it was relaxing with kids -- but I think we were more relaxed knowing our children were having a good time with their friends too. They all stayed up until midnight, when we left. They didn't even fall asleep in the car. Though they were feeling their late night adventure this morning. All the kids woke up late, and my son asked, "is there school this morning?" in a way that said he'd never make it if there was. Today we will just hang out around the apartment.
Today it feels like the Thanksgiving holiday really will end... my sister (south of France), her child and my husband (South Africa) all leave today. It's going to seem downright quiet around here.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:44 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Friday, November 26, 2004

Batter Up

Another Thanksgiving dinner tonight. My friend, who's married to a Frenchman, has invited us over with about four other couples. She is a lot of fun so I'm sure we'll have a good time. Unfortunately, I'm already feeling tired and I'm starting to think about the fact that my husband is leaving for a week long work trip to South Africa (yes, I'm very jealous) so I have the kids by myself this week. I actually rely on my husband quite a bit, so I get a little anxious when he leaves, especially somewhere far. Not to mention that something usually breaks when he is gone. Does it count that two light switches in the house no longer work? The one in the kitchen particularly bugs me. I assume it is the fact that the lighting system is ancient, but my husband thinks an electrician can fix it...
I've been preoccupied this week with an incident between two children -- friends of my kids. One hit another with a bat and caused enough damage for several stitches. The child doing the hitting is always getting in trouble for hitting and pushing, but things came to a head this week with this latest incident. There have been a lot of apologies and advice.
Most agree that the child needs counseling. The mother asked me what I thought yesterday. She is very upset about this (of course... many tears have been cried by mother and child). How much are we to blame for our children's actions? No parent was around when the bat incident happened. It was at an atelier/workshop. I didn't know what I could or should say, but I told her, that since this isn't the first incident or a rare incident people are expecting something to change. Maybe I should not have said anything, but she asked me a direct question. I feel bad for her, but my child has been hurt too. I feel a little in the middle of the two mothers. They both want me on their side. It has really stressed me out. I should not get so emotionally involved, but I can't seem to help it. Once again, this probably says something about my personality...

-- said Auntie M in Paris
6:07 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Our Turkey

Thanksgiving dinner is done and I'm exhausted. We had old family friends from Fire Island in town. It was nice to catch up with them because my sister and I haven't seen them for 10 years or so.
The turkey was amazing.. so juicy.. and it's a good thing because my husband forgot to get the gravy. Here is a picture of our lovely bird at the boucherie/butcher. Notice the poulet roti (so tiny in comparison!) in the background.

I must add that I've obviously made some progress in my Parisian life. While preparing all the side dishes, I had two French people deliver presents for us in celebration of Thanksgiving. One was my landlord, who brought a bottle of Champagne. I've mentioned he was part of the French resistance in WWII... he wrote a note (he's always very formal and proper) thanking us as Americans for "helping the French people from 1940 to 1945 and for helping our country to come back to life after it's difficult test." He is so thoughtful. Now, what to do about his 80th birthday tomorrow?
The mother of my son's friend brought over a bottle of wine -- a third growth-- truly a treasure and treat. Don't ask me to share.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:58 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Celebrate with Champomy!

As I was walking home from the grocery store today laden with vegetable bags I was thinking of the dinner tonight. Specifically, I was thinking about the start of the dinner... the champagne. We have about 12 bottles of champagne in the apartment. Champagne is very popular in France, as you might have guessed, but more ubiquitous than you can imagine. The French always have champagne... of course at dinner parties, receptions, luncheons, office parties, but more than that. If there is a reason to have people over, there is a reason to open a bottle of Champagne. I love it best when I drop my kids off for a three hour birthday party and when I arrive to pick up the kids there is champagne waiting for the parents. Yes, I had a hard time relaxing without my child for three hours, I need a glass of champagne to bring me back to reality...
As I was buying the potatoes, carrots, green beans and all the rest of the dinner, I picked up a bottle of Champomy -- the kids version of champagne. It's basically bubbly apple juice and the kids love it. Even when you have a kids party at McDonald's they serve Champomy. No wonder Champagne is so popular with adults here -- they've grown up on Champomy.
People always ask if we drink as much Champagne in the US. They don't understand that Champagne is used for special occasions in the US... like today, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Why not drink it more often? I'm not sure, but I know that when I return to the US, I'll trade my stock of Champagne for bottles of Beer. I'm not sure what that says about me.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
2:02 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Ring the Alarm

My friend called this evening and asked if she was interrupting. I told her I was just relaxing. I've been reading this book about King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. It's a good book, but long and I've been reading it every chance I get. My sister had just arrived from out of town and that means... take out. So my husband had just been sent off to procure the food and I was reading. My friend says, "no, you aren't." She assumed I was preparing for the big dinner tomorrow for 10 people (5 kids). Nope. I really was quite relaxed knowing the turkey was being brought home cooked. She, wisely, was completely organized for her group of folks to come over tomorrow. And I believed her. Last year, I understand her dinner was a great success, not just that the meal was delicious, but that she found a interesting way to keep the kids busy...gingerbread houses (one per family) to build and decorate.
After I hung up the phone with her I got nervous. You know how that happens. So I just finished baking two desserts for tomorrow. I guess I do feel better knowing that's out of the way.
My friend was not calling to raise the alarm, however. She had an important question. Apparently, the pompiers/firemen, garbage men, and letter carriers were coming by tonight (one at a time, presumably) to collect money from the good people they serve. I guess they do this once a year around the holidays. She asked how much to give all those folks. My sister, who was here, recommended 10 euro per person. My friend said she just didn't want to face these people and turned all her lights off that face the street. She and the kids huddled in the kitchen until they went away. Not because she didn't want to give them money. It's just all so awkward. It's all in French and really, how much is the correct amount? Sometimes this stuff seems overwhelming.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:21 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Another Artist Friend

While I was looking over my blog entry about my sculptress friend, it reminded me of my D.C. artist friend, Tom Block. He is one of the few artists I've ever directly bought a piece of art from and it hangs prominently above my computer. He's very creative and also very outspoken. He has used his art to further his causes, like Amnesty International, by creating the Human Rights Painting Project. He's a cool guy to have as a friend.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:35 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

A Baguette S.V.P.

I've been marveling at a recent sign put up at Paul, a chain boulangerie/bakery in France. My local Paul has traditionally not been open on Sundays. When we first moved here it was one of the issues we had to work out... where to buy a baguette on Sunday because all the local bakeries were closed.
We also had another problem because we wanted to go out and buy croissant every day. We resolved all this by having Sunday be the official "my husband gets up early (for him) and goes to the open bakery 5 blocks away to buy croissant, pain au chocolat, oranais (apricot danish), brioche and a baguette" day.
Maybe he doesn't have to walk 5 blocks anymore, it looks like Paul is now open for business on Sunday. However, now we can't buy a Paul baguette on Thursdays! I'm not sure what the local law (arrete perfectoral) states, but apparently if Paul is open on Sunday, they can't sell bread on Thursday. Go figure. Imagine a French bakery with no bread. It's an eerie sight at Paul on Thursdays!

-- said Auntie M in Paris
7:56 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Monday, November 22, 2004

The Sculpture

Just came back from the opening night/vernissage for my friend the sculptress. The show is comprised of one or two sculptures from each of 10 students in a sculpting class.
A common friend picked me up and drove me to the show. Our friend has two pieces, both of women posing. They are beautiful pieces. She is a better sculpter than I am a photographer, but here is a picture of one of her pieces. If you do want to see the show, it is open over the next week from 11am until 6pm.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
8:54 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Comme Des Poissons

Today I had another cooking class. This time it was a class in sushi preparation. I have never eaten so much raw fish (or cooked fish for that matter) in my whole life -- and I've been to Japan! The owner and chef of the restaurant Comme Des Poissons, 24 rue de la Tour, 75116, held a special cooking class today. He teaches cooking classes in Japanese and one of his regulars is a friend. She translated everything from Japanese to English for a bunch of us. It was great fun.
We started by watching him make miso soup. I've loved miso soup since I was a kid and my family would eat at Gasho for special occasions. The miso soup today was delicious and really, not that difficult to make. I took all the left over soup home with me. Thanks everybody!
We also watched as the chef made a cucumber salad with seaweed. Really good as well. We then started to eat the soup and salad while he made some California rolls. Then it was our turn. There was a lot of laughing as people tried to make their own California rolls. It's not as easy as it looks. Here is a picture of the rolls I made versus the professional rolls. Can you guess which is which?

Before we ate the sashimi: tuna, salmon, eel, mackerel, sole, shrimp and all the California rolls he gave us a little lesson on how to eat the foods the correct way. The wasabi (horseradish sauce) should be dabbed on the fish or roll -- NEVER --put the wasabi into the soy sauce. He says that's what Americans do and they use far too much sauce (he took my sauce away and poured most of it out, but I've always considered myself a condiment girl). When eating sashimi, you dip on the fish side, not the rice side (too much soy sauce is absorbed and you can't taste the flavor of the fish). After you are done, always lay your chop sticks parallel in front of you with points pointing left. The best part of the day is that we got lots of left over California rolls so I don't need to make dinner. Well, except for my children ...

-- said Auntie M in Paris
3:50 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Rainy Sunday

I hate to say this, but I'm so glad it's raining! I'm exhausted from my nightly escapades (I know, I'm getting old) and the rain means I don't need to feel guilty about staying home today with the kids. In fact, the kids are watching The Brave Little Toaster right now. I did go out for a little while this morning and took a couple of pictures.... with my new camera... an early Christmas gift from my husband. Hopefully now I will have some better pictures on my blog. You be the judge.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
4:51 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Dinner Chez Moi

We had friends over tonight for dinner. I rarely have people over for dinner anymore, but our friends had us for dinner last year and I've been wanting to reciprocate because they are fun and interesting and have children the same age as mine. Another great thing about this couple is that they are laid back and relaxed.
After last night, where we had a wonderful formal meal and stimulating conversation, and where the women (sauf moi) all dressed smart -- black boots to the knee, skirt, black top, I started getting nervous that more might be expected of me tonight. So I called the my friend and said "this dinner is very casual, please wear jeans." I made the one-dish meal, put ice in the water (Europeans drink the water chilled, no ice)pitcher and waited for their on-time arrival. Dinner was over at 10pm and we chatted for the next 90 minutes. My husband has even offered to clean up. Does it get any better?

-- said Auntie M in Paris
11:36 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Thanksgiving Preparation

In preparation for Thanksgiving this Thursday my husband has ordered our turkey. Every year we order a turkey from the local butcher. It's a special order for him so we try to order a week or so ahead of time. You have no option on turkey weight, it's one size fits all. You pay the butcher 50 euro, tell him what time you want it ready and then bring home the most delicious roti turkey you've ever tasted right to your Thanksgiving table and start carving. It's very practical because I'm not sure a turkey could fit into my French size oven (that's my excuse, at least).
My husband noticed that this year they actually have a sign up about ordering turkeys for Thanksgiving. Guess there really are a lot of Americans in my neighborhood. If you live in Paris and want to order a roti turkey for yourself, call them up at Boucheries Fillion 01 47 27 31 88.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
3:53 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Another Dinner

I never stay up until 2:30am. I am a morning person. Yet here I am, just returning from a lovely evening out. A friend invited us and two other couples over for dinner. "Come at 8:30pm." We get there at 8:45pm and are the first to arrive. Dinner starts at 9:45pm. Main course at 10:45pm. Cheese at 11:45pm. Dessert at 12:30am. Coffee offered at 1:15am. After dinner drinks at 1:45am. We leave at 2:15am (the first ones, bien sur). Great company. Great food... but I'm so tired. Hard to believe my husband has to wake up at 8am to take my son to basketball. Glad it's not me.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
2:40 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Friday, November 19, 2004

The Coffee

I attended a coffee get together this morning. There were about 7 of us and it was such a pleasure speaking English (although everyone was not American). The coffee was held in honor of an out-of town guest so maybe that is why so many of us were chatting about some of the things that surprised us about life in France. This group would not normally talk about these things because most of the women have been here for years and many are married to French men and will live here for the rest of their lives. We all love living in France.
But what fun it is to compare stories of our experiences. It was very cathartic. I think the funniest conversations were about our trips to the ob-gyn or to get a mammography. In the US, they always give you those flimsy white robe things -- which we all complain about. Well, many of the women were given nothing and had to walk around nude from the waist up. A couple of women had to stay in a little waiting room, alone, with nothing on the top. After this embarrassment, some women said that the (male) doctor would make comments like "your still have a nice body" or "we have services to take care of your cellulite!" We had a good laugh over all of these embarrassing stories.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
1:38 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Thursday, November 18, 2004

The Pharaohs

Tonight on our date night, my husband and I headed over to see the Pharaoh exhibit at the Institut du Monde Arabe. We have talked about going to the Institut for a while, so I was glad that we had the Paraoh exhibit as an excuse.
There are around 200 or so pharaohs on show and more than half have been loaned by the Cairo Museum and date from between 1550 - 1069 BC. Apparently, some of the pieces in the show have never left Egypt before.
I think I really enjoyed this show even more because it brought back memories of when my family took a trip to Washington DC in 1976 to visit my mother's friend. While in DC we went to the Kennedy Center and saw a show (I fell asleep) and visited all the monuments. We also stood on line for 4 hours to see the exhibit "Treasures of Tutankhamun," that was traveling around the country. It was an exhibit filled with mystery, beauty and history. I realized tonight how much it all fascinates me. I was telling my husband we really should take a trip to Egypt!

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:47 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Little Victory

On my nearly daily visit to the grocery store today I had put my items on the conveyor belt and was waiting to pay. The man ahead of me took out a 50 euro bill to pay for his items. The cashier asked "un centime?" If he gave her a cent then she could give him back two twenty euro bills. He looked at her and shook his head. She repeated, "un centime?" He shrugs his shoulder confused. Finally, I said, "do you have one cent to give her?" "Oh" he says in English and gives her the coin. See, my French is getting so good I'm translating for people. Have I done my good deed for the day, or what?

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:33 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

The Lido

The mother of my son's best friend invited us to a charity show at the LIDO today. So I drove from the Jardin to the Lido, a cabaret located on the Champs Elysees. All I can say is that things have changed because I didn't even get worked up thinking about driving around the Arc de Triomphe to get to the Lido. I was hoping to find a picture of traffic around the Arc, but couldn't. I did find a website that states "The traffic is so ridiculous that no vehicle is insured around the Arc de Triomphe." You do feel like you take your life in your hands.
The show was a matinee for children and was about a girl who has a broken doll. The girl has to accomplish five tasks before her doll comes back to her unbroken. It was a fantastic show. Shows in France are called Spectacles and they really are spectacular -- just as you imagine from the movies. Even though this was a kids show, they had women in feathers, a scene out of Star Wars (my son's favorite "task"), an ice skating couple (I couldn't believe the woman was wearing a thong as her outfit!), a magic show, an India scene, and American scene (people dressed in denim), a chase scene through the audience with a dressed up wolf, a clown act and those are just the sequences I remember. There were so many flashing lights and great music that all the kids were just fascinated.
As I said, it was a charity show -- for CARE -- the organization that poor Margaret Hassan worked for. There were 500 underprivileged kids in attendance and they had a great time. There was lot of cheering and applauding when the show was over. I would never have known about this show let alone attended the show without my French friend and I thanked her for inviting me to this event.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:36 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

I Speak French

We went to the Jardin today. I picked up the kids from school, drove to the Jardin, ate a picnic lunch, dropped my son off at golf and then walked around the park with my daughter. The first thing we do is head to the pond to feed the ducks and swan. I crunch up all the old baguettes from the week and we throw it to the birds. This week, since it’s been cold and that means fewer visitors, the birds were really hungry. While feeding the ducks, which are a safe distance away, the pigeons started swarming around us. It was getting a bit creepy and my daughter was really scared. Guess she won't be watching The Birds for a while.

After we fed the ducks we headed to the playground since it was a nice enough day out. There was only one other child in the park. I sat down to watch my daughter as she climbed the Eiffel Tower climbing apparatus. I was sitting on this colorful bench when this kid comes by. I really don't feel like getting up from my spot to let him walk on the bench past me and he sees my hesitation. He tells me, in French, that where I'm sitting is actually something to play on and I should move. I tell him back in French that it is a place for parents to sit and not something to play on. He looks up with big eyes and says "Vous etes Anglais?" I didn't explain I was American not English.

For the last few years when asked if I was fluent, I'd say no but that I could speak playground French. I really thought I'd gotten good over the years. I have many phrases at my disposal, for instance: "ca suffit/that's enough!" "arrete/stop!" "viens ici/come here" "sois gentil/be nice." What a blow to my ego that a 5 year old French kid figures out from my accent that I am an English speaker. I guess the kid couldn't believe what he had discovered and he climbs up the Eiffel Tower to talk to my daughter. I hear her raising her voice saying, in French, "I speak French and my big brother does too!" She walked away from the annoying boy.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
7:05 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Cut To The Front

At French class today we were talking about how the French don't believe in lines. How they cut you in line as though they don't even notice you're there. I found it all cathartic because I really can't stand this aversion to lines. You feel like a loser for wanting to wait in line when everyone else is trying to get in front of you.

Usually, the teacher will ask if this happens in each country of each person. I used to be the only American in the class. Although it was a bit overwhelming, I gladly gave the American perspective on things. Now there is another American in class, and a New Yorker to boot. Today she was arguing that New Yorkers don't stand on lines either; that they cut in front of people on lines. Jon, are you reading this? Is this true?

I'd also like to report that I officially have a cool friend. My friend, who is artistic by nature (I don't think I have an artistic bone in my body), is part of a sculpture show over the next two weeks beginning on Tuesday, November 23. Stop by if you are around. Doors open at 6pm.

Les Sculpteurs de L'Atelier Neuilleen de Sculpture et de Ceramique
Hotel Mezzara, 60 rue Lafontaine 75016 Paris

-- said Auntie M in Paris
11:00 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Monday, November 15, 2004

India Is Far Away

My son is studying Asia and UNESCO World Heritage sites at school this year. He is in CE 1, the equivalent of second grade. At the beginning of the year the teacher told us he'd go on a few short field trips. Today was his first field trip/sortie to an art place in the 12th. He was going to study Indian Dance and Chinese Calligraphy. All this past week he's been saying, "I'm going to L'Inde next week." I didn't pay much attention to it until this morning. He really thought he was taking a trip to India. He couldn't understand why we weren't more excited and why he didn't need an overnight bag for the trip. After all, it is far away. I finally took out a map and explained that indeed India is far away -- too far away for a class trip. After school he told me it was still a very long bus trip to get to where he was going today. Yeah right.
My daughter had a lunch date today with her two friends. She complained this morning to my husband that she didn't want to go and we were worried she was going to have another screaming fit going into the classroom today. But once we walked into the school hallway she was silent about the lunch. When I picked her up after school she said she had a great time and confessed she'd told her father she didn't want to go, but "I was just kidding." Kids always want to keep you on your toes.
A bit of a concern.... I've been enjoying this lunch thing where Natalie invites two friends over and then they invite each other over in the next two weeks. However, the mother today decided three was not enough and invited two more friends -- boys at that! The mother for next week said she wanted to invite five friends over for lunch. Ugh! She also told me what she's planning to serve next week ... green beans, pasta, veal scallops, apples, yoghurt and chocolate mousse for dessert. I'm starting to get nervous because the bar keeps getting raised. I'm waiting for someone to hand out parting gifts...

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:21 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Sunday, November 14, 2004

The Modern Fountain

After yesterday it was a late start today. After I served up the blueberry pancakes (since I couldn't yesterday), I did a couple of things and then looked at the clock. It was already 11:30am! We had been invited over for Sunday dinner by a co-worker of my husband. We were supposed to be there around noon and they live across town. So we got organized as fast as we could and drove over to the 4th. The friends live very close to the Modern Art Museum, Centre Pompidou. We don't get over to that area of Paris often so after a nice dinner and movie we decided to take a walk before driving home. My husband and I always enjoy taking a look at the modern art fountain on one side of the museum. I took a picture, but it is hard to capture how "fun" it is -- at least with my picture.
The kids loved the fountain. We took pictures of the lip fountain spitting at them. We had them lower their heads so it looked like they were wearing the hat fountain. You can see the heart, snake, skeleton head fountains in the picture I took. It's well worth a look next time you're in the area.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
10:37 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Saturday, November 13, 2004

A Tiny View of the Kids

Boy am I tired. The American Church in Paris had an arts and craft sale today and I helped volunteer to sell used books. I arrived at the Church before 9am and left around 6pm. I was on my feet all day. I did buy some great used English books for the kids. English books are so expensive over here because there is usually at least a 25% mark-up on the cost for shipping it to France from England or the US. People were grabbing up the books.
My husband watched the kids while I was at the Church all day. So many people asked me who was watching the kids. When I responded that my husband was watching them, people asked if he was going to be in a harried state when I returned. But I knew he would not. The place may be in a bit worse shape, but my husband enjoys hanging out with the children. He was even a stay at home father for a few months (until he got this great job offer which required us to move to Paris -- then I became the stay at home caretaker). He agrees this parenting thing is a two person job and I know I'm lucky to have him.
Since I didn't get to see the kids much today (and my son left for a playdate shortly before I got home) I am going to put one of my favorite Paris pictures of kids on the blog. It was taken at the Parc Floral on the east side of Paris. It's part of the large Bois de Vincennes which also has a racetrack and zoo.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
8:16 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Friday, November 12, 2004

Paris Street Signs

We had another tour of the Louvre today, focusing on the history of France. We started with a gallery which holds twenty-one pictures which Rubens painted for Marie de Medici. It's a breathtaking room. We took a look at pictures of all the Kings of France to follow. We ended up with the last of the Kings -- the Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. In this last segment, I noticed a number of pictures by Jacques Louis David.

A charming thing about Paris is that nearly all the streets are named after important people. If it was somebody famous in French history (and some from other countries), you can be sure there is a street named after the person (exception to the rule: Napoleon, although there is one street named Bonaparte). In the 16th, where I live, there are streets named after George Sand, Paul Doumer, and Victor Hugo. The street signs are little history lessons, because they usually have a brief explanation of what the person did in life. I live close to Louis David street and was hit by that fact today at the Louvre. So I took pictures of the sign and one picture I saw today by Louis David. Cool.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
11:57 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Armistice Day

Yet another holiday in France. When I first arrived in France I loved all these bank holidays and school holidays -- basically the kids have 2 weeks off every 6 weeks -- but now it almost seems too much. It's hard to get into a regular schedule. Seems trivial, I know. But a bit of a schedule when you have kids can be helpful. Since this holiday is on a Thursday, many people at the school are taking off for a long weekend. I was asked by a few French mothers if I was going somewhere. I just got back from Nice and Italy! I don't know how these people afford all these vacations. Additionally, my son sent home a paper I was to sign saying "I understand there is school on Friday." I wonder if that really discourages people from going away? Maybe it works, but at least one French mother told me she just didn't sign the paper.
My babysitter asked to move date night to Wednesday this week since today is a holiday. My husband is out of town, so I had to find a date. I went out with a French friend. I met her after work and we walked to a restaurant, Sur Un Arbre Perche. The food was very good and the ambiance very relaxing. They having swinging chairs and lots of pillows. Additionally, if the pressure of the day or the stress of deciding what to order gets to you, a person can order a shiatsu massage.
We shared an appetizer and I uttered words I would never have dreamed of just a few years ago, "we'll share the foie gras." For those of you who don't know, foie gras is the fatty liver of a goose. Many of the French delicacies (foie gras, pate, pig's foot) I may have tried once in the US and never really liked, but they do taste better (fresher?) over here. Last night, the foie gras was very good, but very rich. Even my friend, who was telling me how her family makes their own foie gras "on the farm" thought it was excellent.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
12:16 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Little Victory

Had another little victory today. When I went to my local boulangerie and asked for a baguette the woman took one from the basket below the display cabinet -- the fresh stock. I didn't see that there was a basket of fresh baguettes. If I do see it, then I ask for a warm baguette. You have to look because they sell the old stock (4 hours old) before they put the fresh stock on display. Without asking, she automatically gave me a warm baguette (there were at least half a dozen cold baguettes). I had a big smile on my face when I popped a piece of the warm baguette into my mouth.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
5:21 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

The Cable Guy

Ok, so I rush home from my son's golf lesson to get back in time for the computer cable guy. He's supposed to show up between 3pm and 6pm to fix the computer. I get back at 3:05pm and the phone is ringing -- the cable guy is here. I send him up and that's when I notice it.... the computer cable light that has been blinking on and off for three days, indicating it wasn't working, is now a bright, shining beacon.
I get this sinking feeling. I start wishing for the computer not to work when the cable guy turns it on... but of course, it works perfectly. I tell him I swear it hasn't been working. He just smiles. He calls up his manager to tell her. She asks to speak to me to verify the situation. I hear him tell her "well she speaks English, so speak simply." Does it get any worse? I confirm that indeed, the computer is miraculously working again. Before he leaves I ask the cable guy if it's normal for the computer not to work for a couple of days. He says maybe it's a network problem in the area. I ask, hopefully, if he's received other calls. "No."
Maybe the computer is smarter than I think... it breaks when my husband leaves town and fixes itself right before the professional comes to fix it.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
3:19 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

American Food?

Well, I am back at my husband,s office this morning. Unfortunately, the only free computer is the one with the French keyboard. The going is slow. You move a few keyboard keys around and all of the sudden you are typing like a 7 year old.
I was invited to a lunch yesterday for a German friend moving back to Berlin. Her husband is in the diplomatic service so her apartment is subsidized. It was a gorgeous apartment on the 6th floor. I live on one of the first floors of my building, so seeing all this light in the apartment almost made me jealous. Of course, it had an amazing view too. The woman had about 20 friends over, it was quite the tri-lingual lunch. She served traditional German food... sauerkraut, sausage, smoked ham and pretzels. She also had this delicious red fruit dessert. (When I was raving about the dessert too much, a German friend told me it was very easy and gave me the recipe - I thought that was too funny). But this lunch made me think about American food. If I had a bunch of international people over, what would I serve to give them a flavor of American food? I mentioned this to my German host and she said she knew.... she'd been invited over to an American friend's house this past summer and they served..... Thanksgiving dinner.... turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes. Is this the best of America? Does anyone have thoughts about what to serve, aside from chili with corn muffins and brownies for dessert??
On another note, my US sister sent me an obituary from the NY Times yesterday about Benjamin Mehlman, a former judge in Ocean Beach, Fire Island, since I wrote about the island a few days ago. If you have a chance, read the article, because it gives you a flavor of life on Fire Island, including how people "appeared before Judge Mehlman for such offenses as eating in public, illegally beaching a raft and failing to post numbers on one's house." Boy do I miss that place!

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:26 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Things I Love About Paris

I just had my French class at my husband's office. He works for an International organization. I love attending class because it is so interesting and often I am the only American in the group. Today we had 14 people in the class from: Spain, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, the Philippines and the US. I love living in a European city where I get to meet people from so many places, with different perspectives on life and varying opinions of the US. For example, today we talked about recycling and what each person's country does to recycle. In some European countries they charge for each plastic bag you use for your groceries. They said it really lowered plastic bag consumption. I didn't tell them that in the US, not only do they give you the plastic bags, the cashier actually bags your groceries. Such a luxury!

-- said Auntie M in Paris
1:01 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

The Missing Coat

My sister got out of the hospital on Sunday. All tests came back negative. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong. She's feeling a bit better, but whatever she has hasn't left her system yet.
Sunday afternoon, my son went to a friend's house so we had our daughter to ourselves. We decided to take her to see the Christmas windows at the big stores on Boulevard Haussman --Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. I took a few pictures of the displays, but since my computer isn't working, I can't show you. Basically, they are whimsical displays to bring out the kid in you. Older women were together pointing out cute scenes -- a cat puppet dancing with a doll puppet. I took a picture of my daughter, who was enthralled with the window displays, in her short sleeve shirt among all the French kids dressed in full winter gear, including the wool hat with the pulls that cover the ears. I always assume it's a cultural thing... American kids just don't get cold. I'm forever being asked by total strangers if my kids are cold. I feel like telling them that I've tried to get them to put coats on, and more, that if they were in fact cold, they would immediately communicate that to me.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:44 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

The Computer Breakdown

Every time my husband leaves town some major appliance breaks. Last time he was in the Republic of Georgia for 10 days when the TV cable broke down. It took about 5 days after he returned to get the TV cable guy in to give us a new box. Well, the appliances, in eager anticipation, decided they couldn't wait for him to leave this time. The computer broke down the day before he left -- on Sunday afternoon. My husband left for 15 minutes to go pick up our son at a playdate and while I was using it, poof, it just died. So my husband called up the computer cable people (surprise... the same company.. Noos) before he left yesterday and I have an appointment tomorrow evening. I hope it gets resolved. I have a hard enough time communicating in French normally. French computer words will baffle me, I'm sure. Does anyone know the word for modem in French??
I'm at my husband's office today because I take French classes here. So I'm using the computer. I hope I look official because there is a conference going on and people are waiting to use the computer.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:27 AM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Update and Tour

Well my sister called from the hospital and said she had an MRI and all is well. Now we'll wait for the blood tests. Maybe it is just a virus of some sort.

I took a tour of the Louvre yesterday. Since I'm with a tour group whose members have been in Paris for a while, we didn't look at the normal stuff. Most of the tour took place in the basement -- the original castle of the Louvre. The Louvre started life as a medieval castle, then a palace, and in the 16th century it was torn down to make a larger palace. The foundations of the original castle were dug out in the 1980s. There certainly were very few tourists in the original castle, but it was all very interesting.
Near the end of the tour we took a look at pictures of the Kings of France through the ages, starting with the oldest picture of a king in the Louvre... the picture of Jean Le Bon/John the Good, from around 1350. At one point, while looking at Kings, I looked out the window and took this picture.... My husband works in one of the cluster of tall buildings in the background -- La Defense.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
8:21 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

My Sick Sister

So I'm going along with my day. It's Saturday, so that means blueberry pancakes for breakfast. After that we all went to watch my son play soccer with a group of American kids. It was another wonderful chilly Fall day.
We get home and I get a call from my France sister. She hasn't been feeling well this week -- throwing up daily among other ailments. Well, she calls to tell me the doctor made a house call this morning and that she is being sent to the hospital for tests. She tells me the ambulance will be picking her up shortly. My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She went through the whole treatment.... detection, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. It wasn't easy, but at least she was on the road to recovery. Now, of course, she probably just has a serious flu bug, but it's difficult not to worry that it's more serious. So she knew we'd all be very worried and asked me to call my US sister and father to let them know what was going on.
The French health care system is very different from the US. As I said, the doctor came to her house to examine her. That basically never happens in the US. The doctor recommended that an ambulance take her to the hospital because my sister was feeling nauseous when she sat up. It's rare to hear someone take an ambulance in the US unless the person was incapacitated. Then, once there, who knows how long she'll be there. In the US, everything that can be treated on an out-patient basis is treated that way.
As it turns out, the nurse told her if the doctor doesn't think it's an emergency, then they might keep her at the hospital for two nights and give her the tests on Monday. I can't imagine a situation in the US when they'd keep you for two nights because the specialist wasn't working on Saturday. I barely stayed two nights after my US cesarean deliveries.
All these things are pretty much normal over here, but inconceivable in the US. So when I was telling my father all this.... that the doctor came to her house (wow) that she'd need to take an ambulance (oh my gosh!) and that she'd likely be there for more than just the day (that sounds really serious) I realized it sounded really bad. I tried to tell him this was normal health care over here, but he probably thought I was just trying to minimize the problem.
I'm sure she just has a serious flu. Hopefully we'll find out soon.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
4:06 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Friday, November 05, 2004

It's For The Garbage

There are many wonderful aspects to life in Paris, but there are a few that aren't so nice. One thing that I will never get used to is this big brother attitude that someone will clean up your mess. This includes the obvious example of people not cleaning up after the dogs messes, but it also includes the less obvious problem of people throwing their refuse on the street.
I spent my summers on Fire Island New York. It's a 32-mile long barrier beach off of Long Island. When I was growing up, it was against the law to eat on the streets -- except an ice cream cone (ice cream in a cup was not allowed on the street). As a result, you could walk the streets of the Island barefoot and never worry about stepping on broken glass or any other type of garbage (except the occasionally cigarette butt-- which really hurt if the person didn't stomp out the light!). I would never have dreamed of throwing non-bio degradable items on the ground.
On a bigger scale, I grew up in the United States, a county that always had strict rules about where to throw garbage, at least since I've been around. There were fines if you threw an empty can out of the car or dropped a candy wrapper on the ground. I was always conscious of picking up after myself and not leaving a mess. So it's been quite a shock to see the Parisians throw garbage on the ground. The garbage trucks and the street cleaners come by every day so there is this sense that if you just throw it on the ground it will get picked up! I can't tell you the number of times I've seen someone ahead of me eat something and just throw the wrapper on the floor or take paper advertisements (it's a terribly popular way to advertise in Paris) off their car and throw it on the street.

But what is especially alarming to me is that my 4 year old daughter throws her garbage on the floor. For example, when she eats cookies, she'll drop the wrapper on the ground when she's done. She's not proud, and she knows I'll reprimand her if I see her do it, so she'll just casually drop it. It drives me crazy. But I assume she notices that her friends or others do the same thing and nothing happens. I'll keep trying to teach her not to do this, but it's been as difficult as trying to get my son to close his mouth when he chews his dinner -- truly Sisyphean tasks.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
6:11 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Thursday, November 04, 2004

The TGV -- Long Stop

On the last stop in Italy before we entered France the police entered the train. We were asked to show our passports or ID papers. No problem. The officers quickly moved on. A few minutes later two officers passed by with three men, escorting them and their luggage off the train. They fit the profile one expects the police profile -- right or wrong. Eventually, two women were taken off the train as well. About 7 police surrounded them, frisked them, checked papers with their infrared lights, and then called in the information over their radios. The train was stopped for 20 minutes by now. No one complained. It was all quite a sobering experience. As the train pulled out of the station with 5 less passengers, my husband remarked that "it sucks to be an immigrant."

-- said Auntie M in Paris
2:04 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

The TGV -- The Kids

From Turin we took a TGV (train à grande vitesse), France's high speed train back to Paris. The TGV motto is "take the time to go fast." Unfortunately, it still took more than 5 hours from Turin. We ended up sitting next to a friend of a friend who had a 5 year old son -- a good companion for my two kids, but it made the trip quite loud at times. My children introduced the boy to the wonders of Scooby Doo silly putty. It was a huge hit and the kids played with the silly putty for most of the train ride. It's difficult to explain silly putty to the French. Actually, I'm not sure how I'd explain it to someone in English either. The French mother tried calling it: glue, gum and finally settled on play-doh. I haven't played with the stuff in a long time and had bought it on my US sister's recommendation. Definitely something I'll have to buy for future trips.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
1:41 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

About the Trip

So we were away for 5 days. I believe that it rained every day. There is one question I am regularly asked, and was asked again yesterday, "do your children travel well?" I usually respond that it is never easy to travel with children, but you just have to have a good attitude. I mean, our kids won't stop us from traveling and we'd rather travel with them than without them.
But let me tell you.... to take a "vacation" with your kids where it rains every day really tests your "attitude." On the last day, yesterday in Turin, it poured all day long. For some unknown reason .. no comprehension of the distance, belief that the rain might stop, a miscommunication between husband and wife.... we walked for 45 minutes in the rain to see the Shroud of Turin. We arrived late in the day and in the rain and we were the only visitors there. As a result, they treated us like famous people. They told us to wait a minute so they could set up the English version of the Shroud movie in the auditorium. We got there, took off our wet coats and relaxed while the kids laid down (it was a lot of walking). After the movie they gave us a tour of the facilities. The volunteers were so nice. They didn't seem to notice when the kids were irreverently chasing each other on the alter that displays the replica Shroud in the Chapel or when the kids played hide and seek in the historical display room, although the volunteer did "tsk,tsk" my son when he got too close to the ornate casket the Shroud was carried in. But she felt bad and offered the kids candy (I love Italy!).
Other points about the trip: Turin is the proud host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. We had a nice time checking out all the official Olympic merchandise. The kids liked playing with the Neve and Gliz mini balls around the store and I'm sure the salesclerks will remember them for a long time.
Genoa was a lovely harbor city.... lots of luxury yachts, restaurants on the water, and some cute stores. There was also a new playground area for the kids. Once again, probably a lot more fun without the rain.
Nice was a pleasant place to visit. The kids certainly liked the stone beach, but spending two days there was enough for us, rain or not.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:23 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

The Election

I don't think I've ever felt so far from home as I did last night. I really wanted to be in DC where the action was happening -- talking to friends and changing stations to see who has the best coverage of the election. We were in a hotel room with one TV in the main room so we went to bed before any of the polls closed. We couldn't keep the TV on unless we wanted the kids to stay awake. But I kept waking up wondering through the night....Is the race close? Is there a winner? If so, who is it?
I don't fight hard for either political party, I'd much rather vote for a person. Having said that, there must be a different perspective if you live in the US, because from over here, the continuation of Bush as President doesn't make a lot of sense. But I'm glad we all have the right to vote and I'll accept what the public opinion majority decided.... that Bush was the best person. I just hope the majority is correct.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
6:16 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

We're Back

My husband was very concerned when he saw my draft blog post on Friday detailing the trip and the time we'd be gone. "Don't tell people we are leaving town!" Normally, I agree with him, but really, if you wanted to steal stuff out of our apartment while we were gone, it would have been 1. difficult to find out where I live; 2. less productive than some of the other apartments in my neighborhood with much better stuff than ours; and 3. really difficult to steal anything bulky or heavy without attracting a lot of attention. The doors in most of the Parisian apartments I've visited are at least 9 feet tall. They have double bolts that essentially do prevent anyone from entering that way. (I did hear about some crazy thieves that tried with axes, but didn't actually get into the apartment before they gave up) Usually, if a thief gets into an apartment they do so through the 6 foot windows, but that means they leave that way too -- the only thing to steal is jewelry -- and I really don't have much. I'd much rather spend my money on travel than jewelry.
I tell you this because we were gone for 5 days. After the long weekend in Nice, we took a train to Genoa, Italy for a night and then Turin. We just returned a couple of hours ago. The apartment is safe again now that we are back in town.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
5:51 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Monday, November 01, 2004

The Nice Trip

We decided to spend the long weekend in Nice, taking advantage of the Toussaint holiday today. We took the overnight train from Paris on Friday night leaving at 9:30pm. We arrived in Nice at 8:30am. The kids love overnight trips -- planes (Brazil), Ferries (England) and Trains (Italy), so they had been asking to another trip. They slept, as the saying goes, like babies. For the adults, we had a much more difficult time. Despite the fact that the train company, Corail, gave us a "good night kit" -- ear plugs, a bottle of water, tissues and wet wipes, we didn't sleep well. For me, I had a problem with the light weight but warm button-up sleeping bags. Every time I turned it seemed like a button popped open and I'd wake up. For the return trip we are definitely taking the TGV-- the fast train back to Paris.
While in Nice, we went to the Matisse and Chagall museums and the kids behaved themselves. At the Nice rock beach the kids spent a good hour throwing rocks in the water. For a while, a couple of other tourists joined them and many pictures were taken (by the tourists). It was really quite funny. I finished the Lady and the Unicorn book. Now I'll have to take another trip to the Cluny Museum in Paris to check out the famous tapestries. I'm looking forward to it. Anyone want to join me?

-- said Auntie M in Paris
5:14 PM

BACK TO MAIN PAGE