I’m in London for work today, and it’s a bit of a wasted trip. I needed to meet with one person to go over things, and could have met for about 3 hours on 2-4 different topics total. This person got busy and we only met for 30 minutes. Cripes. Why did I get up at 4:30 this morning to get to the train station, to get here, to not be totally productive? And it’s a beautiful day outside, too!
But now I have a chance to reflect on the two other times I’ve been back to London since moving to Paris…some observations :
1) Big Ben looks smaller than I remember it. When I lived here, I was surprised how much I liked seeing it all the time (I dislike pictures of it, postcards, etc. – I think in most it doesn’t look right, color is off, or it looks Disney-ish). Now, I’m a bit saddened by the fact that my memory makes it more than it is.
2) Oddly, I find the London Eye (gigantic Ferris wheel) and St. Paul’s Cathedral to look much larger than I remember them. Especially St. Paul’s – I don’t remember it’s dome being such a prominent site from around the city.
3) Compared to Paris, London is WAY MORE energetic / vibrant (or if you want some megativity, it’s crowded and loud). Paris is definitely more subdued. London culture is more hang out at the pubs, spill out onto the sidewalk (and late night, watch the people spill onto the sidewalks literally). It’s louder – conversations, music, etc. when you’re out and about. Sure, some parts of Paris are like this, but only some parts.
4) BY FAR London is less smelly. Still a dirty city (aren’t all big cities?) in terms of air/grime, not trash (as I’ve written before, despite the lack of rubbish bins, the sidewalks are surprisingly litter free). But no smell of random bodily excrements. Sure, some BO and bad breath, but nothing compared to Paris.
5) The city is “whiter” in terms of race, but more international, if that makes sense? And, a younger city it seems. Either that or the elderly in Paris still live in the city and get out a lot more than the elderly in London.
6) The London office – it’s like I’m still in France. 13 of the 33 people here are fluent in French and speak it often. Many times in side conversations, always in the kitchen – it’s like there’s two countries working here and interaction has diminished between the two since the French speaking population grew in numbers.
That’s all for now, time to head home soon.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Norway
I finally looked at my pictures from Norway this weekend (2 months after the fact) and got some of them organised and uploaded. Click the Flickr mosaic to the right to view those from Oslo and the Munch Museum.
Still to come...Viegesland Scultpure Park and Tromso. Oh, and description / recap too.
Still to come...Viegesland Scultpure Park and Tromso. Oh, and description / recap too.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Ramblings
Some random thoughts....will post more as they come to me...
--Had 1st Church Finance Committee meeting last night. I really do NOT appreciate having one of the members (who, mind you, has NO finance background/experience) making comments to me as if she's dismissing me, that I have no experience, no good ideas, etc. Give me a break. Finance is my job. I've been on church finance before (both churches have similar budgets, line items, etc.). I understand church politics. I should've joined another committee because this woman was seriously annoying. It's obvious she thinks the American Church in Paris is the ONLY church, does everything the BEST way, thinks people who haven't been members for 10+ years have NO contribution factor. Seriously?
--And speaking of church....why at Good Friday service did the couple in front of me instead treat it as if they were at Friday Night Lights? Lady, don't run your fingers through his hair, over his shoulder and back. Don't whisper to each other. And for God's sake, don't open a Coke during the preludes.
--Again with church...why on Easter is it necessary for a woman who arrived late to waltz up to the front row, squeeze herself in, then pull out some sort of recorder and blatantly hold it up and record all the music pieces. She was almost next to me (when I was up playing bells). It was all I could do to not throw one at her.
--And speaking of arriving late, if church starts at 11 a.m., why in the world are people still arriving at 11:40??? At that point, you're late, you've missed it, just go straight to brunch.
--You can tell it's tourist season because I honestly hope French fashion does NOT include the following : man wearing olive green courdorys (fine) ; wife wearing olive green cordouroy stretch pants. Seriously?
--Why must Harry Potter billboards be up already? Do I really have to look at these for the next three months? I suppose though they're better than the Zac Efron '17 Again' ads.
--Had 1st Church Finance Committee meeting last night. I really do NOT appreciate having one of the members (who, mind you, has NO finance background/experience) making comments to me as if she's dismissing me, that I have no experience, no good ideas, etc. Give me a break. Finance is my job. I've been on church finance before (both churches have similar budgets, line items, etc.). I understand church politics. I should've joined another committee because this woman was seriously annoying. It's obvious she thinks the American Church in Paris is the ONLY church, does everything the BEST way, thinks people who haven't been members for 10+ years have NO contribution factor. Seriously?
--And speaking of church....why at Good Friday service did the couple in front of me instead treat it as if they were at Friday Night Lights? Lady, don't run your fingers through his hair, over his shoulder and back. Don't whisper to each other. And for God's sake, don't open a Coke during the preludes.
--Again with church...why on Easter is it necessary for a woman who arrived late to waltz up to the front row, squeeze herself in, then pull out some sort of recorder and blatantly hold it up and record all the music pieces. She was almost next to me (when I was up playing bells). It was all I could do to not throw one at her.
--And speaking of arriving late, if church starts at 11 a.m., why in the world are people still arriving at 11:40??? At that point, you're late, you've missed it, just go straight to brunch.
--You can tell it's tourist season because I honestly hope French fashion does NOT include the following : man wearing olive green courdorys (fine) ; wife wearing olive green cordouroy stretch pants. Seriously?
--Why must Harry Potter billboards be up already? Do I really have to look at these for the next three months? I suppose though they're better than the Zac Efron '17 Again' ads.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A New Holiday
Ok, I’ve come to realise that Easter Monday is about the best day ever!!!
Some background…France calls itself a Catholic country (I believe) and Easter Monday, Ascension Day (Holy Spirit goes up to Heaven) and Whit Monday (day after Pentecost ; Holy Spirit comes back and breathes on the people / talks to the people and all understand in their own language) are all public holidays. But, no one seems to go to church. All shops are open. In fact, people see it as a three day weekend – parties, trips to the beach, even bachelor parties are common on Easter Weekend because it can be a three day event. Oddly enough, though, Good Friday is NOT a holiday here. Even stranger, in the U.S. it is not a holiday, but the Markets (i.e. NYSE / trading) are closed.
For me, since I take Holy Week and Easter seriously, it’s not so much a weekend to party and celebrate. Instead, I go to church Thursday and Friday evenings. Saturday I was at church 2 hours in the morning for choir rehearsal (bells). Sunday I was there at 7:20 for rehearsal and then both the 9 and 11 services. So it makes for a somewhat tiring weekend. Lo and behold though I am now living in a country where Easter Monday is a holiday!
Anyway, I slept in – not setting an alarm (I cannot remember the last time I did that. Seriously.) I woke up about 7:30 and then drifted in/out of sleep until 10. It is now 15:30 and it’s been a great day! Cleaning, organising, throwing things away – just an overall sense of productivity. Now, I am sitting down to do some work (ugh), but I have a wonderful glass of 2006 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay with me.
Aside : my friend Robin first introduced me to this wine several years ago (2003 maybe?). At that time it was delicious and still affordable at restaurants, say $30/bottle when everything else on the menu was $23 to $32. Now, it is much more expensive and still one of my favourites. I was so excited when our Christmas gift in the London office included this wine. (Further aside : it is custom in England to give alcohol as Christmas gifts ; no wonder the country has a drinking problem and is known for it Europe wide. Our box had 2 whites, 2 reds and 2 champagnes. I traded my reds for whites.)
In my cleaning / organising / sorting, I realise I’ve been moving some of the same papers for years now. Really, why was it necessary for me to keep the 2004 Boston Film Festival schedule? I didn’t even go to it! Some things like cartoons, quotations, photos, I like to keep and I like looking through them from time to time. I did come across many things I had kept in hopes to do in Boston – like the Harbour Islands tours ; Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum ; visit the restaurants in Brookline’s Washington Square more often (some great finds there!). Maybe those of you living there can do these things for me?
Some background…France calls itself a Catholic country (I believe) and Easter Monday, Ascension Day (Holy Spirit goes up to Heaven) and Whit Monday (day after Pentecost ; Holy Spirit comes back and breathes on the people / talks to the people and all understand in their own language) are all public holidays. But, no one seems to go to church. All shops are open. In fact, people see it as a three day weekend – parties, trips to the beach, even bachelor parties are common on Easter Weekend because it can be a three day event. Oddly enough, though, Good Friday is NOT a holiday here. Even stranger, in the U.S. it is not a holiday, but the Markets (i.e. NYSE / trading) are closed.
For me, since I take Holy Week and Easter seriously, it’s not so much a weekend to party and celebrate. Instead, I go to church Thursday and Friday evenings. Saturday I was at church 2 hours in the morning for choir rehearsal (bells). Sunday I was there at 7:20 for rehearsal and then both the 9 and 11 services. So it makes for a somewhat tiring weekend. Lo and behold though I am now living in a country where Easter Monday is a holiday!
Anyway, I slept in – not setting an alarm (I cannot remember the last time I did that. Seriously.) I woke up about 7:30 and then drifted in/out of sleep until 10. It is now 15:30 and it’s been a great day! Cleaning, organising, throwing things away – just an overall sense of productivity. Now, I am sitting down to do some work (ugh), but I have a wonderful glass of 2006 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay with me.
Aside : my friend Robin first introduced me to this wine several years ago (2003 maybe?). At that time it was delicious and still affordable at restaurants, say $30/bottle when everything else on the menu was $23 to $32. Now, it is much more expensive and still one of my favourites. I was so excited when our Christmas gift in the London office included this wine. (Further aside : it is custom in England to give alcohol as Christmas gifts ; no wonder the country has a drinking problem and is known for it Europe wide. Our box had 2 whites, 2 reds and 2 champagnes. I traded my reds for whites.)
In my cleaning / organising / sorting, I realise I’ve been moving some of the same papers for years now. Really, why was it necessary for me to keep the 2004 Boston Film Festival schedule? I didn’t even go to it! Some things like cartoons, quotations, photos, I like to keep and I like looking through them from time to time. I did come across many things I had kept in hopes to do in Boston – like the Harbour Islands tours ; Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum ; visit the restaurants in Brookline’s Washington Square more often (some great finds there!). Maybe those of you living there can do these things for me?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
