If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me

Lapse and Recap

Ok, it has been 12 days since my last post, and it'll be at least another 18 before my next. So, what are the causes of these lapses?

--I went to London for the Jimmy Buffett concert on July 5th - holy amazing!!!!!!! British Parrotheads are alive and well! GREAT outfits, everyone singing along, small venue. Awesome time - I think I was smiling for about 4 hours straight - much needed rejuvenation.

--I was in Trinidad for work for a week, July 6th-10th. The return from which involved flying to London, having a 'layover' at St Pancras station, and then taking the Eurostar back to Paris. Planes, trains and automobiles! The time at St Pancras was lovely though - book store shopping, relaxing at the Starbucks in the station which is conveniently located next to doors that were open to let in the fresh air, and relaxing in the Eurostar Business Class lounge. Work went well, but I had little to no time to be on internet. Will post the few pictures at some point...

--July 11th was a happy day as I spent the ENTIRE day in my apartment - an awesome pajama-wearing, book-reading, champagne-drinking, music-listening, weather-watching day at home. Next time that is likely to happen will be on/after Aug 29.

--The 13 hours of sleep I got Friday evening, July 10th, came back to haunt me when Saturday night I was awake past 2 a.m. unable to sleep. So 8 a.m. came very early - I got up to go to church because I had volunteered to help count the money from the collection plates after the service. And no joke, the sermon was 25 frickin' minutes long. Not necessary. I guess I don't have to go back until September! And, it wasn't even a good sermon. (Side note : on counting the money, the woman 'in charge' of the volunteers is also on Finance committee with me (her sole qualification for being on the committee is that she is in charge of the money counting). She is the bain of my church life existence. She was complaining about the amount of money collected saying it wasn't enough/expected ; flitting about the room not doing anything ; treating me like I was an imbecile who was unable to count bills ; chastised me for using 2 paperclips on a stack of bills instead of 1...)

--After church Sunday, I went to Marissa's for brunch with other expats from work. Quite a nice time. Got home, and no sooner had I put on my PJs and started to read than I get an email from Kevin (coworker) who said he was in the neighborhood with his sister (in from out of town) and asking to meet for drinks. I swear I could be in the sequel to the movie Yes Man (I've not seen it, but the premise is Jim Carrey's character answers Yes to everything for a year). Of course I should've stayed home, gone to bed early, etc. But, of course, I said Yes and went out and wasn't home until 11.

--Monday was exhausting at work and extremely quiet since Tuesday was a holiday for Bastille Day.

--Bastille Day I left home at 8 a.m. to walk to the Champs Elysee to find a spot for the 10:30 parade start. I should've stayed in bed - it was horrible!!!! All it was was military tanks and artillery and such cruising down the street. It must've been down by Concorde where the troops were marching (I only saw the invited Indian troops on the tour bus taking them to what I presume was Concorde in the morning - they looked like they were having fun). So I stood there and watched this stupid display of military 'might'. Parades in the UK and US are MUCH better. There at least you have people waving flags, noise makers, face painting, etc. People have national pride. The parades are full of volunteer groups, workers' guilds, bands and dance teams, car enthusiasts, they old guy playing the spoons, etc. Those parades at least showcase the people, the nation, the spirit. Not some random Jeeps and tanks that are so heavy they break many of the cobblestones on the street.

--I came home, did some work, and then Marissa & Julia came over and we had dinner/drinks and waited for the fireworks to start at 10:30. Although I am literally 1 block from the Champ de Mars / Eiffel Tower, I cannot see it. So we walked out and got a great spot. AMAZING fireworks. Great use of light, optical illusion, music, and the Eiffel Tower. You Tube it, seriously. Well worth it. 30 minutes of being in awe.

--Julia and I were supposed to leave on an early train this morning to see Bruce Springsteen at Vieillles Charrues festival in Carhaix, but we cancelled - it involved camping out (which I do NOT do) and forecasts are for heavy rain/thunderstorms/wind. And, we would've gotten back late Friday night and a variety of other factors. Instead, we are going to see the Alvin Ailey dance theatre at Chatelet Friday night.

--Now it is Thursday evening. This has been the slowest work week. I am still jet lagged from Trinidad and NYC/Houston (I was in Boston/NYC/Boston/Houston for 12 days, Paris for 4, London for 1, Trinidad for 5, Paris now for 6). My body is not happy with all the change.

I am sure I could've written much more on all these topics, and I do have pictures to post (and still to post more from Norway in Feb ; Reims in May ; Ireland in May/June...) I think I just need to resign myself to my new state of being - hopelessly forgetting things, being way behind on stuff, and never being able to catch up!

Roland Garros

Ok, nothing like being 4-6 weeks late on this posting...

I had the opportunity to go to Roland Garros (aka French Open) twice this year. The first was for Benny-Berthet day (charity day) and the second was for the quarter finals.

Benny-Berthet day (which I believe will be renamed next year?) is a great way to see all the players and spend an entire day there. Plus, the benefit is that "Proceeds from the day's events will go to charities supporting scientific and medical research, helping sick people and their families and helping children in need." Tickets are cheap and generally easier to get. My friend Andrea and her mom were in town, so we went, along with my friend/colleague Marissa. Thank goodness Andrea and Marissa were there because they are tennis fanatics! They knew all the players. And, Andrea is really good at taking photos, so I just sat next to her and clicked away (see her full tennis portfolio at Zenfolio and you can then see her other work as well; her Paris and Roland Garros photos are works of art, too). We saw all the big names : Nadal, Safin, Federer, Monfils, and many others I cannot remember.

I also had the opportunity to go to the quarter finals match between Roger Federer and Gael Monfils. This was a work sponsored outing that started off with a four hour morning session on hedging, options, derivatives, etc. Our reward for that was the match. First, of course, were drinks and lunch. At our table of 10 I was the only woman, and one of only two non-French speakers. All the men loved their Ricard pastis drinks (which I find disgusting due to the anise flavor, but French men LOVE it).

The match was good, although it was very hot and I was in long sleeves and long skirt and hat - mostly to cover up from the crazy sunburn I got 4 days prior in Ireland. The seats are so narrow (think Fenway Park) that you're basically thigh-to-thigh with the person next to you. I was disappointed that the crowd wasn't more into cheering for the French favorite, Gael Monfils. And that he wasn't showier / flamboyant (for lack of my brain thinking of a better word) like he usually is.

Some things I noted : Federer jumps a lot, as in when taking every shot ; when Monfils serves, he keeps his skinny legs and feet together, it just looks unnatural ; I like watching matches on clay and watching the players slide, it definitely has its advantages, but I can see how it would be difficult ; there were some crazy outfits in the stands, and hot pink seems to be popular, and why do groups find it necessary to wear matching hats? ; when people take out their mobile phones to check messages and text, the glare reflecting off is brutal.

Overall, a nice day at the quarter finals and I will definitely sign up for the charity day again next year!

Random thoughts

Just some recent thoughts throughout my sleep deprived day Thursday :

--Sleep deprived because I landed in Paris (from Houston) at 9:30. Wednesday and was able to sleep a bit on the plane. But, Wed night, I went to bed about 22:00 and was awake from at least 01:00 to 04:00 - I think it was the first time that jet lag has really ever hit me that badly.

--I think the new 103rd floor glass balcony at the Sears Tower (Chicago) is just insane!

--Happy to read that India decriminalized homosexual intercourse between consenting adults. When one lives in a more liberal place, one can often forget the discrimination elsewhere.

--July is looking to be a good month : Paris, London for Buffett concert, Trinidad, Bastille Day, Springsteen in France, and Canada (let's hope I didn't jinx myself!)

--It took me at least one full day to go through my work emails and sort them and file them and ... after being out of the office for the week (one of the perils of having two work email accounts, one of which is only accessible on the laptop that I do NOT take when I travel because it is : old software, all in French, French keyboard, and weighs a lot)

--It has been hot in Paris and I don't think my office space area has proper a/c vents. The hallways and other office areas are cool, but mine is not. And we have a window, which one of my colleagues will open (I usually open it every day when it is cool outside), but the air outside is hotter. Basically, it just turns into a hot, stuffy, stale air mess.

--Why does an Eddie Bauer order I placed, with express shipping, go via FedEx from Columbus (OH), to Indianapolis (where it sits overnight), to Erlanger (KY) and then to Cincinnati? Where are the logistics in that?

--I had to be in two photos for corporate in-house magazine stuff (young, female, American - I allow them to check off several boxes). But these were to be photos of several of us 'having a meeting'. Then photographer kept telling us to lean in toward one another and to smile, to 'be natural'. There is nothing natural about that!! I don't smile obsessively during business meetings ; we don't lean in toward one another ; we don't focus on someone and look into his eyes when he's talking - we're all leaning back ; some checking blackberry ; looking out the window. No wonder why I always look at photos in such publications and scoff at them.

I Don't 'Heart' NY

I admit, I don't really love New York the way most people do (and by 'most people', I mean the tourists and business people who come here for a few days a year and think the city is wonderful and has 'color' ; and, I mean the people who live here, or were born and raised here).

Anyway, I find the city too big, too loud, too busy. I really do not like Midtown - to me, it has no charm, no character. Midtown is all offices and shopping, I find restaurants and bars few and far between. Yes, I know you have to go uptown or down to the Village for such things, but I don't want to do that. I do not like the Metro here.

Some other random observations this week :
--New Yorkers commute in high heels (well, the women do), and most of them cannot walk gracefully in them. They are either teetering, lurching or stomping ; and, the heels themselves look like they're going to break off from such misguided walking.

--New Yorkers do not commute with iPods or other music devices - don't they need something to block out the noise?

--Why aren't museums open later in the evening (i.e. MoMA and the Met)? And why is admission for each $20?

--What happens to all the half-used bars of soap that are in hotel rooms when people check out? I cannot imagine these are rewrapped. Even if the cleaning crew took them home, they'd have pounds of them. So, where do they go? Ok, we all take the mini bottles of shampoo, but bars of soap?

--The Grand Hyatt on 42nd & Lex is tired. Compared to the Hyatt's in Madrid, London and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, this one should be ashamed to have the Hyatt name. Fine, I understand if the decor is a bit outdated - it takes a lot of money/time/logistics to renovate - I get that. But the meeting facility services are sub-par, in my opinion. No one comes to clean away the dirty breakfast glasses/plates, instead they pile up all day - we had to put one tray of them in the empty room next door - that tray was still there the next morning. What they charge for said 'breakfast' service is absurd.

--I absolutely LOVE Pandora radio and keep hoping that all the copyright and legal issues will be fixed so it becomes available in France. Whenever I'm in the US I log in, go through my stations, and just have fun. Sure, if you are in the US and listen to it a lot, certain songs and artists repeat too often, but if you are only in the US 2-3 weeks per year, it's all new to you!

One more evening in NYC before heading back to Boston for the weekend, then back home to Paris. Not sure what I'll do tonight in the city.

Love that Dirty Water

...Boston you're my home.

Ok, not really officially anymore, although my driver's license is still Mass. And true, I was not born and raised here and have no family here, but it still is 'home' to me.

Arrived yesterday from Paris and immediately felt comfortable, as if all was 'right', while in the cab from Logan to Back Bay. Met my friend Nancy and immediately went to Cornwall's, which is as wonderful as ever!! (Landed at 3:20, at Cornwall's by 4:30!) Fun night with friends, and despite jet lag and just being exhausted in general, I stayed awake until 10 p.m.!

Was great to wake up today, open the refrigerator and see such familiar things as Hood Half & Half ; Trader Joe's brands ; Trappist preserves ; and Thomas' English muffins. Mmmmm...great breakfast!

Today is running errands (shopping, bank, Starbucks chai latte fix) and Sox game tonight!!

Ireland Day 1 : Dublin

Well, I finally made it to Ireland! And honestly, it was a bit of a let down. Probably because I’d been wanting to go for so long, and looking forward to this trip for several months. And, probably because the time I was there was spent in two cities - Dublin and Galway - and not out in the green fields and country side. But, that’s not to say I didn’t have fun and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Marissa (friend/colleague) and I decided to go to Galway the weekend of May 29/30 to see the Galway in port racing as part of the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Ocean Race). We left Paris Friday afternoon and got to Dublin about 15:00. We took the bus into the city to Heuston station and thankfully our hotel was just across the river. We stayed at the Best Western Ashling Hotel which was very nice - remodeled, quiet, close to the train station, and easy to get on the tramway into the city centre. On the bus ride in, I couldn’t decide if I thought that all the construction sites in progress were signs of growth and progress or if they were abandoned and signs of the severe slow down in the Irish economy (Ireland is being hit very hard but the economic downturn).

We made it in just enough time to drop off our bags and walk down to the Jameson Distillery for the last tour of the day!!! (Even though it started about 20 min before it says it does on the website) Definitely a high point of the weekend for me. Unfortunately, whiskey is not made at this (original) location - it is all made in the south of Ireland, in Midleton. The tour guide we had wasn’t that good, i.m.o. The champagne cave tours were much better - more informative and more interesting since you were seeing actual bottles aging. But, the tour came with a tasting at the end, and thank goodness there were less women on the tour because 4 men and 4 women could volunteer for the ‘special’ tasting which meant : 1 dram Jameson, 1 of Johnnie Walker Black and 1 of Jack Daniel’s. I don’t like scotch and I don’t care much for JD, so obviously I liked the Jameson! Marissa and I both bought whiskey and souvenirs in the shop so then went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.

We went back into the city using the new tramway system and wandered around a little - we walked into the courtyard of Trinity College (reminded me of the inner courtyards at Yale) and along Temple Bar. This is definitely a capital city, a tourist city, and a university city. It was very crowded and to me, it just didn’t have much of a ‘feel’ to it. I feel like the Liffey River that runs through the city really cuts it in half and doesn’t make it feel like it has a united city centre. 

We had dinner at an Italian place then ventured along Temple Bar until we found a pub that wasn’t obscenely crowded - we got seats at the window and enjoyed our Jameson while people watching - which was definitely in top form due to the number of stag and hen party groups out and about!

We made it a semi early night because we had a 07:05 train the next morning to Galway.

Giverny, Monet and Vernon

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to Vernon and Giverny with friend/colleague Julia. It was a great day with great weather and an easy 45 minute train ride from Paris to Vernon. 

If only Julia and I were both feeling better than 50% the day would have been perfect. Of course, it was all due to the two of us going out after work Friday and not calling it a night until 1 a.m. However, the many glasses of wine were warranted since we went directly from work to Forum des Halles to Go Sport to buy a tent and sleeping bags. Okay, pick yourself up off the floor - yes, I wrote that I bought a tent and sleeping bag. This is for the Springsteen concert Julia and I are going to in July at the outdoor music festival Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix, Brest (France) (caution - music plays when you open that website!). Of course, I have only been camping once before and it rained so hard that we packed it up and went to a local motel! Fingers crossed for July!

Anyway, we left work at 17:30 and after walking through the underground maze that is the Chatelet Metro stop, fighting through the crowds of people at des Halles (and there are A LOT of people there), and buying a tent, we stopped at Cafe Pont Neuf on Quai de Louvre and enjoyed some white wine and a charcuterie plate. We then had enough motivation to walk over into the 6eme arrondisement, closer to Julia’s place, with the tent and sleeping bags, and stopped at a local cafe that Julia loves. Somehow it went from 20:00 to 01:00 before we knew it!

So, Saturday morning and a 10:20 train departure came earlier than I preferred. We met and left from Gare Saint Lazare and were in Vernon by 11:10. We wandered around the town trying to find a place for lunch - of course, nothing that we wanted (i.e. pizza) was open until Noon. But, we stumbled upon Our Lady Collegiate Church and went inside - very nice, typical town church, and the organist was rehearsing. Begun in 1072 in Norman Romanesque style, the final structure was finished in 1610 (I think). It was damaged during air raids in WWII, which shattered all the stained glass. But, what was very nice was that instead of replacing the windows with clear glass, they put in more modern, colored stained glass windows. The rest of the town is nice with some very old buildings that are severely slanted. And, the town is on the Seine which is quite nice and wide here - picturesque and refreshing.

We decided to follow the advice of the Giverny website and walk to Giverny from Vernon. It is a lovely walk - you are definitely out in nature and away from the city - all you can hear is the rustling of trees and the birds. 

Thanks to the advice of another colleague, we bought our entrance tickets online beforehand which meant we did not have to wait in the obscenely long line and just went in through a side door. And walking to this side door was cool because you walked under a bridge of ivy/flowers/greenery and you could hear the hum of bees above you.

The gardens are stunning, especially now in June with all the rose bushes in full bloom. Of course, I have no idea what the flowers are besides ‘purple ball’ and ‘tall blue thing’. One problem with the gardens is that the walkways are so narrow and you are allowed to walk in any path you want (i.e. not on a conveyor belt tour from point A to B) that it gets very congested.

You have to go on a pathway under the street (what used to be the railway line) and walk up to the water lilies (les nympheas) and that surrounding garden. The restoration team has certainly done a good job because you really feel like you’re looking out on the same landscape that Monet himself saw.

I say restoration because when Monet died in 1926, he left the house and gardens to his son, but he did not live there. The grounds eventually became neglected and upon his son’s death in the 1960s, they were bequeathed to the Academie des Beaux-Arts. Renovation began in the late 70s and took 10 years - as the website says, trees were growing in the big studio in the house and a stairwell had collapsed.

We opted to take the bus back from Giverny to the Vernon train station because we were so tired by this point and the thought of walking 6+ km again was not pleasant. We went to a cafe and rehydrated while we waited for the train back to Paris - definitely plan your trip accordingly because the trains are NOT frequent in either direction - i.e. 2 to 3 hours between each.

Oh, and don’t get too accustomed to me posting about something so soon after it happens! 

(more photos posted on Flickr via link on sidebar)

Newspapers

So this annoyed (annoys) me....

Last week in the office, one colleague from the London office was in town and had brought in the International Herald Tribune from the hotel. He then commenced to rave about this newspaper and how every.single.article was superb. I tried to say that yes, I agreed and have been reading it online the past year. That affirmation fell on deaf ears as he continued to say how much he loves to read it. Me being a bit annoyed, I said, well, it's nothing new, after all, it is the New York Times and that is a paper known for its journalism. He wouldn't hear any of it - the fact that I was trying to associate the IHT with the NYT was beyond him, that the IHT was leaps and bounds above it. I even said that if you go to the old IHT website (IHT.com), you are directed to the NYT's Global Edition.

Of course, this took me on a tangent of how I'm peeved with the NYT gobbling up newspapers (i.e. threat against Boston Globe) and how this will not bode well for local investigative journalism and will lead to the power in the hands of the few (where, I realise it has been for decades, but now they're not trying to hide it because the populace is too lazy to care). Of course, said colleague had no comment on this and instead just made some other comment about the IHT.

Anyway, just a little venting. Enjoy.

Mac setback

Well, I don't know if I'd call it a 'set back' so much with my MacBook, rather than just frustration and lack of time and energy to figure it all out. Sure, I have the simple things like iTunes and Safari (internet) figured out, but besides that (i.e. the other 99% of the machine), I'm clueless.

For example : 

--I want to upload photos to Flickr, but the whole organisation scheme in iPhoto is taking some getting used to.

--I have discovered the dashboard, but then when I go to Apple's website (which btw with the new software upgrades, the link no longer works) and search for more widgets, I am bombarded with a plethora of choices (something which, if you know me, you know paralyzes me). I'm sure 99% of those choices are not essential and probably would actually degrade my quality of life (in terms of providing useless information, being a time sink, etc.)

--I bought iWork, and I KNOW it is different from MS Office, but for someone who has spent the past 12 years using MS Office and becoming quite good at Excel, and with keyboard shortcuts and menu functions, this is more than different. When I open one of my Excel files in Numbers and work on it and then save it, why must it save it as a new Numbers file - thus giving me TWO files on my computer, taking up space? It's little things like that that bother me.

So, as I figure out this here new fangled machine, I will upload photos and post more. And yes, I know that there is this thing called the Internet and I can 'do the google' and find all sorts of information. However, that takes time, which I seem to keep losing. Until then, grumble grumble.

14

That's how many hours of sleep I got yesterday / last night, between a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and 12 hours at night, only waking up twice. I don't feel 100% due to this cold, but at least I'm not the walking zombie I was yesterday!

Two big news items : 

1) I got my Carte de Sejour yesterday, which is basically my residency permit card allowing me to live here for longer than they allow tourists. Now, due to a mix-up with UK Immigration at Gare du Nord in Paris, I have to go have a meeting or two with them so the UK can reinstate my work permit (long story and not that interesting).

2) I got 2 tickets to see Jimmy Buffett in London on Sunday, July 5th!!!!!!!!! Any takers?

This summer will be great : 

July : Buffett in London, Bruce in Brest (France), holiday in Canada

August : Belfast for Tall Ships

September : Boston / Maine for friends' wedding ; Buffett in Paris 

October : Patriots at Wembley (UK)

Now, I just need to find time to actually do and see things in Paris and in France.

3 things

1st) I am sitting here having a hot toddy out of my new Jameson coffee mug. This means two things (a) I am getting a cold ; and, (b) I made it to the Jameson distillery tour when I was in Dublin for a brief stopover on my way to Galway last weekend for the Volvo Ocean Race.

2nd) I just bought 4 tickets to the Jimmy Buffett show in Paris this September!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!! (of course, me being megative me, I won't be 100% confident until I receive the tickets in the mail)

3rd) This is my first weekend in 7 weeks I will be in Paris all weekend. I am so excited to just stay home, finally transfer all my music, photos and files to my Mac ; clean ; put all the mail and papers and stuff away that has been accumulating the past 7+ weeks ; and relax!

Travel

I'm off to Galway (Ireland) this weekend, with a brief stop in Dublin tonight. A much needed respite from the city, and I cannot wait to just spend time sitting by the ocean!

I promise, pictures and updates to come soon, including on : Rennes & Epernay (champagne region) ; Roland Garros (French Open) ; Cincinnati and Houston trips ; random work and Paris observations.

Happiness

I am still thinking about the amazing sermon given at the American Church in Paris Sunday. With references to French philosophers, modern literature and consumerism and how it relates to the Gospel, it was great. The subject was ‘Resilient Joy’ and I’m still thinking of the question posed : ‘What did you pursue this week thinking it would bring you happiness?’

Rev Laurie Wheeler continued by saying the pursuit of happiness won’t cut it, but rather we must find the source of it. (Of course, as this was a church sermon, one answer is that our salvation is the source.)

What also really impressed me was that I was not too impressed by Rev Wheeler’s candidating sermon a few months ago, nor by her resume / biography. This was a pleasant surprise. For that little does of megativity, I think she speaks too fast and uses too many idioms / sarcasm in her humor (of course I love this aspect) ; but for a congregation where for many English is a second language, I think a bit is lost.

You can listen to the sermon here.

Technology

This is my very first post from my new MacBook !!! How exciting, and it even has that "new computer smell" (like a new car smell).  Of course, Macs are different, and even though I've used them before, and been very familiar with them before, this takes an adjustment. When 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I am in PC and Windows world, coming home to MacBook and iWork is a bit tricky.

And yes, now that I have a personal computer at home and actually have internet/phone/tv at home, I will post more. It's just right now I'm still unpacking from my last two trips, and am paranoid about the load of laundry I'm doing. Why you ask?...

When I was in Cincinnati two weeks ago, I get a call from the relocation agent asking me if I left any appliances in my kitchen running (really, who turns on all their water-based appliances and leaves them running before leaving town for nine days?). Anyway, turns out some pipe leading from my boiler, that was between the floors had an issue and caused a flood in the flat below me. Through crazy key exchanges, phone calls and emails with friends in Paris, all was fixed and all is ok. My paranoia comes from the fact that "they" (plumber? relo agent?) turned some of the knobs in the boiler / washing machine area and I am hoping I turned them all back correctly.

So off to unpack now, but updates will be forthcoming on (1) my Cincinnati trip ; (2) my unexpected Houston trip that immediately followed ; and, (3) my weekend trip to Reims and Eparney (Champagne region) in France.

London reflections

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.

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.

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.

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?

Are we really far from this happening?

http://comics.com/speed_bump/2009-03-22/