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/

Meeting the French ER Response Unit

Ok, bet I’m one of the few to whom this has happened ….

Let me start off with a lead-in story….

I completely respect if one is focused on work in the office as that is why we’re all here. And I understand that people don’t listen to what others are saying if their minds are racing and they’re thinking of the next work project ; but generally some switch in the brain will flip a bit later and then the people think, “did she really say that?”

A colleague walked into my office area Thursday morning and I opened the conversation with “I’ve discovered that all the good looking men in Paris are young firefighters and police officers ; I should know as there were about 6-10 in my apartment last night.” To which my colleague says : “What I need you to do is create a report showing…” Didn’t blink an eye, didn’t comment, nothing. Not even 5, 10, 30 minutes later. Seriously?

So you’re probably wondering – Why in the world were 6-10 French fire and policemen in my apartment. Good question. Here’s the story…

By the time I got home and got to bed Wednesday night it was about 22:00. I read for a bit and turned off my light about 22:30. About 23:00 I wake up to hear a banging sound, then it got louder. Pause. Louder again. I realized it was from my door. So I get up and stumble to the front door. Of course, I’m half asleep and foggy due to this cold I have so I neglect all the safety rules of looking through the peep hole, asking who it is, etc. and I just open the door.

Lo and behold there are about 6 young men (20s?) in the hallway. They all seem to be in dark clothes, one guy was in jeans and a leather jacket. I thought they were just being rude and knocking on all doors, being “hooligans.” They start asking me questions (in French of course) whether or not my balcony was attached to the flat next door, and if I knew who lived there, and other such things. I said, no it wasn’t connected. They asked if they could see. I again said no, it wasn’t connected. Then I noticed “Sapeurs Pompiers” on one man’s sleeve – firefighters. (Cultural note : in Paris I’ve been told that you call the firefighters first, and then they decide who to send / what type of emergency it is.) Then I see a woman, probably in her 60s, in the hallway. My brain wakes up and I realize it must be an emergency so I let 3 of the guys in and they go to the dining room (right adjacent to my front door) to check the balcony.

Then it gets interesting. The 3 of them come back to the hallway and get harnesses and helmets. They get geared up and somehow rappel over to the other balcony. I’m still having minor conversations with the other men (in French). And thankfully the woman spoke intermediate / good English.

She asked if I heard the alarm in the apartment (smoke detectors?) and I said no. She said she lives above this flat (semi-elderly couple lives there) and she and her husband heard the noises, then somehow the young man (the one in jeans and leather jacket) was in hallway or something and the two of them called the firefighters. She said the woman in the flat is sick and is/was in a wheelchair. I said I had never met her, but had met the man, and actually saw him Saturday morning.

It might’ve been around this time that the police came – enter 4 more people into the hallway / my apartment. Did I mention it’s about midnight and I’m still in my PJs, trying to follow everything in French?

Also arriving at this point is the Guardian of the building next door. (Cultural note : Guardians would be what an American calls a Concierge, but that word isn’t really appropriate here. The person lives in the building and does basic repair, maintenance, etc. and usually people give the Guardian a set of keys if they are expecting deliveries, need things done, etc.)

Two of the policemen then ask me questions – do I live there? Alone? For how long? When did I last see the people in the flat? Was it the sick woman? My identification? These two guys were hilarious, like a comedy routine, and good looking. It was becoming like Who’s On First regarding whether or not I had seen the woman. I said I had seen A woman in the doorway, but I didn’t know if it was the wife of the woman / the tenant because I hadn’t formally met her. I just don’t know how to say in French “I didn’t want to stare”. And, it seems that when the police are writing down all your contact information for whatever report, they also want to know what city you were born in. Try spelling Cincinnati in French and getting the guy to understand it and make it fit in his little notebook. I would spell it (in French), the other guy would repeat, and still the one writing it down was making mistakes! Really, it was comical.

Remember, I’m still in my PJs, conversing in French.

Eventually they get into the flat, using the keys the Guardian brought. Turns out, no one is home. So all that excitement and adrenaline rush for nothing, which I suppose is a good thing! All I kept thinking was that if someone had been hurt inside, the hour spent banging on the door, waiting for the Guardian, and all that would not have been beneficial.

Things I learned :
--Always keep a sweatshirt or robe or something by your bed in case you have to get up and answer the door in the middle of the night.
--Get smoke detectors, you’ll feel safer (note : I think my company is getting safety kits for those of us who moved over here – smoke detectors, fire extinguisher, fire ladder, etc.)
--This was actually a pleasant experience in that none of these people made snide remarks or glances about me being American, or living there alone. My French language skills seemed to suffice. None of them made comments about the size of my flat being so large for one person. (Cultural note : seems to be the norm here to ask a person how many square meters one’s flat is. And in my case, 99% of the time it is followed by some snide remark of it being so large, or wondering where my family is, etc.)

Still disconnected

Well, I still have no phone/internet/tv at home, so hence my lack of updating, emailing, etc. It's not that I really miss internet or tv at home considering I was without TV for 6 years, and without home internet for about 3.

Quick updates :
--I now have a cold. But, pretty good considering I made it 2 months here before getting one.
--I am now a master at hanging drapes/curtains and other such things. I could be the next Bob Villa. That is only if you want one curtain to be 2 cm higher than the other (not sure if it is the curtain itself or my measuring/drilling) ; and if you want me to break a drill bit because I'm stupid enough to try to drill into a stone wall.
--Still no tourism things doing here as I spend all my time at hardware stores, furniture stores (although I've yet to buy a couch - what's wrong with a living room only having an Ikea chair and a folding camping chair? They're both crazy comfortable), grocery shopping, etc.
--I've discovered French cuisine is really just chicken and french fries, but it's all about the sauces they use. That and the desserts.
--Work is good, but very busy due to all the projects, budget forecasts, and the usual.
--Yes, I saw the Northern Lights in Norway. I swear I will post pictures of Norway sometime soon ; first though, I'd actually like to look at them. Can you believe I haven't?
--Am nearly finished reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman (recommended by my friend Robin) and LOVE it. You MUST read it. Amazing story. And I'm nearly finished with Duma Key by Stephen King and love that too.
--Once you get behind in listening to podcasts you'll never catch up again. I have about 225 "new" ones in iTunes. They all seem interesting based upon their titles so I cannot bring myself to delete them. Oh well.

Ok, time to go home, but now I am too late to pick up my drycleaning (closes at 19:00 and it is now 18:15 and takes me 45 min max to get home). Oh well, Friday night at the drycleaners and grocery is the excititing life a single expat woman leads in Paris.

"Home" again

I'm in London now for work meetings today and tomorrow, and staying at my London flat (I have the lease until end of May). I was glad to be coming back for a few days, but also wished I were staying in Paris as I just want to finish settling-in at my place (i.e. buy and hang curtains so I don't have to change clothes in the one part of the hallway that is private).

Anyway, when I got to St. Pancras station last night and took the Tube to my place, and even this morning, I realised that this chapter of my life is past. There are actually things about Paris I like more, give me a few days to think on this before I post. However, it is quite nice to be in London and to not nearly gag on the Tube (Paris Metro smells horrible) and I do not have to worry about stepping in dog poop everywhere.

Smells

Paris might be called the "City of Lights" (which, in this economic time and environmentally-conscience time, wouldn't it be better to turn off the lights?), but it is also the city of smells.

Sure, there is the smell of fresh bread baking at every boulangerie each morning, the sweet smells from the patisseries, smelling wine at tastings, and soon the trees and flowers in bloom.

However, just to warn you, it is also smells of exhaust, urine, feces, cigarette smoke, and other such unpleasantness. Yes, I have seen several men urinating in the street (in the bushes, against the sides of buildings, on a car's tire...), and some of my colleagues have seen the same. There is dog sh!t everywhere. I couldn't tell you what a lot of the buildings look like because I'm always looking DOWN to watch where I walk. And I swear, some of these piles on the sidewalks cannot possibly come from the accessory-sized dogs that seem to plague this city.

I figure a few years are being taken off the end of my life just by living here and breathing all of this. And, I'll probably develop some ghastly combination of allergies and asthma. Vive la France.

Commuting

So now that I'm moved into my new apartment, I'm trying to figure out the fastest and most pleasant way to get to/from work. This week, I have been trying the RER instead of the Metro (the RER is more like the Commuter Rail in Boston, but it also goes through the city). It takes me 45 minutes from turning off the lights in my flat to turning on my computer ; the train is QUIET and not crowded and there are seats for everyone ; but, they don't announce the stops, so if you're engrossed in your book, music or podcasts, you best pay attention!

On the RER, I take the C line, which goes one direction northbound but about 6 southbound (see map here.) What I find fascinating is how the directions are marked. Logic would assume that they would be marked "Pontoise" or "Dourdan" or "Versailles", or at least PONT, DOUR, and VERS for abbreviations. Logic however has yet to come to Paris ; either that or they've thrown caution to the wind and are ignoring every French philosopher.

Pontoise (which I take to get to work) is marked by NORA. I think I can also take GATA, GOTA or GUTA (if I read the website / signboards correclty), but those three trains never seem to run.

To get home, I can take : ELBA, MONA, ROMI, CIME, DEBA, JILL, BALI, DUFY, ELAO, FOOT or JOEL. These names mean nothing - for instance, ROMI goes to Porte de Rungis, CIME goes to Versailles Ch., ELBA to St. Martin and DEBA to Dourdan.

I have a feeling one day I'll be like "Charlie on the MTA" and will end up somewhere I shouldn't, outside the Zone for which my ticket is purchased, and will just keep riding around until I get on the correct train.

Seriously though. How difficult would it be to come up with more appropriate code names?

Quick recap

Ok, Norway was good - saw the Northern Lights (luckily!) in Tromso, went dog sledding, ate reindeer meat, enjoyed the snow and walked around the town. In Oslo, I saw The Scream at the National Gallery, went to the Nobel Peace Museum, the Munch Museum, and absolutely loved Vigeland Sculpture Park.

Am moving out of temporary housing into my new flat this week so it's all a bit hectic. Apartment inspection yesterday, buying appliances today, movers Thursday, plumbing inspection Saturday as well as telephone installation. Then, it's all unpacking, putting together Ikea furniture and going shopping for things like curtains and curtain rods, trash cans, and lamps. Who knew Paris could be so exciting?

Going to Radio Silence

I know I don't post all that frequently, and definitely less than I'd like. But I can tell you now, I won't be posting for at least a week, if not 2.

I am going on holiday tomorrow up to Norway - first Oslo, then Tromso. Please hope and pray for clear skies because it's a Northern Lights excursion! And, how cool is this, I'll be in the Arctic Circle!

Then, when I get back (Sunday the 1st), it is moving week. I have my apartment inspection with the landlord, the movers, the plumbing inspection guy, the cable guy and who knows what else? Oh, right - work. I think I'm still on track for being "all settled" here by 1st April!

As for the title of this post : it's because I've started watching Alias again and am caught up in all the jargon.

Random observations (animals)

--Ok, Amy, Gwen, Joe & I went to the first of 3 appointments Thursday to get our Carte de Sejours (residency permit). Amy and Gwen finished and left, I waited around for Joe. Joe was all set, so we thought we'd stop at a cafe and then call it a day (it was about 4:00). Fine.

We are in a cafe in Place de Clichy (17th / 18th arr.) and hear birds chirping. Yes, we are IN the cafe. We look up and in one of the vents (picture your a/c-heat vent that is usually on the floor) there are lots of tufts of feathers sticking out of it and the chirping is obviously from there.

I figure if the economy gets bad in Paris, they could hire a few health inspectors because they're obviously low on them right now. Or, hire trainers for them!

--After leaving the cafe, I go "home" and drop off my stuff, have dinner and then start walking to bell choir. As I'm waiting to cross the street, a guy holding a rope that is attached to 4 donkeys/ponies comes strolling along down the street behind a car. Huh? All I can figure is these poor animals are used in some way at the Eiffel Tower for children to sit on or tourists to take pictures or some undignified thing. Of course, didn't have my camera.

Random Observations

Just some observations from the week so far...

Random : In Europe, paper notebooks do not contained lined paper. Rather, the paper is some sort of graph paper. Either the usual tiny squares, or some even more miniscule rectangles. Really, what are they expecting of me besides sitting in boring meetings and coloring in the squares?

Random : Hardware stores in Paris (e.g. Castorama) are not nearly as fun as in the U.S. (Home Depot) or UK (Home Base). In the particular location I visited Monday, the aisles were narrow, some were mazes (i.e. you couldn’t go up one and down another and end up where you started), they were playing techno music on the loud speakers, and it was grungy. But not grungy in the way a good hardware store is (like the one up in Canada my family always used before it closed). A good grungy makes you think of progress, of people building things, tools being used, power and machinery… This place just gave the feeling of being grungy in terms of dirty, disorganized, and old. Oh well. I got my drill (although not the one I have seen on countless Metro advertisement billboards). Now I just have to wait for my drill bits to arrive w/ the rest of my goods and then it is the oh so fun times of putting furniture together, hanging curtain rods, hanging pictures and other such things that are more fun with two or three people, but which I have become accustomed to doing on my own.

Random : Just this week it has gotten lighter in the evenings, so when I leave the office at 18:00 or 18:30 it doesn’t feel like it’s 22:00! Spring might actually be here soon!!

Random : The US Embassy in France website has lots of good information for people living in France. In their list is a link for “Websites of interest” ; at the bottom of this is “Other sites of interest”. The list? Current Avian flu information ; Democrats Abroad ; and, Republicans Abroad. Really – Avian flu, Dems and Reps? What? Certainly Avian flu would fall under the “Health Care” title. Or, as Marissa said, is that the Independents?

"Bucket List"

I just posted this to Facebook, so thought I'd repeat here in case you are not on the dreaded thing :

Gone on a blind date – yes
Donated blood – yes (but not anymore, I always pass out, and the US won’t take my blood after living in Europe)
Skipped school - no
Watched someone die - no
Been to Canada - yes
Been to Mexico - yes
Been to Florida - yes
Been to Hawaii - no
Been on a plane - yes
Been on a helicopter - no
Been lost – yes (but never for long as I have a great sense of direction, and am fantastic at reading maps)
Gone to Washington, DC - yes
Swum in the ocean - yesS
wum with stingrays - no
Been sailing in the ocean - yes
Cried myself to sleep - yes
Played cops and robbers - yes
Recently colored with crayons - no
Run a marathon - no
Sung karaoke – yes, but only in a group, and I just mumble along
Volunteered at a soup kitchen - yes
Paid for a meal with coins only - yes
Seen the Northern Lights – not yet (10 more days! Hopefully not cloudy!!!)
Been parasailing - no
Been on TV - yes
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't – I’m sure, although I cannot remember what
Made prank phone calls – not personally, but in the room when others did
Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans - yes
Laughed until some kind of beverage came out my nose - yes
Fired a gun - no
Danced in the rain naked – no, but yes in a bathing suit
Been to the opera - yes
Written a letter to Santa Claus - probably
Skinny dipped - no
Serenaded someone – no, although that would be a good way to torture someone
Had someone serenade me – not that I recall
Seen a U.S. president in person – G HW Bush, in 2006 I believe, on Valentine’s Day, at Fuzzy’s Pizza in Houston
Been kissed under the mistletoe - no
Watched the sunrise with someone – no, but have watched it by myself
Driven a race car - no, unless you count those mini-racetrack things
Been to a national museum - yes
Been to a wax museum – no, and no desire to
Eaten caviar - yes
Gone ice-skating - yes
Been deep sea fishing - no
Driven across the United States – yes , 5 round trips
Been in a hot air balloon - no
Been skydiving – no ; once had a dream I did, ‘chute didn’t open, was at my own funeral
Gone snowmobiling - no
Lived in another country – yes, 4 of them
Lie down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets – yes, although listening to mosquitos is more accurate
Seen a falling star and made a wish – yes, and have also mistakenly wished on satellites
Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful geyser – no (stupid wildfires blocking the southern entrance to the park!)
Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch - yes
Seen the Grand Canyon - yes
Seen the Statue of Liberty - yes
Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle – no, but have been to the top of the CN Tower in Toronto
Been on a cruise – no, and absolutely no desire to
Traveled by train - yes
Traveled by motorcycle - no
Been horseback riding – yes
Ridden on a San Francisco cable car – yes, and actually drove one
Been to Disneyland or Disney World – yes to former (and was a kid and disappointed there weren’t more roller coasters and spin-you-around rides), no to latter
Been in a rainforest - no
Seen whales in the ocean - no
Been to Niagara Falls - yes
Ridden on an elephant – yes (at the zoo)
Swum with dolphins - no
Been to the Olympics – no, although have seen several Olympics parks after the fact. I actually don’t like the Olympics
Walked on the Great Wall of China - yes
Seen and heard a glacier calf – no, but I have seen glaciers
Been spinnaker flying - no
Been water skiing – yes!
Been snow skiing - yes
Been to Westminster Abbey - yes
Been to the Louvre - yes
Swum in the Mediterranean – no, but I did wade in
Been to a Major League Baseball game - yes
Been to a National Football League game – not yet (October, Pats v/s Bucs at Wembley!)
Been to an NBA game - yes
Been to an NFL game - yes
Been to an major league soccer (football) game – yes, 2 in Europe ; none in US
Been whitewater rafting - yes

Progressive weekend

I call it a "progressive weekend" because it has been getting progressively slower - thank goodness! 5 o'clock Friday couldn't have come soon enough and Kevin, Marissa and I took the bus from work to begin yet another trip down Kevin's memory lane. (Every one of these starts off like a bad joke : an Irishman, a Trini and I were walking through the streets of Paris when...)

Kevin lived in Paris a few summers during university and either worked at or spent a lot of time at many Irish Pubs, so we've been checking up on all these places. We started out in the Chatelet area at McBride's Pub on rue St Denis - a great pedestrian zone full of food stalls, bars, restaurants, etc. We then walked south across Pont au Change, past the entrance to Sainte-Chapelle, hooked a left onto Quai du Marche Neuf and came right upon Notre Dame which looks stunning now that it is fully cleaned, in the nighttime, lights shining, and not full of tourists. We crossed Petit Pont to the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) and continued on rue Saint-Jacques (which has a long history as a major thoroughfare from Roman times to present ; it even was the start of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk). Kevin filled us in on all the history, symbolism, legends, etc. - it was great!!!

The whole time on rue Saint Jacques we were walking up a steady incline. When we got to rue Soufflot it was breath-taking! To our left was the Pantheon (which I had never seen before) and to the right was a perfect direct view of the Eiffel Tower. (Since I live close to it, it always seems so big ; from just the other side of town it is smaller, yet stands out wonderfully.)

We walked around the Pantheon and continued down to rue Mouffetard and Place de la Contrescarpe, entering the Latin Quarter. We stopped for rehydration and then meandered down rue Mouffetard and found a fondue restaurant (Assiette aux Fromages) and after a great wine bar just up the street (au Doux Raisin). By this point it was 1 a.m. so we all found our ways home.

Saturday morning had a later start (it had to have been the fondue and bread that made me lethargic, it couldn't have been the apertif, 3 bottles of wine, and digestif that the three of us had!). I met Marissa and we ventured into what no person should have to put up with - running errands and shopping in Paris on a Saturday. Since everything closes by about 8 p.m. (and people work late, so no shopping then) and is closed on Sundays, it leaves Saturday.

We went examining appliances for me (I'll have to buy all for the kitchen in my new flat), then to Decathlon sports to get winter stuff for our Norway vacation in 10 days, then to BHV which is a ginormous store that has everything. By this point, 6 hours after starting our day, I was ready to go home. I was sick of shopping and I was really sick of people. I relished my quiet night at "home" Saturday, especially since the last time I was home before 10 p.m. was Monday night.

Today (Sunday) I am staying in my pj's all day. I've spent several hours online shopping for furniture for my new place and soon will tackle the piles of paper on the floor, and will relax by reading more Duma Key (Stephen King).

Of course, through all the walking this weekend, I didn't have my camera. Figures!

USPS

First of all, let me say I am a HUGE fan of the USPS ; in fact, I think the best speaker I heard in my two years at T-bird was from a USPS man. As a business - logistics, finance, etc. - it is fascinating. I mean, every year more and more addresses are added, and the USPS delivers to them. There is the whole fleet issue - maintenance, fuel, drive times, etc. Health care costs. And all of this with declining usage.

Second of all, for those of you who sent me birthday cards last week - THANK YOU. I got them in office in Paris today - what a great pick-me-up on a Monday afternoon.

My point - how come when the rate is $0.94 to mail a letter, a letter made it through with only $0.84 in postage? And why did some envelopes make it with "U.K." as the country, but one was crossed out by the USPS and "United Kingdom" written in its place. To my knowledge, no other country goes by UK, right?

Yes, things like this are what I think about and what perplex me.

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

I don't know what it is today, but I'm really missing my "5'o'clock somewhere" time at Cornwall's (well, for me it was my like 4 or 4:30 somewhere). Perhaps it's just the stress of work this week, of finding a flat, a few late nights, and the fact that I'm finally able to articulate more what is bothering me culture-shock wise, I don't know. (As for the latter, it's a somewhat good thing because now I know what to fix!)

I just wish today I could've gone to Cornwall's at 4, sat at the bar reading one of my magazines (Rolling Stone, National Geographic, or Games World of Puzzles), talking with the great people there, and enjoying the food, drink and friendship. Sigh.

So, to all of you who are reading this today and heading to Kenmore, have one for me. And, if you're reading this after the fact, have two for me next week!

Laundry success

Woo Hoo - my first Parisian laundry adventure here in temporary housing was a success. All clothes came out the same size, colour and shape that they were going in!!! Thank goodness it wasn't a repeat of the London fiasco.

Choosing a flat

Today was a very good day flat hunting. I saw 6 places and liked all of them. While the last 2 weren't my favorite, I wouldn't be miserable in them. This is a huge improvement over my search 2 weeks ago where I wasn't crazy about all 7 the relo agent and I saw.

Anyway, I am now trying to choose between two - ave de Suffren and rue Edmond Valentin (photos of all posted on Flickr).

Suffren is classic French with its floor-to-ceiling window/doors in the living and dining room - which are connected but separated by wood/glass doors (ok I have ZERO knowledge of architecture terms). Great crown molding on top of walls/ceiling. Fireplaces in each room. Juliette balcony off both, I think I could squeeze my camping chair there. Good closet space in the hallway (typical). Nice kitchen (I'd have to supply all appliances except cook top). 1 bedroom decent size. Other bedroom would be good for a twin bed. 1 bathroom w/ an EU tub (i.e. shower head isn't up above, but just is handheld) and the other bathroom has a square shower. All stuff in bathroom and kitchen new. There is a courtyard area in the entry where you can store bicycles (unusal to have such space in Paris evidently). I would have to buy all indow hardware and drapes, and there are just lightbulbs hanging from ceiling so it'd be Ikea time for me. It's 5th floor and south facing, so daylight. It's on a pretty major street, but quiet up that high.

Valentin is super modern. It is 6th floor "loft" - super high ceilings with skylights (that actually can open via remote control). It has a "US kitchen" which means it is open to the joint living/dining area. (All other kitchens here are separate rooms w/ doors that close it off.) Off and open to the living/dining area is a tiny area that could have a chair and TV, or a desk. More like a nook, w/o much light. There is a walk-in closet, but more shelf than hanging space. I have zero fashion sense and I still find this appealing. The bedroom is decent sized, but not a rectangle so it was difficult to envision my bed in there. 1 bathroom, off master bed (another toilet is off living area) that has a tub and a shower and is all new. This whole flat is new and no one has ever lived there. If you stand at the living/dining windows are look right, you can see the Eiffel Tower (not my favorite Paris thing). I'd have to get all kitchen appliances, and I'm not crazy about the cabinet layout. It's on a quiet side street between 2 major streets. Very quiet up that high.

I like Suffren because it is more classic French. Valentin's location is closer to church, and to the Seine / Rive Droit. Suffren is just 10m2 larger. I wouldn't have to buy more funiture for Valentin ; but then I wonder if it isn't time I owned more living room furniture than an Ikea chair and footstool and a side table. Suffren is more open in terms of access to air ; while Valentin is super bright, it is due to skylights and windows that are about chest height - i.e. if you're sitting down you don't see out much. And, can you really see me living on a street that has a name close to Valentine? i.e. hearts, love and sentimentality?

Comments / thoughts / suggestions welcome!!! (Remember to check out the photos on Flickr)

Here's hoping

Here's hoping that the two loads of laundry I just put in the automatic washers here in temporary housing all come out the same size and shape as they were when I put them in. I had some issues w/ the "darks" - there might quite possibly be 2x or 3x the normal amount of soap in there! I just don't understand the autmatic machines where soap is included somehow, dials, electronic displays, and instructions in "5 words or less French". Deep breaths!

Where the weather suits my clothes

I woke up to snow in Paris today. And I was very very very happy. I know, all of you in the US Midwest and New England are sick of it, but for me, this was my first snow of the season!

I had to pick up my new bank card at HSBC on the Champs Elysee this morning so I thought I'd walk it (about 30 minutes) (more because I'm cheap and didn't want to use another metro ticket). It was quite nice to walk in the snow, enjoy the relative quiet. Not many people were out on bikes, and certainly no one on Velibs - the rent-a-bike option in Paris. (Think Zip Car, but bicycles.)


While Buffett sings that he needs to go to where the weather suits his clothes, I realised that winter climates are where I belong. I was all set in my winter coat, hat, scarf, boots, etc. Function (and comfort) over fashion I say. Well, Parisiens are all-fashion all-the-time. What was this woman thinking out in her non-rubber-soled boots? And not only that, she wasn't using a shovel, but it was more like a push broom / or a giant squeegy thing like you'd use on your car windshield. I saw more fur coats today than I have in the last 5 years. And more women delicately stepping through the snow in high heels (with a cigarette in hand of course). (It is a wonder the French population hasn't died away from lung cancer.) I just have to question the common sense of a population that wears high heels in snow. Sure, I understand you don't have Bean Boots, but at least wear something a bit more practical!

I also saw street workers spreading sand on the sidewalks from a wheelbarrow. Great. But is it really practical to scoop some up in a dust pan and then spread it with your bare hands? Again, I have to question the common sense of a population...

Oh, and one more thing...Why is a grande chai tea latte at Starbucks 4.70 euros? That’s $6.02 and 4.14 GBP! In London, it was only 3.05 and in the US it’s about $3.7. Fastest way to rid me of my addiction.

Eiffel Tower as seen from L'Ecole Militaire about 8 a.m. this morning.

Baby we were born to run

Woo hoo!!!!! I'm getting my beret and baguettes because I'm seeing Bruce in Brest!

I got tickets for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at this summer's Festival des Vieilles Charrues, in Brest, France (NW). It looks to be like Glastonbury or Lollapalooza and such. 6 of us from work are going so the camping out part should be interesting.

"Snow Day"

Today is what I'm calling my first official French "snow day". But there's no snow (just the same drab, grey skies). Instead, there are strikes (protests) all over France today, which means public transportation is affected. What I find fascinating is that these protests, and potential disruptions, were announced a week in advance, and everyone is ok with it. You just plan ahead for getting to work (book a taxi, work from home, walk, etc.) I'm calling it my "snow day" because it's like when I first moved to Boston - the first big snow, I stayed home - partly because I had never really driven in that much snow before and partly because I just wanted to experience it, watching the news, walking outside, etc. The next big snow, I was ready to go to work and comiserate about my commute with my coworkers (the other aspect of a 'snow day' - the 'survivor' mentality in the office environment, everyone patting themselves on their backs for braving it out and making it in). So, my first French strike - I'm staying home. The next one, maybe I'll walk to work.

You can read about it in English on the BBC or Intl Herald Tribune. (Although their coverage is buried on their websites and minmal.)

If you are adventurous, or want to see more news, or see photos, you can read in French on Le Monde and Le Figaro. For more leftist, go to La Liberation.

What have I learned from this strike, and it's only 8 a.m.? (1) Always have travel insurance (Air France flights are cancelled) ; (2) working from home is much more pleasant and productive for me these days ; (3) I know just enough French to be dangerous (in trying to understand the news on the radio) ; and, (4) This entire strike thing (manifestation) is just so beyond my comprehension. I think "strike" is the wrong translation - it's more like a protest. But, a protest in which many unions take part. I mean, imagine if people in the States went on strike for a day to protest that the government do more to protect their wages and jobs? The rest of the country would likely call them greedy and look upon them unfavorably. Here, it's just another day.

French Megativity

You know me, glass-is-half-full, so it’s time for some “megativity”. Where to begin….I’ll just do this in random fashion…

--I am sick of eating in the “canteen” for lunch (aka cafeteria). It reminds me of high school all over again. Remember : when it was nearly impossible to find a table to sit with your friends, or if you didn’t get to the table with them, there was never room for you (which, btw, just prompted me to then eat lunch nearly every day in the student newspaper office by myself)? Remember : the choices of food, while mildly palatable, lost their allure after one week? Remember : you could predict the menu choices for the rest of the week on Monday because (a) the menu was always the same every day of the week (i.e. chicken Tuesday, fish Wednesday…) or (b) you knew the meat on Monday would merge with the pasta on Tuesday to become some combined dish on Wednesday…

--My heel caught on the hem of my pants Monday (the hem is like a cuff, on the outside) and ripped – not bad, only ripped on the seam. But, now I have to try to find a seamstress or tailor or whatever they have here to get it fixed. And since nothing is open by the time I get home (7 p.m.) and there is NOTHING by the office, this means it has to wait until a Saturday when I’m sure the rest of the world is waiting in line.

--I got my Paris office BlackBerry, so now I have two of them, and until I’ve merged everything to my French computer/email, I get to carry both of them around – my guess is that I won’t be fully merged and converted for about 6 months. The added bonus? The French BlackBerry is an azerty keyboard, not a qwerty one.

--Why is it in hotels, or now in my temporary housing, when the cleaning person comes in, does this person find it necessary to move, thus touch, my toothbrush. Gross. And if I move the trashcan from one location to another every day, why do you move it back? And if I always leave the same light on, why do you turn it off and turn another on? I obviously have things set up how I like them, so don’t move them!

--And speaking of hotels, does anyone else also check to see if the Gideons have placed a Bible in the bedside drawer? I’m beginning to think I should donate money to them because I’d say 85% of the time I take it out and read it. I have noticed however that the French boutique hotels have not been visited by the Gideons.

--Also in hotels, why are the light switches always so screwy? I mean, is it the main switch by the door you have to flip for everything else to work ; or in some fun cases, you have to insert your door key card in this switch and then everything works. Or the switch in the entryway turns on two lamps, but then if you want to turn one of them off good luck. And using the switches by the bedside is inevitably its own version of “who’s on first” when you’re trying to get the lights off, or just one on.

--Lastly, what do you know about Paris in winter? Nothing, I’m guessing. No wonder people don’t talk about it, and no wonder why Paris comes “alive” in the spring with people outside, at cafes, at parks, etc. It’s because winter is depressingly grey, drab, cold and windy, and overall annoying. It is just not pretty here now.

Ok, a lot of complaints, I know. So I take the advice of a colleague (friend) who is also glass-is-half-full-feeling right now, and ask myself “What do I have the power to change?”. That will take a few days to contemplate.

Crazy church coincidence

Monday night I went to the new member meeting at the American Church in Paris. It was it good to learn more about the "inner workings" of ACP, and it was interesting to hear the journeys everyone has taken to arrive at ACP's doorstep. While I like what I've seen, heard and felt at ACP, at this point, I'm only ready to be an "associate member" - basically, I am not ready nor willing to "cancel" my membership at Old South!!

(Note: being a "member" basically gives you the right to vote on the budget, the church council and such. You can still be involved in the church without being a member).

When I got home after the meeting and checked my email, I had the daily devotional update from the UCC. I just couldn't believe the connection between the devotional, titled "Not another moving day", and the new member meeting :

"The Bible is full of stories of people who move. Usually, they are not choosing to move. They are compelled to move, to flee for their lives, or to follow a divine calling. This is still why most people move. They flee political oppression, or they long to improve their lives. Immigrants are daring people. They do not play it safe. In my own life, all that chaos had within it one steady stream, and that was the church. While we couldn't always attend the same church, wherever we moved, we found a spiritual home. Church was my one constant in a changing world. ... I never doubted that God was with me in my latest home and that together, we were on a great adventure." (by Lillian Daniel, First Congregational Church, UCC, Glen Ellyn, IL)

Wow - Church was my one constant in a changing world - how true! God is good. All the time!

Frustrated (part 2)

I should have added to my previous post that while holding a dictionary in one hand and the food packaging in the other to translate, where does one put one's glass of wine?

I don't know how the French cook their food, seriously. In the 7 flats I saw last week, they either had ovens 1/2 the size of a US one or a microwave that somehow also can double as an oven. How do they do roasts and stuff?

And another thing, I haven't really seen "French cuisine" at a lot of places unless you count chicken-and-french fries ; croque monsieurs ; or just random duck things. Just go to Pierrot Bistro or Petite Robert in Boston and you've seen the extent of French cuisine.

On a semi-related food note...I had meetings scheduled for 11:00 and 13:00 today, giving me an hour for lunch. But, in what I've disocovered is typical here, the 11:00 started at 11:30, thus giving me only 20 minutes for lunch. As the 13:00 meeting included my boss (American), I knew we would at least start on time. So I skipped lunch and just a little madeleine cake (smaller than my palm). Of course, the meeting didn't start until 13:20...gggrrrrrr.......... the completely amazing part (to me at least) was that I still don't have a hunger headache, grumbling stomach, or the overall "mean Megan mood" I usually have after skipping a meal. And it's 20:11 right now! Bizarre.

Frustrating

It's really annoying to have to cook dinner holding the instructions from the food packaging in one hand and a French dictionary in the other. And it doesn't help that I really don't know how to use microwave ovens, how to gauge cooking temps, what types of containers can/cannot go in, etc. I think I should just stick to cheese, bread, and fresh veggies!

Flat hunting in Paris

Well, today I spent about 8 hours looking at 7 different apartments and setting up a bank account and I really have nothing to show for it.

The bank account is being processed, but I won't have the card or anything until next week; and besides, I don't have any money in the account so it doesn't help me out much now. I just have to figure out how to transfer money from London to Paris without being in London and without having set up any transfer papers with my London bank. Ugh. And of course, the US Government knows everything about me and it was required to sign a W9 form or something so the bank in Paris must report this account of mine to the IRS. Joys.

As for the flats...the first 2 were ok, but both have +/-. I'm not crazy about either of them. Sure, I could choose one of them if I had to, but I think I might exercise my right to go out a 2nd day and look at more flats. I really hate doing that though because I don't like being troublesome or picky or come across as another 'ugly American' expat/tourist.

But, I think I just need to deal with it, too. I don't think I'm going to like apartment in Paris in general for several reasons. (1) the kitchens are all separate rooms, very removed from the rest of the flat - what is it? some holdover from when people had servants or when the woman was in the kitchen and that was it? (2) closets - why are they all in the hallways and why are they all ginormously tall? I will need to have about 8 step stools in whatever flat I choose! (3) Paris is just compact so everything is near some busy place and lots of people, which I really don't like.

It was difficult to get a good feel for anything today really since almost all of them were being renovated and completely redone - so there were dropcloths, torn out bathrooms, etc. It was hard to tell what would be put in and what would be left out (i.e. some included a dishwasher, but no fridge).

Anyway, it's late. I should sleep on it and figure it out tomorrow.

She went to Paris

My first day in Paris...I'm sitting in my temporary accommodations, waiting for the movers to delivery my temporary things... A friend/colleague sent me this link from the NYT for the article In the Lap of Luxury, Paris Squirms.

It's a great read - some interesting points raised, and insight into French/Paris culture (culture in which, I can assure you, I never have nor never will take part!). From the article, this really says it all - "Only in France is the recession lauded for posing a crisis in value."

London Recap

Sitting here waiting for the movers, I have a little bit of time to reflect on my past 9-1/2 months in London. I heard a great line, I think from a radio advertisement yesterday, “When does a place become a part of you ? … When you walk in the steps of history? …”

I think that is true for me for any city. Once I’ve seen some of the history, I feel like I understand everything better – the conditions people had to live in, how far things were, how the city expanded, the class struggles, etc. I can do without the shopping in any city, and when I go to a place, I don’t hunt out “the” restaurants or night clubs (unless it’s Cincinnati and it’s Greater’s for ice cream ; Price Hill Chili for goetta ; etc.). I want to see the museums, the historic sites and such. I want to know what the city used to be like and how it got to be in its current state.

So, as I say goodbye to London (so sad!), below is my recap, for what it’s worth :

Megan’s Top 5 Things to do in London
0) Whitechapel Bell Foundry
I put this as “zero”, above the top 5, because for me it was the absolute best thing I saw/did here, but for those of you who have only a passing appreciation for handbells as music or works of art (i.e. you only like them at Christmas) this doesn’t apply to you. Plus, you have to book months in advance for a spot in a tour, so it’s not likely to be on most tourist’s agendas.

1) Westminster Abbey

2) Tower of London
Get here when it opens and take your time – see everything, read everything. You learn about London / England from the beginning. What “The City” was, the early royalty, really the birth of the nation.

3) Buckingham Palace Tour (summer months)
Just because it is what it is! And, it’s summer, so you can tack on a walk through one of the nearby parks.

4) National Portrait Gallery
If you take the time to read the descriptive plaques next to each photo, you really learn a lot about British history.

5) British Library
Magna Carta. Handwritten drafts by Handel, Mozart, Austen, Beatles, and the like (musicians and writers). And just a heck of a lot more great historic stuff. Plus, the King’s library.

--If you have 2 extra days – Greenwich is a MUST for GMT, Maritime Museum, and more. And for a day trip outside the city – I thoroughly enjoyed Bath.

--If I had done the Parliament Tour (summer months) I am sure that would’ve made the list!


Parks
1) Regent’s Park
And the Open Air Theatre in summer months.

2) Kew Gardens
Winter obviously not the most beautiful time (when I went), but quieter. I imagine spring and summer are just breathtaking. You could make this a day trip and either explore Richmond and the pubs that overlook the quieter, more serene, parts of the Thames. Or take the Tube back toward the city and stop in Chiswick or somewhere to see a neighborhood.

3) The rest of the parks are all fabulously wonderful, but didn’t strike me as those two did


Walks
1) South side : Get off Tube at London Bridge (Jubilee Line) and walk through Borough Market (Thurs-Sat) and then wind up to the Globe Theatre, admire the views across the Thames, go to the Tate Modern ; take the footbridge across the Thames and go to St. Paul’s

2) Royal Albert Hall : Start at Trafalgar Square and then walk down the Mall to Buckingham, through St. James’s Park. Then you can either walk through Knightsbridge (Harrod’s and more shopping) or continue up to Hyde Park and the Serpentine and the wonderful café on the edge of it (stopping between St. James and Hyde Park to go to Hard Rock for merchandise if you must ; also Apsley House is there and supposedly nice to visit). Then, you can go to a show at Royal Albert Hall ; or, tours are available.
-Note, RAH could be the end destination for a walk starting east over in Notting Hill

3) Not a walk, but take a regular bus and see what you want to see – 15 goes east/west past everything cool.


Honorable Mention
1) London Transport Museum
You have to pay for this, but a great place for kids. If you’re not interested in transportation or how London grew/expanded, this wouldn’t be for you. But since it is in the old Flower Market in Covent Garden, when you are visiting the latter, at least check out the gift shop.

2) Sir John Soane
Just because it is kooky how much stuff this guy collected! Centrally located and free.

3) Tate Britain
Although “out of the way”, in the SE area (Belgravia), it is smaller so manageable and not overwhelming. I really enjoyed the art here. Because of the smaller size, you could spend your time and appreciate the progression of artistic styles. And M16 is across the river for a good photo op.

4) Cabinet War Rooms / Churchill Museum
You have to pay for this, but worth it if you are interested in WW2 history. The War Rooms are a bit kitschy, but the Churchill Museum part gives you a ton of detail about him, and you can really learn more about the war.

5) Canary Wharf
It’s “new” and has a US-style shopping mall, green space, a tons of restaurants/bars on the Thames and the waterways that flow in. Plus, you can get a good view of the O2 Arena (aka Millennium Dome)


What I could do without – i.e. see it once and that’s it
1) Covent Garden – too many people

2) Piccadilly – too many people, nothing to do but stare at the lights and shop at chain stores

3) Borough Market – too many people

4) Kensington Palace (unless they do something more with the royal dress exhibit)


To Do
1) Tour of Parliament (summer months)

2) More time in The City – tour Bank of England ; Barbican ; City of London museum ; Royal Courts of Justice ; etc.

Now I ask you …

If you found out you had to move away from your current city, not to return, what would you want to see or do? And, of course I know you’ll say “spend times with friends and family”, I get that, everyone does. But if you had to name your top 5 favorite ‘hang outs’ (restaurants, bars, coffee shops, parks, etc.) or your top 5 cultural places to visit (even if you’ve never been but have always said ‘I’ll go next year’) or your top 5 places just to walk and meander in your city, what would they be? (Basically, this could also be the “must do/see” list you would give to someone visiting your city for five days.)

So, what would you do?

Image vs Reality

Why is it that Piccadilly always looks one thousand times better in photographs than it does in person but Big Ben looks one thousand times better in person than it does in photographs?

Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Photos are posted to Flickr of the tour I took of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry Saturday.

I uploaded quite a bit of photos, but I see this as my own little revenge to all those people out there who post waaaaayyyy too many pictures of their children or vacations (you know, you can edit them out – I don’t need to see 8 versions of the same thing). But, tit-for-tat, now you get to look at my 50+ pictures of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. I think each one is uniquely interesting ; and, if you're a bell geek like me, you'll love them!

NFL UK

Woooooo Hoooooooo!!!!

I got tickets today for the Oct 25th Buccs vs Pats game at Wembley Stadium. 11 of us from work will be going - what a blast!

Science Quiz

I was listening a recent podcast of BBC Radio 4's "Now" show (hilarious recap of the week's event) and they were commenting on the story that UK students aren't that good at science. They asked three questions and gave funny answers, so if you didn't know the answers (as I didn't to 2 of them), you have to look them up.

1) What are the five characteristics shared by all animals?
2) What is a benzene ring?
3) What is Brownian motion?

Answers :
1) http://www.coolschool.ca/lor/BI11/unit10/U10L01.htm
2) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/benzene+ring
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownian_motion

Kensington Palace

Today, I went to tour Kensington Palace. (but no photos allowed, so none uploaded to Flickr)

What I learned....

1) This isn't a "must see" - Buckingham (in the summer months when it is open for tours) and Windsor are, but this is not.

2) It has rotating special exhibits, currently on display is about Debutantes, and the year of the last Debs 1958. It was pretty interesting, especially the 30 minute video interviewing some of the women. I couldn't believe that in current dollars, a "shoestring budget" Deb would spend about 11,000 GBP and a "all out" budget would be about 122,000 GBP!!! "The Season" was several months long and was basically all parties; as one woman said, obviously they weren't studying for their A-level exams, focusing on studies, etc.

3) The first part of the tour is about Royal Dress and what was entailed in the garments. It was itneresting and I think more could be done with it. Also on display were about eight dresses of Diana's.

4) The palace rooms are very nice and oddly tastefully done, yet somewhat sparse in terms of decorations.

5) The tour only took me two hours I think, and I watched the 30 minute video and listened to every minute of the audio commentary and read all the things on the walls.

Tower of London

Yesterday I went to tour the Tower of London. Thank goodness I decided to go when it opened (9 a.m.) as by the time I left just after 1 p.m., it was packed with lines everywhere!

Things I learned ....
1) This is a "weather permitting" event as it involves a lot of walking outside on the grounds and along the walls, and most of the inner rooms aren't heated (they didn't build in central heating back in the 1060s!)

2) Go early. Lines become crazy long later on.

3) Take one of the 45 min tours given by a Yeoman Warder.

4) The crown jewel exhibit is more "touristy" than I remember it being (when I saw it 11 years ago). The cases with the 10 or so crowns and orbs and rings and such are actually flanked by two moving walkways (front and back side). You cannot stop and look, it is difficult to go back for a second look, etc. This isn't Disney World!

5) You had better be in good shape and able to do stairs. You have to climb the spiral staircases up to each tower if you want to see all the information on exhibit.

6) You had better have four hours to be here - especially if you want to go up into the towers. There is one stretch that once you start, you cannot exit until you follow the path which includes 4+ towers.

7) Just because this is part of the "Historical Royal Palaces" group, the items in the gift shop here are different from the other HRP shops - so if you see something you like, you'd better buy it.

8) And probably most importantly, the Tower of London was NOT built as a prison. Rather it was THE royal palace, the center of London, the storehouse for arms and gunpowder, the site of the Royal Mint, etc...

Probably only interesting to me...

In church today, the pastor started off the sermon with some story about his friends in Southern California and the weather and the temperature. He then said the weather there was around 20 degrees Centigrade. I cocked my head, puzzled. Centigrade? I'd always heard it called Celsius. So then I wondered - what's the difference?

Dan Berger, MadSci Adminstrator, writes :
The difference between degrees Celsius and degrees centigrade is that one is the name of the person who invented the scale (in which water freezes at 0° and boils at 100°), and the other describes the scale ("centigrade" means "100 divisions"). ... Because we call the Fahrenheit scale after its inventor, to be consistent we should refer to the Celsius scale after its inventor.

Back Where I Come From

No joke, this is a real advertisement. It is from a bench at a bus stop on the way from my parents’ house to the highway. Whenever we drove past it, I couldn’t help but laugh. This has to be the best, most unbelievable, yet sadly believable, ad I’ve seen in a long time.

Besides this, my 12 days in Ohio were pretty standard and uneventful. Lunches and dinners with friends and family, jigsaw puzzles (almost 5000 pieces worth), etc.

We all went to the Cincinnati Zoo Festival of Lights and my 19-month old niece was enthralled by the lights. (I’ll get all the pictures posted soon.) I hadn’t been to the zoo since I don’t remember when. I remember everything being bigger and better and more exotic – but I guess that is how every child sees things. Now, I just see poor animals penned up, the lines, the fussy kids, etc. Still, despite all my cynicism, it was nice to see so many families and young children at the zoo and interested in the animals.

As for Christmas, I didn’t get much as I didn’t ask for much – which was fine by me. I got the usual Snoopy calendar, Swarovski annual Christmas ornament, two jigsaw puzzles, and travel books. But, I did enough shopping of my own that I got everything I wanted and needed.

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On

What would you do if you lost everything on your computer – downloaded emails, photos, music, documents – everything ? Would it matter to you, or is everything on your computer “not essential” to your everyday life and mental well-being? Well, if anything on your computer is worth anything to you – BACK UP NOW.

I am speaking from experience as I “lost” everything on my laptop last week.

Background – My laptop is from 2002 and I haven't really used it the last 2-3 years except for watching DVDs because I had no internet in Allston. Therefore, I hadn't done any tech updates for 2-3 years. So, this summer, I thought I would get upgraded with all the Microsoft software updates, etc. When I did, I got the "blue screen of death." Couldn't get past it, even in 'safe mode.'

My last backup was probably in 2004 or 2005, so everything since then is gone forever. However, since I didn't use my laptop for much, rather saving everything on my work computer, and since I didn't have a digital camera, and since I didn't buy music online, etc... it's not much of a headache. Sure, I know I lost some things - I just cannot think of what besides a handful of documents - nothing major that I can remember now (I don't know if that's good or bad!).

The biggest pain will be restoring everything from the backup CDs and uploading all my music (provided, that is, that my laptop works - I haven't restarted it since I got it back).

For only $100 you can buy 320 GB of memory on an external hard drive. So answer me this : You go to the dentist annually, you take your car in for regular check-ups, you call friends and family to check-in, you pay your insurance premiums and update your policy and safe-deposit box, you have alarm systems on your cars and homes, you might even go to church on “C&E” to save your soul – so why don’t you take your computer in for a check-up and why don’t you back up your data?

Back up your data now. Make it a 2009 resolution. Back up now, back up in July (or after you’ve uploaded your summer vacation photos) and back up at the end of the year. Do it now.

Happy New Year - 2009!!!

It's the new year already here in London - this is the view from my flat - cold, foggy and cloudy. There was an Elton John concert at the O2 Dome (aka Millennium Dome), but no fireworks outside that I could see; could certainly hear a lot. And the ones at the London Eye / Parliament looked great on TV.