Le Théâtre du Soleil

This past June Gabriella purchased tickets to see a 4-hour French play by the famous Le Théâtre du Soleil. So, for the past month I've been whining about how this was such a waste of money for me since I would never be able to sit through, much less understand, a nearly 4 hour play in French. Last Friday was play-day so I had to request that I leave my French class 15 minutes early in order to make it to the outskirts of Paris where the theater is located. And, to top it off, I had had a very rough night with very little sleep so I already knew that I would be sleeping through most of the performance, which is my usual pose during long sedentary performances in the evening....I just can't sleep in a bed! So, at 5:15 I zipped out of class, caught the metro, met Gabriella at the Bastille then re-entered the metro that took us to the end of the line Chateau Vincennes. Here we had to wait for a Navette, shuttle bus, that took us about 10 minutes away to La Chartoucherie, an old munitions factory complex that has been converted into a theater, s0me shops, and night clubs, a very interesting and great reuse of space. Le Théâtre du Soleil actually refers to the avant-guard stage ensemble founded in the late 60s by Ariana Mnouchkine and Phillip Léotard and other students. She was actually taking tickets at the door. It's quite a production to get seats as it's open seating so everyone rushes to get through the door as soon as possible. The building itself looks like a large warehouse where we entered into a large restaurant area, proceeded quickly through the center part that looked like a storage area for sets, and then into the theater space. The seats were bleachers with cushioned seats and back and each had a paper number attached to a leather holder. The seats that had already been claimed were missing their numbers. So, we quickly found seats, took the number off the back of the seat, and attached it to our ticket. We then backtracked to the restaurant where we ate home cooked food, mine was simple salad with boiled potatoes, and Gabriella had the meat stew. These were the only choices with dessert which I had with coffee in order to stay awake. Everyone sat at long tables or benches or other types of unusual furniture around the room. All the people serving food, directing people, etc. were also the cast members.

The play began at 7:30 and ended 3 hours 45 minutes later with a short 15 minutes break. The stage was open with one exit down a set of stairs stage-left. At the break, we saw that the steps lead to the dressing/makeup room, located directly under the bleachers. The open end was draped with see-through lace material so the public could see the actors preparing for their roles. The play itself was mesmerizing and I never even thought about falling asleep! It was about the filming a silent movie concerning the worldwide events and political movements/ideologies leading up to WW I. Actually, it was hilarious watching how they re-enacted the filming process. In one scene the ship was in a huge storm at sea and they drug in a square metal box about one foot high, 4 feet long and 3 feet wide full of water with a toy ship in it. The camera person was holding a wooden box-style camera turning its crank while people directed fans at the ship, someone else used a wooden paddle to create huge waves, and a couple of musicians created the sounds on cello, piano, and symbols. There were several scenes with snow so cast members would stand on the sides throwing handfuls of fake snow in front of the fan while others pulled on ropes that were attached to long planks above that were piled with the fake stuff. As the ropes rocked the planks, the snow would fall...it was all fascinating to watch. The most helpful aspect was that since it was about the filming of this silent movie the speak was written above just like in the old silent films. Between scenes the actors would carry on in verbal language so I was able to understand quite a bit of the material. I am really thankful I got to see such a creative, fascinating, interesting, and fun play! Voila!

After a Long Absence--THE MOVE

I disappeared from here without warning in early May but my life became so busy that I couldn't get the time to write so I apologize to anyone who may be a dedicated reader. My busy-ness started with buying the new apartment. At the time, it had not yet been completely vacated by the previous owners but we had to get someone in there to repaint and do some minor repairs. The closing date was 27 May and the move date was 12 June so was there wasn't a lot of time to get everything done. On top of everything else, I was in the last 3 weeks of my French class and had to take the final exams on the 18 & 20 June.

The move itself was much more than I had anticipated...we were living in a 4th floor walk-up so hired a company to move all our stuff. The company dropped off a slew of boxes at the beginning of the week and we had to pack all of our lives into them by Sat. Needless to say, every moment of my days, outside of class time, was spent packing, packing and packing! Come Saturday morning three slightly older than middle-aged men showed up to move us. Seeing the age of these guys and considering the number of steps, I was worried that we might have to call the French equivalent of 911 sometime during the day. We had everything ready to move except the fragile items since our agreement stated that they would pack those but as it turned out the movers were overwhelmed with the amount of stairs and our stuff so we ended up stuffing paper around the glassware and packing them as well. By 3pm they had everything jammed into the back of their truck with our plants and a few odds and ends placed under their feet on the floorboard in the front seat. Once they started the engine and pulled out, Gabriella and I headed for the subway to meet them at the new residence.

Here, we encountered the first of several problems left by the painters--first, they had painted shut the locks on the double doors leading into our apartment from the hallway! The new apartment is rez-de-chaussée, ground floor, so we knew, at least, that the movers would be happy they had only 5 steps to climb but the real life-saver was that they could enter directly from the hall rather than by going out a side door through the courtyard and into a smaller single door that we use as our normal entrance. So, upon arrival, my task was to get that darn door unstuck before the movers appeared. Anyone who has tried to get a door or window opened after it's been painted shut knows what a chore this really is, now add to it the grand locking systems they use here in France and one can understand my pure frustration and fury the first moments in the new place. Each of the double doors has a large double square lock box midway down where the key is inserted and through which a metal slide bar moves, extending from the top of the door to the bottom. When locked the bar rests in a slot that's in the floor so before I could get the key tumblers, there are 2, to turn I had to pry loose the entire slide bars from top to bottom--the doors are about 9 feet tall. Since my tools were in the boxes yet to be delivered, I had to scrounge around for implements the painters had left behind to pry them loose. After about 30 minutes and just when the first boxes arrived, I succeeded in opening the doors!

The rest of the day into evening went as well as could be expected and we spent our first night with the bed set up and made....finally, home sweet home. Two weeks later I left for the States for a month then to Italy for 3 weeks....thus, a long pause on the blog.

Claude Monet's house

Last week while a friend from Portland, OR was visiting we took a day-trip to Giverny where Claude Monet had lived and painted. It was about an hour train trip outside of Paris to Vernon then a short hop on a local bus. The bus dropped everyone in a parking area and then we walked about 10 minutes to get to his house. The town itself is very tiny so we packed a lunch and ate under some trees before going to the house. The gardens were in full bloom so it was spectacular to see but unfortunately, it was the day of a national holiday so the place was jammed with tourist. Our favorite part was the pond where he had painted his famous water lilies. In this photo you can see some of that but there were gorgeous reflections all around it with huge weeping willows and numerous flowering trees, bushes, and flowers. They even had a simple wooden boat sitting under the weeping willows showing the exact scene that he had painted. Although the house doesn't have any of his original works, there was a large collection of reproductions in one of the rooms with a listing of where the originals could be seen. I highly recommend the place on a day mid-week day during the off season so you could actually sit and idle away some time enjoying the beauty of the landscape.

Busy week of performances

On Tuesday night we joined two South African friends to go to a dance performance by Gregory Maqom at Theatre de la Ville near Montmartre. I really had no idea what to expect so was thrilled when he turned out to be one of the most movingly beautiful contemporary dancers I've ever seen. He was accompanied by 4 musicians who were each equally excellent. Together they produced a magical performance that explored several topics including the effects of apartheid.

Wednesday night we attended a classical music concert at the Theatre des Champs-Élysées to hear the Rotterdam Philharmonic. I was truly amazed, as was the entire audience, when conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted the first half, Mozart, without any written music before him. In the second half, flutist Emmanuel Pahud joined the musician, performing exquisitely. The Theatre itself is well known, located on Avenue Montaigne one of Paris' chic-ist streets. This street is located between the Seine and the Arc de Triomphe and is lined with name brand stores like In my French class we are currently watching the French comedy, Fauteuils d'Orchestre, which takes place on this street.

A friend on mine from the States arrived on Thursday so last night we all went to a jazz concert at the famous Duc des Lombards club. We were treated to the great sounds of Jacques Schwarz-Bart (sax) and his group. The club has two sessions per night and since the weather is great at the moment and it doesn't get dark until after 10pm, we went for the 10pm concert which didn't let out until close to midnight. The streets outside were so lively that one would have thought it was 9pm. We went home by metro, which was as rowdy as the streets. By the time we got home it was around 1am, kind of late for these old gals, but we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Ah, Paris!

Buying an apartment in Paris: Part I

So, this is a subject I have avoided writing about for months since we're in the process of buying and I wasn't sure what the process was...well I'm still not sure but thought I'd attempt it! For us the process is still on-going through the purchase date of 28 May so there will be more info to come after that happens. First, of course, one has to locate a place. This in itself is a monstrous feat of willpower and time commitment. Unlike in the States where you work with one realtor who does all the legwork to identify the choices within your price-range and physical requests, in France each piece of property is listed with one or more real estate agencies, or independently by owner. Among all of these, the buyer must locate the places she wants to see then call or visit the various agencies that handle each of the properties. Within those agencies, often there is one specific person who can show a particular piece of property so one may have to wait for her/him to come back from vacation or where ever. Within some of the larger companies, other colleagues may show an apartment but at times they hand a client off to the another person when they reach the location. I have purchased several houses in the US through the years without any trouble but the system here is beyond comprehension. I bet we visited over 50 places over the course of the last year and I couldn't keep any of the realtors straight. There's also a very relaxed attitude among many of the realtors and they may or may not even act like they are interested in selling you something, much like the wait-staff in the cafés and restaurants! There were numerous times when we found something we liked so called the realtor and left a message requesting a visit but didn't even receive a call back. If we really wanted to see a place we would persist by calling back until we got ahold of someone. I often wondered if they really cared if they sold a place or not! Prices in Paris are outrageous to say the least and with each additional desirable characteristic you want in a place the price goes up. Age of the building including its charm factor, size, neighborhood, noise level of the street, sun exposure, steps verses elevator, and outdoor balcony are all figured into the price of an apartment. They price a place per square meter and each neighborhood has a bottom and top range. Of course, we wanted a large apt. in an old, charming building with an elevator near where we live now, south facing with a balcony! Naturally, this is what everyone looks for but only a few can actually afford so we changed our standards and kept hoping for a miracle. By mid November 2009, we were worn out from looking, the market had dropped some in the fall but was showing signs of going up again so we decided we needed to actually place a bid on a place soon.

This is the next complicated step since one must deal with the realtor to reach a price agreement and then put a certain percentage down and sign a very detailed contract of intent to buy. The buyer has 7 days to back out without penalty and then 30 days to secure a loan. Within the 7 days, the buyer must look at everything in the place to make sure if there aren't major structural problems, etc. In France, the real estate company is required to have a thorough inspection done but one is only allowed to see this after the intent to buy contract has been signed. If the buyer changes her/his mind after the 7 days the real estate company can keep the downpayment. If the buyer doesn't get a loan, s/he does get the downpayment back but I think that's the only circumstance they will accept.

By late November, there was an apartment that I liked in a building for 1990. It was in a nice location and on a closed off side street so no traffic noise...a major factor for me since we now live on a commercial street that has non-stop noise 24 hrs per day. Gabriella wasn't thrilled about the place but thought that she could live there without any trouble. The first I notice mold in the corners of the ceilings in the closet and bedroom. This was an alert sign for me even though the owner stated there was no problem that she knew of. She was asking 375,000Euros for about 57 sq. meters, high for that part of town, space, etc. So, we waited a few days and went to the agency, looked at the place a second time and offered 325,000E. The real estate agent had a fit and said he wouldn't ever propose that amount to the woman so we said that we could go as high as 335,000E, our target, but that was it. He said No to that as well so we left disappointed but low and behold 3 days later he called with a story about having seen the owner and her having accepted our bid. Thus, began a 3 week roller coaster ride that ended when we still had no official paper signed from the realtor and had visited another place that came through an email advertisement that we liked.

To be continued......

Lucian Freud L'Atelier Exhibit at the Centre Pompidou

Yesterday I walked from our apartment to the Centre Pompidou, France's national museum of modern art. This very contemporary structure located in the heart of the Marais, one of the oldest parts of Paris, takes up an entire city block including its outdoor amphitheater. I generally don't care for the exhibits presented there because they're usually be bit too abstract for my tastes but the Lucian Freud L'Atelier was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. All of the paintings were done inside or outside in the garden of his London studio. Many of these were nudes, lots were self-portraits, but not in the sensual classical sense of nudes. He actually preferred to use the word "naked" to describe his nudes which is understandable considering his intent. These paintings show more the wear of time on the body and his use of paints to illustrate skin tones is really amazing. At the end of the exhibit was a film of his workshop with some still photos of the space in a small attached room. These too were interesting since the studio was already familiar because the paintings reveals its walls and props. Check out the exhibit at the Pompidou's website http://www.centrepompidou.fr/Pompidou/Manifs.nsf/AllExpositions/57C293CB2BD5E0CFC12576E3003A4771?OpenDocument&sessionM=2.2.1&L=1

Bois de Boulogne

Paris is one of the green-ist of the large cities in the world. It not only has tons of small parks hidden throughout its neighborhoods but also it boasts of numerous large, expansive parks. On Sunday we visited the city's largest, Bois de Boulogne, situated on the western edge of Paris. In ancient times this was one of the hunting areas for the kings, thus the surrounding residential neighborhoods are upscale. The park is now a smorgasbord for outdoor/nature activities and contains several specialty parks within its boundaries. For example, the southern edge of the Bois has Roland Garros where the annual French Open takes place. We took the Metro Line 1 to the Sabion exit then walked to entrance nearest to the Jardin d'Acclimatation. From there we headed to the Parc de Bagatelle, one of Paris' botanic gardens. It was absolutely gorgeous with tulips, clematis, apple and pear trees, wisteria, and tons more in full bloom. The gardens even have a very attractive restaurant that we want to someday go back to someday. There were also several pairs of peacocks wondering the grounds, providing lots of picture-taking opportunities. One of the males spread his full plumage as spectators oooed and awed, myself included. At the end of day, we had clocked in more than 10 miles of walking, every step of the way worth the effort.

Tractors take to the Streets of Paris

The French are known for taking to the streets to protest anything and everything that dissatisfies them. I consider this a function of any democracy, if something doesn't work for the people then the people publicly, and en mass, show their point of view. La grève, the strike, is a French institution used almost weekly, although it seems more like daily, in Paris. Transportation, medical services, educators, garbage workers, and more have all had strikes since I've been in France. Today, over 2000 tractors descended on the country's capital driven by grain farmers from all French regions. They tied up traffic for over 12 hours as they drove slowly through the city, flying flags and shooting off fireworks to bring attention to their cause.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The weather in Paris has been great for over 2 weeks so yesterday we decided to put a bunch of stuff into the day pack and to head out of Paris for the countryside. The RER is a system of trains that runs through Paris' subway, connecting the suburbs to the city. We walked over to Gare du Lyon from our apartment, bought 2 R/T tickets for less than 10 euros each, and went out to the small town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye 19 km from the heart of Paris. The town is known for its château and attached gardens that were particular favorites of King Louis XIV. We actually exited the RER below ground and came up right across the street from the castle which creates a dramatic entrance to the town. By the time we arrived we were ready for lunch so immediately found a terrace restaurant where we ate a salad before heading back to the grounds of the castle. It was really too pretty to be indoors so we postponed the visit to the château for another time and went straight into the gardens. The castle and grounds sit along a high plateau overlooking a long valley stretching all the way to Paris. As a matter of fact, from there we could see the Eiffel Tower with the towering contemporary buildings of La Defense in the foreground. We first walked through the château's large gardens and then continued into a connecting forest for a long walk. Afterwards, we sat at a café in the gardens and had a drink while we played cards in the sunshine. It was really so easy to get away from the city to enjoy nature and a lovely historic setting.

Exhibition at UNESCO

Paris is home to UNESCO and I have a colleague from the States who works there in the Intangible Cultural Heritage section. Last Wednesday evening, I attended the opening of an exhibit they brought from the States that showcases some of the National Heritage Fellows. These are people who have been selected because of their outstanding talents as traditional artists. The exhibit was produced by Documentary Arts in Texas and consists of 46 larger than life-size photographs of artists and short bios about them. It was done in cooperation with Flemish Belgium interests so dignitaries from that country spoke at the opening. Then Cajun fiddler, Michael Doucet, who came from Louisiana, gave a demo of his fiddling style. Afterwards, the Belgium government sponsored the very nice reception complete with Belgium beers and chocolates.

The next evening Michael Doucet had a concert after the viewing of a documentary film on Texas fiddling styles by Alan Governar of Documentary Arts. That night I left my apartment in plenty of time to get there but unfortunately I forgot to take my invitation with me. The previous evening no one had even looked at it so I didn't really think it would matter. Wrong! That night UNESCO was mobbed with people, which I thought was amazing. I wondered how many people would come out to see a Cajun fiddler? After going through the security screening, I had to wait in line to get into the concert hall. I did notice that a woman was checking tickets so I arranged French words in my mind preparing to convince her that I was worthy of entering. However, she was not interested in any of my excuses for not having a ticket and told me that under no circumstances could I enter without one. At that point another woman came over and even tried to intervene on my behalf for the first woman would hear nothing of it, I had to have a ticket, period! So, I went back out to the foyer, outside of security, and convinced the person at the information desk that I should be allowed in. She gave me a copy of an invitation, then I went back through security, cued up again and finally got past the ogre. The hall was large and at that point I was ushered to the second level where I quickly found a place to light.

By this time it was already after 6:30pm which should have been the starting time. So, I sat there for another 30 minutes wondering why it hadn't started yet. The woman next to me asked the time...it was 7:05 and I commented that it was very late in starting. But she told me it was supposed to start at 7pm. Finally, dignitaries gathered on stage and started speaking. At first, I thought it was a bit odd that one of the persons spoke Italian but I love to listen to Italian so I wasn't thinking about much. Then the second and third persons also made comments in Italian which really seemed odd. It finally occurred to me that the grand piano on stage was going to be played by an Italian artist! I was in the wrong place!!! Quietly, I got up and left, exiting outside the door past the ogre. In the lit hallway I found a flier for the concert I was supposed to be attending. By the time I got to the right place in the building, it was 7:40, I had completely missed the showing of the film and Michael only had only 2 tune left to play. When I left into the dark of night I truly felt in many ways in-the-dark.

London & the Euro Star

After all the horrible things that happened in the tunnel between France and England over the last winter holidays, I had great reservations about taking the Euro Star to London. But a friend invited us to spend the long Easter weekend in London so we decided to go by Euro Star since one can go from the heart of Paris to the heart of London in 2.5 hours! We didn't have to bother getting to and from the airports, etc. I also had worried that going under the English Channel would last a long time but in fact it was only about 10 minutes, far less than the time it takes me in the subway to get to class, so I didn't really have time to think much about it. Pretty amazing actually!

Our first day, we had tickets to see a performance of Handel's full Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, opened in 1871. Our seats were on the first row behind the chorus, which were absolutely fabulous. There was a full orchestra and at least 200 voices so the sound was incredible. We got to watch the conductor and were facing the audience so had a grand view of the hall. It lasted about 2.5 hours and,keeping with tradition, everyone stood for the Halleluiah chorus. Magnificent! On the way back to the house where we were staying we stopped in for about an hour to see some of the Albert and Victoria Museum. The day was cool and rainy....typical for London.

The second day we joined our friends to do some tourist things. First we went to the Portobello Road Market, which was a zoo and we tired of it quickly so ended up in a pub for lunch. Then we went to St. Paul's church, which was closed. We walked a lot in the area and saw the big wheel and some historic buildings.

On Easter, we headed out early to go to the Royal Academy of Arts to see the exhibit, The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters. It was really great seeing so many of his works from the period that he spent while living in Arles in southern France. I also enjoyed seeing his letters where he drew miniatures of many of his works. We ate in a small restaurant and then went to the Tate Britain to see an exhibit of Henry Moore's works. I'm really not a huge fan of abstract art but it was nice seeing this exhibit.

Afterwards, we decided to walk back to the place we were staying that took an hour and a half to walk. At the Albert Bridge we took the only photo of the entire trip. The late afternoon sun had just come out and was shining on the bridge. Back to Paris the following day.

Opéra Comique

Last night I accompanied Gabriella to the Opéra Comique for a preview presentation of their coming season. A panel of four people talked about the offerings and a pianist and singers performed a few pieces to wet our appetites. The building itself is something to behold. We sat on the third tier looking out over the stage below and at winged angels in front of us. Human sculpted figures hold up different levels of balconies and gold leafed ornate designs flourish amid classical painted scenes from the 18th century. After the event, they hosted us to hors d'oeuvres and wine. It was a nice, short, but very interesting, evening event. Here's their website

http://www.opera-comique.com/fr/opera-comique-2-2/

Avignon, France

This past weekend I went with a French friend to visit the city of Avignon in Provence. Anyone raised in the Catholic religion will know that the city was the seat of the papacy during part of the 14th century. Of course the papacy was like the government for all of the Catholic world, which at that time included much of Europe. The pope himself was like a king so he lived like one! The Catholic churches with their grandiose sizes, their gold tabernacles, embroidered vestments, chalices, etc., masterpiece artworks, ornate architectures, etc. are testaments to the riches that the pope and clergy amassed over the centuries. Since there was so much constructions to be done in Avignon when the papacy relocated there, many of the best architects, weavers, painters, and sculpture artists, craftspeople, etc. moved there. Consequently, there are many incredible remains from that period, as well as from long before since Avignon has always been important because of its strategic location along the Rhone. The entire old city is surrounded by a Medieval wall punctuated with intermittent ports or entrances. You can see where parts have been repaired but it is in exceptionally good condition, as are most of the monuments. It's easy to see why the city has received the UNESCO World Heritage designation. We spent our three days visiting the Palais des Papes, the Museum du Petit Palais, Pont St. Benezet, and minor churches in the village. On Saturday we walked across the bridge that connects Avignon with Villeneuve des Avignon and explored some of the churches and cloisters. We got there during lunch time and the tower at the foot of the hill was closed so we proceeded up the hill to the small town center where we lucked upon a great little restaurant for lunch, Le Saint André. They are mentioned in one of the Michelin Guides and I have to say they offered a full hot plate that was also delicious for vegetarians, not common in France. After eating we visited an abby then headed to the top of the hill to see the fort that was closing for the afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see anything but the entrance but it's something to return for in the future since it is also wonderfully preserved. Sunday we did one of the walking tours in Avignon and discovered more wonderful jewels before boarding the TGV, fast train, to return to Paris. In addition to seeing such great sights, I also got 3 great days of French language immersion with my friend Monique!

Arles, France

This past weekend I had the good fortune to be able to visit Arles which is a small town in the southern part of Provence. It sits at the convergence of the large and small Rhone Rivers inland a bit from the northern Mediterranean Sea. I was expecting warm temps since I have an image of the Mediterranean being forever warm, but it was far from that. It's been a very cold and unusual winter so Arles actually had some remnants of snow scattered about. The wind was very strong so I'm sure it felt a lot colder than it was.

Arles is a UNESCO World Heritage site so I spent 2 plus days exploring Roman and Medieval ruins, viewing artwork, and relaxing in the hotel in the heart of the old city. This town has Greek and Roman pasts with the Romans leaving their marble footprints, some of which are not only still visible but still in use today. Julius Cesar is noted as founding Arles as a Roman colony around 46 BC. The city's two most famous Roman ruins are the Roman amphitheatre where they staged the infamous sporting events with wild animals and gladiators and chariot races and the Theatre Antique seen here on the left which was a huge complex for drama. Today, the city hosts bullfights in the amphitheatre, while the Theatre Antique is being restored to some of its previous grandeur with future plans to use it as it once was. Below the Place de la Republique is the enormous Les Cryptoportiques from the 1st century that served as a storage place for agricultural products and wine as well as for other public needs. As I walked under the perfectly formed barrel-shaped ceilings, I couldn't help but to marvel at Roman engineering. There are also remnants of the Roman baths where the entire population, rich and poor, would go to bathe every evening. These are located very close to the Rhone as an obvious source of water. Medieval churches and cloisters seem to be around every corner and the winding, narrow, maze-like streets give one the feel of what life must have been like during the Middle Ages. Much, much later Van Gogh lived here and found inspiration from the light and colors of the town. We ate at the Café de la Nuit that was the subject for one of his famous paintings but none of his original works exist in Arles. The Musée Réattu had some works that Picasso donated that I enjoyed seeing since they were mostly simple, small pieces that aren't normally seen. My favorite museum was the contemporary Musée de l'Arles Antique that holds a huge collection of prehistoric to the VI century artifacts found in the region. They have recently added hundreds of objects to their permanent collection that were brought up from an excavation in the Rhone river. Objects from ship wrecks centuries ago but also things that people took to the river and threw in, sort of like the city garbage dump of everyday things that didn't have any more value or use. The last room of this collection had a magnificent bust of Jules Cesar! A picture is worth a thousand words so check out the city's website for great photos and tons of information. http://www.tourisme.ville-arles.fr/

The Louvre

The Louvre is probably the most famous art museum in the world, and for good reason. I've been there more times than I can count, often when guests come and want me to accompany them. Even at that, I still have not seen the whole place nor even a portion of its holdings. Everyone, of course, wants to see the Louvre's most famous of all inhabitants, the Mona Lisa. Luckily, I got to see her up-close-and-personal before they roped off the area, placing her about 20 feet from the nearest person and behind a protective glass. She's got fantastic eyes that follow you as you pass. I remember spending several minutes going back and forth directly in front of her just to watch her eyes follow me, I also said a few personal words to her as if we were old friends. Unfortunately, those days are gone with the hordes of people who jam shoulder-to-shoulder to get a glimpse of her before they have to move on to allow someone else time to take a photograph. But, I have to say, the Louvre has so many stunning works of art that the Mona Lisa is really just one among thousands.

The history of the Louvre is long and rich with characters from the pages of French textbooks. Words like enormous, monstrous, gigantic, etc., just don't seem to adequately describe its size, importance, or character. Luckily, it has survived the test of time to give all who visit a genuine sense of its place as a world monument. One enters through the famous pyramid, designed by I.M. Peï and opened in 1989, then quickly descends into a grand welcome center directly under the pyramid. This is the heart of an underground complex that spiders out into the various museum galleries, conference rooms, auditoriums, snack bars, restaurants, a bookshop, as well as into an upscale shopping center that connects directly with Line 1 of the Paris subway. After entering the through the pyramid, the eyes are drawn automatically back up to the glass ceiling where surrounding building facades oversee the museum's daily visitations. At dusk, this vision is truly magical when the entry hall is darker than the twilight sky above. Outside surrounding the pyramid are several triangular shaped reflecting pools that are about knee-high and aren't even visible until close approach. In the day-light these add radiance to the entrance and in the evening they provide dancing displays from nearby light sources. There are 3 smaller pyramids positioned at points where the walkways join, providing a window to the outside from below. The Louvre's website is excellent where one can discover lots about the place without ever going. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp

The Louvre hosts many cultural events besides art exhibits. In the past month, we have been there a couple of times to concerts in an auditorium that is acoustically wonderful and small enough that every seat is a good one. Wednesday night we heard a choral concert of baroque music that was stunning, with some 12 singers and about the same number of musicians. The concert started at 8pm, it was raining outside and chilly when I left the apartment. I took the bus and got off just across from the Louvre. The arched entrance into one of the Louvre's interior courtyards that I would normally take was blocked due to construction so I had to walk around to another entrance. As I acrossed the uneven, wet stones of the courtyard I looked up at the four surrounding walls and had the distinct feeling of what it must have been like walking that same path in the 17th or 18th century. That courtyard connects to the Cour Napoléon, where the pyramid is, through an archway the length of that building's wing. It was dark but bustling with people and off to the side a cellist played a classical piece of music for public enjoyment. It was a sensual moment and I felt truly blessed to be living in such an artistically rich part of the world.

Grand Palais

Last weekend was very busy, beginning with a visit to the Grand Palais.  If you have visited Paris but have not been to the Grand Palais, you have missed a truly beautiful piece of architecture built in 1900 for the World's Fair.  This is the world's largest glass structure and it literally takes your breathe away when you enter it.  The Grand Palais hosts lots of fabulous temporary exhibits and I have been fortunate in seeing some of the worlds many masterpieces there. You can visit their site to see where you need to plan for the next time you're here  http://www.grandpalaisparis.com/  

Last Friday we went to see an installation by a contemporary French artist, Christian Boltanski.  I had no expectations nor did I know I was going to see an installation, I thought it was an exhibit of abstract painting.  At the entrance, there was a long, tall row of metal boxes stacked so that one could not see into the larger space.  The boxes gave the impression of a long wall that reminded me of one in a mausoleum.  The metal was in all shades of brown and rust with hughes brightened or darkened by the light coming through the glass ceiling.  From within came a vibrating sound that appeared to be a rhythmic drum beat, which I later realized was the beat of human hearts.  As I rounded the corner, the huge floor space under the glass dome lay before me and I was awe-struck by the installation.  Throughout were square block areas of clothes lying on the floor with florescent lights suspended about 4 feet above each.  Between the rows was enough space to walk, giving the impression of the grid of a city or the rows of a cemetery.  The eye immediately went to the central point of the space where a huge crane with a scoop mechanism was dropping onto a gigantic mound of cloths, picking them up, raising them to the ceiling, and them dropping them again onto the pile.  I stood transfixed watching this process over and over again, each time feeling the motion was more dramatic.  Part of the intention of the artist was to show the randomness of death, which he accomplished with great effect.  The clothes were like skeletons of people and the mound made one think of all those who died in the Holocaust, as did the squares of clothes that could easily have represented the death camps. Then, of course, the constant sound of the heart beat reinforced the dramatic moment in life when that stops. It's difficult to explain the impact that art can have on oneself since it's so personal and intimate but Boltanski created an incredibly emotional experience.  There's an interview with him at the Grand Palais on YouTube so check it out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv7tatnhFAc&feature=fvw

Snowing for day 2

For the second day in a row, we are having snow in Paris.  This is a very rare event since the weather here is very temperate so it really rarely snows much less for two days in a row.  Earlier the flakes were huge so I got out my camera and snapped a few photos from the apartment which is located on the 4th and top floor on rue du Faubourg St. Antoine between the famous Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation.  The snow only lasted a few minutes and melted quickly so later I walked over to the Marché Alégre, our local farmers' market, to shop for fresh fruits and veggies.  On one of the adjacent streets is a wine bar called Le Baron Rouge so I stopped in to pick up a bottle of their organic Côte de Rhone to have on hand in case we want a glass for dinner sometime soon.  Most people think that everyone here drinks wine at each meal but it's not true, it is true though that it's normal for people drink a glass at one of their meals.  Unlike in the States though people normally just drink at meals and only a glass or 2 at the most.  The Barron a quaint, rustic place with about 6 large wooden barrels of different types of wine at the entrance.  People often take their own containers in there and the staff fills it from the barrel of their choice. A litre of wine is about 4E80 if you bring your own container and 50 centimes more without. 

I'm back home, had lunch and it's started to snow again. Although it's pouring, I doubt that it will last very long. There's not a lot to get excited about with the snow but it's really nice while it is falling. 

This is the first time in my life of living in a city where everyone lives in apartments and where individual family dwellings is non-existent. I don't know any of my neighbors except our next door land-lady and the woman downstairs who chain smokes so much that we get constant whiffs of it in our place that has a well-placed NO SMOKING sign, doesn't do any good in this case. Our neighbors are basically strangers who inhabit all those windows on the buildings surrounding us. Our building has 5 other apartments and a restaurant on the first couple of floors.  Mind you I've never eaten there but I daily smell their plats du jour, although I have had coffee with a croissant there.  It's a cafe/tabac so is a sort cheaper version of a brasserie.  We have 2 grocery stores on our block plus several shoe shops and various other businesses.  It's definitely a big city environment and popular area of Paris for shopping and for night clubs for young people. 

Going to the movies

One of my great distractions and loves in life is going to the movies, I've always preferred films seen in proper big screen theaters. I particularly love foreign films and was an avid attendee of Portland's annual International Film Festival and looked forward to seeing lots in Paris.  However, in France, I end up seeing mostly English language films because everything that is not filmed in French already is obviously subtitled in French so all the international films are a bit of a challenge, something I had not thought through before arriving. But I have to say that I now try to keep up with reading the subtitles in French with the English films so I can acquire a bit more vocabulary.   I, of course, have seen quite a few French films as well as some Italian and Spanish ones with Gabriella's translation help. As I get better in French, I'm seeing more of those although I certainly still need some help understanding but I keep trying.  Some movie theaters only show movies dubbed in French so there's no need from the French to read the subtitles but I really hate dubbed anything, about 1/2 the TV shows here are dubbed American series, so we avoid those theaters. Paris is a huge movie-loving city.  There are large cinemas as well as tons and tons of very small, quaint places showing everything from the first silent films to the latest blockbusters. Paris is also a destination for the study of film where there are universities dedicated to this as well as  large collections of films for example at the Centre Pompidou < http://www.centrepompidou.fr/ > and Le Forum des Images < http://www.forumdesimages.fr/ >, but also bookstores dedicated to film, and just about anything else dealing with film one could hope to find in one place.   The experience of going to the movies is a bit different in Paris.  Once you have purchased your ticket, most often from a person inside the theater, although Les Halles is an exception with its new self-service kiosks and everything is inside and underground, you have to go outside and wait in the elements, standing in line until they are ready to let you inside. They most often don't open the doors until the actual time that the movie is supposed to begin or close to it.  It's very annoying when it's cold or rainy or you're just tired.  When they finally open the doors everyone then races in to get a good seat.  Most theaters do not sell anything to eat or drink, which was a real shock to me since eating popcorn at the movies is part of the movie experience for Americans.  I guess it saves on staff and cleanup time and definitely the cost of the film for movie-goers.  We did eat popcorn once at one of the few cinemas that sells it and believe me it will be the last time!  That was the worst stuff I've ever eaten and I just couldn't figure out in which of the last 3 decades it had been popped? Another annoying feature of Parisian cinemas is that the rows of seats are placed so close together that you cannot more your legs during the whole movie.  It's actually worse than being in the economy class on airplanes, which is hard to beat. I try to sit on the end of the rows so I can at least stretch out one leg. Even with the obstacles I've mentioned, going to the movies remains one of my favorite things to do and this weekend we saw Up in the Air and Sherlock Homes.  

Paris Metro

When I first moved here I vowed to find ways to avoid using Paris' underground transportation system, known here as the Metro. Subways have always reminded me of those ant farms some kids had when I was younger, hundreds of tiny creatures moving from one place to another through a series of tunnels. I really detested the idea of joining the swarms of people crammed into the train cars that carried them to unknown destinations. But low and behold, the time constraints of waiting for a bus, transferring several times and then additional walking to reach a place, have helped me to form a new attitude about "taking the metro." So, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, plus many other times during any given week, I join others coming from every direction as I rush to get to school. I take the line #1 from the Bastille three stops to Chatelet, one of the busiest stations in the heart of Paris, transfer there to the line #4 in the direction of Porte d'Orleans to the Alesia station. Here I walk or catch a bus to the international school run by the city government of Paris. After class I reverse myself and return home by 1:30 to eat lunch.

I always think of the subway as a whole other city that exits directly below the Parisian streets so famous the world over. First of all, there are constantly thousands of people down there buzzing from one location to another. One can shop for many of the same things that can be found above ground. Larger stations always have fresh produce and fast food places, as well as magazine/newspaper stalls, but you can also find jewelry, camera, phone, clothing and other types of shops. The smells in the subway also mimic the exterior world where you can cross into neighborhoods where fresh bread is baking or beer is being brewed, however, with a great amount of difference between the types of smells above/down below. The strongest. and one no one forgets, is the ubiquitous smell of urine. At first, I used to ask the question, who pees in here so much? Until one day I saw a man with his dog (oh and the French do love their dogs who accompany them everywhere) and the dog was lifting his leg right on the wall of the platform where I was waiting for the train. But the most memorial afternoon was when Gabriella and I had just entered a station to catch a train back to our apartment and we noticed a very tall young man facing the wall of the tunnel. As we got closer we noticed he was holding his "thing" and peeing into the little trough that borders both sides of most tunnel walkways. As each person would pass him, he would look directly at him/her and say "Désolé!" (Sorry!) Well, you certainly can't fault the French for being overly polite! After those episodes, I stopped wondering where the pee smells came from.

There are always tons of surprises in the subway and those can either interest or amuse you or make you question reality itself. It's home to many homeless people, some of whom are mentally unstable, some of whom are alcoholic, or some of whom are just down on their luck. There are beggars who sit in certain locations day-after-day with their hands out and they become as familiar as the posters that line the walls advertising exhibits, movies events, stores, etc. Most people don't talk to each other in the metro, sort of like the quiet moments we experience in elevators with the strangers who cram in with us. One can always hear groups traveling together because they do talk to each other, mostly loud and a lot in English. But there are moments of stranger-to-stranger interactions, mostly when someone offers another his/her seat or a woman needs help getting her baby carriage up the steps. My favorite people in the subway are the many musicians who either set up in certain locations like big intersections or at the end of long hallways or the ones who directly board a car to play a few tunes between stops. One can hear any type of music from classical to hiphop but I've notice that the majority of music is traditional and comes from all over the world. The sound of these musicians never fails to lift my spirits or to brighten the drab subway environment so I always try to keep coins in my pocket to drop in their boxes, hats, cups, instrument cases or other creative containers for these are truly hard working do-gooders.

It's quite liberating to live without a car, especially in a place where traffic is always jammed, where vehicles disregard the lines that separate lanes, where everyone is in a hurry, where most streets end at round-a-bouts making logical navigation impossible, and where motorcycles constantly squeeze between lanes to get ahead of the line. One of these days, I'll describe what it's like to ride my bike in Paris, which I do often.

Birthday Dinner

For my birthday dinner on Monday, I chose to go to a pure vegetarian Indian restaurant, Knishna Bhavan, at 21/24 rue Cail near the Gare de Nord. (Unfortunately, there's no website available.) This is a very small, completely informal place that serves great simple Indian cuisine. The menu has a wide selection of the fast dishes that you find in southern India such as dosas, but I especially like fermented rice bread called idli that is usually served with sambar, soup. I got the house thaali that comes on the large metal dish that has several little compartments for small portions of different dishes. Gabriella and I had invited our friends Adele and Bruce to join us so after eating we all walked back to their apartment where we had champagne and a delicious chocolate cherry cake from a bakery down the street from us on Faubourgh St. Antoine. It was a very simple but lovely evening and we were back home before 11:30pm.

Birthday e-card

Tom, a friend here in Paris, sent this to me today since it's my birthday....and the day I am officially qualified to get my Social Security from the States....YIPEE!!!  I never thought that 62 would feel so good.  I will write more after I get back from my birthday dinner. 

Market, Tiffany Exh. etc

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm just getting ready to do my French homework, argh! I got up late this morning 10:30, had a little breakfast then went out to shop at the Sunday market at the Bastille. Each Thursday and Sunday, vendors of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, cheeses, etc as well as all sorts of clothing, jewelry and other commercial items set up along the green space in the center of the rue de Richard Lenoirs. Gabriella requested fresh pasta for lunch so I had to go there to one of the booths that sells Italian specialties to get it. Normally, I would go to our groceries Monopris or 'Frankpris but those are closed on Sundays--yes, it's true that the establishments close here on Sunday still. Kind of nice not to see stores constantly pressured to be open 24/7. Refreshing albeit at time inconvenient but we manage as does everyone else. I ended up getting the pasta, apples, clementines, bananas, walnuts, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and a fresh baguette at a boulanger on the way home. When shopping here you must always be calculating how much you can actually weight and volume-wise back home. I've found myself numerous times with way too much, struggling to get it back home, which BTW includes carrying it up 4 flights of stairs! We ended up having a very lovely lunch/early dinner.

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to see an exhibit on Tiffany at the Musée du Luxembourg at the gardens with the same name. This is it's last weekend so we had to rush, and stay in the rain for about 20 minutes to get to tickets but it was well worth it. I was difficult to choose ones favorites among such exquisite pieces but you can see 2 of my favorites and read a review at http://www.artknowledgenews.com/2009-08-04-20-48-31-musee-du-luxembourg-opens-a-louis-comfort-tiffany-monographic-exhibition.html . It was really a feast for the eyes! Afterward we walked to a nearby cinema at the Metro Odeon where we saw the 3D version of Avatar. The house was packed and I thought we would be the oldest ones there until a group senior to us arrived looking for the very few remaining seats. I loved watching the technological wonder of 3D and of course enjoyed the age-old stories of the horrors of colonization, good conquering evil, love curing all, etc. However, I think my favorite parts were the creatures and scenery of Pandora, how magical! Nice to visit such a fantastic world for those few hours.

On the way home we stopped at a neighborhood Italian restaurant for a small bite to eat. This is a place very close by but into which we had never enter because it looked so sad. Recently, they fixed the place up nicely so we tried it but were under-whelmed by the food---way too much garlic! Gabriella is hard to please with Italian anyway but I even noticed the garlic excess. Anyway, we decided we would try them again some other for a pizza to see if those are good.

Fellini exhibit

Yesterday after Gabriella was finished with her work we went to see an exhibit about Federico Fellini (just in time as it ends this Sunday) at Jeu de Paume at the Concorde. It's called Fellini, La Grande Parade.  There's a great review of it in English at http://www.ivyparisnews.com/2009/10/fellini-la-grande-parade-at-jeu-de-paume.html .  Afterwards, we walked to the nearby shop of Pierre Hermé on rue Bonaparte (www.pierreherme.com) to buy a few of their famous macarons.  These are nothing like the macaroons one finds in the States.  They are a type of meringue cookie with a filling and come in different colors/flavors. Paris is known for these but unless you get really good ones, they aren't worth eating. On the other hand, if you get good ones, and Hermé has the best, it's like eating nothing you have ever had before....they simply melt in your mouth while oozing indescribable flavors such as citron, pistache, caramel, and more...check out their website. However, they are pretty expensive, 1E25 a piece, so that keeps us from buying too many.  We bought four as a treat for after dinner. 

We moved from the heart of the 6th arrondissement back to our neighborhood where Gabriella had made reservations at a restaurant that had been recommended to her.  She wanted for this dinner to be the beginning of our weekend celebration of my birthday that falls on the coming Monday. She was told it was an Italian restaurant but neither of us could find anything on the menu that would warrant that designation.  We did however have excellent meals and they were able to accommodated me as a vegetarian.  The place has a set menu which is different everyday and consists of a 5 or 7 course meal.  We went for the 5 course one and we completely full by the end.  It started with a sort of soup, although there was very little broth, of fennel, celery, and red peppers, then there were 2 small dishes followed by the main course which for me was grilled sweet potato with some other veggies.  We ended with two desserts, a chocolate brownie something of another with little white somethings plus a bit of sherbet between a delicate cookie topped with a touch of some kind of meringue.  Needless to say, we didn't eat the macarons last night!

French class, Haiti

I just finished  lunch after having attended my 2-hour class this morning.  My teacher, Caroline, is quite a hoot.  She's middle-aged, like me : > ) but much younger.  She has a great head of very curly hair that's blonde with white roots, at times. Caroline is a very smart, dynamic teacher who speaks very rapidly, as do all the French, in my opinion.  But, she also has a wonderful sense of humor that helps us to stay tuned-in when there's little hope for complete understanding.  I'm in the level 3 class offered through the government of Paris.  The city offers French classes for immigrants at a much reduced price from the commercial establishments like L'Alliance Française.  This is my second semester there and I also think the system and teachers are much better than the other.  

As part of my own regime to learn the language, I listen to French talk-radio as often as I can.  Over the past 2 days, I've been listening to non-stop information about the disaster in Haiti.  How terrible to think of so many people trapped in that hopeless situation.  Paris is the center for Medicin Sans Frontière, Doctors Without Borders, and is one of the places people can donate to help get medicine and help to people there.  That website is http://www.msf.org/ in case anyone still hasn't donated or is not sure where to do that.  The French, of course, have a particular relationship and concern for the people there. Listening to news here in French, I can sense that acute concern.  

Visiting the doctor

On the same topic of the doctor, I had to go in to my doctor yesterday to pick up a prescription for a medicine I take regularly.  She had told me to come in at 11AM so I arrived about 5 minutes early.  I entered the outer door and got to the next door at the end of the hallway where I had to push a button to be admitted.   After pushing it several times and waiting in between, I decided to call her to see what the problem was.  No answer so I left a message in French for her to call me back on my cell.  Instead of waiting in the dark hallway, I went to the adjacent cafe--there's always one of two--where I ordered a coffee, it's really an expresso, and a croissant.  I called her office a couple more times, to no avail, so I wrote a message on the backside of the bill explaining everything I had done to be there and to please call me to let me know when I could come again.  My intention was to drop it in her mailbox, which I had forgotten was behind the security door that I could not enter.  Anyway, after about 30 minutes sipping and munching, I went back into the building to try the buzzer one last time and low and behold, she buzzed me in.  So, I walked up the flight of stairs and entered her office.  It's a very stark and quiet entry with a door in front down the short hallway, the waiting room.  It only took a couple of minutes before Dr. Pradelle opened the door and asked me to come in.  She's very young, like she could be my daughter, and was wearing a pair of jeans with a sweater and boots.  I told her my saga, she speaks English so that makes it easy to tell such a long tale, and she said, "Oh I was down the hallway (meaning she was in the bathroom) and the battery on my phone is out."  Such is life in France--be on time, wait, have a coffee and croissant, and come back later...everything will be just fine!

Visiting the doctor

Today was supposed to be my first visit with a French dentist but the appointment got cancelled because he is sick...seems like the whole of Paris is sick, sauf moi! In my class today, the 3 others in my discussion group where all coughing and hacking. Then on the subway home everyone was blowing and sniffing, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the doctor is also sick. I was actually looking forward to seeing the dentist, as it's been almost 3 years since I've been to one, plus I'm curious to see how the French dentists are compared to the medical doctors. Going to the doctor here is really strange. The first time I called the doctor a woman answered with "hello", well in French, of course. So, I asked, "Is this Dr. Pradell's office?", also in French. The woman said, "Yes, this is the doctor." Well, first of all, I was taken aback that the person didn't answer with "Good morning this is Dr. Pradell's office" and, secondly, that it was the doctor herself answering the phone! How many times does that happen in the States? Well my experience here is that most of them do answer their own phones because they don't have receptionists! When I went to her office she was the person who buzzed me into the building, as all buildings here have security codes for the entry doors. Then she came to the door and called me in when she was ready for me. Her office was actually in an apartment building, again many here are, on the second floor with NO elevator! So, what about the patients who are not able to climb stairs? The office itself was furnished with only her desk and a chair on the other side for the client. She did have a computer on her desk which is the first I had seen. (I have previously been to a couple of specialists, non of whom had computers.) When she examined me she had me to go into an adjacent room where there was an examination table but no over head lights or any type of extra equipment. But the end of the visit is the strangest of all because I paid her directly in cash, again, all the previous specialists were the same. I don't know why but there's something very odd feeling about paying the doctor directly, it just doesn't feel right to me. Oh, one last thing, she ordered a bunch of tests so I had to go to the different labs to have those done and each gave me the results directly. I ended up going back to my doctor so she could read the results but when I left I took all the X-rays, lab results, etc. with me and now I am responsible for keeping the originals of my own medical files! Guess I'm going to have to get a filing cabinet at some point.

Bookstore reading and dinner

Went to an afternoon conversation group for an hour and a half then met Gabriella at the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore to hear American poet Marilyn Hacker read from her works.  The place is right on the Seine near St. Michelle, the famous fountain and tourist site, and in a very very old building.  There were people standing outside trying to get in the door when I arrived.  Gabriella called my cell to say she was inside and upstairs so the woman taking care of the door led a bunch of us up the side stairs.  We all sat in a room full of old books and listened over a speaker system.  Afterwards, we had dinner in vegetarian restaurant nearby. Gabriella gave the same evaluation of the food that she had several years previously when we visited one of Paris' few other vegetarian establishments..."I'm never going back there!"  Of course, I told her she always orders the most common of dishes and doesn't like them.  Anyway, mine was fine, seitain with veggies and a salad.  We did share a desert that was dreadful, a chocolate crepe.  Now it's hard to get that one wrong but they served us old crepes that were more like rubber then food....so I have to partly agree with her.  We then walked past Notre Dame Cathedral on our way to the bus stop on the right bank.  The Xmas trees was still lit so it was quite beautiful, however, the Hotel de Ville was also still lit and that was an extraordinary site to behold.  That building is one of my favorites in the city and for the holidays they put blinking white lights across its rooftop.  The plaza below was ablaze with light covered trees and other light designs.  The cold was harsh but we both agreed that the walk well worth the effort and our bus arrived in just 4 minutes time.

1st day of blog

I received a blog today from Viola, an American friend who lives in Spain, and decided that this might be a good way for me to also keep a log of my life in Paris/France/Europe.  I tried when I first arrived to write descriptions of what life was like here for me but I didn't actually succeed in contributing much.  It is true that my life here is much much busier than I ever thought would be possible, so I don't have a lot of time to spend writing, but what I can do is try to keep a journal here for anyone who is interested in what I do.  I have a Facebook account but I don't really like that format since it doesn't allow me enough space to be long-winded, which I sometimes can be.  So, here it is 11 javier 2010 and I'm going to start this blog.  

It's very cloudy and cold in Paris today, although not cold enough to snow.  I've been to my morning 2-hour French class and am now ready to hit the books.  This is a very difficult language to learn and with my nearly 62-year old brain , I can't seem to keep the words, conjugations, grammar rules, etc. in my head.  In less than a month, I have a test to see if I pass to the next level, 4, so have a ton to cram in before that time.   It's hard to study when the charms of Paris are always calling from beyond my front door.  But I must begin.....