The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Touch of Spring

The Direct (and potentially painful) Approach

Overheard between a man and a woman making chit-chat in an Irish pub in Paris last night: SHE: "So, you've decided you want to stay in France permanently then?" HE: "Yes, but I haven't figured out yet how to make that happen, legally. I've been here 3 years but I'm not legal. I've been looking for a job but no luck yet." SHE: "Well, there's always the old standby: marry a French woman and get instant residency status." HE: "You know, I haven't tried that one. I wonder what would happen if I went up to one of these pretty French women right here in this bar and just got right to the point: 'I need to get married. Will you marry me?' Do you think that would actually work?" SHE: "I don't know, but I'll bet you the 2 Euros I've got in my pocket if you do it. I need material for my blog and this would be the perfect sociological experiment for me to observe." HE: "OK, but I need to be a LOT drunker first." SHE: "I understand. Because it won't hurt as much when you ask her... and she hauls off and belts you one,... Read more →

Right away, you know you're in Paris

This is what greets me as I enter my apartment in the 15ème arrondissement here in Paris. The bright yellow paint in the entry (don't worry, they toned it down for the rest of the apartment) is cheerful and a great backdrop to this Life Magazine print of a snowy Tour Eiffel and the following quote from Hemingway: "If you are lucky enough to live in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." See the rest of the apartment here. It's done in a clean, contemporary style with some accents from the owners' trip to Bali. I'll be adding a few of my own accents once my boxes arrive from home but have already unpacked some books, and photos from home, to make it feel more like "me". Read more →

Mozart, Vivaldi and Ave Marias

I had enough energy last night to go to what turned out to be a wonderful concert with a string ensemble and a soprano soloiste. The concert was held at l'Eglise St. Julien-le-Pauvre in the 5ème; apparently this church frequently hosts classical concerts (they had a Chopin event the night before - check your weekly copy of Pariscope or Officiel, available each Wednesday at your local tabac or newsstand). I decided to take advantage of the event to try out the Paris city bus lines. The RATP has a multi-lingual website (www.ratp.fr) that lets you map out the best ways to get from point A to point B, whether by bus, metro, RER or tram, and there is a line that stops almost outside my door that runs straight up through St. Germain to the Louvre and on up to Montmartre. Using the RATP site, I saw that the 95 line stopped at St. Germain where I could grab the number 4 metro just two stops to St. Michel. From there it was a short walk to the concert. It looked easy enough and the only thing I wasn't sure of was how long it might take, so I left... Read more →

Sunday treat

Part of the fun of life in Paris is queuing up at your neighborhood boulangerie or patisserie for your bread and some scrumptious dessert for Sunday afternoon lunch. Since most stores are closed on Sundays, I guess there's not much else to do except eat, and the French know how to make the most of it. La bronchite hasn't abated my sweet tooth (quite the opposite, the only food I can stomach is anything sweet) so I bought some fresh blueberries on my first outing to the local market, and then dropped by the bakery where I spotted this crème brulée-flavored mille-feuille. I can't wait to dig in! Bon appetit! Read more →

A day in the life, à la français

I'm still not sleeping on a normal schedule; jet lag still persists plus I have that kind of insomnia you get when you're an adult and simply cannot turn your brain off at night in order to fall asleep. So I woke up at 6:30am which is unheard of in my normal world. I ate breakfast and watched a DVD for a while until I felt sleepy again, then went back to bed. When I woke up again to the sound of someone banging something somewhere in the building, the clock read: 11:48am. Guess I needed the sleep, because my bronchitis seems to be back. Not as bad as it was initially but that familiar heavy, congested feeling is there, along with the annoying, tickling cough that wants to be "productive", but isn't; that cough kept me up half the night. The Robitussin capsules I brought along only suppress a cough, but what I needed was an expectorant. Which meant tackling something I've been dreading: a trip to a French pharmacy. In an American drugstsore I'd know to just walk in, head to the Cough and Cold aisle, and pick up what I wanted. No fuss, no muss. Here, it's... Read more →

Further disputing that "The French are so rude" thing

In the supermarket today, as I got my purchases loaded on the conveyor belt, the mademoiselle at the caisse asked me something about "livraison". I had absolutely NO clue what she was taking about or asking me. None. Couldn't understand a bleeding word. A man in the next line tried to rephrase what she said, in French and more slowly. All he got from me was a blank stare. Then a woman behind me in line asked, very nicely and with a smile, "Do you speak English?" She explained that the store offered a home delivery program (nifty) but I said I was taking my things myself. So she told the cashier for me and the line was able to move forward. Then as I was loading my bags and cart and paying, she offered to take my shopping cart back for me and retrieve the 2 euro coin (they do the same thing in NJ to make you put your cart back where you got it)! And she did all of this with a very pleasant, non-condescending attitude. I also found the people I dealt with in the other stores today to be equally pleasant and tolerant of my... Read more →

Maison, Sweet Maison

I'm home! Home in Paris, that is! After a very long journey involving three very heavy suitcases, one laptop, one folding cart (it holds 250 lbs although I wasn't toting THAT much), three countries (US to London to Paris), two trains and two taxis, I arrived safe, sound and exhausted in my furnished Paris apartment in the 15th at about 5:30pm local time yesterday. Coming through London was a money-saver but it added about 7 hours of travel time to my trip so I don't think I'll do that again no matter how much I can save on the airfare. The apartment is small but very nice. I'll take and post some photos after I finish unpacking because right now there are clothes, boxes and suitcases everywhere. It's got an open floor plan in the living room/kitchen, and the kitchen is what I'd call Americanized with a tall refridgerator-freezer (good for trips to Picard!), a full 4-burner stove with oven and stainless range hood, microwave and even a dishwasher. Where's the washer-dryer you ask? In the basement! The chambre (bedroom) is very small and narrow (the bed takes up most of the space) but has a closet, built-in bookshelves which... Read more →

Too much stuff

I'm procrastinating about packing for my return to Paris. I feel like once again, I have too much stuff, but it's all stuff I "need". I'm going to be in Paris for a much longer stretch this time around, and the thought of being without the creature comforts is a little scary. What if I need that white t-shirt? What if I decide I want that book? What if I run out of Prilosec? I've spent a small fortune in recent weeks, buying shoes, clothing, and assorted food and personal items that I can't get in France, or that I can't get for a reasonable price. I'm trying to think of every eventuality. So once again, I'm in the position of having to pick and choose as I pack. There's only so much I can carry myself; the rest will be shipped in the cheapest way possible. Moving sucks, even when it's moving to Paris. Read more →

Rendez-vous and reunions

What a great day I had today. First, I got to have a reunion with my French group here in NJ - my teacher Martine, fellow students Melissa and Sharon (Linda was unfortunately absent and I missed her!), and school owner Rita were surprised and happy to see me. We had a delightful hour and a half chatting about Paris and catching up on everyone's holiday and life in general. Melissa said this is like her women's support group and I agree -- I wish I could pack all of these wonderful women in my suitcase and take them along with me! Hopefully some of them will visit me sometime. From there, it was on to meet my friend Marlene at her office. She works for the current iteration of the corporation I used to work for, a company that has changed hands and personalities and names so often it's hard to keep track, but which is now a FRENCH pharmaceutical company (they were a German chemical-pharmaceutical company when I worked there) and even flies the French flag next to the American flag out in front of the building. We had lunch in the company cafeteria because Marlene wanted me... Read more →