The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Breezes

That sound you hear? The one that sounds like a soft rush of air? The kind of air that comes with a lovely ocean breeze? That is the sound of me exhaling in contented relief. I get to check three important things off my Wedding To-Do list: I just got off the phone with the innkeeper at a B&B at the Jersey Shore, and we're all booked for two nights with a lovely room that opens onto a big sundeck and has great views of both the ocean and a lake (I had no idea there were actual lakes right at the ocean's edge in New Jersey and I lived there my entire life). The owner was so nice, when she found out we were going to be honeymooners and that we wanted the best view they had, she turned around and offered to let us have their (hers and her husband's) very own master bedroom, which wasn't even listed on their web site but which they are now using on weekends while they renovate a new room in another part of the house. I saw a photo of the room and it's delightful, and we'll get our view. Plus... Read more →

If you need me, I'll be in my OTHER office

Today being a Wednesday, which means no school for our Little Guy and the neighbor's 5-year-old and 1-year-old, and knowing they would be at home with the nanny a good part of the day since it will probably (finally!) rain later, I decided to beat a hasty retreat in order to hopefully get some much-needed work done. It's a bit of a hike across town for me to come to my "other office", but I love being at my friend Aimee's tea shop, L'Oisive Thé, on rue de la Butte aux Cailles in the 13th. I come early, during the pre-lunch hour, to have a few minutes to chat with my friend while she and her serveuse are doing the daily preparation for lunch and afternoon tea. Coming early means I score a small table in the corner near a window. Good light, a lovely cool breeze, and plenty of room to work (and to drink tea and have some delicious food as well!) I've visited a few times since the grand opening at the beginning of April: once Georges and I brought the Little Guy here for Sunday brunch, and then a couple of weeks ago I came by... Read more →

Two month countdown

There came a moment yesterday when I realized it was two months until our wedding day. TWO MONTHS! There is still a lot to do. Plans are in the works and I feel like some progress is being made, but so far nothing has been completely finalized. Even the B&B we initially chose told us we'd need to book a 3-night minimum in July and we only plan to stay for 2 nights, so it was back to Google to check out the other B&Bs in the area. I'm still waiting for the caterer to give me a quote. Don't even get me started on the fact that when I look at dresses online at my favorite stores back home, I hate nearly everything that is available in my size. And I'm still fuming about the price of the airfares this summer... it seems a shame that we may spend 50% of our wedding budget on plane tickets just to get to the States to get married. That's not even going to be our real honeymoon. Still... all day yesterday I kept looking at the clock at odd times, and saying things like, "Do you realize two months from this... Read more →

Sunday in the Park with Georges

Blogging to you LIVE from the Parc Monceau (with Georges' iPod Touch and free WiFi courtesy of the city which installed it in most public parks last summer!) where we are picnicking with our neighbor and her kids. Ain't technology grand? Happy Mothers Day to all the moms. Read more →

Spinning

This week has been a whirlwind of wedding plans, trying to figure out and organize paperwork to satisfy the French authorities for translation of our American wedding license into the proper French documents, and to top it off, it was a short 3-day work week here in France because there was a national holiday Thursday, another one on Monday, and in between a lot of people take the Friday off to get the full five day mini-break. Not that we have time to go anywhere right now. Holiday or no holiday, we both have a ton of work to do for our jobs. Let me start by describing the less pleasant aspects of marrying a French citizen, and I'm totally referring to the quagmire of red tape the French authorities throw at you when you're not a citizen of another E.U. country. First of all, know that it's quicker/easier for us to actually get married (i.e. the ceremony part) in my home state of NJ. In "Joisey", we walk into the town hall with our ID, a witness over 18 with a drivers license, and $28 to apply for our marriage license. Three days later, we get the license and... Read more →

Fanning the flames of love

Reading this post just now reminded me of the rather unusual thing that happened on Friday night while MY FIANCÉ (sorry to put that in all caps but I'm not bored with saying it yet) was presenting me with my lovely ENGAGEMENT RING (saying that hasn't gotten old yet, either). Georges took me to a very good Vietnamese restaurant near Abbesses. We got there before the dinner rush and got a table in a corner with a little bit of privacy but still with a view of the street outside. About half way through our main course, the restaurant started to fill up, when suddenly a very unusual couple came in: two gay men, one of whom weighed at least 300 lbs and was completely done up in a rather flamboyant drag. (Sad to say, considering the amount of effort that had clearly gone into his choice of outfit and makeup, he didn't make a very attractive woman and I suspect that under the many layers of pancake makeup that did little to hide his 5 o'clock shadow, he probably wasn't a very attractive man, either. But I digress.) The other man was more androgynous-looking in a 1970s-era beige corduroy... Read more →

Like the sparkle in his eyes when he asked me

He surprised me with this last night, at the end of a very lovely dinner out. It's perfect for me, simply perfect. And today, when we took the ring to get resized (just a tiny bit small), we also picked out our wedding bands, and order our names and the date engraved. No turning back now... as if we'd want to. Read more →

The Lusty Month of May

It's May in Paris! Go forth and be lusty. Kiss with your amoureux or amoureuse in public places -- go ahead, no one will care! Do as you will. I wonder if it means anything that my birthday is in May? Does that make me lustier than people born in other months? *Clip from Lerner & Lowe's Camelot. Vanessa Redgrave can't carry a tune to save her life sings like a casserole, and for this I might apologize, but I didn't cast her. Read more →