The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Senior-a

"Meet Other Senior Singles" That was the subject line on an email I spotted in my spam box today. It's not that I'm surprised to be getting "singles" junk mail despite being married for over a year; I think it's unrealistic to expect spammers to keep up with my marital status. I mean, they don't seem to understand that I do not have a penis (roughly 75% of my spam messages are about my non-existent one), so why should they know I'm not single anymore? No... it's the OTHER "S" word that really got my attention... and my wrath. SENIOR?????? WTF? In what alternate reality does being 48 qualify me as being a senior? Bad enough that just the other day, our photographer neighbor was doing a shoot and there were these two 18 or 19-year-old male models out in our courtyard (and at least one of them was even straight), and when Georges kidded around about me possibly flirting with them, I said: "Do you realize that I am 30 years OLDER than they are? That is officially TOO OLD for me to even THINK about flirting. That would be like... like... EWW!" Because seriously? His oldest boy is... Read more →

... and More Chez Rodin

Since you all seemed to enjoy the photos from the Musée Rodin, I thought I'd share a few others with you. The Burgers of Calais, a very well-known Rodin piece. I'm not sure what this one was called, but I just thought it was evidence of Rodin's brilliant ability to capture the human form. I liked how this one (entitled?) looked with the light coming through the nearby window. Yet another piece where I never bothered to note the name, but it has always fascinated me. Rodin is more known for his sculptures of the human form than for things like this. Perhaps it was something he did on a commission for an architect or something? The Secret... see what I mean about his brilliance and attention to detail? Because I know some of you probably know these works, feel free to fill in the blanks in my information! I'd especially like details of that spiral building sculpture if anyone knows about it. Read more →

Chez Rodin

Sunday, we spent the afternoon at the Musée Rodin, which is located in the actual home of Auguste Rodin and which has its original gardens intact. Many of the larger bronze sculptures are scattered throughout the gardens. You can even visit just the gardens, or have lunch in the outdoor café, by paying only 1 euro. We took the Little Guy with us, and it's not a bad place to take children because the museum itself isn't very big or overwhelming, sculptures are 3-dimensional and often more interesting for kids than paintings, and they they can run around out in the gardens as well. We thought we'd get in for free as part of the "Patrimony Days" where the majority of museums and attractions offer free admission, but wouldn't you know this was one of the ones that wasn't "participating". Still worth it though; this is one of my favorite museums in Paris. Of course, you can't miss "The Thinker", it's virtually the first thing you see as you enter the gardens. It's also #1 on the garden sculpture map; we gave the Little Guy the job of finding each sculpture in order so it was a bit like a... Read more →

No sooner met...

No sooner met but they looked; No sooner looked but they loved; No sooner loved but they sighed; No sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason; No sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy; And in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage... -- William Shakespeare, As You Like It One year ago tonight, Georges and I were celebrating our wedding with our friends and family here in Paris. Today, we spent the afternoon at the Musée Rodin, strolling the gardens with the Little Guy and introducing him to Le Penseur, among other wonderful Rodin works. And at the end of our visit, we treated ourselves to a poster of The Kiss, which I plan to have framed and hung over our bed. What better way to remember that first amazing day we met, and that first amazing look... sigh... and kiss... that led us to this point? Read more →

Tour Saint-Jacques

This is not the best photo you'll ever see of the beautiful Tour Saint-Jacques near Chatelet, but I couldn't resist taking a quick snap with the old cell-phone-cam when I walked by today. Up until just a few months ago, it was shrouded in scaffolding and tarps for most of the past couple of years as the city cleaned the tower, and now it positively glows in the afternoon sunlight. I promise to go back there with my Nikon one of these days and do it justice. The Tour stands alone in a park, but it was once part of a church erected by the area butchers (who had a lot of money, as butchers tend to do!) The church became a casualty of the Revolution, demolished in 1797 but at least they left this gorgeous tower alone. Nicholas Flamel was reportedly buried under the floor, unless of course you believe the rumors that he DID create a philosopher's stone and still lives today. Flamel must be France's version of Elvis. Read more →

Harder than it looks

I just needed to take a moment and say: ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ... [deep breath] Now that I've gotten THAT out of my system... I'm just feeling frustrated with my inability to FINISH THIS 4th CHAPTER I'm working on. Why, oh why, did I think it would be EASIER to write this book than my first one, just because it's a memoir and a lot of the information is already tucked away neatly in my brain, or even on this blog? It's not easier. And because it's not "flowing" the way I'd wanted or hoped, I'm resorting to my usual stalling strategy of Finding Other Things That Need Doing. Like doing the laundry. Or food shopping. Filing my fingernails. Twittering. Facebooking. Blogging. And I know there is only one solution: to just get back into it and WRITE IT. The only way through is... THROUGH. All other non-essentials must STOP, at least for the time being. So, forgive me if I don't blog as frequently or if my posts aren't all that interesting for a while. I really just need to work on this book. If I don't, I'll regret it. And I don't "do" regrets. Thanks for letting me whine for... Read more →

Fleuriste

I was hanging out with KylieMac over in the 16th the other day and this beautiful display of roses caught my eye. Very chi-chi neighborhood on Avenue Mozart so the florists seem go the extra kilometer. Had I been going straight home, I might have treated myself to one of those little 4-rosebud arrangements... so sweet! But alas, perhaps some other time... Read more →

To kiss or not to kiss, that is the question

The French have a real social dilemma on their hands. This H1N1 flu business is threatening one of their time-honored traditions: the bise. The bise is the famous French 2-cheek social kiss (one cheek for small children, and in some parts of the country you might bise someone three or even four times depending upon how well you know each other). It's the REAL "French kiss". It happens everywhere, everyday, with everyone, in every imaginable social scenario. French colleagues bise hello and goodbye every day; it's the first priority in the morning to walk around and greet your coworkers and even your bosses in this way. French schoolchildren bise each other as well. You might bise when you meet a neighbor on the street or at the marché. I have bise-d our cleaning lady and our nanny. OK, I don't normally bise our concierge or even our next-door neighbors, probably because we see each other so much, although I might on a special occasion such as a New Year's greeting. But otherwise we all do the bise thing regularly; it's just part of French daily life, as important as the daily baguette from the baker's. Grown men will bise one... Read more →

The Battle of the Courants d'Air

Georges and I never fight. We really don't. That's not to say we don't disagree from time to time. Our one ongoing "battle" is over this ERRONEOUS belief the French seem to have about the health risks of "courants d'air" or what we'd call a "draught" or even a "breeze". Ask any Anglo ex-pat living in France and they will most likely be able to tell you the same story: how this or that French person they know (even one they may be living with) INSISTS that air currents are what make you sick. You think that wonderful scarf your favorite Frenchie is wearing is all about a superior sense of fashion? Not on your life; they are just covering up their necks to avoid exposure to any potential wafting of air that might end up giving them pneumonia. The French aversion to air conditioning? They're deathly afraid the cold draughts will give them a sinus infection. We "enlightened" Anglos know that it's the GERMS (which may or may not be transmitted by air) that cause illness. It's not the air itself. And all air is not created equal. Yes, the recirculated air in a sealed airplane at 38,000 feet... Read more →

I still choose love

It's been eight years today. And I still remember everything. There's nothing more I can say, so instead I'll just reprint the essay I wrote that day, which now appears on my web site along with the preface I added some time afterward. Even eight years later, it still says everything I am feeling. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ♥ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Author's Preface: At precisely 10:32am on the morning of September 11th, 2001, I turned on my television expecting to see the usual daily "stuff", and watched in horror and disbelief at the events which were unfolding before me, just miles from my home in northern New Jersey. On the TV screen, I saw an image of a huge cloud of dust enveloping some city I couldn't identify, and the caption said "Twin Towers collapsed". At first I thought it was a movie, until I realized every TV station was showing the same thing, and then I thought, "They must be talking about some OTHER Twin Towers because they can't mean New York!" This is how I learned of the terrorism that hit our country, head-on -- just ONE MINUTE after the second tower fell.Like all of you who saw it on TV or... Read more →