The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Getting to Gorgeous

I had what is quite possibly my best experience ever in a hair salon yesterday. I've been going to the same coiffeur for about a year, but I tend to go a long time (longer than I should) between haircuts, and I've been doing my own dye jobs at home to save money. But this spring I finally admitted that the home hair color thing isn't working for me. I've got more and more grey coming in, and have not found a home product that truly covers it all and looks shiny and healthy afterward. It was time to bring in a professional. So off I went to see Stéphane at La Bottega del Coiffeur in the 13th, across from Aimee's L'Oisive Thé tea and knitting shop (hey - two birds with one stone). I have always liked the cuts I've gotten from Stéphane, but my spring visit was the first time I tried him as a colorist, and he did a superb job. This time around, I decided I wanted to go a bit more red. He seemed a tiny bit reluctant to go more red on me for some reason, but I just had a gut instinct about... Read more →

Quatrième

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary! Four years ago today, we said some things (in two languages), laughed and cried (pass the mouchoirs!), ate and drank, and shared the best day of our lives with my family and friends. Two months later in Paris, we shared a huge blow-out party with our Parisian friends and family, too (remember the bathtub full of champagne?) To my Georges, the man who makes me feel like a beautiful, younger and much thinner woman every single time he looks at me with love in his eyes: You have made every day since the day we met a reason to smile and be happy I'm alive. You make me want to be the best person I can be, and to spend the rest of my days loving you more than the day before. I am the luckiest, most blessed woman because you are in my life, and because you have chosen to share your life with me. Merci, mon coeur. Read more →

Optical confusion

Did you ever see a sign posted, and then do a double-take because you thought the sign said something other than what it actually said? I thought this salad bar restaurant was called "Kompost". (Which, when you stop and think about it, would have been pretty funny, if not particularly appetizing.) I have since ordered some new eyeglasses. Read more →

Can we have some summer, please?

I realize there have been horrible heat waves across much of the US recently (I hope it's easing up finally and that people are getting their electricity back on!), and at least 30 have died from the heat. So I don't mean to be insensitive when I say: Can we please have a little bit of summer here in Paris? Just a little, please oh pretty please, and for more than a few hours at a time? I swear, I think we've had only one or perhaps two truly hot days this year. And now we are into July and the forecast for this week is mostly more rain and abnormally cool temperatures. The thing about me is, I really hate the heat. Excessive heat and I do not get along at all. I find it completely saps my energy and I literally feel sick if I'm out in the heat and humidity too long (even if I'm in the shade) without either some water to cool off in, or a nice fan, or a little air conditioning. I have never in my life dreamed of retiring to someplace like Florida because it's warmer. My perfect climate is something with... Read more →

Strolling

I took a stroll with a friend a couple of days ago, and we wandered over by this part of town: As always when I see Notre Dame, it takes my breath away. When I think of the more than a century this took to create, and the craftsmanship and attention to detail... "Wow" doesn't even cover it. The gardens on the side of the cathedral had these unusual basket-weave arches installed. There was also one to the left (not pictured) against the stone wall, and tourists were going inside it to have photos taken. The flying buttresses at the back, which are a big part of the architecture of a Gothic cathedral, are so beautifully done. They look "feminine" to me... like the bustle of a lady's dress. Read more →

How I will spend my summer vacation

Studying for ANOTHER EFFING FRENCH EXAM to qualify for French nationality. To say I am pissed off that the expensive Sorbonne course I already took was not sufficient would be a gross understatement. If I didn't feel that having dual nationality was in my own best interest long term, I wouldn't even bother. If I don't pass with a high enough level, I will be out not only the 125€ I paid for this test but several hundred dollars to get recent official copies of all my vital records because I'll have to get them done and translated all over again after I eventually DO pass. I'm not worried about the written test. It's the oral comprehension... Still my weakest area. Test date is August 25, so prepare for the Summer of Bitching. (If anyone else is in this predicament or if you eventually hope to secure French nationality, the Sorbonne folks told me about some study/prep materials online at www.tv5.org/tcf.) Read more →

Bars don't have to be boring

Iron security bars are a necessary evil in a big city when you live on the ground floor (or even an upper floor if the windows could be easily accessed from outside). We have the normal "jail-house" bars on our kitchen and bedroom windows in our own apartment because they face a courtyard where there are roofs just below. But on rue Durantin near rue Lepic, I spotted this very artistic take on the usual security bars. Much prettier! Read more →