And the fishes are safe and sound in their new aquarium. I'm sure they're psyched to not be moving or vibrating or being bumped or jostled at the moment.
Dennis got wireless set up as soon as we got here. He's so cool. It feels like home already.
We left SF at about 1p on Monday. Thankfully our flight was delayed an hour, because we weren't quite finished at noon. (Peter, I cleaned as much as I could -- I apologize for anything left undone.)
The French branch of the moving company wasn't able to get an estimate to us (or the American arm of the company) before the end of the day Wednesday, which means that we could not schedule our move for Friday or Saturday of last week as we had hoped. The American company was, of course, on Thanksgiving break. My friend Winnie has graciously agreed to supervise the move, so I'm hoping for a new estimate and schedule tomorrow. What a pain.
The Door-to-door storage crate held just what we hoped it would, that's probably gone from the house by now, or will be soon.
Our car is not yet sold, but we have high hopes that it won't take too long. So, now when we move *back* to the US, we have a car to buy, and bedroom furniture.
Several times on the flight, we said "We're moving to paris right now!
Soon as we got here, we had a lease to sign for the short-term apartment, then another to sign for our long-term apartment.
--Aimee
Dennis got wireless set up as soon as we got here. He's so cool. It feels like home already.
We left SF at about 1p on Monday. Thankfully our flight was delayed an hour, because we weren't quite finished at noon. (Peter, I cleaned as much as I could -- I apologize for anything left undone.)
The French branch of the moving company wasn't able to get an estimate to us (or the American arm of the company) before the end of the day Wednesday, which means that we could not schedule our move for Friday or Saturday of last week as we had hoped. The American company was, of course, on Thanksgiving break. My friend Winnie has graciously agreed to supervise the move, so I'm hoping for a new estimate and schedule tomorrow. What a pain.
The Door-to-door storage crate held just what we hoped it would, that's probably gone from the house by now, or will be soon.
Our car is not yet sold, but we have high hopes that it won't take too long. So, now when we move *back* to the US, we have a car to buy, and bedroom furniture.
Several times on the flight, we said "We're moving to paris right now!
Soon as we got here, we had a lease to sign for the short-term apartment, then another to sign for our long-term apartment.
--Aimee
For those of you unfamiliar with the Paris metro, allow me to give you a short orientation of the locations I've mentioned up to now. The metro system is HUGE. I have a great application for my Clié that lets me say what stop I'm at, and which one I want to get to, and it calculates the best route. I think that's going to come in really handy.
You can see a map of the paris metro here:
http://www.paris-tourism.com/ratp/pics/ratp.jpg
If you start in the upper left, under the RATP logo box, you'll see a red and yellow line going diagonally downward toward the right side of the map. Choose the #1 line, the yellow one.
A few stops from that starting point is Argentine, where our long-term apartment is. Go one more stop and you'll be at Charles de Gaulle Étoile which is where the Arc de Triomphe is. Still one more stop puts you at George V, which is where the office is.
Go about 9 more stops on the same line, and you'll be at the St. Paul stop. That's where the Marais neighborhood is, and where our short-term apartment is. The stop after that, Bastille, was where my hotel was for the most recent trip.
--Aimee
You can see a map of the paris metro here:
http://www.paris-tourism.com/ratp/pics/ratp.jpg
If you start in the upper left, under the RATP logo box, you'll see a red and yellow line going diagonally downward toward the right side of the map. Choose the #1 line, the yellow one.
A few stops from that starting point is Argentine, where our long-term apartment is. Go one more stop and you'll be at Charles de Gaulle Étoile which is where the Arc de Triomphe is. Still one more stop puts you at George V, which is where the office is.
Go about 9 more stops on the same line, and you'll be at the St. Paul stop. That's where the Marais neighborhood is, and where our short-term apartment is. The stop after that, Bastille, was where my hotel was for the most recent trip.
--Aimee
Parisians openly stare at people. So much so that would be considered extremely rude here. One-on-one interactions are great, but in public, people are downright selfish.
There's a physical rudeness in public places that goes beyond the difference in "personal space" between Europeans and Americans. People don't open doors for each other, even women with baby carriages can often be seen fighting to get through a doorway with no assistance from nearby folks. And people will gladly block a busy sidewalk, or stand in front of an escalator to chat, giving no thought to the fact that they're inconveniencing other people.
But the staring is really weird. I'll look up to see someone looking at me, then look back down at my book, and look up again in a minute, and they're still staring. It happens on nearly every metro trip.
Tricia said it really weirded her out for a while, until she decided to stare back. Then it became fun. I think that's a fantastic idea, and I intend to try it!
--Aimee
There's a physical rudeness in public places that goes beyond the difference in "personal space" between Europeans and Americans. People don't open doors for each other, even women with baby carriages can often be seen fighting to get through a doorway with no assistance from nearby folks. And people will gladly block a busy sidewalk, or stand in front of an escalator to chat, giving no thought to the fact that they're inconveniencing other people.
But the staring is really weird. I'll look up to see someone looking at me, then look back down at my book, and look up again in a minute, and they're still staring. It happens on nearly every metro trip.
Tricia said it really weirded her out for a while, until she decided to stare back. Then it became fun. I think that's a fantastic idea, and I intend to try it!
--Aimee
I've mentioned to most of you that I'm taking our fish family with us. Wish us luck.
The aquarium is set up on my desk, and lots of people are curious about it. One guy asked me if it was some kind of zen thing.
Another thing that's "not done" I guess. Nearly everyone has a real office at the two companies I've been to in Paris, but nobody's office is very personalized. The executives with whom I'm working spend a lot of time there at Cartesis, regularly working until 7, which is not standard in France. You'd think if you're going to spend that much time in your office, you'd make it a little more personal.
I can't wait for the fish to begin their year abroad.
I saw a japanese guy on the subway the other day with a subway map in his hand, looking from the map to the sign on the wall that indicated what station we were in. He looked back and forth, back and forth, and it occurred to me that he was doing what I did when I was in Japan. He was comparing characters, because he didn't read letters. When I got on and off trains in Japan, I had to compare the shapes of the Kanji characters to see if I was getting on the right train. or off at the right stop. (I raised my finger to the map and raised my eyebrows -- a suggestion that I'd be happy to show him where he was. He tilted the map toward me, and I showed him -- good thing, too. It was the stop he was looking for!
Makes me feel lucky to have a background of Latin and Spanish on top of my English. As hard as it seems to learn French, it has to be harder for people who use a totally different character set. It also makes me think how lucky I am to be a native English speaker. Any other language, and I'd have a lot more trouble getting help from random strangers.
--Aimee
The aquarium is set up on my desk, and lots of people are curious about it. One guy asked me if it was some kind of zen thing.
Another thing that's "not done" I guess. Nearly everyone has a real office at the two companies I've been to in Paris, but nobody's office is very personalized. The executives with whom I'm working spend a lot of time there at Cartesis, regularly working until 7, which is not standard in France. You'd think if you're going to spend that much time in your office, you'd make it a little more personal.
I can't wait for the fish to begin their year abroad.
I saw a japanese guy on the subway the other day with a subway map in his hand, looking from the map to the sign on the wall that indicated what station we were in. He looked back and forth, back and forth, and it occurred to me that he was doing what I did when I was in Japan. He was comparing characters, because he didn't read letters. When I got on and off trains in Japan, I had to compare the shapes of the Kanji characters to see if I was getting on the right train. or off at the right stop. (I raised my finger to the map and raised my eyebrows -- a suggestion that I'd be happy to show him where he was. He tilted the map toward me, and I showed him -- good thing, too. It was the stop he was looking for!
Makes me feel lucky to have a background of Latin and Spanish on top of my English. As hard as it seems to learn French, it has to be harder for people who use a totally different character set. It also makes me think how lucky I am to be a native English speaker. Any other language, and I'd have a lot more trouble getting help from random strangers.
--Aimee
The fishtank arriveed today at my office. I unpacked it and set it up on my desk, and realized that I'd need a voltage converter in order to run the filter and lamp. I asked Christina (Eugene's assistant, and a godsend to me -- she's incredibly helpful and pleasant -- really fun to talk to) where to go to get a transformer, and she suggested Castorama, which is what you'd expect if IKEA owned Home Depot.
Later that day I trekked off to the nearest Castorama to find what I needed. "S'il vous plait, je voudrais un transformateur." (Please, I would like a transformer.) The answer to that request was something I didn't understand, so I smiled pathetically and shrugged a little, which was my way of saying "I have *zero* idea what you just said."
So, the guy takes out his pen and a pad and writes: 220 > 110 USA
Outstanding! I said "Oui!" So he took me to the right spot in the store. And they were out of them. He pointed to the place where they should be. And then, he shocked me with his amazingly helpful next act. He wrote the address of a nearby store that would have them! I don't know if I've ever met a guy in an American hardware store that would be so proactively helpful.
When I went to the other store, the transformer was 125€, which is about 5x what I was expecting it to cost. So I thanked him and left. Today I went to radio shack and bought three voltage converters and other assorted accessories for $75.
--Aimee
Later that day I trekked off to the nearest Castorama to find what I needed. "S'il vous plait, je voudrais un transformateur." (Please, I would like a transformer.) The answer to that request was something I didn't understand, so I smiled pathetically and shrugged a little, which was my way of saying "I have *zero* idea what you just said."
So, the guy takes out his pen and a pad and writes: 220 > 110 USA
Outstanding! I said "Oui!" So he took me to the right spot in the store. And they were out of them. He pointed to the place where they should be. And then, he shocked me with his amazingly helpful next act. He wrote the address of a nearby store that would have them! I don't know if I've ever met a guy in an American hardware store that would be so proactively helpful.
When I went to the other store, the transformer was 125€, which is about 5x what I was expecting it to cost. So I thanked him and left. Today I went to radio shack and bought three voltage converters and other assorted accessories for $75.
--Aimee
I love it more than cheese. This cute little restaurant that I've been to twice serves two big slabs of it with little toasts and a tiny glass of sauternes for only 12€. It's fantastic. It melts in your mouth almost like milk chocolate. It's rich and savory and creamy as ripe avocado. It's almost like a meat avocado, in fact. Oh man it's good.
I made a faus pas the first time I was at that restaurant, which is on rue Amelot. Next time I go I'll take down the name. I was tired and hungry, and it was late. If I'd been in any American city, I'd have sat at the bar to have dinner, because it's less lonely and pathetic looking than sitting at a table by myself. So I took a seat at the bar and ordered a glass (un verre) of Beaujalais Nouveau, which is a very young wine that is released every November. It's a big deal, and there are signs announcing it in nearly every restaurant and liquor store. It's light and crisp and fruity.
Anyway, I asked for the menu (le carte), and when it became clear to the bartender that I wanted to order food, he gestured to the dining room, expecting me to move there. I gestured to my spot, and said "May I eat here?" (He doesn't really speak English, but it's pretty clear what we're both saying.) He had a furrowed brow, so I said "Is it OK?" and he said something like "Sure, whatever you like!" (Probably followed internally by "freak".) A few minutes later, I noticed the waitress not quite suppressing a giggle when she looked at me. Apparently eating at the bar is "not done." In fact, I caught the waitress just before I left, because I noticed that she spoke English, and I said "Does anyone ever do this here?" She said "Not really, no. Maybe once or twice." So, lesson learned.
A few days later I looked at an apartment down the street, and I said "Hey, I ate at a restaurant on that corner!" The agent said "Did you have the fois gras? Because they're known for it!"
So, of course, I had to go back. I waved to the bartender when I stepped in, and he immediately recognized me. Everyone in Paris has been SO nice, even though I butcher their language daily. This time I opted for a table, and enjoyed every bite of succulent, velvety fois gras that's house-made. Oh was that a lovely night. I crave that dish every time I think of it now.
I can't wait to take Dennis. That will surely happen in our first week there.
--Aimee
I made a faus pas the first time I was at that restaurant, which is on rue Amelot. Next time I go I'll take down the name. I was tired and hungry, and it was late. If I'd been in any American city, I'd have sat at the bar to have dinner, because it's less lonely and pathetic looking than sitting at a table by myself. So I took a seat at the bar and ordered a glass (un verre) of Beaujalais Nouveau, which is a very young wine that is released every November. It's a big deal, and there are signs announcing it in nearly every restaurant and liquor store. It's light and crisp and fruity.
Anyway, I asked for the menu (le carte), and when it became clear to the bartender that I wanted to order food, he gestured to the dining room, expecting me to move there. I gestured to my spot, and said "May I eat here?" (He doesn't really speak English, but it's pretty clear what we're both saying.) He had a furrowed brow, so I said "Is it OK?" and he said something like "Sure, whatever you like!" (Probably followed internally by "freak".) A few minutes later, I noticed the waitress not quite suppressing a giggle when she looked at me. Apparently eating at the bar is "not done." In fact, I caught the waitress just before I left, because I noticed that she spoke English, and I said "Does anyone ever do this here?" She said "Not really, no. Maybe once or twice." So, lesson learned.
A few days later I looked at an apartment down the street, and I said "Hey, I ate at a restaurant on that corner!" The agent said "Did you have the fois gras? Because they're known for it!"
So, of course, I had to go back. I waved to the bartender when I stepped in, and he immediately recognized me. Everyone in Paris has been SO nice, even though I butcher their language daily. This time I opted for a table, and enjoyed every bite of succulent, velvety fois gras that's house-made. Oh was that a lovely night. I crave that dish every time I think of it now.
I can't wait to take Dennis. That will surely happen in our first week there.
--Aimee
Lesson one from this whole Paris gig: next time, get paid in Euros.
At the time of this post, 10€ = $13.2 dollars. I was listening to BBC World in my hotel room a few nights ago, and one of the stories was "The Dollar is at an all-time low against the Euro." This is not what you want to hear as an expat.
Basically, when I say a price, add 30% to it to be in the ballpark in Dollars. Everything over there is a fortune compared to here, not just because of the exchange rate, though that definitely exacerbates it.
One piece of good news -- wine is cheaper than food and water. And it's ok to have a glass with lunch. When I mentioned to one of my co-workers that in the US, it's a rather large no-no to drink during a business lunch, he said "I don't know why Americans are so prudish about alcohol, and yet not about guns!"
That seemed like something of a non-sequitur, but, it was funny.
--Aimee
At the time of this post, 10€ = $13.2 dollars. I was listening to BBC World in my hotel room a few nights ago, and one of the stories was "The Dollar is at an all-time low against the Euro." This is not what you want to hear as an expat.
Basically, when I say a price, add 30% to it to be in the ballpark in Dollars. Everything over there is a fortune compared to here, not just because of the exchange rate, though that definitely exacerbates it.
One piece of good news -- wine is cheaper than food and water. And it's ok to have a glass with lunch. When I mentioned to one of my co-workers that in the US, it's a rather large no-no to drink during a business lunch, he said "I don't know why Americans are so prudish about alcohol, and yet not about guns!"
That seemed like something of a non-sequitur, but, it was funny.
--Aimee
We have two apartments now. One from Nov 29 to January 3, and one from January 3 on, for an indefiniete period somewhere between one and two years. The long-term apartment is *really* nice, and will suit us very well, so it was worth waiting for, since it won't be vacant until the end of the year. I looked at 11 apartments, about 5 of which we could have lived in relatively comfortably.
One of the places I didn't choose was very cool, but a bit out of the way, and too expensive for our budget. It was in a converted loft, and there were upstairs rooms accessible only by a ladder that had skylights and carpet -- a cross between a child's play area and a chill space. Would have been so fun to curl up like a cat under the sun and take a nap. That apartment was in the Marais (about 10 stops from work, 25 minutes on a very crowded line) and was 2000 Euros a month not including utilities (which they said ran about 125 Euros per month). It had a wood-burning stove, and a SPECTACULAR blue tiled bathroom with both shower and bath, as well as an open kitchen. It was cool, but not quite worth the money and distance.
I saw one place that was smaller than one floor of our house, and had five sleepy post-high-school aged girls in it. It was like a clown car -- girls in pyjamas just kept coming out of bedrooms. They were sleeping on the floor in the living room, and in both tiny bedrooms. It was surreal. Now that I type this, I imagine there are several friends who would be totally psyched to walk into this situation!
Anyway, the place I chose for us is awesome. It's $2058 Euros, which is a ton of cash, but it's very nicely furnished, and will suit us perfectly. (Also, heat and water is included, so we'll only have electricity to pay.) It has two bedrooms which are on the floor above the main living area. There's a modern kitchen (I had to insist that they add a dryer -- there was only a washing machine -- and the current tenant had clothes drying around the place. Not fun.
The apartment has a large terrace, large enough for a table and chairs outside, and giant french doors that lead out to a balcony on the other wall. I'm looking forward to dinner and drinks alfresco in the spring. Here's a picture of the living room from the dining room, near the stairs to go up:
The lady is the relocation consultant. She's very nice, and doesn't mind helping me with my horrendous French.
This place is at the Argentine stop, which is two stops away from work, on the same line (the #1 line). The Arc de Triomphe stop (Charles de Gaulle Étoile) is the one stop between our home and our office. The living room has a nice widescreen TV and surround sound system. Also, the bed is a true double, not two twins pushed together, which seems to be so common in Europe.
The temporary apartment is in the Marais. Many folks have suggested that we should live there. It's been likened to the Castro here in SF, but my initial investigations make me doubt that. Anyway, this will give us a chance to live in that neighborhood for a while, and then we'll move to our nicer, more convenient digs.
Both apartments have internet. Whew. I guess it's easy and cheap to get everywhere in Paris. There are a buch of really wacky taxes, though -- a "habitation tax" which we may be avoiding by signing on Jan 3 instead of Jan 1 is something like $1800 Euros a year, which is a lot of dough! There's also a television tax of 160€, which just seems dumb, especially given that France uses its own format that's different from the rest of Europe, called SECAM, which means you have to have a special Frenchie television. Hi. Who thought that up?
One of the places I didn't choose was very cool, but a bit out of the way, and too expensive for our budget. It was in a converted loft, and there were upstairs rooms accessible only by a ladder that had skylights and carpet -- a cross between a child's play area and a chill space. Would have been so fun to curl up like a cat under the sun and take a nap. That apartment was in the Marais (about 10 stops from work, 25 minutes on a very crowded line) and was 2000 Euros a month not including utilities (which they said ran about 125 Euros per month). It had a wood-burning stove, and a SPECTACULAR blue tiled bathroom with both shower and bath, as well as an open kitchen. It was cool, but not quite worth the money and distance.
I saw one place that was smaller than one floor of our house, and had five sleepy post-high-school aged girls in it. It was like a clown car -- girls in pyjamas just kept coming out of bedrooms. They were sleeping on the floor in the living room, and in both tiny bedrooms. It was surreal. Now that I type this, I imagine there are several friends who would be totally psyched to walk into this situation!
Anyway, the place I chose for us is awesome. It's $2058 Euros, which is a ton of cash, but it's very nicely furnished, and will suit us perfectly. (Also, heat and water is included, so we'll only have electricity to pay.) It has two bedrooms which are on the floor above the main living area. There's a modern kitchen (I had to insist that they add a dryer -- there was only a washing machine -- and the current tenant had clothes drying around the place. Not fun.
The apartment has a large terrace, large enough for a table and chairs outside, and giant french doors that lead out to a balcony on the other wall. I'm looking forward to dinner and drinks alfresco in the spring. Here's a picture of the living room from the dining room, near the stairs to go up:
The lady is the relocation consultant. She's very nice, and doesn't mind helping me with my horrendous French.
This place is at the Argentine stop, which is two stops away from work, on the same line (the #1 line). The Arc de Triomphe stop (Charles de Gaulle Étoile) is the one stop between our home and our office. The living room has a nice widescreen TV and surround sound system. Also, the bed is a true double, not two twins pushed together, which seems to be so common in Europe.
The temporary apartment is in the Marais. Many folks have suggested that we should live there. It's been likened to the Castro here in SF, but my initial investigations make me doubt that. Anyway, this will give us a chance to live in that neighborhood for a while, and then we'll move to our nicer, more convenient digs.
Both apartments have internet. Whew. I guess it's easy and cheap to get everywhere in Paris. There are a buch of really wacky taxes, though -- a "habitation tax" which we may be avoiding by signing on Jan 3 instead of Jan 1 is something like $1800 Euros a year, which is a lot of dough! There's also a television tax of 160€, which just seems dumb, especially given that France uses its own format that's different from the rest of Europe, called SECAM, which means you have to have a special Frenchie television. Hi. Who thought that up?
I would like it to stop raining, s'il vous plait.
Today (Sunday) I got into the office (which is locked, and guarded by a non-bilingual man) by saying "S'il vou plais, je voudrais visite mon bureau!" It worked!
This morning I spent an hour and a half in the farmer's market outside of my hotel (It's there on Thurs and Sun) and I bought:
2 kilos of little clams (coques)
2 lemons (citron)
spinach (espinace, I think)
a shallot (very similar if not the same)
a rotiserrie chicken (poulet) (cooked) with onions and raisins inside
4 tomatoes (tomates)
5 baby avocadoes (avocat)
a bottle of white wine (vin blanc)
a tiny pecan pie (pecan pie)
a small container of whole dried cayenne peppers (?)
a bunch of cilantro (I have no idea)
1/4 kilo of bacon (lardons) that's cut crossways, into little strips or "bacon worms"
I'm making steamed clams tonight! Woo! Their farmer's market is outrageous. SF has *nothing* on Paris in the fresh food department. We will have no shortage of delicious things to eat. Sausages and beefs and porks and cheeses and veggies galore. It was outstanding. Also, salt cod. I want to learn to make something with that.
I bought a great ring with funny beads that look like eyes dangling from a round band that's like the matching rings I first made for me and Dennis.
A fountain at Rive Gauche (meaning pretty much exactly "the left side of the river"):
Today (Sunday) I got into the office (which is locked, and guarded by a non-bilingual man) by saying "S'il vou plais, je voudrais visite mon bureau!" It worked!
This morning I spent an hour and a half in the farmer's market outside of my hotel (It's there on Thurs and Sun) and I bought:
2 kilos of little clams (coques)
2 lemons (citron)
spinach (espinace, I think)
a shallot (very similar if not the same)
a rotiserrie chicken (poulet) (cooked) with onions and raisins inside
4 tomatoes (tomates)
5 baby avocadoes (avocat)
a bottle of white wine (vin blanc)
a tiny pecan pie (pecan pie)
a small container of whole dried cayenne peppers (?)
a bunch of cilantro (I have no idea)
1/4 kilo of bacon (lardons) that's cut crossways, into little strips or "bacon worms"
I'm making steamed clams tonight! Woo! Their farmer's market is outrageous. SF has *nothing* on Paris in the fresh food department. We will have no shortage of delicious things to eat. Sausages and beefs and porks and cheeses and veggies galore. It was outstanding. Also, salt cod. I want to learn to make something with that.
I bought a great ring with funny beads that look like eyes dangling from a round band that's like the matching rings I first made for me and Dennis.
A fountain at Rive Gauche (meaning pretty much exactly "the left side of the river"):
The city is filthy with arches. This one is in Saint Denis, which is where the hookers hang out. It's much smaller than the Arch de Triomphe.
This is a typical, cute paris alley. Just precious.
This is at Pont Neuf (new point) and I'm not sure what the deal is, but it's pretty and deco and made of glass and steel.
p.s. I soaked the clams in the sink for a few hours to get the sand out. After scrubbing them I cooked them by frying the lardons in the bottom of a big pot, then pouring in white wine, clams, spinach, tomatoes, lemon, and hot peppers. Boil for 15 mins or so until the clams are open, and eat. So so good. Yes, I ate all of them in one sitting.
--Aimee
Jim and I arrived this morning at about 10am, bleary from the flight. We transferred at Dallas Fort Worth. I had never been to that airport. Not impressed. Jim didn't sleep on the plane, so he was exhausted, and his room wasn't ready when we got to the hotel. Oof.
I took a shower and rallied -- this was my first chance to look around Paris in the daytime. I walked from the Arc de Triomphe down to the Louvre, through the Tuileries park. It was the first of several very long walks.
I went to the Louvre, and discovered that the first Sunday of every month is free! It was crowded, but it's *so* huge, that it was still just fine. I took some pictures to send to Dennis, who was at home for this trip.
First, I took a picture of this guy because he has a little "soul patch" spot like Dennis has, and I thought that was funny:
I took a shower and rallied -- this was my first chance to look around Paris in the daytime. I walked from the Arc de Triomphe down to the Louvre, through the Tuileries park. It was the first of several very long walks.
I went to the Louvre, and discovered that the first Sunday of every month is free! It was crowded, but it's *so* huge, that it was still just fine. I took some pictures to send to Dennis, who was at home for this trip.
First, I took a picture of this guy because he has a little "soul patch" spot like Dennis has, and I thought that was funny:
Then, this is Napoleon on his throne. Every piece of him is decorated (this camera photo doesn't do him justice) from his gloves to his shoes. It's actually a really beautiful painting. Stopped me in my tracks.
I took a picture of this lady because she's walking her dog. She's naked. Her dog is a greyhound. Maybe next time I'll bring a better camera, eh? I've never walked my dog naked.
As you can see, it got mostly sunny today. I walked a *long* way, maybe 7 or 8 kilometers. My dogs are barking. We had dinner at a cute little place right near work -- I'm looking forward to taking Dennis there, because Jim had a burger with bacon and egg on top (no bun) served with avocado. Sounds perfect for atkinsing! He said it was fabulous.
We also discovered the French equivalent of Waiters On Wheels, called "Chaud Devant" which means "Careful, it's hot!" and can be found at www.chaud-devant.com. The place where we ate is called PDG, which MUST stand for Pretty Damned Good.
--Aimee
The day after we finalized the decision to move to Paris for a year or more, my Word of the Day was "expatriate". Fitting.
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About me
- I'm off2paris
- From Paris, France
- off2paris at wonky point org
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