Marci and Steve Go Back to Europe

An American in Paris  or more aptly titled AmericanS in Paris  Before I left I read quite a few books about Americans who had come to live in Paris. Most were humorous and filled with vignettes and observations about the differences between Paris and New York, Parisian behavior or just fitting in. Each one seemed to have an aha moment when the author felt they 'got it' or finally fit in or finally chose to always stick out as an American. The one I loved best was the guy who felt he had made it when he finally understood and accepted that, in order to even take out the trash from his flat, it was necessary to shower, shave and put on pressed jeans just to walk down to the trash can. Now I have been in Paris only two weeks and am living in Le Marais but as I look out my window incessantly, I see plenty of Parisians to dispel that myth.  That being said I had my own aha moment of what it means to LIVE in Paris yesterday....We did NOTHING touristy!! We simply lived. The day'...

Walking in the footsteps of Impressionists Although the day started drizzly, there was a promise of sun by 11, so we decided to forge ahead with our plans for our first day trip.  We managed the metro to Gare Lazare (easy), the second busiest train station in Europe per Wikipedia with 100,000,000 passengers a year and no, I did not type too many zeros. That is 400,000 people a day!! We had a bit of help buying the tickets as Steve ended up in line behind a very nice Australian guy who as it turned out, was staying TWO doors down from us at #4 rue du Roi de Sicile. We quickly figured out as we were walking to our train that all 400,000 people using the train station each day are commuting in from the suburbs to the city at exactly the same time we are trying to head out. I wish I had a picture of what it looked like and felt to be swimming against this tide of humanity. I thought we would be swallowed up about a hundred times but we may now be ready to tackle India.  Well I hav...

Sunday on Thursday Quick entry so I do not spoil my record of writing everyday. This one is another catch up so if you think it is getting hard to stay on top of our blog and adventures, imagine how we feel doing so much everyday and finding the time to write about it too.  Sunday at St. Ouen Several trips ago to Paris, probably at least ten years ago, I met a couple of guys somwhere who told me "you have to go to St. Ouen  if you like flea markets and antiques".  For years and years I kept this small scrap of paper in my famous travel folders in my filing cabinet tucked into FRANCE. The note was about 4" x 3" and literally all it said was St. Ouen. I never forgot it but never had the chance each time I was in Paris to get there.....until last Sunday. The St. Ouen market(s) are a bit out of the city, over the 'wall' as they say, which here is  not a compliment.  You take the metro, get off and immediately see uncharming makeshift tented stalls of CRAP. And y...

Yearning for a real PC The metro is plastered with billboards that seem to change every three days with advertisements for one or another of Paris's 6,000 events a year. They all look enticing and we have become adept only at reading the dates. We then usually have to take a photo of the billboard and decipher it on our translator app when we get home.  In addition,  we then have to eliminate anything that has language, so we are left with pretty much only dance and music.   The poster for WuWei looked intriguing, maybe some sort of visual performance, not quite a Cirque D'Soliel, in a part of town almost out of town.  Using the ipad, the mini-ipad and translating, Steve was able to get through the all French website and buy tickets, only problem it turned out was no way to print them.  More translator divulged that we could go to any FNAC store (kind of like a book record store chain that sells tix) and pick them up. A FNAC store was close by yesterday, in the ...

From Vivaldi  to  Vincent (Van Gogh) THE VIVALDI PART Rewind  a bit back to Saturday, June 22nd. We had dinner at home and then   at 8:00  took a walk down the Seine to Saint Chapelle. Last time we were there in 2000, it was Christmas week and we froze waiting in line for two hours to see the chapel. This time, we simply stood in line to buy tickets to be treated to a six piece string classical concert in this magnificent setting.  The concert was Vivaldi...not just Vivaldi but theFour Seasons.....not just the Four Seasons but played spectacularly....not just played well but in a stirring setting.  The last time the music and its venue engendered  such magic was in 1977 seeing the Vienna Boys Choir sing in the 12th century Cathedral in Durham, England. The lead violin played with the speed and finesse of the finest rendition of the Flight of the Bumblebee. The light was still subtle through the stained glass though the chapel was dark.  The e...

Donuts and Cupcakes, Old News Faith Popcorn Prediction #2 First they were lining up in Portland for crazy flavored donuts. Then the cupcake craze hit NYC with every color and kind of icing imaginable in store front windows and as wedding cakes.  There are no donut shops in Paris. They do have cupcake bakeries where you custom make your cupcake. But they also have  Le Eclair de Genie, in The Marais,  where every day at 11:00 am their cases are filled with the most artistic, delectable miniature eclairs of every taste you can imagine. It is a feast for the eyes.  They are perfect little three bite pastries worthy of a jewelry store window sparkling like rubies and emeralds.  The shop is only open until 8pm, they make these gems once a day and so if you want one, show up early. The cases are empty by 4pm.   People  buy them by the box like we buy donuts by the dozen and this being Paris, if you want just one edible art eclair be prepar...