What a day! It turns out my Mom's foot actually is fractured, and we are now rolling her around in Paris in a cast! We also got a crash course into using the French medical system.
The day started with a doctors visit from SOS Medecins to take a look at her foot. Our English speaking doctor arrived at our French apartment only 20 minutes after we called instead of the hour quoted. Once he arrived though, he took one look at her foot and went "Yeah, that looks broken". He then organized an appointment with us with an orthopedic specialist, where we would get X-Rays done and figure out what to do if we confirmed it was broken. He also suggested checking with the local medical center close by if we could get an appointment earlier.
So we ventured out to the medical center, where unfortunately they didn't have any openings until the next morning. But they took our phone number in case something opened up. We then went to the local pharmacy to request a wheelchair. Unfortunately they wouldn't get one in until 4:30, so we had to make do with some crutches we brought with us.
Our appointment with the orthopedic surgeon was at 3:50, so we took a cab to get there since there was no possible way should could have used the metro. Luckily the entry receptionist spoke English, but the one for the doctor did not, so Kara was acting as an amazing translator to explain what was going on. We also had a note from the doctor from the morning as well though too. The orthopedic surgeon took a look at her foot and agreed that it looked like it was broken. Unfortunately they had thought we already had an X-ray, and thus their X-ray person had already gone home for the day. But there were other places still open, so they called and made us an appointment since she was an urgent case. This neccessitated another cab ride a bit away (about 10 minute walk, but if you can't walk then you have to take a cab) to the radiology place. Unfortunately there was some miscommunication so we went to the wrong radiology place (again thanks to Kara for speaking French so we could figure this out!). The correct one was only up the block, but when you're with someone who can't walk, it required a cab ride. Once we got to the correct X-Ray place, she was seen promptly.
I caught a cab to get a wheelchair from the pharmacy since it was available by this point. After studying the x-rays, they said it was inconclusive, so they wanted a sonogram. So they set up a sonogram appointment back at the original place we went. This time we had a wheelchair, so it was a quick 2 minute walk. Again we were seen fairly promptly (about 15 minutes of waiting). Her sonogram showed there was a TON of blood in her foot and that her ligaments were quite tore up, but it still wasn't clear if her foot was broken. So now it was time for an MRI. Again another appointment but it was just next-door to get that done. After another about 15 minutes of waiting, she got it done, and it finally showed that she did have some fractures in her foot and would need a cast.
Thus we had to go back to the original orthopedist and get a cast. Thankfully he was staying WAY later than his normal opening hours to wait for us. It took about 20 minutes to put on the cast and then we could finally take a cab home. She'll be in the cast for 6 weeks.
We also had to pick her up some blood thinner, and that was a bit of adventure to find a pharmacy open at 10:00pm on a Friday night. The "late-night" one I usually use was already closed, and the closest one according to Google was also already closed. But at that pharmacy there was a list of late night pharmacies, so we went to that one instead. It's actually open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (Pharmacie Centrale, 52 Rue du Commerce, Paris, France), so now I know where to head in the future. We took a cab back since we didn't want to deal with a long metro trip after a VERY long day, but at only 8 euro, it was well worth it. Actually I've become quite a fan of using cabs, as they're really not that expensive relatively (relative to Paris being so freaking expensive) and can be far more convenient.
All in all it was quite a fascinating day to journey through the French medical system. We used a combination of private and public medical services (one of the most common misconceptions about European healthcare is that there is no private doctors nor insurance in a universal healthcare system. Actually there are both and they will see you just as quickly in a non-medical emergency as you would in the US. It's just that in EVERY SINGLE OTHER 1ST WORLD COUNTRY you're guaranteed medical care. We guarantee medical care only in the most ridiculous and expensive way possible by sending people to the ER when their originally very easily treatable condition blows up into a full emergency).
Even being completely uninsured the out of pocket cost was WAAAY less than being uninsured in the US, and had she been a French citizen, would have been significantly less. While no health care system can be perfect, I think it was an eye opening view into how twisted some politicians try to make socialist healthcare systems to be. But yet socialist firefighters, police, and roads are no problem.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Orly
My parents came back from Italy late this evening from Orly. They'd been off on a cruise of the Mediterranean that they've really enjoyed, and were flying back to Paris to spend a few more days with us until flying back to the US. Unfortunately on their last day in Rome my Mom fell and hurt her foot, and now needs a wheelchair to get around. We plan on seeing a doctor tomorrow to get it checked out since it looks really really swollen and bad.
I also found out that my super all-access zones 1-5 Navigo card is not valid for the Orlyval. Nope, it was still 9€ to get from Antony to Orly. Navigo isn't valid at all to get to Orly.
I also found out that my super all-access zones 1-5 Navigo card is not valid for the Orlyval. Nope, it was still 9€ to get from Antony to Orly. Navigo isn't valid at all to get to Orly.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Paris Friends
Tonight we hung out with two of Kara's friends from her language school. Both of them are from Russia, but speak English pretty well. It's also been nice to practice French with them since they're also in the process of learning so they speak slowly and simply so it's easier to follow.
We went to some bars around the Bastille area and just generally hung out. It amuses me how similar bars are across the world, except that here tipping isn't really done. A few cents or something, but not the typical dollar like in the US. Also all the cocktail names are in English which was also surprising.
All in all it was a fun night!
We went to some bars around the Bastille area and just generally hung out. It amuses me how similar bars are across the world, except that here tipping isn't really done. A few cents or something, but not the typical dollar like in the US. Also all the cocktail names are in English which was also surprising.
All in all it was a fun night!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Return to Paris
The train ride was fairly uneventful other than discovering we were sitting in the wrong train car and had to move halfway through the trip. Also it was amazing how much cloudier it got the closer to Paris the train went. I think I miss the Cote d'Azul already! I could also get used to only having to show up 20 minutes before departure time for a train. Much better than 2 hours!
On the way back we sat in 1st class since it was only a few euro more. The only difference is wider seats that recline (there are 3 for each row, vs 4 in 2nd class), a single power port per row, and a guy did come by to take food and drink orders (though you had to pay extra for it, it wasn't included). Really if it's more than 10 euro it's really not worth the extra cost, and if you're remotely trying to save every cent, it's not worth any extra money unless you really need a power port. The seats in 2nd class are light years bigger and roomier than on an airplane so anyone would be fine.
After we got back I caught up on work email (since surprisingly the train doesn't have WiFi and my phone kept going in and out of signal) and just hung out all night. I actually had missed crepes since apparently in Nice they only have dessert ones, based on the ones we passed.
On the way back we sat in 1st class since it was only a few euro more. The only difference is wider seats that recline (there are 3 for each row, vs 4 in 2nd class), a single power port per row, and a guy did come by to take food and drink orders (though you had to pay extra for it, it wasn't included). Really if it's more than 10 euro it's really not worth the extra cost, and if you're remotely trying to save every cent, it's not worth any extra money unless you really need a power port. The seats in 2nd class are light years bigger and roomier than on an airplane so anyone would be fine.
After we got back I caught up on work email (since surprisingly the train doesn't have WiFi and my phone kept going in and out of signal) and just hung out all night. I actually had missed crepes since apparently in Nice they only have dessert ones, based on the ones we passed.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
The French Riviera
Today we went to see the Rothschild Villa and Gardens, which are a bit to the East of Nice, on a peninsula called Cap Ferrat. It was finished in 1912, and has some incredible gardens and views of the French Riviera. We then walked down along the coast and caught the 100 bus at the train station to get back to Nice.
I have to say, I never thought I'd get to tour the famous French Riviera (Côte d'Azur (Azure (ie blue) Coast) in French). You always hear about it, but it really is quite pretty and I'd definitely recommend visiting if you get the chance. We didn't visit Cannes or Saint Tropez based on the reviews of how over-rated they were, but Nice is definitely worth the trip! I'd definitely go back, and I want to see some of the hill-top villages like Saint-Paul-de-Vence which I'm sad we had to miss.
The bus was still pretty confusing today though too. I was trying to get a day pass for 5 euros, but both of the buses we tried didn't sell them, and none of the tabac shops were open since it was Sunday. Luckily they did take small bills. The first one we got on was the 100, figuring we could transfer somewhere down the line on the 81 which would take us to the Rothschild mansion. But after we got off to take some photos and wait for the 81 to come by, he wouldn't accept our previous ticket and said we had to buy new ones. We should have just waited for the #81 to begin with. It was also a bit difficult to figure out when to hit the "stop" button since there was but a single map on the bus, but by using my phone GPS I could mostly figure it out. This is why I find metro so much easier to figure out than the bus. Though once you've ridden the bus once, it's usually OK. It's just much harder to pre-plan.
Oh and we did finally find the new location for bus #100 and #81 in Nice, which is at the Segurane bus stop, and not at JC Bermond like everywhere on the Internet says.
After wandering through the Nice Old Town (Vieux Nice) for a while, we stumbled upon an Indian food place and decided to check it out since we hadn't eaten Indian since moving to France. And it was good! Expensive of course, but good! After wandering around a bit more, watching the fountains in the main square do their thing, and discovering we were slightly too late to ride the Ferris wheel, we headed back to our hotel with some crepes for dessert in our hands. Our train leaves tomorrow morning at 7:35am so we've got another early start. No wonder we sleep in so late when we don't have to get up early!
I have to say, I never thought I'd get to tour the famous French Riviera (Côte d'Azur (Azure (ie blue) Coast) in French). You always hear about it, but it really is quite pretty and I'd definitely recommend visiting if you get the chance. We didn't visit Cannes or Saint Tropez based on the reviews of how over-rated they were, but Nice is definitely worth the trip! I'd definitely go back, and I want to see some of the hill-top villages like Saint-Paul-de-Vence which I'm sad we had to miss.
The bus was still pretty confusing today though too. I was trying to get a day pass for 5 euros, but both of the buses we tried didn't sell them, and none of the tabac shops were open since it was Sunday. Luckily they did take small bills. The first one we got on was the 100, figuring we could transfer somewhere down the line on the 81 which would take us to the Rothschild mansion. But after we got off to take some photos and wait for the 81 to come by, he wouldn't accept our previous ticket and said we had to buy new ones. We should have just waited for the #81 to begin with. It was also a bit difficult to figure out when to hit the "stop" button since there was but a single map on the bus, but by using my phone GPS I could mostly figure it out. This is why I find metro so much easier to figure out than the bus. Though once you've ridden the bus once, it's usually OK. It's just much harder to pre-plan.
Oh and we did finally find the new location for bus #100 and #81 in Nice, which is at the Segurane bus stop, and not at JC Bermond like everywhere on the Internet says.
After wandering through the Nice Old Town (Vieux Nice) for a while, we stumbled upon an Indian food place and decided to check it out since we hadn't eaten Indian since moving to France. And it was good! Expensive of course, but good! After wandering around a bit more, watching the fountains in the main square do their thing, and discovering we were slightly too late to ride the Ferris wheel, we headed back to our hotel with some crepes for dessert in our hands. Our train leaves tomorrow morning at 7:35am so we've got another early start. No wonder we sleep in so late when we don't have to get up early!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Monaco
After a late start (it seems most of my trip entries start this way doesn't it?) we tried to find the #100 bus to take us along the coastline to Villefranche-sur-mer, and then on to Monaco. Unfortunately (as I later found out) all the tourist info on the web is wrong about where the bus stop for the #100 bus because it recently moved, and thus we couldn't find it. In the end then we took the train instead, since train stations are pretty good about not arbitrarily moving.
In reading about using the trains in the French Riviera someone compared it to being a "Riviera Metro" since it runs about every 30 minutes and hits all the little villages across the French Riviera. And yep, it's pretty much the case. Tickets were something like 3.70€ each way, so about 14€ for both of us round trip. After looking at the TV monitors, we just headed to the platform for the next train bound for Ventimiglia, which is in the direction of Monaco and other villages along the way. Then on the return looked for the train platform with the next train headed to Grasse which goes in the opposite direction to get back to Nice. There's only two options, and so typically two trains, so it makes it easy. (hint: It's the two destinations listed over and over on the monitor)
The only difficult part was there didn't seem to be an English option for buying the tickets, but it was straight forward enough in French, and there were ticket agents further down I noticed later we could have used. There's no need to pre-buy tickets for these stations. Just show up to the station, buy the ticket, validate it in the yellow box, and hop on the next train that comes along and pick a seat. Literally, just like a metro!
Since we were now running even further behind after having to backtrack to the train station and wait for a train, we decided to skip the village and go straight to Monaco from Nice. Or well actually not quite to Monaco. Based on the recommendations while searching the Internet, we got off at the Cap d'Ail station (the one right before Monoco) and walked the rest of the way. I can now say I've walked to another country, and the walkway was right along the sea and had some spectacular views. Definitely a good idea. The only bad idea was that we hadn't stopped and gotten any lunch, and there's nothing for sale really for most of the walk. The one restaurant we passed that was open had already closed it's kitchen (as it was about 3:30pm by this point). But we kept going on until finally reaching Monaco.
Monaco is the 2nd smallest country in the world (only .75 square miles) and the most densely populated. I was surprised at how many people said it wasn't worth visiting during my research, as I actually enjoyed it. Yeah there's not a whole lot to see here, but it is famous and the views are pretty cool from the outcrop that the Prince's Palace sits on. I wouldn't recommend staying in Monaco, but definitely worth the easy train trip from Nice to check it out and see it first hand.
After a bit of confusion of how exactly to get to the Prince's Palace (as we were coming in from the walkway by the sea, and not the bus/train stops that most guides assume) we were able to follow the signs and use Google Maps until we got to the Place d'Arms bus stop. From there we could have caught a bus to take us up the hill to the Monaco-ville section of the city (where all the main sights are), but instead we walked up. It wasn't that bad, and since it was sunset, had some good views of the city on the way. The timing actually worked out quite nicely since by the time we got to the top (maybe 10 minute hike up) the sun was just setting, so we got some really great photos looking out on both sides of the outcrop.
We then went to the church nearby, where they seemed to be testing the organ or something because it was making some awful high pitched noises the entire time we were there. The church was neat, but nothing too out of the ordinary for a nice European church (aka it blows away anything you've ever seen in the US). After wandering around some more, and trying to figure out how to get off the top of the rock where Monaco-ville sits, we found the Monaco-ville bus stop and got on the #1 bus which took us down to the main part of Monaco, around the famous harbor, and then up to the famous Monte Carlo casino. Either #1 or #2 buses go everywhere you need to go, and while riding the bus we drove through the tunnel that's part of the Monaco Grand Prix which was neat.
While we didn't go inside the casino since it was gambling hours and you have to be dressed up and have a passport (of which we had neither) the outside was pretty and would look familiar to anyone who ever watched a James Bond film. And I saw about 5 Ferrari's in the span of about 10 minutes either parked or driving around. So that was pretty cool. Afterwards I wanted to get some night shots of Monaco from Monaco-ville, so we took the bus back up to the palace area, and ended up eating dinner in a good Italian restaurant, along with an incredibly loud group of American teenagers. We then took the bus back to one of the stops with "Gare" in the name on the map, as those would take you to the train station (which is "gare" in French). From there it was a short 20 minute ride back to Nice to finish out the day.
In reading about using the trains in the French Riviera someone compared it to being a "Riviera Metro" since it runs about every 30 minutes and hits all the little villages across the French Riviera. And yep, it's pretty much the case. Tickets were something like 3.70€ each way, so about 14€ for both of us round trip. After looking at the TV monitors, we just headed to the platform for the next train bound for Ventimiglia, which is in the direction of Monaco and other villages along the way. Then on the return looked for the train platform with the next train headed to Grasse which goes in the opposite direction to get back to Nice. There's only two options, and so typically two trains, so it makes it easy. (hint: It's the two destinations listed over and over on the monitor)
The only difficult part was there didn't seem to be an English option for buying the tickets, but it was straight forward enough in French, and there were ticket agents further down I noticed later we could have used. There's no need to pre-buy tickets for these stations. Just show up to the station, buy the ticket, validate it in the yellow box, and hop on the next train that comes along and pick a seat. Literally, just like a metro!
Since we were now running even further behind after having to backtrack to the train station and wait for a train, we decided to skip the village and go straight to Monaco from Nice. Or well actually not quite to Monaco. Based on the recommendations while searching the Internet, we got off at the Cap d'Ail station (the one right before Monoco) and walked the rest of the way. I can now say I've walked to another country, and the walkway was right along the sea and had some spectacular views. Definitely a good idea. The only bad idea was that we hadn't stopped and gotten any lunch, and there's nothing for sale really for most of the walk. The one restaurant we passed that was open had already closed it's kitchen (as it was about 3:30pm by this point). But we kept going on until finally reaching Monaco.
Monaco is the 2nd smallest country in the world (only .75 square miles) and the most densely populated. I was surprised at how many people said it wasn't worth visiting during my research, as I actually enjoyed it. Yeah there's not a whole lot to see here, but it is famous and the views are pretty cool from the outcrop that the Prince's Palace sits on. I wouldn't recommend staying in Monaco, but definitely worth the easy train trip from Nice to check it out and see it first hand.
After a bit of confusion of how exactly to get to the Prince's Palace (as we were coming in from the walkway by the sea, and not the bus/train stops that most guides assume) we were able to follow the signs and use Google Maps until we got to the Place d'Arms bus stop. From there we could have caught a bus to take us up the hill to the Monaco-ville section of the city (where all the main sights are), but instead we walked up. It wasn't that bad, and since it was sunset, had some good views of the city on the way. The timing actually worked out quite nicely since by the time we got to the top (maybe 10 minute hike up) the sun was just setting, so we got some really great photos looking out on both sides of the outcrop.
We then went to the church nearby, where they seemed to be testing the organ or something because it was making some awful high pitched noises the entire time we were there. The church was neat, but nothing too out of the ordinary for a nice European church (aka it blows away anything you've ever seen in the US). After wandering around some more, and trying to figure out how to get off the top of the rock where Monaco-ville sits, we found the Monaco-ville bus stop and got on the #1 bus which took us down to the main part of Monaco, around the famous harbor, and then up to the famous Monte Carlo casino. Either #1 or #2 buses go everywhere you need to go, and while riding the bus we drove through the tunnel that's part of the Monaco Grand Prix which was neat.
While we didn't go inside the casino since it was gambling hours and you have to be dressed up and have a passport (of which we had neither) the outside was pretty and would look familiar to anyone who ever watched a James Bond film. And I saw about 5 Ferrari's in the span of about 10 minutes either parked or driving around. So that was pretty cool. Afterwards I wanted to get some night shots of Monaco from Monaco-ville, so we took the bus back up to the palace area, and ended up eating dinner in a good Italian restaurant, along with an incredibly loud group of American teenagers. We then took the bus back to one of the stops with "Gare" in the name on the map, as those would take you to the train station (which is "gare" in French). From there it was a short 20 minute ride back to Nice to finish out the day.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Nice!
Today we took our first long distance train ride on the high speed TGV train (Train à Grande Vitesse) to get to Nice. We were a bit late leaving our flat, and cut the time fairly closely to get to Gare d'Lyon. But thanks to no security lines when you ride the train, we made it OK in the end. We'll have to leave more than 45 minutes before the train departs next time though, since it took 25 minutes to get there.
The first part of the train from Paris to Nice is incredibly fast, with the train going almost 200MPH. The French countryside is gorgeous and I passed the time reading about Nice on my Kindle (I usually buy the Rick Steve's books for the Kindle when we travel in Europe, so I can read it on my phone whenever we get lost). However the last half of the trip is very slow as you make your way through various villages, so the total time was about 6 hours to get from Paris to Nice. You take about half the time to go 4/5 of the distance. We'll be in Nice over the weekend, and take the train back Monday morning. There are some really great views of the sea from the train too, so that part is nice.
We started the day by going to the Russian Cathedral, which was worth the 15 minute walk. We then walked down to the sea and I got to see the Mediterranean for the first time (if you don't count Venice anyways). The seaside is beautiful, and there's a promenade that stretches along the see across Nice. The beach however actually isn't that great since it's all small pebbles. The only sand is imported and only in small areas. But the city itself was quite pretty. We got some sandwiches and pizza from a boulangerie (bread store) and ate them on a bench by the seaside, and then finished the afternoon by going to the top of Castle Hill to catch the absolutely breathtaking sunset over the mountains, sea, and city.
For dinner we were going to check out this a French place I found on TripAdviser near our hotel, but it was right next to a crowded Mexican joint. And well, I do miss Tex-Mex so we decided to give it a shot. I will say it was significantly better than the Mexican place we tried in Paris, though still not quite right. The worst thing is that for some reason all the ethnic food we've tried in France has been too sweet, and this is was no exception. The salsa was sweet, and even the enchiladas were sweet. It was a bit bizarre. Oh, and I almost set the restaurant on fire after my napkin got too close to the open candle flame they had on the table. Luckily some quick blowing out and a douse of water kept it from growing too much.
Our hotel is right in the heart of the city and it was absolutely amazing how much friendly everyone is here. The owner of the small hotel we're staying at was incredibly kind, and when we wandered into a soap store, the sales lady was incredibly helpful! It's like night and day when compared to Paris!
The first part of the train from Paris to Nice is incredibly fast, with the train going almost 200MPH. The French countryside is gorgeous and I passed the time reading about Nice on my Kindle (I usually buy the Rick Steve's books for the Kindle when we travel in Europe, so I can read it on my phone whenever we get lost). However the last half of the trip is very slow as you make your way through various villages, so the total time was about 6 hours to get from Paris to Nice. You take about half the time to go 4/5 of the distance. We'll be in Nice over the weekend, and take the train back Monday morning. There are some really great views of the sea from the train too, so that part is nice.
We started the day by going to the Russian Cathedral, which was worth the 15 minute walk. We then walked down to the sea and I got to see the Mediterranean for the first time (if you don't count Venice anyways). The seaside is beautiful, and there's a promenade that stretches along the see across Nice. The beach however actually isn't that great since it's all small pebbles. The only sand is imported and only in small areas. But the city itself was quite pretty. We got some sandwiches and pizza from a boulangerie (bread store) and ate them on a bench by the seaside, and then finished the afternoon by going to the top of Castle Hill to catch the absolutely breathtaking sunset over the mountains, sea, and city.
For dinner we were going to check out this a French place I found on TripAdviser near our hotel, but it was right next to a crowded Mexican joint. And well, I do miss Tex-Mex so we decided to give it a shot. I will say it was significantly better than the Mexican place we tried in Paris, though still not quite right. The worst thing is that for some reason all the ethnic food we've tried in France has been too sweet, and this is was no exception. The salsa was sweet, and even the enchiladas were sweet. It was a bit bizarre. Oh, and I almost set the restaurant on fire after my napkin got too close to the open candle flame they had on the table. Luckily some quick blowing out and a douse of water kept it from growing too much.
Our hotel is right in the heart of the city and it was absolutely amazing how much friendly everyone is here. The owner of the small hotel we're staying at was incredibly kind, and when we wandered into a soap store, the sales lady was incredibly helpful! It's like night and day when compared to Paris!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Désolé, je ne parle pas français
Tonight we had an office dinner near Versailles. It was really good, and over 2 dozen employees and spouses showed up, so most everyone got to meet Kara.
She did incredibly well at being able to follow and contribute to the conversation since she speaks French decently enough now. It's not quite fluent, but she can work around any words she doesn't know yet and if you asked anyone back home they would say "Yeah, she speaks French"
It does make me embarrassed at how terrible mine still is, and quite lonely since I mostly just sit in silence for the most part then during the dinner and most days at lunch. I'm slowly starting to understand more when hearing it, but my ability to create and pronounce French is still really terrible. It doesn't help that even understanding it is a slow process, so by the time I finish "deciphering" it in my head (assuming I even can, as the Parisian accent is very hard to understand since they like to "swallow their vowels" and not enunciate clearly), at that point the conversation is way past any response, much less the far longer time it would take me to create a response (and this assumes I actually have the words to create one...). I have 2 and a half months left, but I'm really not sure how much better at speaking French I'll be by the end of this. We'll see.
Interestingly I can actually understand our newest French office employee, from Romania, the best because he speaks so slowly and deliberately. And if I had to read the title to this post ("Sorry, I don't speak French") I could easily read it. But it just doesn't sound anything like I would imagine it would, and when speaking it, it does take me a while to remember the words, and more importantly, how to pronounce it.
I always did really well in school, except for foreign languages (Spanish). And even there I did "well" academically speaking, but just enough to cram for a test and regurgitate it out later to make my A. Spanish is 7th grade was the only class I've ever made a "C" in my life, so I think I was doomed for languages.
She did incredibly well at being able to follow and contribute to the conversation since she speaks French decently enough now. It's not quite fluent, but she can work around any words she doesn't know yet and if you asked anyone back home they would say "Yeah, she speaks French"
It does make me embarrassed at how terrible mine still is, and quite lonely since I mostly just sit in silence for the most part then during the dinner and most days at lunch. I'm slowly starting to understand more when hearing it, but my ability to create and pronounce French is still really terrible. It doesn't help that even understanding it is a slow process, so by the time I finish "deciphering" it in my head (assuming I even can, as the Parisian accent is very hard to understand since they like to "swallow their vowels" and not enunciate clearly), at that point the conversation is way past any response, much less the far longer time it would take me to create a response (and this assumes I actually have the words to create one...). I have 2 and a half months left, but I'm really not sure how much better at speaking French I'll be by the end of this. We'll see.
Interestingly I can actually understand our newest French office employee, from Romania, the best because he speaks so slowly and deliberately. And if I had to read the title to this post ("Sorry, I don't speak French") I could easily read it. But it just doesn't sound anything like I would imagine it would, and when speaking it, it does take me a while to remember the words, and more importantly, how to pronounce it.
I always did really well in school, except for foreign languages (Spanish). And even there I did "well" academically speaking, but just enough to cram for a test and regurgitate it out later to make my A. Spanish is 7th grade was the only class I've ever made a "C" in my life, so I think I was doomed for languages.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Amsterdam Train Tickets
Tonight we bought our train tickets to Amsterdam, for the weekend after we finally get our residency cards. We'll also be staying on a houseboat! I had no idea Amsterdam had so many canals, but we scored one on a pretty section sort of near the train station. We can't wait!
It was a bit of an hassle to book the tickets. The Thalys
website kept rejecting all the credit cards we tried. It even rejected by Carte Bleue (!) by asking for some sort of security code, which I filled out the details, but still ended up rejecting. Finally the next day I was able to book via the Amsterdam train website. Apparently having your credit card rejected when buying train tickets to Amsterdam is very common though. Very common and very frustrating! We were able to just go to the SNCF store near us (which unfortunately isn't an option for anyone overseas) until I was able to finally book it online. Of course the price rose by almost $70 (RT, for the two of us) in the 24 hours it took to sort it all out.
Yes, we finally got our appointment for our residency cards (carte de sejour). It's only 4 and a half months after we arrived in France, which is a month and a half after our initial visa expired meaning we're stuck in France until we got our residency card. Oh French Bureaucracy. So hopefully all goes well on February 7th.
Speaking of trips, our trip to Nice is this weekend. We were a bit worried because there was a bunch of flooding in South France over the weekend, with some deaths even, but it was further west of Nice so the hotel assured us everything was good. And the weather is supposed to be spectacular!
It was a bit of an hassle to book the tickets. The Thalys
website kept rejecting all the credit cards we tried. It even rejected by Carte Bleue (!) by asking for some sort of security code, which I filled out the details, but still ended up rejecting. Finally the next day I was able to book via the Amsterdam train website. Apparently having your credit card rejected when buying train tickets to Amsterdam is very common though. Very common and very frustrating! We were able to just go to the SNCF store near us (which unfortunately isn't an option for anyone overseas) until I was able to finally book it online. Of course the price rose by almost $70 (RT, for the two of us) in the 24 hours it took to sort it all out.
Yes, we finally got our appointment for our residency cards (carte de sejour). It's only 4 and a half months after we arrived in France, which is a month and a half after our initial visa expired meaning we're stuck in France until we got our residency card. Oh French Bureaucracy. So hopefully all goes well on February 7th.
Speaking of trips, our trip to Nice is this weekend. We were a bit worried because there was a bunch of flooding in South France over the weekend, with some deaths even, but it was further west of Nice so the hotel assured us everything was good. And the weather is supposed to be spectacular!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Paris Cemetery: Père Lachaise
Today I checked out most famous cemetery in Paris: Père Lachaise. Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, and many more of Paris' rich and famous are buried there. It's gigantic, and there's some really impressive and interesting tombstones there so I recommend it if you have the time. However it is a bit out of the way from anything else, and so I wouldn't consider it a "must-see" for most tourists.
On the way back I ate at Le Mondrian which was pretty good, and had one of the happiest waiters I'd experienced yet in Paris. French service typically does live up to its negative stereotype, but this guy actually seemed happy to be there. And while he could speak English, he talked to me in French since I initiated in French, which helps me slowly but surely not be so incredibly terrible at it. The decor inside was also pretty cool (though I hit my head on the low hanging light)
I also stopped by Hotel de Ville, which is Paris city hall, since I hadn't seen it at night yet. It's lit up at night, with some flashing strobes on the roof, and is quite beautiful. There's still a skating rink out in front of it too. There's also a photo exhibit there currently, though it was closed when I stopped by. Kara went and said it was really cool.
On the way back I ate at Le Mondrian which was pretty good, and had one of the happiest waiters I'd experienced yet in Paris. French service typically does live up to its negative stereotype, but this guy actually seemed happy to be there. And while he could speak English, he talked to me in French since I initiated in French, which helps me slowly but surely not be so incredibly terrible at it. The decor inside was also pretty cool (though I hit my head on the low hanging light)
I also stopped by Hotel de Ville, which is Paris city hall, since I hadn't seen it at night yet. It's lit up at night, with some flashing strobes on the roof, and is quite beautiful. There's still a skating rink out in front of it too. There's also a photo exhibit there currently, though it was closed when I stopped by. Kara went and said it was really cool.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Lazy TV Saturday
Since we were up so late the night before, we got up late (though really, this is pretty much a reoccurring thing living in Paris on the weekends it seems...) and really didn't do anything at all.
Well OK, we did a marathon viewing of the first season of Brooklyn Nine Nine which is hilarious and I recommend (and recently won a Golden Globe which is why we gave it a shot (and thanks again Unotelly for letting us watch blocked US TV in France!)), but other than that, not a lot got done. I feel kind of guilty since
a) there's still so much on the to-do list of Paris and honestly not that many free weekends left and
b) I'm living in freaking Paris, cultural and food capital of Europe, and spent all day watching TV in our flat and eating frozen pizza. But I suppose not everyday can be a vacation day right?
Well OK, we did a marathon viewing of the first season of Brooklyn Nine Nine which is hilarious and I recommend (and recently won a Golden Globe which is why we gave it a shot (and thanks again Unotelly for letting us watch blocked US TV in France!)), but other than that, not a lot got done. I feel kind of guilty since
a) there's still so much on the to-do list of Paris and honestly not that many free weekends left and
b) I'm living in freaking Paris, cultural and food capital of Europe, and spent all day watching TV in our flat and eating frozen pizza. But I suppose not everyday can be a vacation day right?
Friday, January 17, 2014
Paris Party
We went to our first party in Paris tonight, but it wasn't with Parisians. Instead it was with Kara's language school classmates, who are from all over the world. Though surprisingly a lot of them were from Venezuela and Brazil. I forgot to ask why they chose this school, but a noticeable amount of the kids in Kara's school are from South America, and only a small handful are from the US. They must have a good review on the Brazilian version of TripAdvisor or something.
Anyways, the party was fun, nothing too crazy, just cheeses, crackers, and wine. The girl hosting the party only lives one block away from us, so that was really convenient. It was also a fun mashup of speaking French, English, Spanish, Portugese, and Russian. Being they were all in French language school, and at about the same level as Kara, there was a decent amount of French spoken since it was something everyone had in common. But as English is the modern universal language, just about everyone except for two of them spoke English as well (and often better than French) so that's what most of the party took place in. I'd never attended something this linguistically diverse though. I also felt a bit like a High School Harry (which btw, I had never heard this term until tonight when Kara explained it to me, but apparently it's a real saying... or so she says...) since I was the oldest one there and the only one with a job and career. But the party lasted until the metro was going to shut down and everyone else had to leave. All in all a really fun night!
Anyways, the party was fun, nothing too crazy, just cheeses, crackers, and wine. The girl hosting the party only lives one block away from us, so that was really convenient. It was also a fun mashup of speaking French, English, Spanish, Portugese, and Russian. Being they were all in French language school, and at about the same level as Kara, there was a decent amount of French spoken since it was something everyone had in common. But as English is the modern universal language, just about everyone except for two of them spoke English as well (and often better than French) so that's what most of the party took place in. I'd never attended something this linguistically diverse though. I also felt a bit like a High School Harry (which btw, I had never heard this term until tonight when Kara explained it to me, but apparently it's a real saying... or so she says...) since I was the oldest one there and the only one with a job and career. But the party lasted until the metro was going to shut down and everyone else had to leave. All in all a really fun night!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Notre Dame Mass
We started off the day by visiting the farmers market on Rue de Renne, which my parents compared to "an open air Walmart" so they enjoyed it. Then we took the metro to see Sainte-chapelle. I'd already been, but it's really that impressive to visit more than once. My parents loved it!
Then we went to mass at Notre Dame, which was pretty neat. It was the "international" mass, and while the website says that means part of it would be in English, none of it actually was. However there were parts in Spanish and Italian, so it was International in that regard.
We had lunch at a cafe near Notre Dame, and then headed off to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately I had bought ticket ahead of time to ensure we got a good elevator time to get there while it was still daylight, but late enough where it would turn to dusk to see all the lights. And while the weather forecast kept saying all week it would be only "partly cloudy" on Sunday, and rainy every single other day, it turned out that it was the only day of the entire week they were here that it was completely fogged in. So you could only go up to the second level, as the very top was closed since it was completely fogged in. And the views from that second level were really disappointing. Needless to say the standby line was by far the shortest I'd ever seen it. I had gambled, and I had lost. But at least they got to go up the tower, and we got some souvenirs from both the tower and from the street vendors that circle it down below. There were way less people than normal, and even the three card monte scammers I'd seen during the Christmas time were gone.
We finished the night with some crepes, which my parents loved.
Then we went to mass at Notre Dame, which was pretty neat. It was the "international" mass, and while the website says that means part of it would be in English, none of it actually was. However there were parts in Spanish and Italian, so it was International in that regard.
We had lunch at a cafe near Notre Dame, and then headed off to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately I had bought ticket ahead of time to ensure we got a good elevator time to get there while it was still daylight, but late enough where it would turn to dusk to see all the lights. And while the weather forecast kept saying all week it would be only "partly cloudy" on Sunday, and rainy every single other day, it turned out that it was the only day of the entire week they were here that it was completely fogged in. So you could only go up to the second level, as the very top was closed since it was completely fogged in. And the views from that second level were really disappointing. Needless to say the standby line was by far the shortest I'd ever seen it. I had gambled, and I had lost. But at least they got to go up the tower, and we got some souvenirs from both the tower and from the street vendors that circle it down below. There were way less people than normal, and even the three card monte scammers I'd seen during the Christmas time were gone.
We finished the night with some crepes, which my parents loved.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Parents
My parents arrived this morning at CDG. I rode out there to get them, and after seeing how many bags they brought, decided that a taxi was far and away the best route to get back to our apartment.
Our taxi driver actually spoke decent English, and was telling us about how his daily car was set on fire the previous night randomly. Very crazy!
After giving him a 50 for the ride I ran down to our neighborhood bakery to get some pain au chocolat (chocolate bread) and some croissants. Then we went out to explore churches. St. Suplice. St Germain. Notre Dame. Stopping for some crepes along the way, which my parents had never had. And they loved them! As of course they did because crepes are amazing!
At Notre Dame we joined one of the English tour groups (at 2:30, Saturdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) which was way too long, but did get us access to the choir part of the church which was cool.
Also they brought me the new Canon 70D I bought off Amazon, which has about 3 times the low light ability of my old 20D SLR, so that was fun to play with.
We finished the day with Cafe Cassette, which was delicious as usual. The plat du jour was Pot-au-feu, which is essentially a roast beef stew, and was amazing.
Our taxi driver actually spoke decent English, and was telling us about how his daily car was set on fire the previous night randomly. Very crazy!
After giving him a 50 for the ride I ran down to our neighborhood bakery to get some pain au chocolat (chocolate bread) and some croissants. Then we went out to explore churches. St. Suplice. St Germain. Notre Dame. Stopping for some crepes along the way, which my parents had never had. And they loved them! As of course they did because crepes are amazing!
At Notre Dame we joined one of the English tour groups (at 2:30, Saturdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) which was way too long, but did get us access to the choir part of the church which was cool.
Also they brought me the new Canon 70D I bought off Amazon, which has about 3 times the low light ability of my old 20D SLR, so that was fun to play with.
We finished the day with Cafe Cassette, which was delicious as usual. The plat du jour was Pot-au-feu, which is essentially a roast beef stew, and was amazing.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Metro Life
After getting to the train this morning, it turns out that there was some sort of power outage (or something... Paris metro authorities are not very clear on what the actual cause is) so trains were not really running this morning. Technically they said they were just "congested" but the TV monitor at the train station just had two close stations listed (aka not anywhere near my station way out in the boonies), with notes saying they did not have an estimated time available, and a gigantic crowd of people waiting. So I just hopped right back on the metro back home to work from home.
Unfortunately our upstairs neighbors are completely gutting and renovating their flat, so occasionally there's some ridiculously loud hammering or something going up there. Thankfully it's at least during daytime hours (and not the middle of the night) but we had to go tell them to stop when I was in the middle of a conference call and they started up again. Kara was impressed she knew enough French to get them to, and that they agreed to wait 30 minutes.
Our other adventure today involved Kara's laptop charger as it was accidently forgotten in her Mom's carry-on bag. We looked at FNAC first but they wanted 60€ for a universal adapter! Looking on Amazon France, it was only 23€, so we went with that and figured she can use my tablet and laptop in the meantime. The cool part was discovering that Amazon Prime in France means one day shipping for free, not the normal 2-day like in the US! Very unexpected! Oh and Saturday delivery is considered part of that 1-day. Unfortunately the selection of Amazon France is not near what you would find in the US, but it has the basics.
Unfortunately our upstairs neighbors are completely gutting and renovating their flat, so occasionally there's some ridiculously loud hammering or something going up there. Thankfully it's at least during daytime hours (and not the middle of the night) but we had to go tell them to stop when I was in the middle of a conference call and they started up again. Kara was impressed she knew enough French to get them to, and that they agreed to wait 30 minutes.
Our other adventure today involved Kara's laptop charger as it was accidently forgotten in her Mom's carry-on bag. We looked at FNAC first but they wanted 60€ for a universal adapter! Looking on Amazon France, it was only 23€, so we went with that and figured she can use my tablet and laptop in the meantime. The cool part was discovering that Amazon Prime in France means one day shipping for free, not the normal 2-day like in the US! Very unexpected! Oh and Saturday delivery is considered part of that 1-day. Unfortunately the selection of Amazon France is not near what you would find in the US, but it has the basics.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Paris Winter Sales (Soldes)
Today marked the first day of the annual Soldes d’hiver, which starts on the second Wednesday of January and runs for 5 weeks. There are two of these sales periods per year, one in the Winter (hiver) and one in the summer (été). One of my friends who went to an academic program for a few weeks in Paris years ago told us that the only word she remembered was "soldes" because it was EVERYWHERE. And yes, yes it is.
After reading through various blogs, websites and the French Wikipedia article on it, I still don't totally understand how it works, but apparently it's a government regulated (!?!) sales period where stores put things on massive discounts. Basically everyone buys their wardrobe, home supplies, and everything else during these sales periods.
As we already bought everything before we moved here (due to the dollar being weak against the Euro, and well, that Paris one of the most expensive cities in the world so of course everything's going to be more expensive) I don't think we'll be partaking much in the festivities. Well that and I detest shopping. But for those who enjoy it, this is the time to shop in Paris.
After reading through various blogs, websites and the French Wikipedia article on it, I still don't totally understand how it works, but apparently it's a government regulated (!?!) sales period where stores put things on massive discounts. Basically everyone buys their wardrobe, home supplies, and everything else during these sales periods.
As we already bought everything before we moved here (due to the dollar being weak against the Euro, and well, that Paris one of the most expensive cities in the world so of course everything's going to be more expensive) I don't think we'll be partaking much in the festivities. Well that and I detest shopping. But for those who enjoy it, this is the time to shop in Paris.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Galette des Rois (King Cake!)
Epiphany (A Christian event involving the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God, and associated with the "3 Kings" who came bearing gifts) is a fairly big deal in France. It's not a public holiday, but it is a commonly celebrated day, which always falls on January 6th, which is 12 days after Christmas (hence the song).
And as part of the celebration, eating King Cake is a standard tradition. I'd never heard of this until last year when one of my friends who grew up in New Orleans mentioned it, but the basic idea is that you eat a special cake on Epiphany and buried inside the cake is a little trinket (sometimes a tiny plastic baby (aka Jesus), or a small cartoon character, or sometimes just an almond) and whoever gets the slice that contained that trinket is king for the day.
We actually had then a Galette party at work then, and I managed to get one of the slices (out of the 5 cakes) that had the trinklet. It was a little ceramic scroll. They're also sold with a paper crown (think Burger King) so you have to wear that too.
So on the way home I picked one a Galette des Rois of my own so Kara and her family could try it out. They're a bit pricy but they do feed a decent number of people so I suppose it averages out. And some of them can get really fancy. Kara managed to find the trinket on the first slice!
The cake is amazingly delicious by the way, though Kara wasn't a fan because she didn't like the almondy taste. But I loved it. Apparently you can only get them around this time of the year though (or at least easily get them, I suppose like my difficult attempt to get Beaujolais right before NYE they're available all year just hard to find).
And as part of the celebration, eating King Cake is a standard tradition. I'd never heard of this until last year when one of my friends who grew up in New Orleans mentioned it, but the basic idea is that you eat a special cake on Epiphany and buried inside the cake is a little trinket (sometimes a tiny plastic baby (aka Jesus), or a small cartoon character, or sometimes just an almond) and whoever gets the slice that contained that trinket is king for the day.
We actually had then a Galette party at work then, and I managed to get one of the slices (out of the 5 cakes) that had the trinklet. It was a little ceramic scroll. They're also sold with a paper crown (think Burger King) so you have to wear that too.
So on the way home I picked one a Galette des Rois of my own so Kara and her family could try it out. They're a bit pricy but they do feed a decent number of people so I suppose it averages out. And some of them can get really fancy. Kara managed to find the trinket on the first slice!
The cake is amazingly delicious by the way, though Kara wasn't a fan because she didn't like the almondy taste. But I loved it. Apparently you can only get them around this time of the year though (or at least easily get them, I suppose like my difficult attempt to get Beaujolais right before NYE they're available all year just hard to find).
Sunday, January 5, 2014
NFL Playoffs
I ended up staying up really late Saturday watching/listening to the NFL playoffs thanks to Unotelly. Unfortunately since Sunday's games were on a different station, for some reason the website wasn't working for CBS, and then Fox doesn't stream the NFL online. Boooo.
Sunday wasn't terribly exciting, just cleaned up the apartment since Kara and her family get back from Italy tomorrow. I did finally finish sorting through the thousands of photos I've taken over the last few months, but still haven't finished uploading them all. It also makes me miss my home computer with the gigantic hi-res monitor and 16GB of RAM, since it makes editing photos so much easier. I'll have to go back and tweak some of my favorite shots, as some/most are just "snapshots" so I can remember a particular thing, some are "pretty snapshots", and some I actually would want to hang on my wall.
Sunday wasn't terribly exciting, just cleaned up the apartment since Kara and her family get back from Italy tomorrow. I did finally finish sorting through the thousands of photos I've taken over the last few months, but still haven't finished uploading them all. It also makes me miss my home computer with the gigantic hi-res monitor and 16GB of RAM, since it makes editing photos so much easier. I'll have to go back and tweak some of my favorite shots, as some/most are just "snapshots" so I can remember a particular thing, some are "pretty snapshots", and some I actually would want to hang on my wall.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
French Cheese
I've been trying various cheeses while we're here since the French are famous for them. The cheese section is quite large in all the stores relative to the US, and yes, some of them are quite stinky. I like the firmer cheeses, and beaufort is probably my favorite and easiest to find that I've found. And like other things, to be a beaufort cheese, it must be made in the Beaufort region. I also do like emmental is what they use in crepes and is quite tasty (and much much cheaper here).
And all the cheese makes me think of this Monty Python sketch I recently came across.
And speaking of crepes, our local crepe stand started carrying chicken, but unfortunately it's just like a pre-processed slice of chicken, so not that good. So I'll stick with the one by Montparnasse which not only has shredded chicken, but tomatoes and mushrooms.
I think I also finally can keep Montparnasse and Montmarte straight in my head. One of the many logical shortcuts I do when reading is just focus on the start of an unfamiliar word or name, and so I'd constantly forget which place was which. This is also why I hardly ever remember names in books since it's "that R character" and heaven help me if two of the character's names start with R.
Similarly I still struggle sometimes when Kara pronounces a place in the French pronunciation instead of my crazy English attempt at it. Though I've find myself doing the same thing now once I get used to it, since I mean it is what it's called after all. So it's "San Mishel" instead of "Saint Michael" and why don't our visitors understand us right off the bat, come on!! :)
And all the cheese makes me think of this Monty Python sketch I recently came across.
And speaking of crepes, our local crepe stand started carrying chicken, but unfortunately it's just like a pre-processed slice of chicken, so not that good. So I'll stick with the one by Montparnasse which not only has shredded chicken, but tomatoes and mushrooms.
I think I also finally can keep Montparnasse and Montmarte straight in my head. One of the many logical shortcuts I do when reading is just focus on the start of an unfamiliar word or name, and so I'd constantly forget which place was which. This is also why I hardly ever remember names in books since it's "that R character" and heaven help me if two of the character's names start with R.
Similarly I still struggle sometimes when Kara pronounces a place in the French pronunciation instead of my crazy English attempt at it. Though I've find myself doing the same thing now once I get used to it, since I mean it is what it's called after all. So it's "San Mishel" instead of "Saint Michael" and why don't our visitors understand us right off the bat, come on!! :)
Friday, January 3, 2014
BBQ in Paris
Having lived in Texas most of my life, and particularly having lived in Austin for 6 years, I love my BBQ. And that is just something that unfortunately is not really common in France. Did I say "not common"? I mean non-existent. And so in my searches for home sick food (like Mexican) I had looked up this BBQ place here in Paris called Blues BBQ but hadn't yet tried it. Until today.
It was actually quite good, particularly for being in the middle of Paris. I got the brisket sandwich, and while it's not the best BBQ ever (Franklin's is, BY FAR, the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life), it's quite tasty and I'd definitely come back. The menu is all in English (with French subtitles, which is very unique) and the owner is from Dallas (and friendly) so it really is real Texas BBQ. It is pretty pricy though ($22 for sandwich plus chili fries, plus $4.75 for a can of root beer (which is hard to find in France)). But then again, everything here is insanely expensive (thanks to being in a major city plus the Euro) so it's really not that bad comparatively.
But before my BBQ escapades, I did some work, and then I wandered around the 1st for a bit to then try to go up the Notre Dame tower (since it's the first non-rainy day in ages) but the line was crazy long and it looked like it was going to rain, so I headed home. And low and behold, it did end up pouring for like 15 minutes. Then I got some groceries from the Monoprix, and then went to go see a movie near Pigalle, which is where the infamous Moulin Rouge is just so I could say I saw the famous red windmill. It's ridiculously expensive so I'd never go, but it's an interestingly area.
Everytime I see French movie previews for French films it really makes me wish I understood French better! They have some really funny movies.
The subway rides also this evening to get the the BBQ place were a bit more notable than normal, thanks to a passed out homeless guy who seemed to have pooped in his pants and stuck up the train, and then after my transfer, some crazy guy yelling who knows what in French until I got off the train. This is definitely not the norm, but I suppose part of life in a major city.
Also today marks exactly 3 months until we leave. We're halfway done!!! I both can and can't believe it's already halfway over. It's gone by just as quickly as I thought it would.
It was actually quite good, particularly for being in the middle of Paris. I got the brisket sandwich, and while it's not the best BBQ ever (Franklin's is, BY FAR, the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life), it's quite tasty and I'd definitely come back. The menu is all in English (with French subtitles, which is very unique) and the owner is from Dallas (and friendly) so it really is real Texas BBQ. It is pretty pricy though ($22 for sandwich plus chili fries, plus $4.75 for a can of root beer (which is hard to find in France)). But then again, everything here is insanely expensive (thanks to being in a major city plus the Euro) so it's really not that bad comparatively.
But before my BBQ escapades, I did some work, and then I wandered around the 1st for a bit to then try to go up the Notre Dame tower (since it's the first non-rainy day in ages) but the line was crazy long and it looked like it was going to rain, so I headed home. And low and behold, it did end up pouring for like 15 minutes. Then I got some groceries from the Monoprix, and then went to go see a movie near Pigalle, which is where the infamous Moulin Rouge is just so I could say I saw the famous red windmill. It's ridiculously expensive so I'd never go, but it's an interestingly area.
Everytime I see French movie previews for French films it really makes me wish I understood French better! They have some really funny movies.
The subway rides also this evening to get the the BBQ place were a bit more notable than normal, thanks to a passed out homeless guy who seemed to have pooped in his pants and stuck up the train, and then after my transfer, some crazy guy yelling who knows what in French until I got off the train. This is definitely not the norm, but I suppose part of life in a major city.
Also today marks exactly 3 months until we leave. We're halfway done!!! I both can and can't believe it's already halfway over. It's gone by just as quickly as I thought it would.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Salsa
I finally tried out the chips and salsas I bought at the Monop' the other day, and while it can't compete with what you'd get a Mexican restaurants in Austin, it' actually wasn't bad. "Se marché" as the French would say ("It works").
I also stopped by the local FNAC (essentially a French Best Buy+Barnes and Noble) to check it out since I hadn't really explored it. I ended up picking up some 365 day calendars (as I always have a Dilbert one) that have a photo of French villages, plus another that teaches an English word a-day. Or in my case, a French word a day.
Watching movies subtitled in French in the theaters has really helped my French vocabulary though. Unfortunately the a word is spelled and the way a word is pronounced is often far different. But it's helping. I've found I'm often even more amazed how much French I can read. For instance I recently ordered a new French SIM card for my parents to use while they're here, and I could understand the whole ordering process without having to use Google Translate.
I also finally was able to throw out our Christmas Tree today. I kept waiting for Christmas Trees to show up on Paris doorsteps, but it never seemed to happen and I didn't want to make a faux pas and just shove it out there. But this morning I woke up early and noticed there was another golden sack sitting out there, so I ran down and put our tree next to it, and a few hours later when I checked again, it was gone. I'm still surprised at the lack of Christmas Trees (sapin noël) that I see on the streets at night/morning, but somehow they disappear. Note that I would have recycled our Paris Christmas tree but as it was so heavily flocked, we had to throw it away as they only recycle "natural" trees.
Though I will say, I was impressed our Paris Christmas tree lasted 5 weeks without any watering. Maybe the French do know what they're talking about in that regard with the magic log.
I also stopped by the local FNAC (essentially a French Best Buy+Barnes and Noble) to check it out since I hadn't really explored it. I ended up picking up some 365 day calendars (as I always have a Dilbert one) that have a photo of French villages, plus another that teaches an English word a-day. Or in my case, a French word a day.
Watching movies subtitled in French in the theaters has really helped my French vocabulary though. Unfortunately the a word is spelled and the way a word is pronounced is often far different. But it's helping. I've found I'm often even more amazed how much French I can read. For instance I recently ordered a new French SIM card for my parents to use while they're here, and I could understand the whole ordering process without having to use Google Translate.
I also finally was able to throw out our Christmas Tree today. I kept waiting for Christmas Trees to show up on Paris doorsteps, but it never seemed to happen and I didn't want to make a faux pas and just shove it out there. But this morning I woke up early and noticed there was another golden sack sitting out there, so I ran down and put our tree next to it, and a few hours later when I checked again, it was gone. I'm still surprised at the lack of Christmas Trees (sapin noël) that I see on the streets at night/morning, but somehow they disappear. Note that I would have recycled our Paris Christmas tree but as it was so heavily flocked, we had to throw it away as they only recycle "natural" trees.
Though I will say, I was impressed our Paris Christmas tree lasted 5 weeks without any watering. Maybe the French do know what they're talking about in that regard with the magic log.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
French Music 2014
Bonne année!!
Since I'm home alone (and no videogames either) I've had the TV a lot more than normal to provide some background noise. And because it's not the US, there are LOTS of music video channels. I don't know what it is, but every other country I've been to has at least 2 stations playing music videos all the time.
Anyways, some good new music for anyone wondering what you're missing out on:
One of my favorite artists ever, Stromae, has a new video for his song Tous Les Mêmes (All the Same) which he makes use of his androgenous body shape and plays both a man and a woman by turning around. Genius! And he's got 3 of the top 5 songs in France right now.
This Avicii song is on all the time and completely stuck in my head
And Pharrell Williams has the current number 1 song in France (and a LOT of other countries) with this catchy song, so expect to maybe hear it in the US soon.
And I just like this song, since the original "Kids" was one of my favorite songs (though the music video is one of the scariest I've ever seen and obviously the result of far too many drugs), and this remix is great:
Side note: It's a bit of a peeve of mine when people say MTV/VH1 don't show music videos anymore. They actually still do. Just not during prime time. But thanks to Tivo you can watch the several hours of music videos they still play ever night. I love you Tivo!
Since I'm home alone (and no videogames either) I've had the TV a lot more than normal to provide some background noise. And because it's not the US, there are LOTS of music video channels. I don't know what it is, but every other country I've been to has at least 2 stations playing music videos all the time.
Anyways, some good new music for anyone wondering what you're missing out on:
One of my favorite artists ever, Stromae, has a new video for his song Tous Les Mêmes (All the Same) which he makes use of his androgenous body shape and plays both a man and a woman by turning around. Genius! And he's got 3 of the top 5 songs in France right now.
This Avicii song is on all the time and completely stuck in my head
And Pharrell Williams has the current number 1 song in France (and a LOT of other countries) with this catchy song, so expect to maybe hear it in the US soon.
And I just like this song, since the original "Kids" was one of my favorite songs (though the music video is one of the scariest I've ever seen and obviously the result of far too many drugs), and this remix is great:
Side note: It's a bit of a peeve of mine when people say MTV/VH1 don't show music videos anymore. They actually still do. Just not during prime time. But thanks to Tivo you can watch the several hours of music videos they still play ever night. I love you Tivo!
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