Paroissien’s in Paris

It’s Saturday and the sun is shining - so with renewed energy I am off to do a self guided walk around ‘our’ area of Passy.    This is in the 16th arrondisement, a fairly large area which runs from the River Seine over to the Bois de Bologne.   We are nearer to the river ,just across from the eiffel Tower - the tip of which we can see from our living room - looks great when it sparkles..

I have just come across a park where the trees are beginning to get their spring coats, bursting into bright new leaf buds, and there are children playing soccer on the grass - terrific  - most unusual as grass is usually fenced off with notices saying ‘do not walk’ or words to that effect.  And the men are playing petanque - so French!!

And then I came across a beautiful mansion house -the Musee Marmottan - advertising an exhibition of Monet paintings.  First bonus, there wasn’t a queue to get in, and secondly, there must have been over 70 Monet paintings, not to mention Renoir, Moriset, etc.     How amazing -how fortunate was I.
Walking back through my local market, buy my parmigiana (which they call parmesan) and a well earned break with the smoothest and thickest hot chocolate drink I have ever tasted.   I am sitting in the cafe, next door is a shop selling, amongst other things foie gras de canard (duck), lapin (rabbit) in various guises and andouillettes sausages - which means tripe!!!  (It is very popular in France).   And across the lane is a Caviar shop - will have to investigate that one in due course.  And next door to the Caviar Latian is another cafe with tables set up outside where a man is expertly opening oysters - he opens half a dozen for me, pops them in a box - there’s half my dinner, and they are huge,all the way from the Normandy coast.

I’ve only said a few words this afternoon - mainly pardon and merci but I can’t stop smiling - it’s quite remarkable just being here - and not even the hint of a tourist in this area.

It’s now Sunday evening - the clocks have gone forward an hour for Spring and it has rained all afternoon.     So after a hard few hours catching up on emails, etc. I went for a walk at 5pm - just to have a look at the Eiffel tower - and quite by accident, I found the Passy Cemetery - what a gem that is.   It is not very big by cemetery standards, and was built on Napoleon’s order in 1820 - and by 1874, and I quote “the small Passy Cemetery had become the aristocratic necropolis of Paris - it is the only cemetery in Paris to have a heated waiting-room!!!”  The sculptured family vaults are built a little like sentry boxes - except they are constructed in beautiful black marble or the local creamy sandstone.   Exquisitely designed, some with tiny stained glass windows, some with double doors, or with wrought iron doors, and with lots of flower boxes - it is the most incredible cemetery I have ever visited.

And the famour people buried there - Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, the Impressionist painter, Marcel Renault of the racing car family and
claude Debussey, to name but a very few.    

All in all an unexpected highlight to end the day - tomorrow Ellie and Avril return from London and Tuesday we go to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France - and they promise the days are getting warmer.

Au revoir
Barb

With apologies to my French speaking friends - but the dictionary doesn’t tell me whether being sick is masculine or feminine!!!

This week I succumbed to La Malade which sounds so much more interesting than being sick or unwell!!!    I have lost my voice, cough continually and on a constant diet of lemon, honey and brandy - and can’t even taste the wine - un catastrophe!!   I decide I need to confer with a doctor to ensure I am not going to succumb to something more nasty, like pneumonia, or pleurisy or worse.   The following saga would do Monty Python proud.
From a list provided on the Aust. Embassy website, I choose a doctor with the most English sounding name - Slattery fitted the bill quite nicely.His address from my map was a little out of the way compared with the other doctors, in that it entails a metro ride of about 5 stops including one change at the main Charles de Gaulle Etoile station - no matter I will leave myself plenty of time.

I duly set off an hour before the appointed time, rugged up to visit the Antarctic, manage all the metro changes etc and arrive at the beautiful Plaza Victor Hugo - ah, straightforward now, walk up the avenue past all the stunning shops, should be third street a gauche (on the left).   But no, this is the Villa d’Eylau, not the Avenue d’Eylau.     Whoops - I had not noticed the difference between Villa and Avenue, silly me.   Time is running out, should I panic now or check the maps.    Get out glasses, open up map book, and even try ringing the surgery - except my battery runs out (unbelievable).  Check map more closely, oh no, Avenue d’Eylau is in quite the opposite direction - right, get walking with a purposeful gait.     Back to the Plaza Victor Hugo - it has 9 streets running off it can you believe, and of course I walk anticlockwise and my street is the 7th around the circle.
By now I have walked at least 1-1.5 kms.     Hotfooting it now down to the next Plaza - I can’t believe it, it’s Trocodero, it’s one stop from my own metro station, I could have walked there in 10 minutes.   Then I couldn’t get in the door - the buildings have such beautiful strong wooden doors, with key pads - some passing lady points out a special buzzer!!! and I’m there - only 10 minutes late.
And you’ll all be pleased to know that I don’t have a serious malaise but I did get an antibiotic - I wasn’t going all that way which such drama, paying E70 to a very charming man, to come away empty handed.    Needless to say I am apartment bound - when I should have been in Zurich with Ian for the weekend - and it’s even sunny there - another time hopefully.

Enough of sagas - Ellie and Avril have been here a week and have explored so much, including all the major galleries - Avril taking lots of photos  being very stoic while Ellie eulogises over the Louvre and D’Orsay etc    It’s interesting the cultural differences one notices - the one which really tickled us was the way they take their dogs into the stores - the fabulous Frankie en Fils, with cbic French women and their poodles and spaniels walking through the store - how do the dogs know not to pee!!!
They have now gone to London for the weekend and will catch up with Amy King - unfortunately our Andrew is still in Barcelona studying his ESL course.
I think I have worked out how to get the photos on the website - I have plenty of time to experiment this weekend, so cross fingers.

Au revoir      Barb
PS    I have again enrolled in the Beginners course at Alliance Francaise!!!
PPS   Next blog will have a couple of books which throw much light on the cultural differences between Paris and the rest of the world, ie Australia and America.

Still getting the hang of this - but my suggestion is that you check the ‘previous blog’ page each time..    EG I put a note about photos on the blog which is probably now the ‘previous blog’,  but the spiel about the markets is also now the ‘previous blog’   -  hope that makes sense. (go back twice I think).

Ellie and Avril arrived safely from Melbourne - and we have walked and walked and talked and talked.   And this morning we have just been to the local market - it is Saturday morning and is set up  in the centre of the different boulevards (this is on the Avenue du President Wilson!!) and it stretched for about 200 metres - escargots (snails), fresh rabbits, cooked chickens- imagine Vic Market but out in the open - (not to forget the rain!!!), with Avril hurriedly passing the  chickens with heads on etc.   Then fish, fish and more fish, all so beautifully presented.     So it’s salmon for dinner tonight. 
And the cheeses - so many, so confusing - and of course many unpasteurized - and the French are a pretty healthy lot so I’m not sure why our Government makes such a fuss about importing it  (the unpasteurized stuff I mean).
And of course the fruit and vegetables - luscious leeks, whole artichokes, carrots and even parsnips, which are not a common vegie here, vine tomatoes, lemons off their own trees, all most tempting except we hadn’t bought our shopping trolley so were restricted by what we could carry.But my most exciting find was Rocket - yeh!!! -   and I forgot to ask what it was called in French - it’s not in the Dictionary or Phrase Books!!!

So laden down with goodies, Avril and Ellie headed off to the Arc de Triomphe and we headed home to unpack.    They will today  explore the Champs Elysees, down to to the Tuilleries, around the Rue Rivoli etc.     Because it was so wet yesterday, they went to the Louvre, which is of course always so beautiful - just gazing out of the glass pyramid is an experience - so they came home last night elated and exhausted.

My mission this afternoon is to find out the times of the Easter Day services at either St Sulpice or St Germain de Pres - there was a phone number but the French recorded messages were too quick for Ellie or Avril!!!   Then we will wander over to the Luxumbourg gardens, past our favourite icecream shop and hopefully the men will be playing petanque - although it’s quite amazing how much is shut on a Sunday, including our favourite cafe down on the Plaza Costa Rica where we had dinner last night.

We have planned out the next 10 days so they don’t miss anything, including Giverney and Monet’s garden  - and in between Ellie and Avril go to London for a few days and I will join Ian in Zurich - all by train which is very exciting.

Au revoir  for now  

Later…. 19th March   -    Happy Birthday Grandma Dot

Ian has been working in Dublin , so ideal opportunity for me to spend the St Patrick’s Day weekend exploring that city.   
We did a lot of walking – with our umbrellas – and I now know why it’s so green!!!    We toured around the old gaol – from where inmates where sent to Port Arthur in Tasmania , - don’t know which would have been worse although the weather may have been marginally better in Tassie!!

 

But our best morning was visiting the Guinness Brewery – fantastic museum and description of its history, and finished off by drinking a pint of Guinness high above Dublin .  And I drank the whole pint – Ian describes it as a bit like cough mixture!!  And the biggest advantage was that the place was warm.   The original Mr Guinness was so certain that his Porter would be successful, that he signed the lease for the land for 9000 years!!!     The water is apparently very important and comes from the Wicklow Mountains just outside Dublin – they are about the height of the Dandenongs!!

 

I had looked up my ‘ 1000 places to see before you die’ book – and of course James Joyce’s museum was right up there – feel as if we should now read the book – does anyone have an abbreviated version in English!!     Then off to The Shelbourne hotel for drinks before dinner – beautiful hotel – and whilst propping up the bar with the g & t, we made friends with a Norwegian couple and an American couple – great fun!!!

 

Then a really special dinner at Patrick Guilbaud’s restaurant – Michelin starred and just amazing.  I bit the bullet so to speak and had Duck Foi Gras – delicious although I was glad I hadn’t thought too much before hand as to exactly what it is – liver I think,  a mouth watering experience  and as Ian told the boys, half of their inheritance has now been eaten up!!!   Oh well, can’t take life too seriously can you!

 

Monday was the big parade day – and at least it had stopped raining.  I suppose our expectations were based on Moomba Parades – as they used to be, with lots of wonderful floats.   Well, no, in fact it was mainly American High School marching groups and bands – quite extraordinary.   And as one Irishman told us, there are only the foreigners who watch it – all the Irish are in the pubs!!     And notwithstanding that we were quite frozen through, it was fun watching all the families with all their green – hats, Shamrocks – and that’s an interesting emblem – looks a bit like cress;  although as another Irish lass said, who would have Leeks as an emblem, as Wales does!! 

 

So back to Paris and looking forward to Ellie and daughter Avril arriving tomorrow – and bless her, she’s bringing my winter coat, my little non stick saucepan, my magnifying glass and some sweet potato dip – the things one misses from home!!

 

Au revoir

BLOG  -  WEDNESDAY March 19, 2008    -   It’s 8 degrees in Paris today

 

Just returned from a few days in a very wet and cold Dublin , to find lots and lots of emails – thank you all very much, it was just terrific to hear all your news and we do miss our friends and family so much.

 

And then I discovered last night that the blog I wrote on 12^th March, did not ‘go through’ – is there a gremlin in my computer.   
And of course it isn’t saved anywhere, so I am now writing this on Word and will transfer later.

 

Some of my funny experiences:

 

            Going to catch the train whoops – wrong direction/ wrong platform – only problem – I had to use another ticket to get to the correct platform!!!

 

Found a fab little deli selling sun-dried tomatoes – the man in his enthusiasm sold me not only the tomatoes, but a large slice of lasagna and a large tub of caponetta –   without waving my arms and sounding rude I didn’t know how to stop him, so just smiled, said merci and paid about E15 ($23) for the tomatoes I actually wanted!!!

 

            Wandering around Habitat in Dublin we saw some  great cushions to liven up our apartment which has a very plain dark maroon settee and chair.      Wasn’t willing to take a chance that Habitat in Paris would have the same, so lugged home  4 large cushions, two rainbow striped and the other 2 in a gorgeous lime green. Bit of a challenge in the plane!!!   And then found yesterday that yes, Habitat in Paris did actually have them!!  Ian only smiled as we bought another couple.   Run out of space - continued…..

 

            TV is a challenge – we have about 600 channels – half of which are news and sport and in French, ( except for BBC, CCN  CNBC ) – and the other half movies – also in French.   The challenge is to find a TV Guide in the newsagent, and then translate it!!    Of well, lots of reading time instead.

 

Our apartment: is in a small street off the rue de Passy  in the 16^th arr. – just across the river from the Eiffel Tower – and we can see the tip of the tower from one window.  And the whole tower lights up on the hour every hour – quite spectacular.

 

We have a small kitchen, 2 bedrooms, a very tiny loo (if you’re over 5’6” you have to leave the door open!!), a lovely bathroom lined with green and white mosaic tiles, and a great lounge/dining room with French doors (of course) leading onto the little balconies – I spied a table at Habitat yesterday which will fit perfectly there for the summer.

 

We are on the 5^th floor accessed by a tiny but adequate lift, and the ‘guardian’ of our apartments actually delivers our mail under our door – what service.    

All in all, a perfect place for us to live in Paris .

 

We have a supermarket about 100 metres up the road, and have just succumbed and  purchased a shopping trolley – it’s that beer and wine which weighs so heavily!!!

 

Haven’t started much exploring yet – just organizing the bank cards, a printer and various admin stuff takes much longer than planned.

 

And the printer is another story – we went to Montparness yesterday which is a metro (underground) ride about 8 stops away.    Found the store, purchased the printer, lugged it home on the metro, then Ian found that the black ink cartridge would not fit in properly!!!     Much stamping of feet and other venting of frustrations, he has packed it up and will have to take it back tomorrow – and explain the problem with charades!!!

 

Buying a cup of coffee -  now that’s another challenge – Americano is usually a long black and I ask for au lait separately – or ‘detached’ as my French dictionary suggests!!!    But yesterday we got a short black, a jug of hot water and a jug of hot milk – that was terrific but how to ask for that again!!

 

But despite the little frustrations of everyday life, we are loving being here – the Eiffel Tower never fails to astound and amaze.

 

Hooroo for now – I          

It’s Sunday afternoon - and Ian has just left for Dublin so I will sit and have a
chat to everyone in Aus - or wherever.

Uneventful flight over, and my 8 hours in Singapore airport was put to good use,
studying my French, transposing the old address book to a new one, and even doing
some exercise - Singapore airport’s new terminal 3, which is quite stunning, is
actually over 1 kilometre long - walked it twice!!!

Flight of 14 hours but with sleeping, eating, and a wine or two, the time passed
quickly.    Met Ian at the airport, he flew in from Dublin, Friday night traffic had abated
so an easy trip to our apartment.

The apartment :   having only seen the photos, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but
it is quite ideal, and will work really well when I have found out how to work the
washing machine/’dryer, the dishwasher and the stove.    Actually, by pushing all the
knobs (a habit which Ian hates) we have sussed out the dishwasher and stove, but
the washing machine is a challenge - no instructions and so totally different to any
I have ever seen - there will be some phone calls to our landlord tomorrow.     So I have
managed the washing and it is hanging over every heater - quite like a Chinese laundry!!!

Yesterday (saturday) was spent exploring the neighbourhood - there are some lovely
shops, a small shopping centre with a supermarket and a terrific Zara Home store - which
provided us with some place mats, a vase, a linen basket and a chenille blanket - this is
to cover our suitcases which are now acting as a hall table!!!    Necessity is the mother
of invention.
Supermarket was an education - found the shampoo - in French it’s “shampooing’, but
finding conditioner was impossible until we found something that said ‘apres shampooing’ -
we are experimenting with it now!!!

Food:     the food is fantastic - I havenever seen so many cheeses, specially the ones covered in
mould!!!, and the hams etc are mouth watering.      We at at the local pub last night - a little
chicken cassoulet which was delicious washed down with some good old red.    The wines are
quite unknown to us, so the wine shop is totally hit and miss, but we are going to enjoy trying
them all out!!!    There is one street which turns into a market on Sunday - so off we went this
morning - wow, everyone else was there too, and as it was raining it was a challenge dodging the
umbrellas and rain.    And everyone queues up - we queued for a cooked chicken, were then given
a receipt and had to queue again inside the shop to pay, then back again to collect the chicken -
would love to do a time and motion study on systems here!!!

I am looking forward to Ellie Weir and Avril joining us in a couple of weeks - some good old English
language chat! - and hopefully she can bring a few things over for me, ie my winter coat as it’s so much
colder than expected, plus a few stationery items and my magnifying glass!!!

I think it has stopped raining so shall go out for a walk and look at the Eiffel tower - we can just see the
top of it from our apartment and on each hour the whole tower lights up - it’s quite amazing and fantastic.

So, my first couple of days - and I have survived - even if I can only use about 4 words of my very extensive
french - I’m not game to go further than bonjour, merci, bon and s’il vout plait!!!     

Au revoir for now     Barb

PS    The photo is of the Paroissien’s in Mumbai, India - January 2008 - and I’m not sure if the age is
accurate - that’s computer technology for you!!!

I’m in the middle of packing - winter, spring and summer - how much does a girl need!!!

Tonight it’s home night - and team meeting with David and Johanna - will they actually remember to water the pot plants and empty the bucket in the shower.

I’m sure all will be well - and they will actually get on quite well without me.

So, Paris, here we come - for some great exploring - and we look forward to seeing you all if you are coming to Paris.