It’s of something to note that on Saturday in Paris it was hot outside! I have only been to France in the winter so I packed winter clothes. I *almost* would have preferred walking around bare foot to my thick socks and winter boots. Oh well, I will *almost* never complain about being too warm.
Sunday evening we sat relaxed in our hotel room and the phone rang. Right away I knew we had done it again! It was an hour later and we were stuck in the past. I answered the phone, “Francoise! I’m sorry; we messed up the time again! We’re leaving right now!” Luckily we were only a block and a half away so we ran the crowded streets and made it to her apartment in a few minutes. Only then did we discover neither of us could remember which floor she lives on. I knocked quietly at one door on the first floor and my intuition told me we were wrong, so we hopped back into the elevator and went up one more floor. The second floor felt more familiar, although it looks exactly the same, and I knocked again praying to see Francoise’s face on the other side. This time we were correct. They live on the second floor! It would be the third floor for most of you; in France the ground floor is called the “rez-de-chaussee”, then the first floor, second floor, and so on. I am going to stop there because I am good at learning French; not so good at teaching French.
Francoise told us we were going to have a simple meal. When she is cooking though I know this is not the case. More over I feel it is fancier when she cooks because there are always courses. We started with pastry vegetable wraps that are made down the street by some women from the island of Reunion, if memory serves. They were phenomenal and we ate them all. There was a salad along side these wraps that Francoise made with endive, beets, avocado, chevre, and some kind of vinegar that made the dish sweet and bitter. Of course we had baguette, and then more delicious chevre [goat cheese], followed finally by the little cakes we had chosen that morning. They were beautiful and we had to take pictures of them! We enjoyed a lively conversation about education which Daniel and I have been talking frequently about recently. We also shared with her some of our future plans and received some solid feedback on her thoughts about how we can make them happen. It was an extremely pleasant evening and we left to walk back home completely stuffed and completely happy. [As far as I know, nothing and no one tried to get into our room that night.]
Monday was my favourite day in Paris. Francoise had the whole day planned out for us. When she is in France she has many family and friends to see, errands to run, business to take care of, etc. so giving an entire day to play with me and Daniel was a real treat. We started out in the seventh arrondissement where Francoise lived as a young person for twenty years between the Eiffel Tower and les Invalides. [As I describe this day I recommend that you google some of the places we went so you can get a better idea of what beauties we were seeing.] We were extremely lucky that the front door to the apartment complex was open and we got to explore inside. Nothing had changed in all these years and we really felt like we were a part of her history. In those days Paris was not a tourist city, there were hardly any cars and so little Francoise rode up and down the streets on her scooter to and from school and playing with her friends. It’s hard for me to imagine what an amazing childhood that must have been. La la la, there’s the Eiffel Tower… so cool.
Next we went to perhaps the fanciest street in Paris called, “Faubourg Saint Honore”. I swear my head almost exploded. We window shopped at Dior, Prada, Channel, YSL, Hermes, Christian Louboutin; can you even handle it if I go on? Daniel took so many pictures of the displays and we laughed at what we pretended we were going to buy. This will continue to be one my fondest memories in Paris because the three of us walking and laughing so much we were bent over half the time is what that city represents for me. We also walked by Le Palais de l’Elysee where President Sarkozy spends a fair amount of his time. Francoise told us she had tried to arrange a tea date for us with him however he was too busy. It was probably best that way in any case because he may not have liked some of our political views and suggestions.
We sauntered over to the Madeleine district where there are some fancy food shops and Francoise treated us to some fruits confits. I’m not exactly sure how to describe these to you. They are pieces of fruit; we chose an apricot, a strawberry, and a mandarin orange, with a glaze on them. Daniel and I were both surprised that they did not taste too sweet. It’s almost as if the glaze coating them brings out more of the actual fruit flavor. The woman who helped us behind the counter was, well, the “B word”. Francoise said the only thing worse about the rich people here, are the folks who help the rich people. The counter woman was apparently trying to teach us how to buy the fruit. She questioned our choice of mandarin orange three times wanting us to instead pick the pineapple. Finally she gave up because Francoise is one of the most consistent people I know, thank goodness. The woman gave us our ticket, told us to pay at the other counter and then come back for the fruit.
This seems like a good time to tell you what I think about “All the rude people in Paris”. It’s really quite logical if you think about it. Put a ton of people in a small space and you’re going to get some impatient ones. If you have five people in a room, maybe only one of them will be impolite. If you have thirty people in a room, the chance of running into someone who is slightly unpleasant is more probable. It’s simple math, people. Parisians in general are not rude; though culturally there is a different in their cadence. Also Daniel and I have had the opportunity to travel outside of Paris and we found the good people of France to be quite generous, kind, and patient. So there you go, think of New York City compared to Creswell, Oregon. Is there a difference? Yes.
Afterward we went into a mustard shop. It was amazing in there. All the different kinds of flavors were amazing. Something funny about my relationship with Daniel, that also probably serves us, is that we rarely seem to be in the mood to buy things at the same time. I wanted to purchase four kinds of the mustard and Daniel was not as excited about it. So we got one kind, “Chevre et Poire” [goat cheese and pear]. We tasted it yesterday with carrots and we’re in love. So I will definitely go back to that tiny shop. Then we went to have lunch at a place called, “Cojourn”. In France it is called, “gastronomie rapide et naturelle” which basically means a healthy fast food. We happened to be there on their ten year anniversary and they gave us little tote bags that read, “Only eat food that has been prepared by humans.” Daniel and I shared a quinoa pasta and yogurt with granola. We had a sandwich as well however Daniel took a bite and realized there were anchovies in it. We stopped quickly into a 19th century tea shop because Francoise wanted us to try their immaculate macarons and to look at the ornately painted ceilings. There were more American and British people in there than French. Daniel and I tend to cringe a lot when we hear Americans in other countries. They are always swearing so loudly. I do not particularly mind the swears; I do particularly mind the loud. I guess to be fair; I also dislike loud people even in America!
We made our way to la Place de la Concorde. It is one of the major squares in Paris, and also the largest. It boasts sites of the Eiffel Tower, the Luxor Obelisk, Fountains, the Champs-Elysees, the Tuileries Gardens, and more. It’s huge. From there we took a bus getting us a little closer to the Eiffel Tower. We made our way across a bridge and down tons of steps to take a scenic boat ride along the Seine. On the boat were a gaggle of British school girls full of bouncy energy and high squeals. Mostly we just laughed at their excitement. Francoise wanted to take our picture so we went outside and upstairs to get the perfect shot. It was really windy. The one piece of information that I heard clearly and that sticks in my mind is about the Louvre Museum: If you were to stand at each piece of art for one minute each, it would take you four months to see everything.
Another one of my favorite things about Paris is that there are still places that are completely silent. Walking back through the park alongside the Eiffel Tower we talked softly and watched people playing with their dogs. At this point the sun had come out again and we decided to take a small break and sit outside at one of the gazillion cafes. Francoise had a cup of tea [bien sur], I had a glass of red wine [bien sur], and Daniel - ever full or surprises - ordered a “grog au cognac”. My best guess is that this is cognac with hot water mixed in. He seemed to enjoy it. Francoise has always had a keen eye and sensitivity for understanding people and as certain folks walked by she told us things about their relationships. Soon all three of us were making up stories about the general public passing our little table.
That evening Francoise had planned a special dinner for our last night. Incidentally Daniel and I had walked by the very restaurant on one of our general gallivants through the city just two days before. There is a small section of Paris dedicated to Tibet and we ate authentic Tibetan food near the Pantheon. It was really amazing; a very delicate taste, and a perfect way to finish the evening. We dropped Francoise at her apartment, sauntered back to our hotel hand in hand where we shared some wine and talked a little bit about our adventures past and present, and also a little bit about Lady Gaga. [I’m not sure why, but first we were serious, and then we were laughing.]
Tuesday morning was sad. I said thank you to the shower who had become a close friend over the last four days and we went down to have our final French breakfast [for a little while]. I have a deep and true love of Paris, it is another home of mine and Daniel’s and we are never happy to leave. We found out that morning that Jan had lost his keys and would be unable to pick us up from the train station. Daniel ran over to Francoise’s apartment to see about calling a cab company. None exist in Crediton, it’s too small. We got directions on how to take a bus from Simon and resigned ourselves to our impending fate. Francoise walked us to the bus station giving us lots of hugs and last minute advice. We waved from our window hoping to see her and France again very very soon!
The train system here is pretty easy. My one recommendation for the Euro Star is to make it more like a Sea Parks. You know where you can walk underneath the water and look up to see sharks and fish? I think the ride under the earth needs to be more like that; although, as fast as you’re travelling you probably wouldn’t see much. Still, I plan to write a letter. Daniel began to develop a small cold on the train, which now is an actual cold. And on his birthday?!? Drat! At least it means at this point he can only heal from it and become more and more healthy. Instead of taking the last train from Exeter to Crediton we exited the train station at Exeter to find a bus going into Bow. We climbed to the top floor for a better view and watched the turn to our house pass us by. We had quite a journey after descending the bus which consisted of one and a half miles up and down hills, followed by two miles uphill, and one mile of smaller hills both up and down. Eventually what worked best was Daniel carrying both computer bags and me pulling the suitcase. At one point Daniel said, “Well, at least we’ve probably just worked off all the calories we ate in Paris!” By the time we reached Grange Place [an hour and a half later than expected] I had shed my coat, hat and scarf.
Jan saw us through the kitchen window and welcomed us home jovially. He said we deserved a glass of wine and we joined Pat in Bredsell to talk about our long weekends. The cows were happy to see us return as well. I can tell because they looked at us. If they didn’t care, they would have turned away. Trust me; I’m like a cow whisperer now. The chickens welcomed us with squawks and coos the next morning and rewarded us with ten eggs. Since the car is still not drivable without keys Daniel took his bike into Crediton to buy us some groceries. It was a three hour adventure for him and a very tough ride. At least we can eat now – Daniel is very strong! – and Jan’s keys come today.
We mostly celebrated Daniel’s birthday in Paris, although since today is the official day we’re going to do what always makes us happy and take a walk in the Devon sunshine.
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