Friday night we had dinner at an incredible restaurant in the 8th district. They specialize in Truffles! After dinner we had a drink, met some friends, and then the REAL fun began!
You can read about it here: La Maison De La Truffe
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
A Very Sad Day in Paris
I have put off writing this post because I just don't know what to say...
On Friday night, November 13th, a small group of terrorists launched a coordinated attack on our new home. At least 129 people were killed and nearly one hundred more are in critical condition. Of course, the actual "toll" is significantly higher when you include everyone whose lives have been affected -- all those families and friends who will never be able to see or speak with their loved ones again. It makes me incredibly sad.
I haven't been able to process everything, so here are some miscellaneous thoughts and impressions I've had since Friday:
On Friday night, November 13th, a small group of terrorists launched a coordinated attack on our new home. At least 129 people were killed and nearly one hundred more are in critical condition. Of course, the actual "toll" is significantly higher when you include everyone whose lives have been affected -- all those families and friends who will never be able to see or speak with their loved ones again. It makes me incredibly sad.
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| A tribute at the Place de la République |
I haven't been able to process everything, so here are some miscellaneous thoughts and impressions I've had since Friday:
- When the attacks began Melanie was asleep on the couch and I was playing a videogame with my headphones on. I was hearing a lot of sirens and commotion but I honestly thought a lot of it was coming from my game. Didn't find out about the attacks until I checked Facebook.
- At least two of the attacks happened less than two miles from our flat. I'm sure we would have heard the explosions/gunshots if our doors/windows had been open.
- My friend Steve lives near one of the attacks. He was getting a drink Friday night and he had to run home to get away from the gunshots. Scary.
- Melanie and I were planning to go out to dinner on Friday, but we moved it to Saturday because Mel gets a little superstitious and didn't want to go out on Friday the 13th. (All day long she said she felt "scared".)
- We cancelled our dinner plans for Saturday. I don't think we were scared to go, but I'm VERY excited about this particular restaurant and we were afraid we wouldn't enjoy it as much as we otherwise might.
- We were watching CNN (the English version) last night and it made me sort of angry when I heard a reporter say, "We've just gotten some horrible news..." (My first thought was that they discovered some more casualties, or several people in critical condition had died.) "One of the people killed in last night's attacks... was an American." Well over a hundred people were killed and the horrible news is that one of them was an American? Really??? (That kind of biased reporting has been happening for years, of course, I just never noticed it before.)
- Melanie and I feel sort of... detached... from everything that has happened here. When we watch the stories on CNN we still think of Paris as a beautiful city in Europe... not a place that we live. I keep thinking, "Those poor poor people over there." Then a minute later I think, "Oh, wait..."
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| Le Jardin des Tuileries was created by Catherine de Medicis in 1564, it was eventually opened to the public in 1667 |
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Armistice Day!
It's Armistice Day and in France that's a public holiday, so there's no work and most businesses are shut down to honor the day armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany to basically end WW1. (The agreement was signed here in France, actually!)
I'm living in Paris, no work, weather is nice... I'll be out exploring this amazing city, right?
Nope, I'm a loser. A new game called "Fallout 4" was released yesterday so I'll be probably spend most of the day playing that, and eating some nerdy snacks I bought for the occasion.
You know, the weather has been fantastic since we've moved here and long time Parisians seem to be pretty amazed by it. But they all keep telling me, "Winter... is coming." I just want to know why it couldn't be cold and miserable and rainy today??? Why is it so nice out? How can I possibly enjoy a gaming day when the sun is shining... and I live in Paris???
I'm living in Paris, no work, weather is nice... I'll be out exploring this amazing city, right?
Nope, I'm a loser. A new game called "Fallout 4" was released yesterday so I'll be probably spend most of the day playing that, and eating some nerdy snacks I bought for the occasion.
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| Fallout 4 is a post-apocalyptic open world game from Bethesda Game Studios |
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| I started playing last night and it's quite good so far! |
You know, the weather has been fantastic since we've moved here and long time Parisians seem to be pretty amazed by it. But they all keep telling me, "Winter... is coming." I just want to know why it couldn't be cold and miserable and rainy today??? Why is it so nice out? How can I possibly enjoy a gaming day when the sun is shining... and I live in Paris???
Sunday, November 8, 2015
How Our Lives Have Changed Since Moving to Paris
We have lived in Paris for a little over a month now, and the other day I was thinking about the different ways, both good and bad, that our lives have changed:
I won't be able to finish this list in just one sitting, but I can at least get it started and then add to it later...
I won't be able to finish this list in just one sitting, but I can at least get it started and then add to it later...
| DIFFERENCES | SEATTLE | PARIS |
| Daily commute (total) | Roughly 4 hours | About 2 minutes |
| Lunch break | 1 hour (anytime) | 12:30 to 2:00 |
| Lunch spots within 5 minutes of work | 3 (not counting food trucks) | At least 50 |
| Cost of lunch | 7 to 10 dollars | 9 to 12 euros |
| Free daily lunch coupons | No | 10 euros (we pay 5) |
| Cost of TV/internet/phone/cell | 330 dollars per mo | 83 euros per mo |
| Cost of water/gas/electric/garbage | 400 dollars per mo | 46 euros per mo |
| Trip to supermarket | 10 minute drive | 2 minute walk |
| Trip to bank | 10 minute drive | 20 minute walk |
| Trip to department store | 20 minute drive | Haven't found one |
| Emergency number | 911 | Varies (there are several) |
| Size of home | 2260 sq. feet | 968 sq. feet |
| Size of refrigerator | 736 liters | 179 liters |
| Burners on stove | 4 electric | 3 gas, 1 electric |
| Dinner | Eat in front of TV | Eat at table and talk |
| Eat Out | One time per month | 6 times per month |
| Time to do a load of laundry | 2 hours | 5 hours (dryer takes forever) |
| Time fan stays on in oven after use | Shuts off immediately | 20 minutes or more |
Monday, November 2, 2015
French Numbers Are Very Strange
At last Wednesday's French class Melanie and I learned about numbers.
It was an interesting lesson to be sure. Melanie and I already knew how to count from 1 to 10 (in fact, Melanie could count to 15) but after that is where French numbers sort of fall off the rails.
Through 16 every number has a unique name, but the French people never came up with names for 17 through 19, so instead they say: "10 7", "10 8", and "10 9". (Dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf.)
They have a unique name for 20, but for 21 they say "20 and 1". Okay, that's pretty easy, 22 must be "20 and 2", right? Nope, it's just "20 2", they only say the "and" for 21, 31, 41, etc.
Other than that, everything is pretty normal until you get to 70. The French never came up with a word for 70 so they say "60 10", "60 11", "60 12", etc.
They don't have a word for 80 either, so for some reason they decided to say: "4 20" (like 4 times 20). After that you've got "4 20 1", "4 20 2" and so on. STOP! I meant "4 20 and 1, 4 20 2" etc.
When they got to 90 the French continued the "4 20" thing with: "4 20 10", "4 20 11", "4 20 12", etc.
My matchbox derby car in cub scouts had the number "99" and I came in 2nd. Since that day 99 has been my lucky number. In french that's: "quatre vingt dix-neuf" (quatre (4) vin (20) dix (10) neuf (9). Ugh. I may need to find a [shorter] lucky number while I'm here...
I used to think our French teacher was nice, but now I'm wondering if she is a sociopath as she seems to delight in revealing all the complexities of her native tongue. (Tonight we learned that there are 3 different versions of the word "in": male, female, and plural. Ugh.)
Oh well, just have to take it a lesson at a time I guess. Melanie and I can count to 100 in French now, and the other day at the store the cashier told me how much I owed and I didn't have to frantically look for a numeric total on the cash register. (It's not always visible to the customer.) So progress is being made!
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| French numbers are sort of -- okay very -- confusing... |
It was an interesting lesson to be sure. Melanie and I already knew how to count from 1 to 10 (in fact, Melanie could count to 15) but after that is where French numbers sort of fall off the rails.
Through 16 every number has a unique name, but the French people never came up with names for 17 through 19, so instead they say: "10 7", "10 8", and "10 9". (Dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf.)
They have a unique name for 20, but for 21 they say "20 and 1". Okay, that's pretty easy, 22 must be "20 and 2", right? Nope, it's just "20 2", they only say the "and" for 21, 31, 41, etc.
Other than that, everything is pretty normal until you get to 70. The French never came up with a word for 70 so they say "60 10", "60 11", "60 12", etc.
They don't have a word for 80 either, so for some reason they decided to say: "4 20" (like 4 times 20). After that you've got "4 20 1", "4 20 2" and so on. STOP! I meant "4 20 and 1, 4 20 2" etc.
When they got to 90 the French continued the "4 20" thing with: "4 20 10", "4 20 11", "4 20 12", etc.
My matchbox derby car in cub scouts had the number "99" and I came in 2nd. Since that day 99 has been my lucky number. In french that's: "quatre vingt dix-neuf" (quatre (4) vin (20) dix (10) neuf (9). Ugh. I may need to find a [shorter] lucky number while I'm here...
I used to think our French teacher was nice, but now I'm wondering if she is a sociopath as she seems to delight in revealing all the complexities of her native tongue. (Tonight we learned that there are 3 different versions of the word "in": male, female, and plural. Ugh.)
Oh well, just have to take it a lesson at a time I guess. Melanie and I can count to 100 in French now, and the other day at the store the cashier told me how much I owed and I didn't have to frantically look for a numeric total on the cash register. (It's not always visible to the customer.) So progress is being made!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Paris... the City of Lights!
Paris sort of has two nicknames: "City of Love" and "City of Lights". Without going into too many intimate details I can confirm the first nickname (ahem), and last weekend, on the bus ride home from the airport, I was finally able to understand the second nickname.
This city is beautiful during the day, but it's perhaps even more beautiful at night!
Finally, here's a shot I took from our flat windows last night. It felt like Paris to me:
This city is beautiful during the day, but it's perhaps even more beautiful at night!
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| A view of the Eiffel Tower across the Seine |
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| The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. |
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| A well-known Paris restaurant: Le Cepage. |
Finally, here's a shot I took from our flat windows last night. It felt like Paris to me:
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| I loved the wispy moon hanging over the top of the building across the street |
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