Bonjour from Paris!
A few weeks ago, I posted a series of 10 photos pertaining to daily life here in Paris. It was such a hit that I thought I would start this blog post off with 10 more photos of everyday life. I will update you on the latest with us, at the end of these images.
1. We are fortunate that two of the fourteen Metro lines go through our neighborhood. The one we travel on the most is Metro 9. Here is a sign from the inside of the train. I took a photo of what it looks like when it is at our station, Michel Ange Auteuil. This is where we get off and on.
2. One thing I was interested in trying while here was French beauty products. They have some of the best products in the world, for such a great price. Here is one product I recently discovered. It is wonderfully soothing for the lips.
3. I have fallen in love with a new pastry the past few weeks. It is from a little shop called Aux Merveillux de Fred. They make this chocolate bread called Cramiques that comes out of the oven warm and soft. I can literally eat an entire one by myself. Luckily, there is not one in our neighborhood.
4. Little did I know that some of the letters on the French keyboard are in different places, until I went searching for books at our library! This really throws me off because the A and the Q have changed positions.
5. While we have had the Pocky brand of this before in the United States, the Mikado brand have become quite the staple in our Paris kitchen.
6. I love these towel heaters in all of the bathrooms. They are fantastic! There is nothing like stepping out of the shower and having your towel be warm. I want one in each of our bathrooms at home.
7. Every street corner has a sign like the blue one in this picture. The sign not only tells you the name of the street, but in the top arch of the sign, it also tells you what neighborhood, or arrondissement, you are in.
8. I don't think we could ever go back to sour cream after having creme fraiche. YUM!
9. While Paris is known for having the most amazing cafes, one of my favorite ways to get coffee is from the little machine at the American Library in Paris. For just 50 cents, you can pick whatever type of coffee you want. It comes in this adorable little cup, with a plastic spoon already in the drink. AND the coffee is one of my favorite brands - Lavazza.
10. Finally, many stores in Paris keep their doors open all year long. The temperatures are more mild here than in Minnesota, so this is a welcome treat. (Currently, the temperature is around 12 degrees Celsius or 53 degrees Farenheit.)
Now, a few updates:
Meeting with the Ministry of Education
The meeting with the Ministry of Education went really well. Part of it had to do with all the paper I compiled beforehand. I had stacks and stacks of work samples, notes, and curriculum material to present to them. At the meeting, they looked all of this over and then proceeded to interview Edy about what she was learning. Since I had to take Will with me, I had also prepared the same amount of paperwork, highlighting his work as well. At first, they said they could not process him, but that we would be called back in to present him. But then Will amazed them, by speaking French and sharing all of his knowledge of France and WWI. As a result, they "passed" Will too, and said we could continue what we were doing.
Jour des Crepes
On February 2, instead of celebrating Groundhogs Day, the French celebrate Jour des Crepes or Candlemas, as the Catholic holiday is known. On this day, predictions are made about whether or not winter will end or get worse. If there is snow on the ground when you wake up, it will last for forty more days. If there is dew on the ground, it will end soon. Also, while making a crepes, tradition calls for holding a coin in your writing hand and the crepe pan in the other hand. At that point you are to flip the crepe into the air. If you catch the crepe in the pan, your family will have a prosperous year. Fortunately, I caught the crepe, although barely, while holding the coin. Unfortunately, I did both in the wrong hand. You will also notice in the pictures below, that we have yet to get snow in Paris.
Back in the USA
I took a brief trip back to the US last week. Ok, really it was just an hour long visit to the US Embassy, but the kids like saying that they are now the only ones to have not gone back "home" since we got here in July. In order to get my driver's license replaced, from when it was stollen in December, I had to get the Minnesota application notarized. The only place I could do that was the Embassy. After I paid 50 Euros, my application was complete.
On His Own
Edy has been traveling the city, on her own, for quite some time. Part of the reason we feel so comfortable with this is that she has a phone. Whenever Will needs to go somewhere, he usually goes with Edy or me.
Will is again participating in the American Children's Theater this semester. Since he is turning 11 in March, he was able to move up a group. Now instead of being one of the oldest in his acting classes, he is one of the youngest. He LOVES this! So we thought it might be time for him to travel back and forth to class on his own, without a cell phone. So last week, I "shadowed" him. He left our apartment, walked to the Metro station in our neighborhood, boarded the 9 train, took it six stops, exited the Metro, and walked the 1/2 kilometer to his class. We only made eye contact at the end, when he made it to the door of his class. He did such a good job that he has now shown he is responsible enough to go to and from class on his own! He is standing just a bit taller with this new freedom.
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| Heading into the Michel Ange Auteuil station. |
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| Waiting for the train. |
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| Here it comes! |
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| Heading out of the station at Alma Marceau. |
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| Almost there! You can see the steeple, of the church, where they meet, in the distance. |
Will and I went on an adventure last week. We visited the RATP headquarters. RAPT is the entity that is in-charge of all the public transportation - trains, trams, buses. The ground floor was quite fun because there were old buses and trains to explore. The floor was also a giant map of the city made out of organic material.
Paris Saint Germain Football Game
Our apartment is about one kilometer away from Paris Saint Germain Football stadium, as well as Stade du Saut du Loop, where the Stade Francais Paris Rugby team plays, and Roland-Garros, where the French Open is played. Our hope is to see matches in all three locations. Up first, Saint Germain verses Lyon.
We have never had an experience like this one. First of all, the games do not start until 9:00 p.m. at night. Unlike other stadiums we have been do, you cannot enter the stadium premises until just outside your gate. You cannot enter at one gate and walk around to your own gate. They police it really tightly. Our gate just happened to be a very crowded one. This made for some frustrated people. There was lots of pushing, chanting, and pent-up energy all around. Once inside, we were extremely pleased with our seats. There was nonstop action, not just on the field! At one point, the police were called in, wearing their riot gear, because the Lyon fans were getting a bit rowdy. We also noticed that any time someone scored a goal, it was custom for the fans to give the opposing team the middle finger. Finally, both teams had fans that let flares off in the stands! I have no idea how they got those in because when you enter the stadium you are FULLY patted down. Girls go with women guards and the men go with male guards. Needless to say, we cannot wait to go back!
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| Waiting with hundreds of others to get inside the gate. |
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| Our view! |
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| Saint Germain scored! |
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| Someone took a lot of pictures! |
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| These two... |
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| Ici C'est Paris! |
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| My man! |
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| Here comes the police with their riot gear! |
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| A flare! |
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| This is after Cavani scored! |
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| They won! |
February 12 was my birthday! I had a wonderful day with family and friends. Jeff and the kids surprised me in bed with pastries from our local boulongerie. Then Jeff and I went for a nice walk, while the kids started school. Then Edy, Will, and I went and made sandwiches for the homeless, like we do every Wednesday. Next, we had coffee with the group of women who volunteered, where they surprised me with dessert and singing. I had a bit of time on my own to shop before heading home to dinner with Jeff, Edy, and Will at my favorite pizza place - La Pizzeria d' Auteuil.
I was most appreciative of the cards, and well-wishes via What's App and Facebook. Thank you all for making the day special. Forty-three isn't so bad!
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| My bright lights! |
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| I love how they do sparklers here instead of candles. |
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| Thanks Ashely for the treat! |
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| Feeling fabulous at 43! |
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| Dinner with the family. |
Finally, I will end with a funny story. I got the kids iTunes gift cards for Christmas. Because we are in Paris, I bought them in Euros. Unfortunately, Apple will not let you upload the gift card to their accounts, because their settings are for the United States. There is one way to get around that, and that is to set everything to France. But in doing so, you lose any subscriptions you have AND you have to upload a credit card number with a French billing address. Since all of our credit cards still have a billing address of Northfield, we are stuck.
This is just one of the "hidden" costs we have encountered over here. Luckily, there have not been too many surprises. But occasionally, we buy something or enjoy an experience that is much more than we anticipated. It is all part of the experience... like loosing my jacket and getting my wallet stollen. Just part of living internationally!
Betsy
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