Day 8

Wednesdays are going to be good, too. Even though the kids aren't in school on Wednesdays, I don't have to work until 4:30, just like any normal day, which is quite a good deal.

So today was kind of a lazy day, though I got up at the reasonable time of 9:20. I had Special K for breakfast (I got some the other day, but I wasn't expecting to find it here!), along with my morning cup of tea, and then went back to my room to research directions to the Shakespeare & Company bookstore, which I've been meaning to go to since I've arrived. After researching & writing down the directions, I set out on my journey. I made the first two parts of my trip just fine, but turned the wrong way down Blvd Saint-Germain, and was heading south, away from the Seine (which was, essentially, my final destination). I realized my mistake, turned around, and then finally found where I was aiming for.

Isn't it so cute & quaint?

The Shakespeare & Co. bookstore is a lovely little treasure in Paris, & a haven for an English speaker, like me. The moment you walk in, the smell of books (dusty, kind of dry, slightly sweet) immediately envelops you. You then wander around the small store, amazed that the store can fit so many books into such a small space. There's a general comforting presence about the store, and then you notice the soft sounds of music (I think it was jazz, of the American type), and the faint smell of lavender wafting throughout the store. Go upstairs, and you'll find an array of children's books, as well as a collection of books that are there to be read in the store, not for sale. There's even a tiny little booth with a typewriter & a chair in it, waiting for someone to pop in a piece of paper & start a masterpiece.

The only-for-reading book room has a gorgeous mirror topped table...I couldn't resist taking a picture!

There were so many books to choose from, but I wound up settling on "The Adventures and Memories of Sherlock Holmes," by Arthur Conan Doyle. There was no real reason to this decision, just the fact that I knew the general premise of any Sherlock Holmes story is to find a case, investigate, and solve it. So, serious reading? Not really, but well-written enough to keep my attention, even with the small font. I normally would've reached for Jane Austen, but they didn't have my favorite book, so I decided to look for something else & venture out a bit.

After reading the first of these short stories, I walked past a small park, and had lunch at a restaurant right across the Seine from the Notre Dame. Lunch was nothing special (a huge slice of ham quiche with a salad, bread, & water), but I think I got my money's worth from the view alone. After lunch, I went back to the small park, sat on the ground leaning against a tree in dappled shade and read some more about the adventures of Mr. Holmes & Dr. Watson. Before I knew it, several hours had passed, and I began to head back to the apartment.

The view from my reading tree :]

I had a quick nap, and then it was time for me to take care of the kids. As usual, we went to the park, and they played for about an hour & a half. The kids would come find me for their snack, and then run back off to continue playing. After their time at the park, we came back home, and Eldest had to do his homework. (I should correct an earlier statement about homework- I think they check it on Mondays & Thursdays, since the kids have a day off in the middle of the week.) While he was doing his homework, Youngest & I played a matching game, and then when Eldest was done, I attempted to play chess for the first time in oh, I don't know, ten years? Needless to say, I lost, but that gave me an excuse to start dinner. Tonight, it was pappardelle pasta (with pesto for me, with ketchup for Eldest, & with cheese for Youngest), salad w/ balsamic vinaigrette, some nice, chewy bakery bread, and some cheese afterwards.

The mother came home a bit early today because there's a close family friend that is staying the night, so the kids & I were eating when she & her guest arrived. Somehow, she managed to find smooth peanut butter (my favorite!) here in Paris, and so she got some for me, which is a gesture, as with the Oreos, that goes a long way. I now have the makings for a potential midnight snack, if I so desired! :]

Day 5

New York on Sunday,/Big City taking a nap!/Slow down, it's Sunday!/Life's a ball, let it fall in your lap!/If you've got troubles,/Just take them out for a walk./They'll burst like bubbles/In the fun of a Sunday In New York!/You can spend time without spending a dime,/Watching people watch people pass!

So, Paris isn't exactly New York, but you get the picture. They're both big cities, right? That makes it count! (By the way, this song is a favorite. I guess I'm just an old soul?)

This Sunday was actually quite nice. I woke up before the family, which threw me off a bit, but it was ok, I just stayed in my room until I heard movement elsewhere within the apartment. Breakfast was a roll with Nutella (try it, seriously. It's sold at Walmart, for pete's sake!) & some Earl Gray tea. I love Earl Gray tea, but I like it very strong, and when the family makes tea, it's a bit weaker than what I prefer, but I'll get used to it. I retreated to my room to prepare for church. I haven't quite gotten a grasp on the weather here, so I dressed a bit warmer than I would've wanted, but at least I layered. Today, it was gray herringbone slacks, my blue Polo oxford button-down, black blazer, pink scarf, and black suede high-heeled loafers.

The father was preaching this Sunday, so he rode ahead on his bicycle and then I rode with the mother & children to the church, which used to be a Catholic church. I don't know the history behind it yet, but I do know that all the stained glass windows were replaced with clear glass, which greatly brightens the interior of the church, which is all freshly cleaned limestone. The ceiling was beautifully vaulted, making for a nice space for worship.

The worship was actually very nice, though it was all in French. The flow of the service pretty much matched the flow of my home church, which made being a stranger a little less unnerving. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Apostle's Creed & the Lord's Prayer in this service were pretty much a word-for-word translation of the English version I know & love. Funny thing is, while they were saying both of these in French, I couldn't say out loud (or even think to myself) the version I know. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't saying the same thing as everyone else around me. Another pleasant surprise was that one of the hymns the congregation sang is one that I know I've sung before (though it bothers me that I can't remember it). The service was a pleasant one, and they even served communion today, which made me a little homesick, because I missed the service two weeks ago when they served communion. The biggest difference w/ communion here is that they use real wine, not just grape juice (although I like grape juice just fine, too!), and instead of everyone processing to the front for intinction, or staying seated and waiting for the servers to pass around the trays, everyone stood up, moved to the walls, and the congregation made a big oval, where plates were passed by the worshipers.

After the service, there was a meal with the congregation, which was actually quite pleasant. Before the meal, the mother introduced me to her uncle and sister, since they were both at worship. Also, there was a member I was introduced to who was Scottish! I didn't expect that, and was glad to speak a little English to a native speaker. Anyways, on with lunch. There were many things to choose from, but the ham quiche disappeared quickly, so I had a macaroni pasta salad, some variant of potato salad but with potatoes, eggs, & olive oil, some couscous with tomatoes, cilantro & mint, and some bread with olives & ham chunks. After this, bread & cheese were passed around, and then dessert was served. Dessert was what appeared to be coffee ice cream & bits of biscotti pressed into a loaf mold & frozen, then sliced, served with grapes. Overall, a very pleasant meal.

After changing clothes, I went out on a jaunt to find a yarn store/tea salon that my mom had told me about. I was nervous going on the metro alone, but Paris is really a pretty safe city. I used the first of my metro tickets, and safely got on the first train of my stay. My "metro legs" came back to me, but I discovered that my "metro face" is woefully out of practice. Let me explain: the Metro is Paris' underground subway system, and as such, can be pretty crowded. At no time should one passenger make eye contact with another, unless you know them personally. Eye contact is taken very seriously (at least in France), so a "metro face" should be adopted. A "metro face" is usually an expressionless stare into space (in my case, usually my shoes), made better if you're listening to an iPod (you get Metro points for that). It's not a serious thing, but it ensures that you're left alone on the (sometimes) crowded train. Back to the yarn store though. I had read about this place, L'OisiveThé, online, so I finally stopped just looking at it on Google Maps and went to see it in person. What I found was a cozy tea salon that served American-style cookies & cakes and nice tea. Even though it was pleasant outside, I ordered some tea & a chocolate chip cookie, which was perfect...it was chewy, soft, & just a tad crunchy. After I had placed my order, an old French man walked in, said something about ordering a coffee, and the sat down in the open chair opposite me at my table. The waitress told him that this wouldn't do, because I was a young girl & was alone, and it would be socially not right, so he finally moved. (I think that's what she said...it was all in French, though I caught some of it).

I finished my tea & cookie, then headed back to the apartment. I had a good walk, and am starting to figure out my way around the arrondissement, which is a good thing. Anyways, it's been a nice, mostly calm Sunday. Next week will probably be the Church of Scotland, I think.

Day 4

I have a feeling I'm going to really like Saturdays around here. My weekend consists of Saturday & Sunday, but tomorrow I'm going to go to church with the mother & kids to hear the father preach. Next Sunday, I'm going to try to find the American Church in Paris, and then the weekend after that, I'm going to give the Church of Scotland a try, seeing as Presbyterianism got its start in Scotland :)

But enough about tomorrow...let me talk about today. I slept in this morning, again (this has got to stop!), though the sound of children running up & down the hallway was hard to ignore. After I got up, however, I had a small breakfast (tea & a roll), skyped w/ my dad & mom for a while, then was about to walk out the door when I saw that the mother had left a note saying that she had cooked some chicken for me & left it in the oven. So, for the first time since I'd arrived, I had protein! (I should mention here that the mother is a vegetarian, though she doesn't mind preparing meat). The chicken was very good, and she had some peas & carrots on the stove for me, which reminded me of childhood meals. Given that I've been a bit snuffly (stuffy nose), the warm chicken w/ carrots & peas was comforting; kind of like a deconstructed soup, minus the broth.

After my late lunch, I went out for a bit to take some pictures in the nearby park, which just happens to be Luxembourg Gardens. The park is gorgeous, and while the sun was out today, it was actually warm, which felt very nice, and almost like the brief fall weather at home. Fall here has already started, as the weather is definitely cooler right now than back in GA. Some of the trees have already started to turn colors, but the flowers at the Garden are still in bloom, see:

So vibrant!

Anyways, after I returned from my jaunt through the park, the mother, children, & I went out in search of several things, including a metro card (Navigo), a sim card for my cell phone (I've got a pay-as-you-go plan now, but not clear on services to US), and paperwork for a bank account. Everything's starting to get official! Oh, I also had my first pastry today, but I didn't have my camera to take a picture of it. It was a sheet of pastry dough folded in half, w/ pastry creme & chocolate chips inside. So yummy :)

After arriving back, I checked the scores for some of the finished football games today (UGA lost & GT won...what a great game day!), then went back downstairs for dinner with the family, which was actually quite delicious, and very entertaining! The menu tonight was a pureed veggie soup (very good!), then a salad w/ balsamic vinaigrette & toast & melted goat cheese, topped w/ herbes de provence (always a winner, in my book), and then some buttered gnocci, which were very good! Dessert was simply a pear, but it was good to have a familiar fruit.

By the way, I envision this blog as a dumping ground for my events each day. The details may be boring, but at least I can look back and remember what happened when. It's helpful for me, and I hope you enjoy the posts as well :)