Have a Little Faith

This morning I went to the organic farmer's market, as usual, and bought all my little goodies including yogurt and seigle bread. The rain was threatening to fall so I hurried back into the metro. As you all know, umbrella's in a market are never a good idea. I heard the train approaching so I ran to reach it in time.
Holding my canvas bag and a wine bottle full of apple juice, I hopped into the metro car and sat down next to a tiny little old lady dressed in purple from head to toe. In her hand was a rosary made of blue stones. I sat there thinking about how she might have thought the bottle I was carrying was alcohol and thought she might feel uncomfortable. Now there's an assumption for you! I assumed that since she seemed like a good Catholic, rosary in hand (....wait....now that I think of it, Catholics are pretty accepting of alcohol). She was so still and seemed gripped with fear being in the metro. Was she coming from church or on her way to the second sermon? It was already almost 11 a.m..
Ironically, for the first time since I have been here, the metro stopped in mid track and then also completely lost power at one of the stops - lights flickering on and off, motor dead. I could see out of the corner of my eye, her little hands rolling the beads between her fingers. The lights came back on and the motor roared on again. Everything back to normal, I made it to my stop leaving the little lady in purple quietly and faithfully going towards her own destination.
As I unpacked my market goodies, I heard the church bells ring 11:00 and I couldn't help but smile.

Strikes, Strikes, Strikes

Every single day there is a strike. New strikes arise and old ones go on. From transportation workers, to ski station workers, to TV stations, to teachers, to hairdressers. Everyone is upset.
Some of the things people are upset about, I can understand and others I find quite demanding and even things that prevent progress. Change is a concept that people are afraid of here, it seems.
Also, they have finally acknowledged the concept of compensating for overtime work, but company's are complaining about how they don't know how to work it out and how it costs too much.
The whole system is off here. I obviously do not know enough about all of it to really understand, I suppose. All I know is that there is a lot of complaining going on, all the time.
Ah, learning about all these cultural differences. Constantly, constantly learning.

Rainy Day

Wonderful, wonderful weather we have been having lately. Sunday was your typical Spring day - warm sunshine and soft air. It's been an odd winter here. Today, it is raining, but it's not all that cold and Paris is so lovely in the rain.

My friend Erik (seen in photo) came through Paris on his way down to the Alpes. He did some of his studies here years ago and has DJ'd in many clubs. We visited a few of his old haunts in the 5eme. Each of them had awsome underground cellars, created eons ago. This morning we walked through the Luxembourg gardens in the rain. The crisp air felt quite nice and the garden, though barren, was still beautiful.

Above, is the Porte St.Denis, one of the old entryways into Paris.

Le Perche

I went to le Perche for a couple days this week to spend some time with Anne and Chris. I got to see Anne perform in a Dixieland Jazz Band in a little village called Reveillon. I had no idea she could play the banjo so well! It was quite an almost odd experience , listening to Dixieland in the middle of the Perche!
That adorable pooch is Tom-Tom, Anne's friend Virginia's new pup. He's the happiest dog I've ever seen. You can't help falling in love with him...and he's so soft.

I Enjoy

I enjoy the crisp, winter air on my face as I exit the the metro Rennes on Sunday mornings.
I enjoy wandering through the organic farmer's market on boulevard Raspail, surrounded by veggies, fruits, cheeses, fresh fish, honey, and bread.
I enjoy seeing others loving this whole event as much as my mother and I and the vendeurs smiling back at you.
I enjoy seeing the Eiffel Tower as I exit the metro on my way home, standing tall and proud.
I enjoy these little Paris moments.

French Lessons

Le Bristol, 5 star palace hotel one block away from l'Elysées where monsieur le president lives, is where I had an interview this morning. I attained this interview through meeting a women in the countryside who was a friend of a friend. She spoke with her friend in Tokyo, who contacted his friend at the Bristol, but she was in New York, and she contacted her associate in Paris and that is who I met with! Crazy! They had no job positions open, but wanted to interview me for a paid internship (stage) possibility. The lady asked me the normal interview questions and had one of her associates join us as well and was all ready to hire me when they realized that I needed a convention de stage to be able to work there. Now, this is typically French that I would be prevented from doing something because I am missing some piece of paper. Convention de stage is something you attain while in school to allow you to go do an internship and get credit for it towards your diploma. Problem is, I am not in any school and even if I was I'd have to somehow link the studies to the hotel work. And this whole thing would take a long time to organize as well, since France is all about paperwork, paperwork, paperwork and it all takes eons! Argh!
They had offered that I work in the direction commerciale part which consists of marketing, websites, brochures, reservations...the image of Le Bristol. This is not the receptionist/front desk job I had anticipated, but working behind the scenes at Le Bristol is nothing to complain about! But, none of it is happening anyway. I am going to look into some schools and see if they would just give me the paper I need, per chance.
C'est la vie!
Can you guess what the contraption is on the Pyramide du Louvre?
It's a glass pyramid cleaner! It moves up and down cleaning the glass. I'd never seen it before.
Today, as I crossed over the Seine on le pont des Arts, I heard the seagulls' cry and saw them soaring just above the water. I closed my eyes, felt the sun on my face, and the sound of the water below. How I miss the ocean. It's incredible.

Cheers!

Now that's what I call a Guiness! Yum. This was my Valentine's Day beverage of choice.
One of my dearest friends, Kelly, came to Paris for the weekend, with her fiance David. They both enjoy wandering around Paris and eating delicious food as much as I do, so we have been having such a wonderful time together. They are staying in a family friends' apartment and have many people to see here since David's family is French and he lived here several times, but we have been able to fit in time to see one another. Last night we found a charming restaurant on rue Montorgueil and enjoyed oysters there. The weather has been sunny, sunny, sunny, but the temperature has dropped. Below is a photo of Le Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. The City of Light is alive and well!!