Sign
my guestbook. View
my guestbook. ←Previous Next→ Paris Journal 2007 Home
|
Above
and below, decoration on the Pont Alexandre III.
Place
Breteuil and the Invalides.
The
Alive! exhibit was built with bamboo – a renewable
A
Russian restaurant on rue Saint Dominique near the
An
administrative building for the church Notre Dame |
Wednesday, August 22 When we entered Chartier on
Monday, we were seated at a small table right up against two other small tables,
so we were essentially eating with four other people. This kind of seating is typical for those
old fashioned restaurants established for working people. On my left was a young French couple who clearly seemed
to be in On my right were two men – very Parisian – one in his
60s, tall, and handsome in a tanned, muscular sailor sort of way, and the
other in his 80s, cheerful, talkative, and tiny. The men were having quite a conversation about nothing
much at all. At one point, they were
talking about languages, including Italian, Spanish, English, and, yes,
“American.” They’d been at their lunch
table for hours. It was about 3 or
3:30 when we arrived. When our food came, Tom needed the salt and pepper, so
he politely asked the men if he could have one of their two sets of
shakers. The 60-something man very
politely presented Tom with the salt and pepper, addressing him as “monsieur,”
of course, and he went on to present the mustard and vinegar as well. So when he got up to leave, he was sure to
bid us a good day as well as his dining companion. The tiny older man stayed a bit longer to finish his
wine. When he was preparing to leave,
he addressed Tom and asked if we were French.
(Of course he knew we weren’t; this was just his way of being
polite.) No, Tom told him, we are from
Floride. Again, the reaction to this is one of
pleasant surprise. The man said
something about palm trees and nice weather, then complained about the
weather in Yesterday we went on an incredibly long walk, first along
the Seine to the other side of The reason we went
is that the special of the day, posted on the menu outside that I check
frequently, was a sauté of filet de boeuf with a roquefort sauce and
fingerling potatoes. It was absolutely
superb – and as tender as any American steak.
The sauce was out of this world, it was so good. After, I had the crème brulée; the La
Gauloise crème brulée is one of my favorites since it is more flavorful than
most. Tom had his usual ice cream,
which seemed to be Häagen-Dazs from
the ice cream parlor across the street.
As a little something extra, we were given a small pile of dark
chocolates and two chocolate chocolate chip cookies at the end of the meal. In the news: The technicians still have not been able to repair the low
voltage electrical system for the computers that manage the operating rooms
at the flagship hospital, the Georges Pompidou. Now they are saying that wing of the
hospital will be out of commission for several more weeks! All the patients in intensive care have now
been moved to other public hospitals. Paris Plages (the Ratatouille is still the
number one movie in the The front page of Le Journal de Paris (center section of Le
Parisien) featured a web site that teaches we English speakers some
pretty funny idiomatic language used by the French in Commitment to
place and people I suppose that one reason we keep coming back to the
same place every summer is that we have a strong commitment to place. We always have. That’s what kept us in I care about the place.
I care about the people. Sure, it would be possible to move to someplace new
every five to ten years as most Americans do.
There are nice people almost everywhere, and one can make new
friends. But what about the friends you have now? How do they feel when you up and move away
for very little reason at all? Does
that matter? It does to me. Tom says it is harder and harder as you get older to up
and move to a new place and to make new friends. That’s probably true. Leaving I made a difference in If I had lived life more selfishly, I would have moved
to Now I’m very committed to Sanibel, and I’m
staying. And I’ll probably keep coming
back to the 15th arrondissement of My friends can count on me. I’ll be there. |
