Cool Cousins

Last night the whole family headed over to Sylvie, Fleur & Nina's house for dinner. Fleur & Nina are first cousins of Lucie & Noa (Rupert's nieces) and our closest link to family here in Paris.

We had a great time. Sylvie was a lovely host and the language barrier didn't pose a problem for long for the four little girls. Quiet drawing led to pillow fights and spinning in the egg chair - just like home. Thanks for the warm welcome to Paris.

Plastic Surgeon Treats Impaled Expat

If you follow France culture at all, it's difficult not to come across a "how great the French health care system is" article. Well here's another for the pile.

As silly as it sounds, I went to the Doctor today to have a splinter removed. Yes a splinter. I have been trying to dig it out for about a week now, with no success. So I decided to put the needle & tweezers, in the hands of a professional.

After about 20min of digging, my new GP (who is from Montreal btw) couldn't get it out. So she says "I am just going to go next door and see if the Plastic Surgeon is available". Thirty seconds later, my GP comes back with the Plastic Surgeon and 30 seconds after that, my splinter is out!

French Health Care in action!

Apples with Jim

Finally convinced Rupert to get behind the camera

We spent our beautiful sunny afternoon today, at Pere Lachaise Cemetary. The cementaries are big tourist attractions here and for good reason; cobblestone streets, elaborately architected cripts and trees, make for a wonderful outing.

Pere Lachaise is permanent home to Edith Piaff, Oscar Wilde, Moliere (amongst others), but due to weak map reading skills on my part, our quest to find them, was in vain.

The one destination plot, we did find was a bit anticlimatic... but eventful. Jim Morrison's plot is an unimpressive, poorly maintained, ground level stone, with a security railing and guard preventing anyone from getting close. As we sat down to eat our afternoon Royal Gala with Jim, our dispointment turned to mild excitement, when Rupert spotted the guard confiscating one of the pilgrims party goods. We noticed the guard disappeared after the confiscation. I guess she went to turn it in ....

Snack with Jim

P& D enjoyed running throught the mazes, of paths and staircases and Rupert loved the clear sense deep history, you only find in old European cities. It was a lovely afternoon together.

Pontiff prays pour P in Paris

I am sure he could feel our presence.

We arrived one block from Esplanade des Invalides over an hour before Pope Benedict was scheduled to deliver High Mass to a crowd of more than 200K. The gens d'arme were already saying it was full, and sending people around behind the stage to place Vauban (the other side of the dome) where a large screen was set up with an excellent sound system. We found a place on the grass, and settled in. The Pope arrived in the "Popemobile" and blessed the crowds on either side as he slowly made his way to the front. I am sure we were blessed many times as he worked to cover the crowds :).

The streets from home were lined with police, there were choppers over head, and thousands of volunteers giving out water, and a service kits which included plastic ponchos which we sat on.

It was a cool experience, and worth the short trek. My only regret is that I missed my chance to discuss the merits of the DaVinci Code with the Pontiff himself.

First Day of School

I didn’t quite have the courage to throw the girls into the fire, of an all-French school, so this year P & D are going to a bilingual Montessori, about a 10min walk from our flat.

The girls and I went to visit the school last Friday, to get them warmed up to the new place. The school is housed in a church and is absolutely beautiful, with lots of windows and beautiful old wood. They immediately loved the space and didn’t want to leave.

They girls were so excited this morning, they started begging to go to school at 7:30am.

P & D share their pre-first-day-of-school thoughts, from the foyer of their school.

Last day of summer

School starts for both of the girls tomorrow, so I made sure we had some fun today. Translation - five hours of exploring and playing at the Jardin de Luxembourg. Lucky for me the Jardin de Luxemborg is one of my favorite places in Paris.
Don't ask me why, D immediately insisted on giving the gold head a hug when she saw it in the distance.
More pond shots. Can you find the sign of an Alfie fan? First person to respond, wins 7 free nights accomodation in a left bank apartment.

P&D in front of the front of La Fontaine de Médicis . Click on the image to expand and see the beautiful Italian style grotto in the background.


You spin me right round, baby, right round.....D spinning on one of the many spinning toys at the Jardin du Luxembourg playround.

We are sooo excited for tomorrow.

Still no Quasi...

A second trip to Notre Dame today, but with Rupert this time and STILL no Quasimodo sitings. We toured the grounds and inside the church and planned to go up the tower and search for Quasi, but we didn't think the girls would weather the long line up well. So we decided to come back another day. We had a lovely afternoon anyway, feeding the birds, admiring the gargoyles and flying buttresses and Rupert's favorite, of course was the everso masculine statue of Charlemagne. "Sheer power" he says.

Today was our first car ride in a month. The girls were absolutely giddy over the experience. You would swear they were on a roller coaster. Poppy said it was like being at the fair.

Rupert, D & P with Charlemagne

Hike those pants up a bit further and he may even pass as a real frenchman

Feeding the birds

Food - Part I

Mmmmmm... Delicious food, crowding the sidewalks everywhere you go, how can you not think about it eating all the time?

Somehow, the food just seems to taste better here. I feel guilty writing that, but it does. Chicken is chickenyer, broccoli is broccolier & cheese is chessier (and smellier). We have trouble finding some general staples (romaine lettuce, baking powder & soda), plus we pay a premium for some N. American items. Mayo for example (French mayo is more like dijonaise) goes for about $5, for a baby food sized bottle, but the unlimited french yummies everywhere you go more than makes up for it.

We food shop everyday, with trips to: the boulangerie for sandwich bread, baguette, and sometimes a treat, the G20, our grocery store, and sometimes the green grocer. Trips to the butcher have been put off until La banque raises the limit on our credit card :).

As for how all of this delicious food impacts the body…I have been quite strict with my French diet – baguette, wine, cheese, the odd boulangerie treat and lots of walking. Yet I gain weight?

Today we visited an important part of French food culture – Picard. Picard is France’s modern version of M&M meat shops. Minimalist, cold, long, freezer lined aisles with sexy cashiers dressed in silver catsuits. Just kidding on the sexy catsuits, but it’s a bit sci-fi (maybe it’s the Jean-Luc association?). Products range from your standard frozen peas, to ten different choices of frozen foie gras & tartine au chevre avec compomtee de figue. We went the safe route and bought a frozen lasagna and slated it for a rainy day, experimentation with frozen French Cuisine will wait until we are more deeply assimilated.

Coming soon: PART II – Fauchon and other celebrated Parisian food sources, yet to be visited.

Another side of town

Yesterday, I got knocked over the head, with what a white bread neighborhood we live in. The family’s Saturday excursion was to the Puce St. Ouen - the biggest flea market in Paris, with over 2000 stalls.

Upon arrival to the market, our unplanned route, started us off, through the typical flea market crap (the gauntlet), then somehow popped us into lanes with permanent antique stalls. The experience was completely bizarre! One minute you are walking through a JAMMED packed, very mixed crowd, with Rap music BLARING. The vendors here were selling everything from cheap t-shirts, to used unmatched shoes, to leather jackets, to old books, to African art & funky clothes. One review I read, described this part of the market, as the underbelly of Paris. A large exaggeration in my opinion, but it was definitely not the crowd from the Louvre. Then, you literally turn a corner, and you walking through quiet cobblestone paths, with ivy covered walls and dealers selling fine antiques. The contrast was sharp beyond words and made me wonder, did all of the genteel antiquers, buying Louis XIV chaises, walk through the same craziness that we just did?

We bought nothing, but can’t wait to go back and enjoy more Parisian diversity.

Getting to know Napolean

P, D & Rupert outside Hotel des Invalides

P & D Cannon running in the Hotel des Invalides courtyard

A short walk from home is Invalides, a hospital built for the military, now museum. It houses the tomb of Napoleon in the Eglise du Dome. I won't do it justice in this short blog, but safe to say, it's well worth the visit. An English audio tour device navigates you around the tomb which also houses the remains of his son, other family members, loyal high ranking military figures and famous French leaders. The actual tomb is a huge blood red case that houses as many as four other successive coffins made of tin, ebony, oak, lead & mahogany. The crypt level is surrounded by a series panels telling of Napoleon's non-military contributions. Beyond the battles, Napoleon's lasting legacy is clearly his contribution with the Napoleonic Civil Code which is the basis of much French law today, and strongly influenced the law in many other European countries. Napoleon died and was buried while in exile at the age of 51 of stomach cancer (although conspiracy theories believe arsenic poisoning). He was later exhumed and returned to Paris for a full state funeral and as he had wished his ashes "rest on the banks of the Seine". We really only scratched the surface today. Expect me to take you here if you come to visit, so I can indulge in some more hero worship, pomp, circumstance and get beyond the standard tourist stuff...if possible.