Saturday, October 16, 2010

Too brief or not too brief

It is way past my bedtime, but it has been a busy 36 hours, so I thought I would just hit on the major highlights:
Friday 13h30:
Went for a run in the Bois de Vincennes.  Got lost.  45 min run turned into an 1h30 run.  Although I was lost, I found a tennis club along the way.  The pro there offered to hit with me on Tuesday for a couple of hours.  Chouette! (Sweet!)
Friday 17h:
Back to the bank to sign one more paper.  Hopefully I'll have my carte à puce (debit/credit card with a little chip at the end -indispensable in France; possession of one is another sign of initiation into the club; paying with a credit card that you have to slide through the machine is a clear sign of foreignness)
Friday 19h30:
Instead of taking the métro into the city, opted for the 86 bus from City Hall to Saint-Germain-Odéon.  Met a friend for a drink at one of my favorite café-restaurants, Les Editeurs.  The whole place is lined with book-filled shelves.  For the winter, they have delish vin chaud (mulled wine).

Saturday 10h30:
Woke up without an alarm and am finally over jet-lag.  Found the local library, paid my 10 euros for a year-long membership and borrowing card.  Received a nifty pen with the website for the library catalogue.  Checked out 3 books.
Saturday 11h:
Headed to Monoprix along with the rest of the residents of Saint-Mandé.  Apparently Saturday = market day.
Saturday 12h30:
Met up with a woman who I met in Charlottesville two summers ago.  At UVa, played tennis with her then 12-year-old son and promised to stay in touch.  Today, we went to the tennis club to meet the pro and schedule a hit.  Ate lunch together.  Fricassée de Poulet (chicken)/riz (rice) + Crème brûlée for dessert.  She invited me to a play.
Saturday 15h:
Went to the Cartoucherie near the Château de Vincennes to see a play by Georges Feydeau called Le Dindon (The Turkey); written in 1896.  Quite hilarious.  Actually understood most of the jokes.  Audience was laughing almost the entire 2h15.
Saturday 18h15:
Tempted fate with another run through the bois.  Didn't get lost. :)
Saturday 20h:
Met up with Kelly (Midd friend) and her husband Yann at Robert et Louise, a restaurant in the Marais (the Jewish and Gay neighborhood in Paris) serving lots of hearty meat dishes.  We shared Rillettes d'Oie (not sure how to translate - like shredded goose meat to spread on toast/bread) and Escargot (snails) for an appetizer; then shared a big slab of less than medium-rare (i.e. "saignant" = bloody), sautéed potatoes and a little salad.  Corbières wine to go with.  The girls shared a gâteau au chocolat (chocolate cake that looked more like a moist brownie) Yummmmm!

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