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!
No comments:
Post a Comment