Movies and Home!

Yesterday, we visited Parc Monceau, a smaller (smaller than Luxembourg Gardens, that is)and the neighborhoods around there. Not much happening; I did buy a hand towel that looks like a Metro ticket. LOL, a fun remembrance. We walked around the area just north of the Arc de Triomphe, where we don't usually spend any time. Fun but nothing really earthshattering or new. Paris, like everywhere, has the same stores in every neighborhood. And apparently, there is a corporate window department: all the same. And they don't change often enough. Except for one store....

I don't even have the name, but something marina in the name. A chandelier candlestick in the window; Perhaps three feet high, holding a dozen 3" diameter candles. Massive. Beautiful. Expensive (2200€.)Impossible to get home. Did I mention the multitude of chandelier motifs this year? All over. Laser cut out ones for sticking on the windows, cardboard cutouts to hang, Christmas tree ornaments, wallpaper, lamps, candleholders. Beauçoup! They had a cashmere throw in a simple tuck stitch, and a brown cashmere cardigan with zippers and suede trim. Oh, la, la!


We rode the bus all the way to the peripherique, and then home. Nap. Dinner. And one last movie: A Good Year with Russell Crowe. Delightful. After the movie, we sat outside at Deux Magots for a quick drink and catching glimpses of the nearly full moon between the clouds. By then, it was well after 1:00 am but it was still active on the streets and perfectly safe to stroll the half mile or so home.


Today I pack. Shouldn't be a problem this trip. TLOML (The love of my life--Jeff) did not buy the volume of books and paper that he usually does. Nor did I buy much either. As a matter of fact, I still have two important items for Michael still to buy today.

Then tomorrow, we leave the apartment early and fly home to Dulles. No snow or bad weather to worry the travelers, so the trip should be uneventful!

How Do They Knit This?

This scarf is all over Paris. Two years ago, I saw this type of knitting for the first time in, I believe, the Pierre Cardin window. At that time, I was puzzled about how it was produced. Especially because Jeff really would like a black cashmere scarf with a narrow red stripe. For him, I think I'll just leave a needle out of work, and then crochet up the ladder.

But this ubiquitous scarf! It almost appears to be woven with very narrow I-cords. They are available in cheap acrylic (20€) all the way up through cashmere (160€) And in many different color combinations: brights, pastels, shades of gray, earth tones, uglies. Just everything. Now that everyone has one---I think maybe I glimpsed similar at home before Christmas---I don't want one. But I am certainly curious about how they are made. The process may be "warp knitting" according to what I find on Google.

The last couple of days, we've walked all over Paris. Nicer weather (actually it has been rather nice the entire visit) and the realization that we are heading home soon both contributed. The fresh air and exercise also makes a good night's sleep, even without my own bed. We have the Temper-Pedic mattress---and have had for 10+ years---and there is nothing like it. I love the fact that I lie down, go to sleep, and sometimes never turn until morning! Very restful sleep. Every time I sleep on another mattress, I'm very much aware of tossing and turning all night!

Yesterday at lunch, we met some friends of friends who are living here. That is always fun. They are from California, living here for 10 years, and have a six year old daughter. The little girl is Elodie---what a perfect name. Hearing experiences of life with the French---you have to laugh.

Last night we had oysters at Le Dôme. Delicious oysters---they taste more of the sea than those from the Chesapeake Bay. Actually that makes sense because they are from the ocean, not the bay. And then we walked home. This distance can be walked in 25 minutes or so, if you walk and don't meander. Last night, we spend two hours detouring and wandering the streets of the VII arrondissment.

This may be my last post before we return the computer. That means "goodbye!" to the French keyboard. You really don't know how awful it is until you have experienced it for yourself. Picture this: I learned to type when I was 15 or 16. So for 42 years, every time I moved my fingers in a certain way, I received a little reward: The correct letter showed up on the paper or on the screen. Then suddenly, I am doing the exact same thing, and the "buzzer" sounds, I get an electric shock (so to speak) and the WRONG letter shows up. Pavlov is rolling in his grave! And you must use the "shift" key for numbers and the period. Such insanity.


Today is going to be another good day---already it is 50° but too early to tell if it is cloudy or clear. I want to buy one more thing---something special for Michael (my 10 year old nephew)---since he likes to cook and even dressed as a chef for Halloween. Can anyone guess what I have in mind?

Back home to paradise on Sunday. Currently I'm reading a "found" book: Red Gold by Alan Furst. I surrendered One Man's Bible. The style was too strange and dreamlike. I respect that this might be the only way he could express his political opinions but unfortunately, I no longer have the time---nor the inclination---to read everything! Red Gold is much more to my liking. A story of the French resistance set in Paris. Perfect. It is a short book, so I'll need to find something to read on the plane flight home.

Alas, the sun is gone.

Yesterday's sun gave way to more typical Parisian showers this morning. Since we'd stayed out very late last night---we went to a 10:00 movie, walking home and arriving after midnight, we easily slept late this morning. What movie? An Israeli film about two girls in the army assigned to checking IDs and papers in Jerusalem. I don't have much tolerance when people don't take their jobs seriously. I'd only give it two stars out of five. (Une Jeunesse Comme Aucune Autre)

By 2:00 this afternoon, in just a light drizzle, I decided that I'd best get some fresh air and exercise. I miss my morning excursions to the gym more than I'd imagined. Next trip, I going to make arrangements to use a gym here. So I Metro'ed over to Sevres-Babylon for some snoop shopping in the 7th.

Rue Cherche-Midi yielded some interest, but nothing really notable. I ducked into Comptoir Richard for my special Parisian treat: almonds coated with chocolate and then dusted with cocoa. Even better, each is individually wrapped, providing some portion control.

Bon Marché was a treasure chest today! Firstly, I was able to see and touch a coat I'd seen in Vogue this fall. I'd torn the picture out---it's in the files at home---but I saw and touched it!!! I was so overwhelmed I've forgotten the designer but I'll go back and look again next week.

But the piece dé resistance today was cashmere. Lovely, lovely cashmere sweaters. Plaited cashmere in blue and white, giving the appearance of the ultimately soft faded denim. Cashmere and lurex looking like moonbeams. Cashmere lace embellished with tiny beads and sequins. But I think the best was a one-ply, medium gray, very loosely knit pullover. It practically floated on the shelf----four or five ounces maximum. Now I know we can knit these---especially my friends with the fine gauge machines---but the result was ethereal! www.colourmart.com, here I come. If I order tonight, the yarn will be at the office before I return.

This picture is taken with my new QuickCam. I played with it this morning---hoping the crowd from Waverly would sign on---and snapped this of the tulips I bought in the market on Tuesday. They are more attractive than the picture expresses. Tulips seems to be available most of the fall and winter anymore. I saw them at Whole Foods before we left Baltimore, too.

Tonight we are heading toward Jussieu, (to the east of our apartment) checking out a restaurant from a guide book. If we don't like the way it looks, we'll probably end up with either lasgna or pizza.