An American in Paris

Voilà c’est une exercice j’avais faire dans ma classe de français. Soyez généreux, mes amis!  La météo était presque parfaite; on le remarque encore aujourd’hui: le ciel azur, pas de nuage, une légère brise, la température parfaite. L’automne a commencé et c’est la saison préférée à New York City. C’était le jour d’élection et j’avais aussi un rendez-vous a 8h30 au bureau, donc je m’étais réveillé très tôt. J’habitais à la 93ieme rue, alors j’avais besoin d'utiliser le métro à l’heure de pointe pour d’aller à mon bureau à la 50ieme rue. En été, les métros de New-York sont comme un four; toujours 10 degrés plus chauds que l’air ambiant dehors, mais même eux étaient agréables ce jour-là. Je suis allé directement au bureau privé de ma collègue parce que le rendez-vous avec Londres avait commencé. Apres 15 minutes une autre collègue nous a interrompu. «Qu’est-ce qui s’est passé?» mais elle est partie. Mon bureau était situé plein sud et j’avais une bonne vue des tours jumelles. Il y

Fall in NYC is beautiful, but spring is another story. I remember NYC springs, or what passes for spring. There, it goes from 20 degrees to 80 in a week, then 20-80-30-75, then stays at 80 until July. Not very enjoyable. Yes, you are happy when you don't need a coat, but having to turn on the air conditioning is a drag. Spring is Paris's season. It is gradually warmer starting in January. March can be dreary, but very differently than in NYC. In NYC, we have dreary days of cold and rain; Paris? moments of cold and rain. Yesterday, it rained for 8 minutes, then brilliant sunshine, then deluge, then sun... all day long. I am just not used to it. Also people here are much more affected by the weather and I feel it as well. I blame it on lack of theater. In NYC, the horrible months are also the most culture-rich. Yes, we have 30 inches of snow, but "Hamilton" has tickets available! Something to look forward to. In Paris, food really does take the place of theater, but

I have not had a Thanksgiving dinner in Paris yet. When I lived in NYC and came to Paris to avoid family, we could have a lovely meal but the idea of Thanksgiving was far from our minds. Last year was my first living here and I just ignored the holiday. This year I was planning to do the same, but my friend Christine was coming to dinner on the day and Helmut said, "well, if it is Thanksgiving, why don't we do Thanksgiving?" Well, hmm... ah... uhmm... I guess why not? Well, one reason of course is the Turkey. The bird is not eaten in Europe often, and we would have had to order it. Since we decided to do this the day before, I just don't think that is happening. Also, the meal would be a bit incomprehensible to a Frenchman. While theater, as we know it in NYC, is not really part of the culture here, dinner has taken its place. There are different "acts" (entrée, plat, fromage, dessert) and it is the entertainment for the evening. The free-for-all that is

This post is for the music geeks out there. I have thought that moving to Europe would give me the ability to travel to various places more easily. I think that in the US, the "TRIP TO EUROPE" in capital letters and as many quotes as you can give it, is a right of passage and, for some, a once in a lifetime event. Literally. For me, Europe has always been a place I love to go. Years ago, I would come to Paris every Thanksgiving, both to avoid family and see a city I loved. Now, though, Paris is my home base and the entire continent is my oyster. There is something here called EasyJet: a small airline that charges less than 100 euros to get almost anywhere in Europe. Yes, you can only take one bag; yes, you are treated like cattle; yes, it is uncomfortable. In fact, I swear they try to make you suffer a bit. For instance, they always have stairs involved and curbs. You are required to have a carry-on back so you would think that ramps would be the thing. Noooo! Their termin

We are struck again with terrorism. I guess this is the way of life. I have had the distinct fortune of being in NYC on 9/11 and Paris on 11/13. There have been attacks on other cities in other countries, but these have been personal. This time in Paris, though, it hit my home neighborhood, the 11th Arrondissement. On this Friday the 13th, Helmut, Laure and I were outdoors, having dinner at Chez Mamy , one of our favorite restaurants. We heard from the owner that there had been a shooting around the corner and they wanted us to move indoors. Helmut and Laure were both skeptical, but I immediately posted on Facebook that there were odd goings-on and I was safe, but still out and about. Having been through 9/11, I did not want to get caught and not be able to tell people I was OK. Laure began to panic and left us; she was almost in tears. I have checked with her and she is still very shaken by these events (the café was across the street from her apartment). It has been a little over

Over the last weekend, Helmut and I got married. This is both much bigger and smaller than it seems, or at least it started out that way. Smaller, because the main reason for doing it was the paperwork: I am here as a tourist and I need to have more reason to be in Paris than being a tourist. It is bigger for me because marriage has never been on my radar, so it was never anything I aspired to. Helmut has been deep in this pool, and has had a very long relationship with a woman (3 children) but never married because he doesn't believe in marriage for anyone (too many benefits arbitrarily given to those within and withheld from those without the institution). So, even with this, we decided to do it. After we decided to do it, Helmut decided he wanted to have rings. Wow, that made it somehow bigger and more important. We decided to do this in NYC. France and Paris, specifically, love their paperwork. Since neither of us are French, we would have had to get our birth certifica