This is a beautiful morning in Paris: the sky is bright blue for the first time, it is warm like a late summer's day( in the low 80's) and there is a breeze. The leaves on the trees are beginning to drop- not a pretty color as at home. After breakfast, we go out to explore the local "vide granier", french equivalent to a local tag sale. This is the first one in this quartier and we are curious to see what the locals had in their attics! After exploring a bit, we find an interesting old book that I will use for one of my altered book projects but little else of interest. Philippe may pick up an antique movie camera we spotted.
Last night Yann arrived from Metz where he has started his first year in a Grand Ecole. In France after passing the Bac, there are 2 choices the academically inclined: the university or a grand ecole. For 2 years after passing the Bac, Yann went to a "prep school" to prepare for entrance in a grand ecole. Being a brillant student he was accepted and had a choice of locations. He chose to go to the Arts et Metier (arts and sciences)in Metz and will specialize in engeneering- or so he thinks at this point. J& P had provided him with a wonderful little apartment on the top floor of this apartment while he was in Paris and so he was returning for a weekend visit to family and friends. Last night we conversed in English, testing his skills! He has improved even more since his stay with us in Greenwich. They we switched back to french and had a long chatty dinner. This morning Sylie, his mother, arrived from Normandy. We had spent time in Normandy with her and her family on our last trip. Returning from our morning walk, we met her in the lobby, chatting with the "guardianne/ super". It is so interesting to be how personal life in a french city seems. The guardianne knows the whole family and everyone chats whenever they meet. The same is true with others who live in the building. Its all very neighborly but also somewhat formal. We checked out the small hotel around the corner which we have been recommending to some of you and found it to be as good as we had hoped. Only problem now is that because it is cheap and so well located, it is full much of the time!
About 2 pm we have our mid day meal, lasting about 2 hours, topped off with wine and 2 beautiful cakes. Topics of conversations rang from Josette's argument with one of her sons, Sylvie's buying of a small truck, our activities in Paris since we arrived and how cars no longer come with spare tires- only an inflating canister! Dennis suggested she put an extra tire atop her truck, take it on and off for low bridges etc. Philippe et Yann liked this idea- she wasn't so keen! It was a typical meal, lots of talking all at the same time ( hard for us to follow sometimes) much laughter, many changes of subject matter. I believe it will be much of the same this evening when we go for dinner at Christian's ( not the son in bad favor at the moment).
The rest of this afternoon is spent quietly- Yann and Sylvie are off somewhere, together or separate, we don't know; Dennis is napping, Josette napping or puttering about for tomorrow's trip to Cannes, and Philippe- well, I have no idea where he is.
Outside Parisian life is going on: a typical Saturday. From our windows I can observe the activities in front of St. Sulpice: The local tag sale (which goes all day), a baptism and later a marriage- these are marked with the peeling of the church bellos. It is nice to have the bell tower back in action..... it has been years in reconstruction, which was great fun to watch on our previous visits but the new tower is ever so pretty and the sound of the bells wonderful to hear as they mark the hours and special occasions of the church. I can see the shopper lined up at the patisserie (best in Paris), people sitting in the cafe across the square, joggers and bikers returning from Luxembourg Garden. Very much a residential quartier. Feels more like a village than a large city!
The flow of the day is so different as a non tourist. The hour of breakfast is late, the big meal in the middle of the day taking several hours, the late evening meal, the lengthly conversations for both social and comercial activities- all these little things make it somewhat difficult to keep up the tourist pace! One doesn't cover the same about of ground per day! We "pop out" to do errands, see an exhabit or museum, but most of the time is spent chez nous or at least going somewhere with family. For us, this is an interesting experience and as our language skills are increasing, it is less frustrating. Tomorrow we won't write our blog because we will be in the car all day traveling to Cannes.
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