I’m Still Traveling – Paris Continued

So friends and family, many of you have discovered that I did NOT return with Daniel and have stayed on with my friend Jeannette in Paris.  My stay in Paris has been amazing because not only have I seen the city’s tourist sites, but I’ve also gotten a great view of real life here.  Local Adventure # 1: The Locksmith - one lost key meant meeting with 3 different locksmiths and learning all the french words associated with a door (lock, cylinder, tumblers).  I also learned “scam” and think that these “artisans” have quite a racket going!  One lost key has equaled $1500 in costs!!  Local Adventure #2: The Hardware Store – fixing the damage to the door done by the first locksmith, as well as replacing other household items.  New words include: Sandpaper, Cut to Size, Estimate, Suction Cups, and Curtains.  Local Adventure #3: The Apartment Search: Jeannette was also in the process of apartment hunting when I arrived and she found the most wonderful apartment literally around the corner from Sacre Coeur in the heart of Montmartre.  I love “living there” with her.  This past weekend we moved the rest of her stuff and also went to Ikea.  True to French style, we were able to take public transportation there – but once we were inside it was the same free-for-all it is in the US.

Other notables in Paris, and the photos here, are of my first weekend “alone” in Paris.  Jeannette went to Austria for a weekend and I had a full “French Only” weekend with Jeannette’s friend, Zoraida.  Zoraida is already featured on Daniel’s last blog – we all went dancing together at the Grand Palais.  Zoraida invited me over for dinner and dancing with some of her friends and that started the weekend of fun!  With her, I learned about planning a french bachelorette party, went dancing (as advertised), took the Velo Libre (the rentable bikes all over Paris) and saw the city from an entirely different vantage point, saw Paris Plage (for all the poor Parisians who don’t get to take a vacation, they recreate a beach right there on the Seine in August), finally ended the weekend with a 30 kilometre bike ride to a park outside Paris.  All of Zoriada’s friends were very nice and funny – and also very encouraging and patient with my French – much appreciated!