THE PARIS FILES---Living abroad in September
Part 2

Please Note:
This journal contains
Drinking and Swearing
Deep Thoughts and Emotions
Personal Opinions and Observations

 Louvre Queue

Paris 4

Scam Bam Thank You Ma'am

When the Levee breaks, mama you got to go. In this case the levee is the heat and yeah, it be raining. So we finally go to a garden because I want  some dank sky for background. In this case it is Tullieres, the Louvre gardens. We pack the umbrellas and head to the nearest bakery where we have a small quiche. Off to the Bastille with our trusty Navigo metro passes which have been the best purchase of the trip. We are going to re-load Kook's even though it will only be for 5 days.

The gardens are not too busy and I am getting some killer shots. The Louvre building is looking pretty awesome too. The only catch is I have to take my pics all with the butts of the statues cause the sun is behind me. Lets call it creative angles. Then it starts raining. Which is cool cause everyone whips out the brellas and of course there are 20 ethnic displacements on the Louvre square to sell umbrellas. I myself am approached by a girl from Bosnia who has come there to "help handicapped children and would I sign the petition and make a donation" She speaks educated English and is dressed well and I say OK and still do not know if she was scamming. I give her 5. The little waif at her side who has no clue about English or how to do what ever they are doing, grabs another 5 out of my hand as it slips a bit. She puts it under her arm and says it's hers in some kind of mutant grunts. I get pissed and grab it back and she is spitting. As they walk away she puts a shark tooth smile on and says "2lkjefosjej, soldkfowener 5543#$%^^^!!!" to me. Which probably translates to have a nice day American whore. Her friend needs to train her a bit better if she is going to collect for the children.

The rain starts anew and Kook decides we need to join the Louvre queue cause what else are we gonna do? Sure. We meet a guy from San Fran in line who has been traveling Europe for the last 2 months. I must know what he liked the best. It's Norway he says. Most beautiful scenery ever. Also so expensive he can't even tell us. Wow, I thought Paris was expensive. This creates a travel dilemma. Shuffle shuffle through the rain into the ridiculous glass modern pyramid Louvre entrance which totally trashes the old school beauty of the square and has a ridiculous ugly gigantic statue in it of a fully shrouded figure with rope tied around it. WTF???  Down to stand in another line to buy tickets and try to figure out what to do. End up in the sculptures which I am crazy about as they are the alabaster kind and not the Rodin clay kind. I feel bad taking so many pics and holding Kook back. Move through a few oriental artifact stuff and get to some magnificent halls with frescoes and more sculptures and urns and such. Gorgeous. Then we see the Sphinx which I'm sure is a fake as it's small but 90 zillion peeps are taking pics. I'll have to look it up. We avoid the Mona cause who gives a fuck and I heard they put a case around it and she's ugly (I warned you about personal opinions). Instead, the Venus de Milo. Which of course thrills me as I just got back from Milos and stayed in the house where she was hidden. She has huge feet and a bunch of chips on her skin but I love her anyway. Then we go through Michelangelo sculptures and I want to look forever but Kook is cruising. Then we start to get hungry and start hunting for food and can't find any and our feet are hurting cause we have our big bags today and then we are lost and can't get out and are more starving and walking in circles and I have to just quick snap all these pics of cool rooms and the paintings are blowing my mind but we can't stop and we can't get out and my stomach is screaming and I have no doubt I had to pee. Finally a guard says go that way; and we are free. We can't go back because we didn't get the museum pass as it did not fit our itinerary. Wander wander and end up in one of the many little China towns. I have delish soup and salad and an entree where there is skin on the chicken and mostly dark meat and that is gross. Oh well. Kook has a beer that cost 9 dollars and it's not even a Panic show.

Then I want to walk up to the Opera building. It's quite ornate and that neighborhood is bustling. I like the Marais way better. We don't go in cause it's 10 bucks each. Upon searching for the metro a middle aged hefty woman bends down at a cross walk, directly in front of Kook and picks up a shiny gold ring. I do not see this happening but apparently she is ooooing and making it clear that she has found a treasure in the street. Kook says to me wow, the lady in front of me has just had a Lord of the Rings moment! The lady jumps on this and turns to Kook and exclaims she is SO lucky but alas it doesn't fit her. Sliding it on to Kooks hand she says " look it is for you!" It's huge but Kook goes for it and is jumping up and down and kissing and hugging the lady. By this time I am leaning on the metro wall and watching Kook dig in her wallet for a few euros as the nice lady needs a coffee and pastry for finding and giving her that ring. I never heard that one before. Kook decides it's ok to pay for the ingenuity.

Then we just go to the Monoprix grocery again. We have hors d'oeuvres stuff for dinner. I made bread with mascarpone gorgonzola and French snausage and slices of fig. Yum. Can't member if I wrote that or not. We finish a movie and Skype Steve Sadak. ZZZZZZZZZZZ no school children echoing through the courtyard like a pack of wild hyenas in the morning. I sleep great. 

 Tulliers

 True Paris

 Diana

 So Amazing

 Me (Marie) and Kook

 China Town Lunch

Scamlandia

Paris 5

St. Martin and Shakespeare

 Window Shopping

Well, today we had a slight bust in the morning. I'm so glad I tried this with Kook and not Steven and Barb and embarrassed myself. They are coming next and I want to be a good hostess. I had read that to walk along Canal St. Martin was a really fun and adventurous thing to do and that the hipsters hung there at hipster places. I suppose if a basketball demo and a boulevard park full of a clochard (homeless gypsy camp) is trendy; well then we scored. It was Sat. and weirdly enough most of the stores were closed. I think this would have made a difference. We went in one cool thrift store and Kook got scarves for everyone as they were only 3 euros. I had one picked. A strange silk kelly green flowers one that no one would like but me. No one else was there and it disappeared. When I asked the groovy English speaking clerk she said "OH I just got that for myself just now! When I looked at it yesterday I almost got it and now I did" WTF? Why does my energy make everyone do exactly what I am doing? Like arrive at a deserted hiking trail at the exact time I want to start hiking or 10 cars going through the drive through at exactly the same moment as I decide at a really weird time? How does this happen? I hate people. Not really, but I want to do my thing. Then we spent an hr. looking for a place to eat that I read about and never found it. So we end up at a French cafe as usual and Kook has a pretty good salad and I have a really good omlette and this is par for the course. The reason we go out to Italian and Mexican and Greek places at home is cause they have good food. The reason we don't go out to French restaurants at home is cause they don't. Snails and bad steak do not a happy camper make.

After this we hop back on the metro and go home to regroup. Or maybe we just wanted to climb 95 stairs. I don't remember. We are going to go to Shakespeare and Company; a famous bookstore for many years here that has all the books in English. It's Saturday. And the book store is smack dab in the center of ground zero Paris. Every tourist and their ethnic cousin has just arrived in Paris. Goody! There is a line to go in the store. It's cool but tiny with not many used books and the one Alex takes me to in Portland blows it away; but hey, it has history. There is a cool pin up board where all these people leave notes and pics etc. every day and it was fun to take pics of. Outside is a table with random books for 1 Euros. I am in Paris and so I look and find 2 pretty cool ones for Alex and even if she doesn't like them they came from Paris. We go out and into the tourist streets. You know with ethnic hawkers and 20 stores with all the same stuff and Kooks says, I remember this! This is my favorite part of Paris. OK dude. To each his own. Ironically I buy a coffee mug and a keychain and start craving the ethnic food because of course it's not Parisian.

On the way home we stop at a different MonoPrix (grocery store) for some beer and dinner stuff. I get risotto in a box and a giant jar of spiced olives and a six pack of Pellforth Brune and some amazingly cheap fresh pasta with jamon. Now there's a new concept in Paris. Jamon. So we get home and I try to cook the risotto in the oven-wave gadget here. It is in there forever and finally gets a little hot. But the oven doesn't turn off and I freak the fuck out but it's just the fan which calms down soon. This is the best risotto I ever had in my life. It has mushrooms and real cream. The olives are spicy and good and Kook makes me some crisp breads and cheese. This is much better than a 60 buck meal. Then we skype Steve Sadak and it's 90 million degrees at home and he is in the cave office. He is amused by our scam stories. Then I try to journal and continue to be a day behind. Maybe if I walk backwards down 95 steps 6 times I will be able to journal today tonight as well as yesterday which this is. Another glass of wine may help. I sleep great again and the bed is really comfortable. I am plagued by what I am going to do about the sheets when S and B come. There is no dryer in the apt. and when I went past the laundry mat today it had the laundry priced in Kilos!!!  God help me. This is bothering me on a daily basis. I am using the same towel for 2 weeks so they will have clean ones. The next day of the journal, will be hot off the press in a bit so if you read that first you will have to go back 95 stairs and not collect $200. If you don't get that joke you had a deprived childhood or your brain is on Boardwalk. If you did not get that hint go have a big mac and stop reading about Paris. Also go directly to jail and do not collect $200 this time either.

 St. Martin riches

 Booksellers

 Pin Board at Shakespeare and Company

 Ground Zero Tourism

Neighborhood Grocers

Paris 6

Markets Morrison and Moroccan 

 Gorgeous Pere LaChaise Cemetary

I am eating Paella at midnight and there is something in it that looks like it may be a sardine. They don't put that in Paella do they? Hopefully it is a random piece of chicken. I better finish the wine. I have to get up early at Kooks order as we are going back the the Eiffel Tower and are going up this time. It's true we should go early but I don't wanna get up. Switching time zones just keeps me up later. There is a squid ring in my Paella also but I am just ignoring it. It is way better than any I had in Spain. We got it at the Bastille market today. An unexpected surprise adventure. We were heading to the Metro and it was all over when the first stall had 5 and 10 Euro clothing racks and we saw the food. What a great great market. We re-routed our morning. We were going to Pere Lachaise Cemetary, the one with Jim Morrison's grave because they predicted some rain. But it was clear so why not do the market since pics would not be ideal anyway. We stroll and eat and enjoy and buy. We have a super fresh chocolate croissant. I get some little fried Lebanese tidbits. We have some awesome fried turkish veggie and chicken uhhhhhh......balls? There are musicians and one is an American dude playing the blues with one of those old steel guitars and he rules. I walk past after listening and say "kick ass" in his ear. There are lots of scarves for 5 euros and I am gonna go back and get some. Also Kook gets a cool silky jacket thing and I'm gonna get me one'a those too. And I will bring Steve back to get some paella. He just skyped us and threw off my rhythm. Can you believe that we just had instant visual chats with  Steve and Steve (our BF's) across the ocean for free? Technology is good. The market has mostly locals but all the vendors speak English so it's very easy and comfortable. One of the best things we've found in Paris so far. Hurry up next Sunday! Oh yeah, I got two cool rings for 5 euros. They may turn my finger green but it's worth a try. We have to go home now. I have to pee. I know I keep writing that but it's taking over my life. I have heard that menopause shifts your insides and of course it's hitting me in the soft spot. That would be the bladder. We will not mention the other fun things happening right now. Don't even worry about the fact that I look truly pregnant in all todays pictures or that I have to pee between graves in the middle of Pere Lachaise cemetary. Don't even give it a second thought.

So we come home to drop off the Paella and head to Pere Lachaise. This metro is a bit to the east and has a different ethnic feel than the typical Parisian fare. In fact when we get off at the stop there is a brown skinned man selling grilled ears of corn that he has pegged to a shopping cart. Weird, but reminiscent of a state fair. Do they have those in Lebenon? Anyway, the cemetery is free and I don't care so much about Mr. Mojo risin's grave cause I saw it and it looked dumb and I told Kook but she didn't believe me. This is the coolest cemetery in the world. I bet it's close anyway. It is huge and gorgeous and old and ornate with lots of house style crypts and beautiful statues and old grey stone and giant trees starting to turn color. The clouds have come and the light is filtered and there are old patches of crunchy leaves from last season and cobblestones and little paths leading all through the tombs and it is amazing. The roads shift and turn and each section has a sign that says what batillion it is. That is not the term but it's some army word that I find amusing in a cemetery. I take 8 zillion pictures because it is so amazing. The light and the trees turning and all the secret past winding in and out of the stone effigys. Of course I must sneak up a little lane and pee. I actually take 200 pics. I am taking Steve here because in 2 weeks the trees will really be turning and I will take so many more pics. I love cemeteries as they have such a vibe and for me it is soothingly mysterious as I do not fret or see ghosts. You can do so much art with the pics. We find Jims grave and like I told Kook it is nothing; but has dead flowers and old candles. She see's the light. I really could spend many hours here as there are nooks and crannies that go forever. As we head out Kook says this is my favorite place in Paris! Hooray it's mine too. It is downright fabulous. 

We have now made an embarrassing plan but I need a break from French food, or the lack there of. We are going back to the tourist area by St. Michael to have late lunch at the Moroccan place. When I was in Amsterdam the Liedesplein was an area like this and we ate there all the time and had great food. Well, this ain't Amsterdam. The dinner was not that good. There was an awesome entree pie thing with minced chicken and spices that was fantastic. The rest was bland and the Moroccan olives came out of a Spanish jar, I'm quite sure. Oh well. No better or worse than the rest.  We then stroll along the Seine and past the famous book seller stalls which you could say are touristy or you can enjoy them for what they are, memories of Paris old and new. I really liked it and there is art and old books and lots of postcards which I want for my journal. There are true old post card for 1 euro each (I wish the computer had a euro key!) and I get some and will go back and look for some more as I also wanted a few calendars. I have to pee cause we had a beer at dinner but I am getting used to living in pain for 50% of my trip. Kook wants to walk home as its so pleasant out. I will try. We discover some new things along the way. The clouds are perfect when we hit Hotel de Ville which I've been seeing written about but hadn't seen yet. It is so so beautiful and the square with fountains is full of life and there is music playing somewhere down the way . This is busy beautiful perfect Paris and everyone seems to come out and celebrate on Sunday nights. I am so happy to experience this. I think I understand it now. My bladder barely makes it home but I do and we settle in on the computers and I am having Paella and wine and journaling. My Steve calls and is getting ready to watch the Packers. Oh God please do not ever make me leave this life here for that life back there.

 Bastille Market

 Blues at the Bastille

 Pere LaChaise Cemetary

Wanderland

 Ghost Busters

 Central Landing Spot

 Hotel DeVille