Going to Great Heights

This morning (after haircuts for mom and I) Joan, Mom and I went up to Sacre Coeur to climb to the top of the dome. We seem to be doing a lot of climbing, but it is always worth it! Up another tiny spiral staircase and we arrived at the top. What a view! Not only is it fascinating to see the roof of such an amazing church up close, but the distance we could see over Paris was spectacular! There was a circular area right at the top, so we were able to see in all directions. It was truly breathtaking, and definetly worth doing.

After that we went into the crypt. We've now been to three crypte-type attractions, and they have all been completely different. One had bones, the other had ruins, and this one had a lovely little chapel with some interesting sculptures, and stained glass.

On our way home we wandered through place du Tertre to look at the art, and there were some really lovely pieces. It's so interesting to watch people having their portraits done. It must be hard for the artist to have so many people watching him work. So much pressure!

We had a nice lunch of turkey soup, bread and cheese, and then we set off again, this time to see the Montmartre museum. We didn't make it that far, getting distracted by the coffee store, then a cheese store, before deciding to just do some shopping for tonights meal, and tomorrows. The streets were packed with people picking up last minute things for tonight. There seemed to be seafood stands at every corner, so that must be a French tradition. Erik and Steve are doing their version for us tonight.

I learned two new French words today. Joan and I went into a store to get more batteries for her camera (it started to die at the top of Sacre Coeur!), and not knowing the word for battery off the top of my head, I asked for 'les batries'. So in French they are called 'piles', and 'batries' are actually the batteries that you would put into a digital camera. Interesting. I also think its funny that digital cameras are 'les cameras numerique'. Would never have guessed that!

The other French lesson was at the veggie stand. I walked in and asked for 'les patates sucres' (sweet potatoes). He knew what I was asking for (but they're actually called les patates doux), but potatoes are called 'pommes de terre' in French, and 'patates' on its own means a punch in the face. Oops! We learned that parsnips ('panais' in French) are an English food, the French have only recently started eating them in the past two years. We also saw something called a black radish 'radis noir' which Joan pointed out looked an awful lot like the Japanese vegetable, daikon.

It was a nice evening, and the moms enjoyed another French shopping experience. They have both commented on how friendly everyone has been, and I have to agree. I guess a smile is truly universal.

Seafood Extravaganza!

The boys are cooking tonight. Cross your fingers...

The seafood extravaganza should (it hasn't happened yet) consist of two different dishes, an entree, and a plat. Erik and Steve were out all afternoon collecting a variety of ingredients from oysters to a full bass. I have to say it's pretty brave of them to turn what started as a joke into a meal for 9 people.

Upon returning from our shopping, we were greeted by the boys with sighs of relief. "We're glad you're back," they said. "Do you know how to fillet a fish?" Unfortunately none of us do, but fortunately the internet is full of useful information such as fish filleting insructions. Howard, Steve, and a relatively dull knife set to work, successfully separating the flesh into peices resembling fillets. I'm sure it will taste delicious.

To be continued...

American Canadians

Yesterday Erik, Steve and I went to look at another apartment. We are happy to say that this one had a kitchen (but no oven) and a double bed, so right now it is at the top of the list. The owners were an older French couple, and we went down to their apartment after seeing this one for a talk (or interview, it seemed). Anyway, they were very friendly, but couldn't believe that we were Canadians. All the Canadians that they know of are Francophone, so the husband pointed out that we didn't have a 'Canadian' accent (ie. French Canadian accent). She then told us that we were more like Americans, and she just couldn't understand that we weren't from the States. Very funny. We tried to bring them up to date on the status of English speaking Canadians, but alas, the French image of Canada prevails here in France.

On that note, I should point out that there are two kinds of English here in France. American and English. If is a book is translated from British English, it is said to have been originally written in 'English'. An American (or probably Canadian) book translated would have been originally written in American.

Shop Till You Drop!

Yesterday was Karina's last day :(.

We planned a solid day of shopping, in order to send her off in style.

But first, I should tell you about the apartment Erik and I looked at. We are hoping to move out of our beautiful (and too expensive) apartment at the end of February, so we asked Science Accueil to send us another list of possible places. Of the list of about 20 that we got, only 3 were in Paris. So we went to check out the one with the best location (across the street from the Jardin des Plantes). It was listed as a studio (25 square metres), that sleeps 3. The place we have now is 56 sm, but we are definetly comfortable, and figured we could go smaller. Well, the main problem with this place was that it didn't have a kitchen. Well, it did have a kitchen, but it was the size of a small closet (barely big enough for one person), with a hot plate and a microwave. I'm not sure what you would cook in there, but certainly not much. The next problem was the bed. I'm not sure where the third person, or even the second were supposed to sleep. We walked into the main room, and there was a single bed. Apparently it is a trundle style bed, with another mattress that pulls out. The landlord told us that was a double. Makes the sofa bed that we've been sleeping on for a month look pretty good. Anyway, we've decided that we have standards slightly higher than that, and we both like to cook, so the hot plate wastn' going to cut it. We're looking at another place today in Montparnasse, and then we're asking Science Accueil for more options, and we're going to start looking at more expensive places (which is how we got into this mess in the first place...)

So, the day of shopping didn't actually start with shopping. We had planned to visit the crypte under Notre Dame in the morning, and check out the flying buttresses that Christy has taught us all about. I have to say that the Crypte was a dissapointment. Below the square in front of the cathedral are ruins from ancient buildings that were once in the area. Sounds interesting, and could have been really wonderful, but it was presented very poorly. We never really figured out how they found these ruins in the first place, and it was so dark that you couldn't really see anthing. Some displays were completely dark, to the point that you couldn't see the writing. There were interactive lightbulbs on the ruins that you could press to light up parts that the description wrote about, but at least half of the bulbs were burnt out. So it was just dark. After that we planned to go to the top of the towers on Notre Dame, but a long line; a 7 euro entry fee and advice from another tourist in line sent us to La Chapelle to see the stained glass windows there instead. Unfortunately, the line for La Chapelle stretched around the block, so we went for lunch instead :)

After a delightful lunch, right next to the heater, we ditched the boys (well, we never got Steve out of bed, and Erik went home after the apartment viewing. They all went to the museum later at Les Invalides) and headed for the shops. We walked along the Seine to the St. Germain area, where purses and souvenirs were bought. Then Karina and I thought it would be a good idea to check out La Grande Epicerie at le Bon Marche, to see how it compared to Galleries Lafayette Gourmet. Another adventure, although I think we were too tired to fully appreciate it.

We met up with the boys back home, and went for dinner (where Karina dropped Steve's camera, and it almost suffered the same fate as mine. I will post the picture that was taken after the drop, Karina and I were both laughing so hard...not sure why, I guess it probably wasn't too funny...). The only other thing on Karina's must-see list was the Seine river tour, and the last one left at 10:00 (so we thought). We raced down to Pont Neuf after dinner, arriving at 9:58 only to discover that the boat actually leaves at 10:30... It was a wonderful tour, and we did brave the outside for a bit, but it was just sooooo cooooold!

Christy and Samir came over for drinks after, and we all said good bye to Karina (sniff sniff), then Erik, Steve and I went home to finish packing.

We moved out of our place this morning, and are now bunking with the rents for the week. 7 people and one bathroom...will it be a problem?

Joan and I have just solved the mystery about what the woman who owns this house does. I feel like a bit of a Sherlock Holmes (it wasn't really hard. We just weren't looking in the right places). Guess away, and first correct guess gets a trip down the Seine. But you have to come to Paris to collect your prize :) I'll let everyone know what she does in a couple of days...

Bones!

This one will be a quicky, cause I'm going google eyed from this computer screen!

Wednesday...
-the Catacombs. Lots of bones, very creepy!









-yummy lunch of moules frites and croques









-Musee Carnavalet, a history of Paris. Enjoyed most by mom and Howard.
-failed attempt at shopping (we're too tired!), manage to get Sudafed at the pharmacy (using words like degonfle, rhume and actions). It only cost 1.60 euros! Have I mentioned that we're all sick, or have been sick at some point? It's not stopping us though...
-bought some souvenirs in the shops around Abesses, and Karina got new shoes
-Dad made his pasta sauce for dinner. Delicious!
-Erik, Steve and I went home to pack :(

Line Ups and a Snowstorm!

Just a quick update, I'm afraid I'm going to forget what we've done if I don't do this regularly. I'll check back when I have time with more details, and hopefully some pictures.

• Bright and early start, meeting at Abesses subway
• Head down to Musee d'Orsay, and are surprised with a MASSIVE line up. Apparently everyone else in the city had the same great idea.
• 
• Waited in line for 1.5 hours
• Museum was fantastic. Saw some beautiful Degas pastels, paintings, sculptures, and works by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and other fantastic pieces. The building itself is breathtaking, hard to believe it was supposed to be torn down!
• 
• Extensive search for a lunch spot, found a cozy place with yummy food, extensive beer list and frites of course!
• Headed to Notre Dame cathedral (line ups here too, of course!). Also breathtaking, nice contrast to Sacre Coeur, which we have seen so much of. Awesome ceilings and arches, carvings, stained glass. Will have to visit it again to see the catacombs and flying buttresses.

• Restoratif at the Great Canadian. Nice to relax in a place where everything is so 'normal' (not French). Enjoyed nachos and wings, and Canadian beers.

• Subway adventure home, almost lost half the group at Anvers, but regrouped and made it back to the house.
• Relaxed (and warmed up) with a fire, and plans for tomorrow. So much to see!

Oops! Almost forgot to mention the weather. Apparently our family brought some good old Canadian snow with them. We were greeted by a massive snowstorm when we left Notre Dame. The temperature has dropped, and it is colder than usual. I thought Paris had already had its snow days...

The City of Stairs

The touring of Paris has begun!

Despite the obstacles of having a group of 10, we set out yesterday to enjoy the Arc de Triomphe. We walked there along Blvd Batignolles, and it was a lovely walk through some interesting neighbourhoods. As the apartments got swankier, the bakeries seemed to be replaced by antique stores. Good scenery, and interesting for all.

Upon arrival at the Arc we had to follow an underground tunnel to the right side to get the other underground tunnel to the centre of the etoile (basically, the middle of the road. The Arc is surrounded by Paris' largest traffic circle, so the only sane way to get there is underground). We bought our tickets, and waited for the rest of the group to join us while we enjoyed the stonework on the underside of the Arc.

There are 284 stairs to the top, all on a tiny spiral staircase. It was very exciting! The climb was quite manageable, and definetly worth it. At the top there is a museum about Napoleon, and we wandered through that before heading outside.

What a view! From the top of the Arc you can see down all the avenues that radiate from the etoile. The etoile is marked on the steet below with different coloured cobblestones. It is quite magnificent. Perhaps just as interesting as the amazing views was the traffic direction. There was a police officer standing at one corner controlling the traffic onto the Champs Elysees. What a mess! Imagine four lanes of traffic moving onto a huge round road with no lines or clear lanes. The cars entering the circle have the right of way, so you can imagine the mess that it has the potential to be!



We had a nice walk back to the house, with a stop for a very Parisian 'restoratif', and then dinner of leftovers. They are always good the second day (except for the fruitcake :) Just kidding)! Steve is complaining that he is eating too much cheese. But it is just soo good!

That's it for today!

PS. Thanks Joan for the fabulous pictures!

"Boxing Day"

So, it's a Monday here in Paris, and life goes on as usual. My friend Zoe had to work, and we saw a group of kids in a 'day camp' situation. We were very surprised yesterday at the number of shops that were open. The short walk from our place to our parents, we saw a number of bakeries, many fruit stands, a wine store, and lots of cafes that were open for business.

We had a lovely day yesterday, lots of yummy food, and stocking opening. My friend Zoe joined us for dinner, and the evening finished with a much needed walk around the neighbourhood. We are still full.






Sadly, I dropped the camera on the floor yesterday morning and broke it :(, so I'm unable to post any pictures until the camera is fixed, or I get my hands on the pictures that everyone else was taking.

Christy arrived this morning, so our numbers are growing, and we are planning to visit the Arc de Triomphe today.

I hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the holidays!

Merry Christmas!

The whole family has arrived, and we are happy to be celebrating together.

Two days of extensive grocery shopping, and I think we are ready for some serious feasting tomorrow. Mom had a blast at the Gourmet section of Galleries Lafayette, and we left with a selection of delicious pates and cheeses. Unfortunately our two turkeys don't fit into the oven at the same time, so we may have to eat in shifts. We also got a bargain on a tree (pictures to come) and Joan and I learned the hard way that you NEVER enter a grocery store through the cash. The security guard followed me through the store to tell me 'c'est interdit!!'. Oops!


The parents are at Sacre Coeur (which is so beautiful, and magical at this time of year) listening to the organ concert as I write this, and the 'kids' are here talking about other things we'd like to see here in Paris. Musee d'Orsay is at the top of Karina's list. Any other suggestions?

We hope that everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow filled with family, friends and food.
Joyeux Noel!
Bonnes fetes!

The Arrival of "les belles parents"

Howard and Joan arrived bright and early this morning. Seems like the whole family is flying on the same Air Canada flight 880 from Toronto. It lands at 8:15 am here in Paris, so unfortunately Erik has been having some early mornings on his holiday. I'll go with him tomorrow (I had to be at the house this morning to make sure we could get in. I wasn't just looking for a sleep in. Erik also has a pass that gets him out to the airport, thus saving me from paying the 8euros each way).

Anyway, we all arrived at the apartment that our parents are renting, and it was fun to see their reactions (no details yet, mom and dad still need to be surprised). We quickly got their 8 (!) peices of luggage into the house, and had fun poking around. Our plan for today is to do the grocery shopping for the food that we'll need on Sunday, and pick up the turkeys. The butcher ordered two small ones because apparently the big ones are too dry. We'll let you know.

It's nap time right now. Erik is making up for his early morning, and Howard and Joan are feeling a little jet lagged (mom and dad, make sure you sleep on the plane!), so we'll head back over to their place in a little bit.

Still hard to believe that Christmas is on Sunday! I have to say that despite all the decorations and craziness in Paris, it still doesn't feel like the holidays. Maybe it's because we're just so excited to see everyone.

I hope everyone is getting ready for a nice holiday, and congratulations to all my teacher friends, I know the holidays start today! Have fun!

And Then There Were Four...

Karina and I are waiting for the boys to return from the airport. I think I can hear them in the hallway now. Are we more excited to see Steve, or have fondue for dinner? :)

He's here. The entertainment begins...





We are all here. Alas, the fondue place was too busy, so we had dinner at another restaurant, the Zebre. It was delicous. A walk up to Sacre Coeur, and we are settling in for the night.

Take care, we are looking forward to seeing you all soon. :)

Preparing for the Holidays

We're busy getting everything organized for the big family Christmas en Paris. Erik, Karina and I are trying to do our part by finding the perfect buche de Noel. We have tried two different ones so far, and figure we have four more days to sample before having to make a selection. So far we have tried the 'buchettes' from the bakery, and a delicious ice cream one from the frozen food store Picard. We'll let you know what the final verdict is. Other less glamorous tasks have included locating and purchasing fresh cranberries (or airelles, as they're called here), and buying frozen berries for fruit salad (mom, we've decided it's a go. The pineapples look delicious!). It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.


We have also been busy scouting out the stores of Paris. Our hands down favorite so far is the marche at Galleries Lafayette (which we have discovered carries cheddar cheese, white marshmallows and curry paste, to name a few hard to find delicacies, all at reasonable prices). We've been there three times in as many days, and I'm sure we'll find a reason to go tomorrow, too. We also went today to the Maille store. This was quite an adventure. After thinking that we had gotten off at the wrong metro station, we stumbled across this gem at place Madeleine. Yup, it's a mustard store. I can't really explain why we are so excited about this store, cause it really does sell just mustard, but it was great. Not only do they have cute little ceramic mustard pots, and varieties of mustard sold only at this one location (I picked up a blue cheese one. Delicious!), but you can buy fresh mustard in its own little crock. When I say fresh, I mean you stand there and watch them fill the pot from one of the three mustard 'taps' on the counter. So cool!

I'll also share this picture with you. Karina couldn't figure out why a store with chocolate in the name wouldn't sell chocolate! We crossed the street to go check it out, and were a little dissapointed by the baby clothes in the window!


Steve arrives tomorrow, and the fun will inevitably continue. I'll leave you with a picture of one of Erik's lunch receipts from Ecole Polytechnique. He'd like you to notice how much the beer cost. Yes, he had beer with his lunch. It is France, after all.


I will try and keep regular posts during the holidays, but as some of our most loyal readers will soon be joining us in this wonderful city, updates may become few and far between until the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

Karina is here!

Karina arrived yesterday morning, and Erik graciously went out to the airport to pick her up at 8:15. We were (are) very excited to have her here, and tried to keep her busy yesterday to combat the jet lag.

A nice cafe lunch, followed by a walk around the neighbourhood, drooling at all the patisseries, took us up to Sacre Coeur where we went inside and walked around, looking at all the saints, and the beautiful fresco on the ceiling.



A cool statue we found.


By that time Erik and Karina were both ready for a '20 minute' nap, and two hours later we set off again.

This time we ended up on Blvd Haussman, with plans to show Karina the awesome window displays. Apparently all of Paris had the same idea, and it was an absolute zoo!


We did manage to take some pictures of the fantastic light displays, and we were able to catch a glimpse of our favorite display, a scene with frogs playing in the bathroom. Very cute.

After a quick 'restoratif' we headed off to dinner, another recommendation from the trusty LP. It was definetly in the budget category (bottle of house wine, 4euros), and the food was decent, but judging from the popularity, we felt like we were missing something. I mean the huge line couldn't have just been for the cheap food...



Karina has escargot as her entree. They were delicous!

Today Karina and I did some shopping, and Karina enjoyed her first pain au chocolat, and crepe au nutella. Very delicious! We are planning on making dinner tonight, so will head off shortly for the grocery store (I know, so un-French, but it's Monday and the market is closed :( ).

We've got more mail!

I thought I'd share this picture of our 'mailbox'.

Thanks Grandma and Tracy and Ed for your cards. We will be thinking of you over the holidays.

A Night Out

Last night we went to see a concert with Zoe, Aurelie, Zoe's cousin and another one of her friends, Katarina.

Broken Social Scene is a Canadian band that Zoe knew from Canada. It was a great show. I'm not usually up for live music shows, but it's nice to get out of the house, and this concert was a pleasant surprise. The group is made up of musicians who all play in different bands. Its quite an assortment on stage, including a violin, three trumpeters, and even a trombone at one point. I wish I had more constructive or descriptive things to say about it, but it was a throroughly enjoyable mix of music styles. A very pleasant evening.

I also want to say hi to Jing and Katie, two more friends who are reading the blog. We miss you guys! And Katie, Zoe agrees that it would be a great idea if the guys did a show over here....

Tonight we go to another friends house for dinner (same place as last Saturday. Only in France do you plan your next dinner get together as soon as the meal is finished). Erik volunteered us for dessert duty, but due to a severe lack of basic baking tools, and time, I'm off to the patisserie to choose something delicious to share.

Tomorrow Erik's sister Karina arrives! We'll be waiting for her bright eyed and bushy tailed at the airport tomorrow morning.

The dum-dums...and a new Canadian treat

So, I feel like my French fluency has reached a plateau. I will admit that part of the reason that things are getting easier here is that I'm discovering more things that are accesible in English. Not to mention the many shopkeepers and waiters that insist on speaking to us in English. My favorite discovery is the library which has a plethora of English language books for me to peruse. Today I visited the Real McCoy, an American food store. It was chock-a-block with all sorts of delicious (note some sarcasm here...) treats such as fruit roll ups, peanut butter, marshmallows (4 euros a bag! And they weren't even the white ones! Luckily I had already seen coloured ones at the Franprix for 1.55), complete with a friendly, English speaking salesperson. We've been to one of the Canadian bars (yes! There are two Canadian bars here!), and have been to an Irish one (they spoke English there too). I've also been watching the BBC (not too much choice in English language tv--BBC or CNN, it was a pretty easy decision really). The annoying part about these channels though is that they are news only, and repeat the same headlines and documentaries throughout the day. I have watched the same soccer (football) highlights three times today, and have had a good laugh at the 'business weather' segment, which highlights the weather in cities that I guess people would travel to for business. The only two cities that they had in the Americas were Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. I don't know what kind of business people are doing, but it's apparently not in the States! I've had the channel on most of the day, and they are very good at covering the weather for almost the entire world (Europe, North Africa, all of Asia, the middle east, etc.), but they always seem to 'forget' about North and South America. It's like they forgot there were two more continents across the ocean! But Erik (who is watching it now) has just mentioned that they finally covered Canada (-14 in Edmonton! Brrr!)

Hmmm...I just had to scroll up to the top of this post to remember what I was supposed to be writing about. The dum-dums.

We went for dinner(sushi! Yum!) last night with my friend Zoe and her French roommate Aurelie. Aurelie lived in Montreal for a year, so some English was spoken, but it was mostly in French. I still get frustrated not having a large enough vocabulary, but now it seems that words that I once knew are leaving me. When talking about the food that we had at our wedding, I mentioned that we had "les végétables grillés" and didn't even realize what I had said until I noticed Erik and Zoe staring at me like I'm an idiot. For anyone who is wondering what I said wrong, its 'les legumes' not vegetable with a french accent. Erik and I have both asked for 'un limon' at the market, and I was so confident that I thought the person helping me just didn't hear me, so I repeated it louder and pointed, only to notice the sign clearly marked 'citron'. To make matters worse, the more I learn about French, the more words I learn that are exactly the same or very similar in French and English! Patientez, manager, rhyme to name a few.

So, by now you might be wondering why I was looking for marshmallows.

Erik decided that he wanted to bring them to his work party tomorrow as a kind of "Canadian" treat. Aurelie, assured us last night that Rice Krispies were readily available, but she wasn't so sure about the marshmallows. On my way to the library today, I stopped in a grocery store to see what there selection was. They not only had marshmallows, but two varieties! Not the plain white ones that we're used to, but one of the packages had white and pink, and actually tasted quite authentic. Feeling quite pleased with the discovery, I headed for the cereal aisle, to pick up a box of Rice Krispies. Cereal in France is a funny thing. For all of their appreciation of 'good' food, and enjoying the natural flavours of things, its surprisingly hard to find a cereal that isn't sugar coated, or loaded with chocolate bits (or both!). Needless to say, there wasn't a box of Rice Krispies in sight, and I figured the closest thing would be Special K. From what I could remember, they looked just like flattened Rice Krispies. Thats kind of what they looked like on the box. I was quite surprised when I opened the box (after my marshmallows were partially melted, of course) to find out that these were actually brown flakes, vaguely reminiscent of Bran Flakes. I had no choice at that point but to make them anyway, and the result was pink-ish goop covering brown flakes. Not terribly authentic, or very attractive, but they tasted alright. Hopefully Erik's colleagues won't be as traumatised by them as they are at the mention of poutine...but that's a whole other post.


An update on our banking problems...

Erik left work early today to visit our branch of Societe General, in Lozere, to figure out the whole money transfer thing, and to sort out the PIN problems that we've been having. Turns out that the number that we should be entering on the computer insn't our PIN, but our client number. When Erik asked where he could find that number, he was told he couldn't find it, you have to ask for it at the bank (which raises the question: why would they give you the PIN in the first place if they knew you wouldn't be able to use it without another number that they weren't giving you....!!!!). So they gave Erik the number, and he asked the teller to try the number and PIN combo right away to make sure it worked. Of course it didn't work, apparently because she was using my client number, but Erik's PIN. When Erik pointed out that we have the same account, and should therefore have the same number, she said no, and looked up Erik's number in the computer. Guess what? It's the exact same number as mine (who trains these people?! Or as Erik asked when he was trying to be mad in French "are you a new bank???"). Anyway, apparently something happened when my name was added to the account, more excuses, more excuses, they'll send a new PIN and client number next week. And they gave Erik a card for 10 minutes of free calling time for when he calls them to ask where all this info is when it doesn't arrive next week. On the bright side, apparently it is free to cash an international cheque, and it only takes a week. But, we really have no reason to believe anything they tell us, so we'll find out the exact situation when the cheque actually goes through...

We've got mail!

Yay! Our first Christmas card arrived this morning, from my aunt Debbie. Thanks Deb for the great card, and I'm glad you're enjoying the blog! I'd love to see pictures of the wreathes you're working on, and of everyone at Christmas.

Apparently the mail gets delivered right to our door, and this card was in fact slid underneath.

I also thought I'd share a link to another blog that Howard shared with me, after my food rant. It's nice to know I'm not the only one craving weird things. Joan, I think you should stock up on cranberries before your voyage. I know it just wouldn't be Christmas without those...

Erik and I also got an email from our friend Mathieu yesterday. He explained why we were getting confused about some of the words that we had learned in French, but are in fact English in France (to the point that they have no idea what we're saying when we use the French word). I will quote his email, because he sums it up quite nicely (hope you don't mind, Mathieu!): !

By the way, Quebeckers always make fun of the French for using so many
English words.  Actually, many of the French words that you learnt in school (e.g. stationnement) were invented in Quebec to fight the evil English from Canada and the US in the bill 101 era.  Other "anglicismes" that I liked:
1) Le parking
2) Le shopping
3) Le sponsorizing
4) Le McDrive
5) Le gazole

Thats it for now. We're having sushi for dinner tonight. We're quite proud of ourselves for holding out this long before having it, considering how often we ate it in Toronto. Japanese restaurants are quite popular here. There are at least two in our neighbourhood.

Also, two more important dates to celebrate. We have now been in Paris for four weeks, and yesterday (the 13th) was our five month wedding anniversary. Has it really only/already been five months?

PIN Problems, Part Deux

So, Erik and I were naive enough to think that we had triumphed over the French Beaurocracy that was giving us so much trouble. But alas, we spoke too soon.

Last week we each got a nifty package from our bank, Societe Generale, containing our cards (which are actually Visa Cheque cards, not credit cards at all--thanks for clearing that up Zoe!), and a letter providing us with a convenient PIN number so we would be able to access our bank account online, over the phone, or through an assortment of other means.

I did have a minor panic attack trying to find the PIN for my card, which arrived safely at Erik's office, and thankfully, it works just fine. It's the online PINs that we're having problems with now.

I learned from the phone scenario not to enter an incorrect PIN more than three times for fear of being locked out of everything you own, including your house. So, I patiently tried typing the 6 digit number into the website three times, squinting at the paper to make sure I got the numbers correct, before calmly giving up. Its a lot easier to stay calm about a faulty PIN when you haven't been locked out. I was slightly confused by the fact that the website seemed to be telling me that I should be entering an 8 digit number (which I definetly didn't have...it is probably that PUK that they want :)), but figured it was just my back luck with French PIN's and let Erik have a go with his.

Luckily, Erik's didn't work either (well, I mean luckily in the sense that it means that there isn't some kind of curse on me surrounding any sort of personal identification device). So, I'm sure this will involve more frustrated calls to a very incompetent bank before it gets sorted out. On a side note, the incompetent people at the bank have started blaming each other for the difficulties they had getting the account organized, and also the difficulties they seem to have doing minor things like using the phone, or opening the door. You'll have to ask Erik to tell you about those.

Anyway, on to more pleasant topics.

With the approaching arrival of our family, many people have been asking us what we want from home. Besides my cat, who I don't think would take too kindly to the plane, we are really just looking forward to seeing everyone.

After spending so much time getting rid of everything before we left Toronto, and then lugging what was left through airports and around Paris, I have a new appreciation for minimalism, and edible gifts. That, and the fact that Paris is fairly well equipped with most of the conveniences and luxuries that we're used to in Canada (with the exception of a decent shower, consistent central heating, and skim milk, but I don't think any of those travel well either. Oh, and good fat free yogurt. The stuff I've gotten here either had the texture of cottage cheese--which I don't care for, or tasted like chemicals. Hopefully no one remembers a previous post where I talk about delicious sandwiches slathered in butter, or an obsession with crepes, as those posts might make you wonder why I'm craving fat free dairy products. Who knows, its just what I'm used to. And I try to make a concerted effort to get enough calcium, and I just don't like the taste of regular milk. I have no reason not to eat the full fat yogurt, except that the last stuff I ate tasted so soapy, I probably won't eat any kind of yogurt any time soon. To continue on my rant of impractical food that I miss, cheddar cheese is up there too. Despite the laughs we got at a dinner with some of Zoe's French friends, you really need cheddar to make good macaroni. However, cheese is something that is done particularly well here, and I'm willing to take the time to find an adequate alternative).

Whew. Did I mention that we're really just looking forward to seeing everyone?

Its funny the things that you miss. The food is supposed to be so much better here, and sometimes all I want is a packaged cookie, or a bag of chips. Or a yogurt.

Ok. On to other things I was going to share. Oh, the elevator.

The subway station that is most convenient for me is the Abesses station. This station apparently has some amazing-ly designed iron work outside of it, which means that there are always tourists standing right at the top of the stairs posing for pictures. Or they have their maps out. Makes it difficult for regular people to get in and out of there.

This station also has a crazy spiral staircase (I think Erik counted 9 flights last time) to get down to the platform. It also has an elevator, but I take the stairs, as a rule. Its an easy calculation. More stairs taken = more crepes eaten. Anyway, today the elevator was waiting at the platform when my train arrived, and I was feeling a little sore from the exercise class I did on TV yesterday (my New Years resolution is to start exercising again. I love the walking that we do here, but its definetly been a couple of months now since I've broken a sweat. Not good) so I got on (the elevator, in case you didn't follow through the last bracket. I'm getting a bit carried away with them, I have to say).

This was the biggest elevator I have ever seen! I always wondered how it would work because there's always a huge crowd of people waiting for it, and I figured it would take a couple of trips before you made it to the front of the pack and got on. Not so, the thing is big enough to hold a car! And it has seats, in case you can't bear to stand the whole 2 minutes the ride takes. What an adventure. The stairs are still more fun, especially because there are murals from floor to ceiling all the way down. I've posted this picture before, but here it is again, in context. This isn't one of the nicest sections, but just to give you an idea...


Well, I think that's it for today. A bit of a rant, I suppose, but hopefully entertaining. Things are going well, its getting quite cold, but still no snow (thankfully!).

Good to hear from Liane, my friend who is reading the blog from Australia, where she lives.

Oh, we also have a mailing address, finally. It's not permanent, as we're hopefully moving in February, but email me if you'd like it.

Thats it.

Hope everyone is doing well, we think of you all the time.
Take care,
Torie :)

Upper Class Eating

In case you didn't know, I really like food. A lot. Good thing we're in France, cause French people like it too. And they know how to do it well.

The other day I got out at a random subway stop to go for a walk (the Madeleine stop, for anyone who might be coming to Paris soon...not to worry family, its on our to-do list for you guys) and stumbled across the Fauchon store.

The website really doesn't do it justice. This specialty food store takes up about 4 store fronts on a corner of the street, and their windows are done up like a jewellery store. For New Years they're offering gold and silver plated eclairs, at the bargain price of 6euros each. Pre-order yours today! They also have displayed huge chocolate Christmas Ball cakes. A chocolate shell filled with cake and mousse and other goodness. If that isn't what you're looking for, they have balls of foie gras on a stick, dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts. My stomach is grumbling. And they have a whole separate store just for chocolates and candied fruit that looks so real I thought it was fake. Amazing!

On this same trip (I really didn't plan to hit food stores only, I swear!) I discovered the food market at the department store Galleries Lafayette. This place was like the Holt Renfrew of supermarkets. Gold coloured carts, and women wearing fur, strolling around the nicest grocery store I've ever seen. And selling only the best food, I'm sure! The produce was all amazing, no bruised apples or rotting bananas in sight! They had prepared food counters with a huge selection of Chinese dumplings, or 10 varieties of prepared couscous. Fresh fish and meat. A bakery section with a zillion kinds of breads, and another section with two zillion different desserts. It was a good thing that I ate before I left the house!

Despite seeing how the 'upper class' eat, I have to admit I'm just as happy with a warm baguette from the friendly neighbourhood baker, or a hot crepe from any of the street vendors.

Bon apetit!

Almost employed!

Good news yesterday. I got another part-time job. This one is at an international nursery school, teaching English to kids between the ages of 2-5. The school seems really nice, and the teachers that I've met have been really great.

I'm now up to a total of 3.5 days a week between my two jobs, but those days are spread out over a 5 day period. Its a good start, and will provide the extra bit of cash that we need to have a good time.

Hopefully all the paperwork goes smoothly! I'm still waiting for my long birth certificate, and who knows, there's probably some other obscure document that I'll need.

Just wanted to share the good news.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. :)

I should also let everyone know that the cell phone is working again. 4 phone calls and two more PINs (the first one they gave me blocked me out of my online account. It was not a good day...) and I'm connected again. Now if I only had people to call...

Also, on the PIN note, we got our credit cards (or bank cards. We're not really sure what the heck they are, but they make money come out of a bank machine) yesterday too, and you need a PIN to use them here. Guess whose little package didn't have a PIN included? Luckily it arrived in the mail at Eriks work that same day...

Bread and Frustration!

We'll start with the frustration.

We got a cell phone on the weekend. Our house phone does not have voice mail, and we can't make outgoing calls, so we thought it would be a good idea, especially as I'm applying for jobs, I wan't to be accessible, without having to sit by the phone all day.

Sounds simple enough.

So, we picked up the phone last weekend. It had to be registered under Erik's name because all the banking information is under his name only right now (another small frustration...). Didn't seem like a big deal. I plugged the phone in to charge last night.

When I turned the phone on this morning, it is all of a sudden asking for my PIN. I've never had a phone do this! Well, I've only had one other cell phone, and it was pretty basic. And it spoke English! Anyway, the phone company, SFR has sent me three text messages in the last week all with different PINs. I've also recieved two voice mails with different PINs. By the time I try all the PINs I can remember, I've been locked out of the phone.

Turns out you have to enter the PIN from the SIM card every time you turn the phone on! I will admit, its written quite clearly in French, on the page that the SIM card came with. Except the sales person put the card in, and didn't tell us anything about entering the PIN when we turn the phone on...and I obviously didn't look at that page until it was too late. So, now the phone is asking me to enter my 'code PUK'. Now I'm getting frustrated! At least I know what a PIN is! What the heck is a PUK??!! And where do I find it????

I consulted the English version of the manual that we had to download from the internet, and apparently you have to contact your service provider to get it. Great. SFR advertises on its international visitors page that it has operators available to help travellers from Europe in seven different languages, including English. When you call the advertised number, it turns out that the service isn't available yet. They're probably on strike!

Anyway, I think one of the hardest things to do in another language is talk on the phone. The other person can't see you, you can't gesture, you can't read their body language. Its just a big guessing game. So I call up SFR, and throw out the one sentence I've been practising: "J'ai une probleme avec ma telephone. I'll me demande pour mon code PUK, et je ne sais pas ou le trouvez." (translation: Where the heck do I find the GD PUK code???) Well, her response, after I give her my phone number, was "mais tu est un mademoiselle." Uh, yeah. Unfortunately, she can't help me because the phone is registered to Erik, and he is conveniently at work. She did say at the end of the conversation that she was happy to have helped me. I don't think she could have been any less helpful! And I had to pay for the call!

So, the phone is still locked, but I have 6 more chances to guess my PUK. Hopefully Erik will be able to sort something out when he gets home.

Onto a more pleasant topic. Bread. Yum!

To ease my frustrations, and due to the fact that there's no food in the house, I had for lunch a sandwich a jambon et gruyere. We're not talking Subway sandwiches here, folks, this is half a baguette, buttered, with a couple of slices of ham and cheese. Thats it. And to be honest, I probably would have been happy with just butter. Or just bread. Fast food at its best! The bread (freshly baked, of course in the ovens visible from the front of the bakery) is nice and crusty on the outside, and has a nice flavour on the inside. The butter is nice and creamy, and contrasts nicely with the saltiness of the ham, and the sharp taste of the cheese. I don't think I would ever have eaten a sandwich like that in Canada, but for some reason I wouldn't have thought twice about eating at McDonalds. The French really know how to do it. And for 3 euros, its almost cheaper than doing it yourself.

Anyway, my point, as I stopped by another bakery on my way home from groceries, was that we're eating a lot of bread. I had half a baguette for lunch, and we'll polish off most of another one with dinner. Its just so good. And everyone eats it. Whoever invented the low-carb diet obviously never came to France!

The bread that you get served at a restaurant is a necessary part of the meal. I've discovered that better restaurants have better bread. Bad baguette here tastes like the stuff that you get at Dominion. Not the ACE bakery stuff, but the generic French Bread thats pure white inside and comes wrapped in plastic. The kind that doesn't really have a flavour, but you don't really realize that it can have a flavour until you have the good stuff. My favourite baguette has a buttery taste when its warm. Its crusty on the outside, and chewy on the inside. I've learned that a good baguette has lots of different sized holes on the inside of the bread. This means that the loaves were shaped by hand and not by a machine. I was commenting to my mom that I have yet to see a presliced sandwich loaf, and I'm sure we never will (they don't even have them at the grocery stores). Bakeries are so common, and good bread is so easy to find, that I'm sure the French would never stand for something like that.

Writing this has made me hungry. I'll have to go break off a piece of warm bread...by the way, the bread that I like reminds me a lot of the ACE Bakery baguette. So if I've made you hungry too, go get a loaf of that, and warm it up in the oven. Eat it plain, and guilt-free, and it will be just like you're here in Paris.

Quail and an Inkwell or Finally, a Restaurant to Write Home About!

Hello everyone!

Time to do some writing about food! We'll start with the weekend...

We both enjoy going to the market on Sunday to buy food. Last weekend Erik was feeling particularly creative, and decided to buy quail. The butcher happily chopped off their necks, burned off any remaining feathers, and trussed them up for us, ready to be cooked. On Tuesday night, Erik set about preparing this delightful meal. The quail roasted in the oven with a dressing of olive oil, thyme and lemon. It was definetly a success, but we both agreed that the little birds require a very large amount of effort to get a very small amount of meat off the bones. I think next time we'll just get a chicken!


Now, I'm not sure if I've written about the restaurant situation yet, so I'll just say that all of our meals out have been a bit dissapointing. There is usually some good point to the meal (often the cheap wine :)), but we had yet to eat the wonderful Parisian meal that we were so looking forward to before we left.

Well, the Lonely Planet advised that our neighbourhood was good for big churches, and not much else. For some reason we thought we could discover a hidden gem of an eating establishment close to home despite this advice. Unfortunately, again LP was correct, and most of the restaurants around us cater to tourists, and are either too expensive for us, or just don't serve very good food. I was beginning to think that all French food would be bland and boring, until we ventured out of our neighbourhood last night and into a delightful little place called L'Encrier (the Inkwell).

What a treat! The inside was nicely decorated, and the menu was more than affordable. Erik started with a terrine, and I had a soup of something white (I didn't know the word when I ordered, and I can't remember it now...). Anyway, both were delicious! For main course, I had a duo of fish, served with a rice pilaf, and Erik tried andouilles, with a warning from the waiter. Andouilles are apparently sausages made with pig intestines. They actually tasted quite good, but you had to get past the fact that they looked like a regular sausage, as they didn't tast like sausage at all. We finished the meal off with chocolate cake and plum clafoutis, finally satisfied with a dining experience in this city. Plus, it had a non-smoking section. I have to say, nothing makes food taste worse than second hand smoke! We will definetly go back.

And thanks to Sheila, Tracy and Roman; some of the people who are reading our blog. Its nice to hear from you, and good to know that you're enjoying the updates!

Un dimanche en Paris

Hello all!


Our day started with a trip to our local baker (well, there are at least 4 that we've found, but this one is our favorite for pain au chocolat). Nothing gets a day going like a hit of chocolat!

A trip through the market, and we were all set for the next two days. Erik has decided to try making quail. I'll let you know what the final verdict is.

After a lunch of crepes (with Nutella, of course!), we were off to the Louvre. All museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to check out this famous museum.

All I can say is that it was breathtaking! I'm sure we didn't even come close to scratching the surface of seeing what was inside, but the building itself was enough of a treat. We headed straight for the Italian Painters section, in the Denon Wing, which houses the Mona Lisa (or La Jaconde, as it is known here). Really, there is too much to look at. Intricate mouldings, and painted ceilings, views out onto a spectacular courtyard. We both left feeling like we had a lot to learn before we could fully appreciate the art that was inside.

We took the long way back to the metro, through the gardens outside of the museum. I have to say that kids in Paris have it made! Not only are there these amazing carousels all over the city, this is the second park I've been too that has sailboats for rent that can be sailed in the fountain, pony rides, and this one also had an area with trampolines that kids could jump on. Who needs video games with all that?

I'll leave you with some pictures we took. We got on the subway at the foot of the Champs Elysees, but got a decent picture of the lights with the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. I can always tell a good photo opportunity by the crowds of people in seemingly odd places.

The glass pyramid at the Louvre, and from inside looking out.


The Champs Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe in the distance

Je vous enpris, patienter s'il vous plait!

This is Erik's new favourite line. Or I shoud say least favourite. It means 'please be patient!' Our latest episode in French Beaurocracy is with Societe Generale, our new bank. Erik thought he was getting a head start on things by opening an account before we left Canada. It seems to have not been so helpful. Two weeks into our stay, and we are still waiting for cheques and bank cards. Everything has to be ordered in. I still can't understand why that is, when any bank in Canada would issue a temporary card on the spot. Hopefully, the cards will arrive by next Friday. Which is so convenient considering that we can't even take money out from the branch because it is in the next town south of Ecole Polytechnique, and you can only withdraw from your home bank (long story about this...on his first day, Erik moved the account to the branch that was actually in the school. Unfortunately that location is only open on Thursdays, otherwise you have to go to Orsay, which is not only far away, but also in the next metro zone...). Anyway, thank goodness our bank cards and credit cards from home work here.

Other than that, it has been a busy week. I got a job, or a 'mini-job' as I should call it. I'll be teaching ESL to French kids at an American Private school on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. Should be interesting.

My adventures today took me to the islands of the city. Not too much to share, other than pictures, as it was very beautiful. I also enjoyed the cherry-picker employed to decorate the tree outside Notre Dame.







Thats it! Hope everyone is doing well.

Keep in touch,
E+T