I love Paris in the springtime

Philou, shortly before he
wiped  meringue on the couch

Minet loves me

In a word, today I was lazy.  I sat in the apartment today, ate unbelievably delicious cheese and bread, and studied French.  I've been feeling a little unsettled today about what my actual plans were going to be and I think that put me in a bit of a funk.  A minor accomplishment today, Philou (their 4 year old boy) and I had a "conversation".  He asked me to peel shrimp for him (that part was translated for me).  We sat at the table and, one by one, I peeled shrimp and handed them to him.  "Merci" and "De rien".....I've just about got those memorized.  I wish I was joking.  Amande, (their 1 year old girl) smiles at me and actually stopped crying today when I went into the hall and picked her up.  She's so beautiful.  Perhaps the family member I've connected with the most is Minet (French for "kitty").  I'm not going to try to keep it a secret; we slept together last night.  She's a bit pushy and vocal when she wants affection, but I don't mind that.  She looks great for her age too, a slender figure.  I learned today that she's 14....that's like 80 in cat years!  Well, she's still got it!

Amande high fives her mom

Puchased ticket to Lorient, France

I did get out of the apartment today.  I walked down and rented a bike.  Have you noticed that renting the Velib' bikes is my favorite thing to do in Paris?  I rode down to the nearby station for the TGV and walked inside. As I neared the front of the line, I grew increasingly anxious about having to depend on my French speaking skills to buy an expensive train ticket.  Lucile had assured me that this was the "international ticket booth" and that the worker would speak English.  There were no indications onsite though.  No English text that I could see anywhere, no one speaking English in front of me in line..... When it was my turn, I tentatively asked, "Parlez-vous anglais?"  Behind the glass, the young gentleman confidently returned, "I'll give it a shot!"  [cue the sigh of relief and slightly humiliated smile]  So, I did it.  I bought a one way ticket for Lorient that leaves on  Monday at 10am on the TGV.  It's settled; I'll ride across France from west to east and hopefully the winds coming off the Atlantic will push me all the way across the country.  Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

TGV

Defaced Sarkozy poster

I wanted to soak up a little more than I could from the seat of a rental bike in Paris traffic, so I walked most of the way back to the apartment from the train station.  I took a detour into a grocery store and must have spent an hour looking at the various products and prices, trying to grow accustomed to what was affordable and what was a luxury.  It's like the world has been turned upside down: wine and cheese are economy choices!  I systematically (boustrophedonically, if you must know) walked every isle in the store.  When I arrived at the cheese section I paced it, 75 feet long with shelves that went from floor to ceiling!  I love this country and I'm so glad I'm not lactose intolerant.  Since I'm heading out on Monday, I showed some restraint and walked out of the store with nothing but a small package of strawberries (self checkout isle success, in spite of not understanding any of the on-screen prompts).  Out on the street, I noticed some political posters that had the depiction of Nicolas Sarkozy (the incumbent president of France) .  There was a dollar sign marked on his forehead and "It's all over!" scribbled across.  Lucile pointed out many other anti-Sarkozy displays yesterday when we were riding around the city.  The elections are tomorrow and the leftist side is expected to take the office for the first time in 17 years!  The election results will be released tomorrow evening at 8pm.  It should be exciting....and noisy!

A funny billboard that I've been seeing all over Paris

Luckily, I got home before it started raining.  It has rained everyday since I've been here, but it seems to come in the afternoon and then quit (much like it does in the mountains of Montana).  Today it really came down hard and I even saw some lightening.  However, the resulting flowers blooming in the centers of Paris's many planted traffic circles are lovely.

A shrimp, before peeling for Philou

 Truly, I'm getting really spoiled here at Lucile and Emmanuel's.  They both speak fluent English, cook amazing food, like to talk about climbing and culture, have charming children, and have a cat that keeps me warm at night.  Also, Lucile concocts a different pre-bedtime adult beverage nightly!  Tonight was something akin to a Mojito and it was scrumptious.  It's a done deal though.  My ticket is in my pocket.  As much as I could see staying in Paris for much longer, I'll be leaving on Monday morning by train.....at approximately 200 miles per hour.