Parislog 14
April 5 2006

Some of you already know this but in Europe you count on your hand differently than in America. I keep making the mistake of specifying one of something with my index finger and in Europe that is two. So I ask for one verbally and give the signal for two with my hand and the shopkeepers keep thinking that I want two. I am getting better at remembering to use my thumb to indicate one of something.

I found part of the fabric district in Paris at the foot of Sacre-Coeur. The part that I found wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. It didn't really have much that was interesting. I have high hopes for the other area that I missed. Every neighborhood though seems to have its own mercerie (thread store). Quite amazing considering that you can't find the fabric to sew. I must be missing a connection. I did find one store that had nothing but buttons, 1,000's of buttons.

April 2 was so dark in the morning and raining that I wasn't sure it was really time to get up but it was first Sunday and that meant that the public museum were free. H* and I met up at the Museum of the Middle Ages over by the Sorbonne and had a look. The place was so massive that about half way through we decided that we had seen enough for one day and would return another time for the other half. There were pieces of fabric that were almost a thousand years old. In one room there were 5 or 6 tapestries of a rich lady and a unicorn and in another room was the real horn of a narwhal. One could see the direct correlation to the unicorn. The horn was creamy and slightly translucent with a twist running the whole way from bottom to top. In some of the woodcarvings, I was surprised to see that the circumcision of Jesus was portrayed. It was represented with all the faces having that look of awe and wonder. No pain on Jesus' face.

While we were in the museum the sun came out and I decided that we should go for a little cup or something at a cafe and H* suggested one that she new one that had Berthillon ice cream and a view of the back of Notre Dame and the Seine. We went and it was awesome. She had to have a little discussion with the waiter about getting the window seat as we were only having ice cream. He finally let us and it was a good thing because when it turned out to be 8 Euros ($10) for two scoops in a bowl, we better get the good seats. It was lovely and relaxing and the chocolate noir was truly exquisite. It passed the Colleen chocolate test.

Apr. 3 after doing laundry and such necessities, I went for a walk to get my head clear with fresh air. I went to a park about 2 km away from me called Montsouris. It is very pretty and fresh and so classic. There were benches all along the walkways with people sitting and reading or talking. Some were just relaxing and staring at the lake, with no water in it. It is being repaired and it was interesting to see it empty because it is only about 6 inches deep. It is purely a man-made lake and setting. There was also a man sitting there with an old easel and paint box working on a painting. There was also a sign one a section of the lawn that said it was resting. Who knew?

After leaving, I found a private street that seemed to have nothing but private houses on it, a real rarity in this town. It was such a stunning street and some of the houses were magnificent works of art. There was one that had blue and gold mosaic tiles of floors on the upper floor. Another was done in a Tudor style and looked so real but had a plaque on the wall dating it to the early part of last century. The street also had a Smart car parked in a very small spot.

Later on the walk, I came across the first pet store I have seen. It had cute little fluffy puppies in open boxes with signs saying not to touch them for reasons of hygiene. That was so hard to do as the puppies were up on the edge with their paws in the air and doing the cute little puppy noises saying come pet me. Then I saw the sign. The cheapest puppy in there was
995 Euros. Ach!

April 4th, I went to the ANPE, which is the French employment office. I really wasn't planning on looking for a job but I needed to break the ice and step in the door to see what I was up against. It was a little overwhelming but a woman from the office spent a little time with me and helped me with some books of jobs and descriptions. I need to know what words I need to be able to ask for what I want. Well, the book I eventually got my nose into not only had a list of jobs and their requirements but also a list o the syndicates and federations for the field. I am looking at the fashion business section, by the way. My next step will be to start going to some of these associations and see if I can explain my goal and have them give me ideas of what direction to take for work. I even found that there is one employment office that specializes in the fashion section and one that specializes in the spectacles area, putting on shows. I got websites up the yang-a-lang too.

I think that I found the neighborhood that I want to live in too. It is in the 2nd arrondisement on and around a foot traffic only area. It is a market street with the butchers and bakers (no candlestick maker) and it has cafes with the tables on the sidewalk. It is right up close and personal with the fashion business district and with the fashion retail district. I liked the energy of the people. No one was crazy, or especially loud and it seemed to be a slightly upscale crowd. Location, location, location.

That evening I went with H* out to another comedy show and this time the guy was funny enough to make your face hurt at the end of the evening. His name is Scott Capurro, originally from San Fran. and if you ever get a chance, definitely worth it. He is risqué though.

Apr. 5
Today, I went back to the Sentiers fashion business district and took a better look around. It is a lot of clothing manufacturers like downtown LA and much of it is wholesale but you can buy in many of the stores if you have cash in hand and don't mind that you can't try anything on. No changing rooms. I splurged and bought myself a shirt that I had a coup de coeur over (kind of translates as fell in love with). I had made a little cash doing a mending job and used it for the shirt. It has the most incredible embroidery detail on it in my teal/turquoise color on a black background. Yum yum. And because it was in this district, it was only 25 euros. Cheap for here, let me tell you.

Okay now for the embarrassing moment. I hadn't had lunch so I stopped and bought a crepe and got it with Nutella. I personally had never had it before and thought it was just a nut spread but I guess it is chocolate too. It was very good but messy. I thought I was doing a good job of being careful and catching any oozing but noooooo. I had been done with the crepe for a couple of blocks or so and was looking in a window display when I looked down at my front and noticed brown smears all over my turquoise scarf looking for the world like big old shit smears all over the front of me. I ripped the scarf off like nobodies business and quickly tried to scrub off the bits on the color of my jacket. I wanted to crawl under a rock. I know that no one knew me but damn, I must have looked a wretch. I guess it must have made quite a few people wonder. I think that I might stick with sugar crepes from now on, even though the nutella was pretty darn good.

Tonight, I went to a Mozart concert...for free. It was at this gorgeous church in the 1st arrondissemant called St. Eustache. It was an incredible experience sitting there listening to some really amazing music and looking around myself at a church that was built in 1213. The arches miles above were stunning and I imaged all that stone being cut by hand with such precision. It soared into the heavens with lightness even though it is stone. All around the edges are niches with paintings and gold leaf on the columns. Some of it has been cleaned and restored and it positively sparkles and could make one religious. It is easy to see how powerful the churches could have been with edifices to advertise them like this.