Sidenote:
Alright, here’s another thing. I am so glad that I brought a pair of white pants. That was a lucky guess of an item that I packed for the move. Let me tell you, at least half of the women in Paris are wearing white pants on any given days. It’s no lie. I went to the family party on Sunday and every one of us was wearing white pants. Voila!
I was craving a good meal for lunch. Jeannette told me about this restaurant with great salads that is only about a mile away, maybe less. She also mentioned that they speak English. I thought that sounded perfect. I made my way over and decided on the way that I would speak my best French and see if they would automatically respond in English just to help a poor girl out. I get to the door and the hostess says “Bonjour” and I respond with “Bonjour, pour un” – which means “Hello, for one.” I had no idea if that was correct, but she responded in French and took me to my own table. VICTORY! I was so excited, but I couldn’t show it. I look at the menu and the salads have very odd ingredients so I decide against it. The waitress comes and I said “Je voudrais Coca Cola Light et Penne Tomate Basilic.” She says “Alright, got it, thanks.” OH MAN! I couldn’t pull through. What gave it away? Was it that I stumbled on “tomate” or “basilic”? Who knows. I began reading Of Mice and Men for the heck of it. It’s an old classic that I should have read long ago and it’s lightweight and small enough to fit in my purse. It’s odd reading a book about two bums trying to find work on a ranch while killing mice and eating beans WHILE you are in a fancy schmancy French café. My food came quickly and it was quite delicious. I got the tab and saw that the Coca Cola Light was 3,80 euros. That’s roughly 5 dollars, which makes it the last time I will get a soft drink at a restaurant.
Jeannette and I decide to get out for some shopping. She shows me around Le Bon Marche – super nice mall down the street. We kind of pass it up to go through Zara and H&M. I bought an umbrella and aviator glasses – 11 euros. What a steal!
We go pick Zacharie up a little late. Eh, what are they going to do, kick him out on the street? No biggie. He and I take our first trip together to buy baguettes. The French go through three of those LONG baguettes per day! The South Beach or Adkins diet has never been heard of here.
When we got back, Zacharie spent some good time on the toilette. I was checking to see if the bathroom was clean and I heard him coming down the hall. I thought I could be really sneaky and jump out and scare him. I stood in my place…ready, un, deux, trios, pounce….AHHHHHHH! It wasn’t Zacharie, it was Barthelemy. He jumped so high and had the most frightened look on his face and he kept running. He had no idea what to do with the emotions that came over him. I was doing my notorious snorting, of course. I followed him and he couldn’t stop shaking. After a solid thirty seconds, he started to laugh. Victory. I think it broke the ice a bit. I love kidding around with the older kids. They speak perfect English and know about a lot of American things. We can kick it, them and I.
I thought it would be great to meet up with friends tonight. I called Anais to see if should would like to meet. She said sure and told me to meet her at Chatelet. She says, “Take the 1 to Chatelet and take the blah blah blah exit. Then you will see the cinema and go blah blah Starbucks and we will be at s-blah blah blah-que.” Seriously that’s what I heard. I thought it would be easy to figure out. Um not so much. I’ve never been to Chatelet, so I wouldn’t know that it might be the busiest area. I also wouldn’t know that Chatelet has tons of exits and the one she mentioned was probably important. Once I went up the wrong exit (I can only assume), I gave up. I thought, “Yeah right, there is no way I am going to fine her, no way.” I was right. Instead I decide that it would be great to walk around. Wait, did I happen to mention that I was using my umbrella for the first time? I sure did because it was rainy hard. Beating down on the jeans. My flats went flat. Somehow the wet ground would suction them right off of my feet. Can’t a girl catch a break? All I know is after about an hour and a half of walking, I found myself next to the Louvre. If I know anything, I know that Chatelet and the Louvre are not too close. By this point, why would I catch the metro again? I might as well walk it out and save the 1,40 euro metro charge. I was starving by this point. I remembered this Shell station on the way back to the flat. I was giddy with the thought of getting a coke and Chex Mix or anything that reminded me of Quik Trip from home. I get to Saint-Germain and I see it, like a beacon in the night! I walk up to it and it’s closed. Tear down the cheek. Completely defeated I head back to the flat. I get up to my room, completely soaked. I change into my pajamas, then head to the kitchen. I get a glass of Coca Cola, a piece of a baguette, and a banana. Well it filled the tummy, no complaints.
You probably thought there was going to be some sort of redemption at the end of the story didn’t you? Hahah, no there’s not. Maybe in tomorrow’s blog.
Here are a couple photos of the kids. The Photo Booth program on my Mac has been a hit!
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