a bus fine

When you ride any public transport in Paris, you must always validate you ticket before you ride the metro, bus or train. Nothing happens if you don't validate your ticket, buzzers don't buzz, lights don't light, etc, but it is illegal not to do so and if the controllers catch you, they will fine you on the spot. You can be fined for other things, too, as I found out yesterday.

Mon petit fee and I got on the bus, I validated my ticket (he still rides free), and we took a seat. I was about to call the porcellino when we reached the next bus stop. Four controllers entered the bus, two at the entrance and two at the exit, not to intimidate or anything. The noise level always diminishes, though usually from practically nothing to literally nothing, when they enter. This time was no exception. I had my ticket out in hand, ready, no make that, eager like a puppy ready to pee, to show one of them my ticket. So was everyone else on the bus, or they were digging through their sachels, pockets, butt, to find where on earth they put their ticket.

The girl sitting across the isle from us was about 22 years old, very cute, talking on her cell. She had her ticket in hand and took about thirty seconds to wrap up her phone call so she could appropriately present her ticket to the controller. Apparently however, she took thirty seconds too long. The female controller demanded my ticket and I shot it out like a, well, just very fast. The male controller stood by the pretty young lady ready to chomp. Fangs, saliva, venom, the works. As soon as she hung up the phone, he slapped her with a fine for not getting off the phone fast enough! She was flabergasted as were everyone else on the bus. It was already silent, but somehow it managed to become ... silent?er?. I think this would be a good way to save some clean air because we all stopped breathing it for several minutes while they argued back and forth. That was just as surprising to me as her getting a ticket. At the end of their four minute disagreement, she handed him her credit card, he swiped it and made her already low balance thirty five euros lower. If you think that you were not in the wrong, you would have to take your claim to the mairie (town hall) and duke it out before a judge there, not with the controller. If you loose, however, you pay 100 euros instead of the measley thirty five or whatever it was that you got. After that confrontation, I slid my cell phone in my bag like a dirty pair of panties - not that I would know what that's like! Mine are always clean.

effects of a coffee

It's almost 3 am and I have yet to go to sleep. For some reason my mind is racing and I just can't seem to shut down. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all to have a double shot of espresso with Bailey's at 8 pm this evening. Hello? What on earth was I thinking? Guess I wasn't. It was one of those days and I really needed some kind of drink. So I head for coffee/Bailey's. Good choice.

Mon petit fee is getting over a virus. He caught it on Tuesday and has had a low grade fever for a couple of days. Today really wore me out though because he was super exhausted from not sleeping well the past two nights. And because he is working hard to fight off this pesky virus, he has been nursing about every hour or so. This afternoon he had very runny poo and I only mention it because I am a mommy and that's all I seem to have time to think about lately. He seemed much better today except for the tired part, so we went to the playground. Not a good idea. We were there about fifteen minutes when he came up me and whimpered "poopoo". Dripping down his legs was a bit of a mess. Mommy pro that I am, I pulled out the diaper wipes and got busy cleaning him up. Took off his underwear, put them in a plastic bag, pulled up his jumper, put his sweater on the seat of the stroller, sat him on it, buckled him in and walked home. It was a beautiful day.

I usually can handle only one cafe/espresso a day and I had a total of THREE today or rather yesterday as it is now after 3 am! Around 11:00, I took mon petit fee for our morning walk (a bit late at 11:00!) and stoppped at the brasserie down the street to have an espresso there. This is absolutely one of my favorite things to do here and at that moment, I really needed a quick pick me up. Never liked coffee before we moved here, but I LOVE having an espresso, especially the Italian brand Lavazza. Most cafes serve Lavazza, Cafe Richard (French), or a generic coffee that they don't advertise the name of. The Lavazza brand is just a bit sweeter than the Cafe Richard. mmmmmmmm

Anyway, I stood at the bar and ordered a coffee while mon petit fee sat in the stoller. You pay half the price if you stand at the bar and it wasn't the day to linger any longer than it took to drink the three little sips. I put in my two sugar cubes, stirred it, and waited a minute for it to cool before I took that first sip. So good. As I enjoyed a moment with my much needed cafe, a guy walked into the bar and stood about three feet from me. Just in front of him, behind the counter, was the bartender. But the bartender's back was turned to the customer because the bartender was busy drying glasses. About five feet from the bartender was a waiter, but you'd never know the difference because both were standing behind the bar and were wearing the same uniform. So the smiling customer (really, he was smiling) looked at the waiter who was just standing there doing nothing and asked for "un cafe s'il vous plait". The waiter looked at him and immediately turned sour. Apparently the waiter was insulted that the customer dare ask him for a coffee when the bartender was right in front of him. Seriously. The waiter told him so! He said "why do you ask me when the bartender is right in front of you?" And the very nice, non confrontational customer replied "what did it matter" - he didn't know who to ask, they both were standing back there, how was he to know, etc... The waiter gave the typical French attitude like "you stupid idiot" and lectured him on correct protocol to order a freaking coffee at a bar! The very nice customer smiled, said never mind, and left; neither the waiter nor the bartender could have cared less! WHAT?!?!?! You know you're in France when...

musee gratuit

Just when l want to flee this place, l experience something that makes me want to stay here forever! Yesterday evening we decided to take advantage of the offer to get into a museum for free. Once a year Paris offers free admission into many museums (after 6:00 pm) and yesterday was the day. (The first Sunday of the month is always free as well, but this is a different occasion.) We took the metro to the Jardin des Tuilleries by the Louvre and took a place in the long line to enter the Orangerie where Monet's very large and famous Water Lilly paintings are housed. lt has been closed for years and just this past fall, they reopened it. The eight HUGE Water Lilly paintings are extraordinary. When you look at them closely, the paintings are not very beautiful, kind of a hodge podge of colors dabbed here and there, or so it seems. But at a distance, they are exquisite. These three photos were taken when we went to Giverny a few years ago, and where Monet got his inspiration for these paintings.

Anyway l didn't think mon petit fee would last in that long line, but lucky for me, l didn't have to worry about that. One of the security guards motioned for us to move to the front of the line and avoid standing in the line all together! l can't believe l had forgotten that this priority extended to the museums also. On the bus or metro, if l am riding with mon petit fee and all the seats are occupied, someone almost always asks me if l want their seat. Of course, it doesn't always happen, but probably 90% of the time. lf you are handicapped, old, pregnant or have a young child, you get certain perks and this was one of them. Yippee!!!!

les traiteurs japonais

l was absolutely thrilled a few months back when l saw that there was a new sushi restaurant opening not too far from us. Not that you can't get good sushi here. Oh no. You can get some really great sushi here. Just not a great selection. You go to any Japanese restaurant and they all have the exact same thing: sushi, maki, sashimi, yakitori (beef and cheese, chicken balls, chicken, salmon and beef). And if you order a "menu" you get cabbage salad and miso soup with it. All of them do this. And l'd say that within a 5 mile radius of us, there are probably six sushi establishments, though two are closed for renovation. So needless to say, you know that you've found an exotic establishment when you have the option of tempura and wait, hold your breath, fondue japanese style.

Well this new place offers sushi that is not on any of the other traiteurs menus. You can get sushi with a slice of salmon rolled on the outside of the roll! And instead of one type of california roll, you have a choice of six different kinds! How will l ever choose? And, this is the best part, they are open non-stop! So if we want to eat dinner (out) at 6:30, we can! Most restaurants do not open before 7:00pm for dinner unless it is a traiteur, pizza place like Pizza Hut (yes, they have them over here as well as Dominoes) or in a touristy area. And since we don't live in a touristy area, our choices are limited. But now thanks to Planet Sushi we have one more option! Quelle chance!
www.planetsushi.fr

take two

Well l suppose l panicked too soon. After the recent abduction of the little girl in Portugal, l decided to not only remove all the pics l had on here of mon petit fee (which weren't many to begin with considering l had only begun this blog in April 2007), but delete the blog entirely! l realize that was a bit extreme especially considering who reads this blog anyway - seulement moi. But l just started thinking of all the perverts that just may happen to come across such photos of my most precious little one, and you just never know. So, once again l will tweak the color scheme, put up a few photos minus mon petit fee bien sur, and see what my fingers have to say. Slowly l will put the entries back. They were thankfully saved in my yahoo account.

Today is a holiday because there just aren't enough holidays in France. Every week dans le mois de mai (in the month of may) there is a holiday. D'accord. A tout a l'heure.

dual purpose radiator

Spring came early for Paris this year, and the only drag has been the extra time it takes to finish the laundry. Yes, they sell dryers here, but where on earth would l put one? With the sink, fridge, oven, washing machine, pantry, and storage cart in the tiny kitchen space, all you have room to do is flip a pancake. l do have a washing machine/dryer combo, but the dryer part is utterly useless. l’d never seen or heard of one of these before and now l know why. You put cloths inside, wash them, and then heat comes through the same holes that the water came through to “dry” the cloths. After an hour of steaming the water off the cloths, they still aren’t dry, even for a very small load. All the dryer really does is heat the cloths so they come out so hot you could put them in a room, close the door, and bask in your own sauna. And it shrinks the garments, too! So instead l just put everything on the radiators or hangers to dry. Stiff cloths are the result here, too, but at least they’re not also getting smaller. Drying usually takes all day when the heat is off, only a few hours when it is turned on. When we make it back to the States, l always make sure we re-enter France with a suitcase full of clean, tumble dried cloths. Mmmmm soft towels. Boy do l really miss those.

better than guinness

There is a fantastic little English epicerie just down the street from us, by the market. And when l say little, l mean little. Space is a commodity here, so like many boutiques, they pack as much as they can into a tiny little space of about fifteen square meters (160 sq ft). l head over there once every couple of weeks to pick up one of three things: cream cheese, cheddar cheese and/or British beer, specifically John Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. OH MY GOD! Of all things, a beer has brought me to my knees! With the exception of a Guinness, never have l enjoyed the taste of a beer until these past couple of years when the porcellino taught me the ways. Sure French wine is fantastic and l enjoy a glass or two or four, but it is a very different experience than sitting down for a beer. ln the US l rarely enjoyed a beer, but never before was l exposed to such great beers. Living so close to les chefs of beer – England, lreland, Belgium, Germany – you can’t avoid it. lf l am in a beer drinking mood l’ll order a Grimbergen, a Leffe and where available an Edelweiss. But when l need a little extra something to take my mind off the laundry, toppling over toys, what’s for dinner, cleaning up poopoo and peepee, tooter yapping, wha wha wha, John Young is mommy’s time-out. Take an extra cold Guinness and put a hint of chocolate flavor to it and voila, your taste buds will be making babies. And l’m not the only one who thinks so. This epicerie sells about 50 different British beers including Bishop’s Finger, London’s Pride, St. Peters, Strongbow, etc, but they can’t keep the JY Double Chocolate Stout in stock. They have been sold out for three weeks now, and it probably will be at least another week or so before they get some more in. Glorious oh so glorious OMG the best beer you’ve ever had! l allow myself one of these every few weeks. Otherwise we’d all be twenty pounds lighter and wearing stinky cloths.