Overwhelmed by the Antiquities at the Louvre

I pointed my iPHONE out the window.

She's Just The Messenger...

With a washer/dryer combo (one machine) that holds a maximum of 2.5 kg, I allow myself the small luxury of having my sheets done at a real french laundry. They come back starchy, stiff and really white. They are a pleasure to slip into.

The closest laundry that is reliable (this is a relative term) is about a ten minute walk. It's a very pleasant walk in a shopping area. I have to bring a bag to carry them back in, they come covered but they are heavy.

The sheets that I took in on Monday were supposed to be done by Friday morning. The woman promised. I didn't have time to get them on Friday, so I went this afternoon (Saturday). I made a special trip and it is quite cold outside. It was getting dark as I got there. There were three people ahead of me and each one had special instructions, questions, comments. I waited about 10-15 minutes before I presented the woman with my ticket.

She disappeared into the back of the store, behind shelves filled with other peoples' sheets, blankets and bedspreads. She was gone a long time, which never bodes well.

Back she came, empty-handed. I should add that this is pretty common, it happens about half the time. While I'm not in a panic to get them, I made a special trip on a dark and cold Saturday afternoon.

She opened a dog-eared spiral-bound notebook and told me that they will be back on Monday. OK. But, they were supposed to be back on Friday morning and it's Saturday afternoon, I said.

Her reply (with a smile on her face and no malice) was that she doesn't do the sheets, she only works in the store. She's only the messenger of the bad news about the sheets.

Photo Opp

What does it take to get a photo for the french "carte de sejour"?

Normally it is very easy, much easier than in the US. There are Photomation booths in many metro stops that take photos that can be used for passports, school photos, ID cards (museums, etc). You enter the booth, sit on the stool and smile. In 30 seconds the sheet of photos pops out.

Today, we needed photos and we found a booth at the metro stop at Hotel de Ville.

I sat on the little stool, pushed my Euro 5 note into the machine and smiled. Out rolled the euro note, rejected. I took it, smoothed it out and tried again. Out. I smoothed some more and tried putting it in the other way. Out.

I asked Terry if he could try to get change for a 20 Euro note at the kiosk where they sell metro tickets. No dice. He then tried all the little stores that are underground near the photo booth, negative. We resorted to buying a metro ticket to get the change but the woman wouldn't give us the necessary change and yelled at us, basically for being pests.

We need the photos. So, off we went on the metro; Line 1 to Concorde, change to the 12 to rue de Bac where our bank is located. We had to stand in line, inside the bank, but we got Euro 20 worth of one and two euro coins. Photos, here we come!

Except, there is no Photomation kiosk at rue de Bac. I wracked my brain, where had I seen one? Pasteur! Back on the metro Line 12. Off at Pasteur where we found the booth.

In go the coins, out comes the pictures. It only took 1-1/2 hours from start to finish.

Addendum to this post: When I went to get the Carte de Sejour, the "fonctionnaire" rejected my photos. In one set (yes, I tried it twice), I was smiling too much and in the other set, the top of my head was slightly chopped off. So she made me go (3rd time, now) to the Photomation booth outside the office. A man was working on it and it was out of service. I dash around inside the prefecture de police and finally find another booth. I fix the stool, don't smile, check that I can see the top of my head and get the photos. The foncitonnaire exclaimed that I looked too serious, but she accepted them. Euro 15 for photos.

Dangerously Close

The mystery is solved but the problem still exists.

I kept finding my plants broken and I couldn't figure out what happened. We're up high enough that no one climbed up and tried to break in the window. Birds don't normally break plants this way.

One morning, I heard a big bang at this window and looked outside. Hanging by a rope, there was a large bucket filled with stuff -- plaster, pipes, junk. I watched for awhile and down came this door. There are workmen on a floor above us and their ingenious way of easily moving things in and out of the apartment is with a pulley system and a rope.

They don't have to go up and down stairs all day, but my plants are getting smashed all the time.

The Knife Man

He's hard to see, I took this picture from the window. But, this is the "knife man".

To me, he represents what I like about being in France, that some things never seem to change.

I can hear him before I see him. He always comes early in the morning. with a very loud bell attached to his cart, he makes his way down the street, ringing about 10 times and then stopping, looking up, to see if anyone needs his services. If no one motions from a window, he picks the string for the bell up again, and gives it a few more rings as he makes his way down the street.

He takes his time, probably most of his customers are elderly and it's hard to get downstairs carrying a bunch of knives to be sharpened.

I could hear him on our block for more than an hour, I'm sure he did well.

Andy Rooney In Paris

I just found out that Andy Rooney died.

My fondest memory of him is from Paris. We were sitting in a cafe on rue de Seine when he passed right by our table. No one recognized him.

The funniest part was that he was walking with his wife. They weren't walking side-by-side, he was about five strikes in front of her.

Is It A Leaf, Or...

We've had some rain in the last few days. And, it's fall so there are a lot of beautiful brown, red, and yellow leaves on the ground.

This is a recipe for disaster in Paris.

When it rains, people are less likely to pick up after their dog. I don't know why but the evidence is everywhere since it rained all day yesterday.

Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the difference between a "crotte" (dog poop) and leaves on the ground. Sometimes the leaves are covering or partially covering the little surprises on the sidewalk.

I danced my way down the street this morning, barely missing several spots. Mother Nature's perfect disguise -- leaves.