My Afternoon "Coffee" Break - Wednesday, 10 April

Hey, who needs coffee when you can have a Leffe and a bowl of herbed olives for 4.6 euro (about $6)?  And a lovely seat at a sidewalk cafe for a half-hour or so, with a nice awning and heater over your head, and a parade of humanity and doggies walking right past you?

Free Cars! - Tuesday, 9 April

OK, now, don't get TOO excited!  This is just a post about the "Autolib' " system of rent-by-the-hour electric cars in Paris.  I happened to see a parking/charging station across the street from my bus stop this afternoon, so it seems like the right time to write about it!

This system is modeled after the spectacularly successful "Velib' " system of bicycle stands and rentals all over town (and I just noticed that the cars are pretty much the same color as the bicycles).  Gosh, some days it seems as if bicycles are the second most common mode of transportation next to feet, and the Velib' bicycles are a huge percentage of the ones you see around here.

Anyway, back to the cars.  Assuming that one is brave enough to drive in Paris, one subscribes to this service on a daily, weekly or annual basis.  You present your driver's license when you subscribe.  Then you just find one of these charging stations when you need a car, enter your credentials, drive the car to your destination (which is hopefully near another charging station), and hook up the car at your destination station.  You pay between 6 and 8 euro ($8-10) per half-hour.  Of course, part of the trick is finding stations close to your locations and finding available cars there (and having the aforementioned guts to drive in Paris), but it must be a handy service for people who meet those criteria!  (Not for me!)

50,000 Americans - Tuesday, 9 April

Today I learned that about 50,000 Americans live in Paris.  Over two dozen of them were at a monthly gathering called "Après-Midi" ("afternoon") today, and I heard this statistic from Denise, formerly of Chicago, who was sitting next to me.  These events are organized by Adrian Leeds, a gregarious New Orleans transplant who has lived in Paris since 1994 - she helps Americans (and other foreigners) in the quite complex logistics of apartment searches/purchases, hosts an apartment vacation rental service, is a regular on "House Hunters International," publishes a wide-ranging blog and e-newsletter called "Parler Paris" (http://adrianleeds.com/parler-paris/parler-paris-nouvellettre), writes e-books, and is a pretty well-known fixture in the American community in Paris. She is on the left of this pitiful photo (sorry...I was shooting into the sun streaming in the windows).  You can find much better photos (including one of me and Denise, who sat next to me) here:  http://www.adrianleeds.com/parler-paris/apresmidi/pastapresmidi/509-apresmidi-9-4-13

There is a speaker each month, and the 2-hour events are comprised of 45 minutes arriving and drinking (the price of admission is merely the cost of a cold or hot beverge) and chatting with whomever you're sitting near, then 45 minutes devoted to a presentation by the speaker, then 30 minutes of Q&A. Amazingly, this is the first one I've attended, but if I'm ever in Paris again on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, you can be sure that I'll be there!

This month's speaker was William Jordan, Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer, on "The changing nature of diplomacy, what it's like being a diplomat in a country like France."  Mr. Jordan served for 30 years (1981-2011) as a high-ranking "political officer" in the U.S. Foreign Service. His last posting was as Deputy Chief of Mission in Algiers. He specialized in the Arab world and in prior positions he played a key role in responding to the terrorist threat in northwestern Africa, normalizing relations with Libya, and seeking to achieve progress toward resolving the longstanding dispute over the Western Sahara.  Fascinating!  (That's him, standing on the right of the photo above.)

These events are held in the upstairs room of a cafe called La Pierre du Mariais, located just across from the southeast corner of Square du Temple, a gorgeous park in the 3rd arrondissement (today complete with little girls jumping in mud puddles!).

If you join the 50,000 Americans in Paris regularly or occasionally, be sure to subscribe to "Parler Paris" e-newsletter and attend one of these monthly gatherings if you happen to be here on a 2nd Tuesday.  And look for me!

Looking Less Like a Total Idiot at the Checkout Stand! - Tuesday, 9 April

I encountered a new payment system at the fruit market around the corner this morning ("Le Palais du Fruit") and got rid of a heavy pile of coins in the process!  The cashier weighs and packages all of your purchases while the system tallies it all up on an easy-to-read screen.  Then you toss your coins in one little bin and slide your bills in another slot (and there must be a slot for credit cards ... I just didn't look) and it counts up everything speedily and returns your change in both bills and coins. For someone like me who manages to accumulate a coinpurse chock-full of small change, it's fabulous!  I don't have to stand there hunting for the right change, I just throw all my coins in the coin bin and it counts them fast and tells me how much more I need to add in bills.  I no longer have to look like a total idiot and irritate the real Parisians behind me in line!

OK, I know that Home Depot has a similar system on their self-checkout lanes, but the other beauty of this is that the cashier can handle your fruits and do the scanning/weighing/packing for you without also handling your and other people's money.  Nice!

I didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo of the system, but when I go back I will do so and add it to this blog entry.  I might even add a shot or two of the lovely fruit (and veg and greens and olives and nuts)!

Move Over, Fruit Rollups! - Monday, 8 April

Confession:  I am a sucker for decorative tin boxes.  They are so useful for storing and hauling all kinds of treats.  I have WAY more of them than I need.

But still, this box containing fruit jells just called out my name at G. Detou this afternoon.  I stopped by to get some chocolate, jam and chestnut puree (sort of like peanut butter except more complex, sweeter and runnier), but I couldn't leave without this.  It was 15 euro, but hey ... the box is very cute, and the jells inside are made with pureed fruits (and pectin and a non-trivial amount of sugar!), and are as tasty as they are cute.  Move over, fruit rollups!

Duck, Duck, Yummy Duck - Monday, 8 April

Pretty much my favorite lunch is confit de canard with sauteed potatoes and a green salad with mustardy vinaigrette dressing.  Sorry that part of the photo got cut off, but it's exactly what I had for lunch today at a little place down the street. This plus a glass of wine and an espresso put me back just 21 euro and gave me the fuel I needed to pound the pavements!

I'm continually mystified as to why nobody in the Twin Cities can seem to make a decent confit.  Most places seem to just slowly-roast the duck leg & thigh, but it lacks the brilliant juiciness, tenderness and rich flavor of the French version, which is cured with sugar and salt, then roasted slowly in duck fat, then packed in a crock with the fat from the roasting process.  When you want to serve it, you merely remove a leg/thigh from the crock, wipe off the excess fat, stick it under the broiler to crisp up the skin and reheat it, and ~voila~ there you have it!  I think I'm just going to have to go into the confit de canard business back home!

Across the street from my lunch table I saw this sign above the awning. What do you suppose it means?  "No unaccompanied children" or "do not fail to hold hands with your child" or what???  Gotta say this was a first for me!  [UPDATE:  my pal Dale, the world traveler, tells me that this sign indicates the end of a pedestrian zone.  And he's right, it's at the very southern end of rue Montorgueil, a pedestrian street, where it intersects with rue de Turbigo.  Dale wins a prize; I just need to figure out an appropriate one!]

On my way back to the apartment I stopped by Comptoir de la Gastronomie to pick up a thinly-sliced smoked "Magret de Canard" (the breast of ducks specially bred for foie gras) - tender, succulent and lightly smoked over beechwood (according to the package).  Some lunchmeat, hey?!?  And just 8 euro.  The 250g package (1/2 pound) might last me for the rest of my stay, but no guarantees!

Déviations - Sunday, 7 April

I was worried that there would be traffic "déviation" on my way to church this morning given the Paris Marathon that started around 8:30 and wound down the right and left banks, including right in front of The American Church in Paris (read about my favorite Sunday haunt here: ACP post from 2012), so I took the Metro instead of my usual bus route.  But no worries...the runners were apparently on the Voie down next to the river rather than up on the Quai.  (Makes sense now that I think of it!)  I got out at the La Tour Maubourg Metro stop, and was able to wander past some old haunts along the way, including the very first apartment I rented for a vacation in Paris back in 1997 on Passage Jean Nicot!

The worship service was great as usual, and it's always nice to see familiar faces among the preaching staff, musicians and congregation (even though they don't know me from Eve, I feel as if I know them).  But what really blew my socks off was the vocal solo of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "The Call" by baritone choir member Philip James Glenister.  I have never heard it sung more beautifully or with more heart-felt conviction.  Here is the text:

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.

Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love.

So I just had to look him up, and I found the reason why he sings so beautifully.  Check out his website: Glenister Vocal Studio  This is inspiring!  Maybe something I know how to do would actually be useful to other people and I could set up a studio in Paris to teach it!  Must ponder....

But back to "déviations."  I caught the #63 bus right outside the door of ACP to take me back to the Place Saint-Michel neighborhood where I could catch the #85 to get me back to my 'hood for lunch.

Unfortunately, according to the little lighted sign in the bus stop, the #85 wasn't running at all today - not sure why, but that's the way things go here sometimes.  So I decided, since I was just 1/4 block from my favorite little raclette resto on rue Saint-Severin (one that I try to hit once every trip) and since it was kind of chilly out, mountains of melted cheese with potatoes, ham, dried beef, sausage, cornichon, pickled onions and bread might be JUST the thing for lunch.  When I say mountains of the stuff I really mean it!  One could feed a family of five with the food they bring.  As usual, I couldn't finish it all.  http://www.laluge.fr/index2.htm

At least I was able to wander through the narrow winding streets of the Latin Quarter to burn off some of the calories before jumping in the Metro for a quick trip back to my 'hood!  Enough déviation for today!