Je suis arrive

It is a beautiful sunny morning in Paris. A good day to start my blog

Though I have not set foot into a museum during the past week, I have been to the store three times to buy food, water, toilet paper and of course, to just look at all of the different products available. The produce market on Rue Montorgueil smells wonderful and the displays of produce, fish, seafood (yech) and other animal parts is very entertaining. (There is a French expression which I can only translate as “you can eat everything” of an animal. And in France, they do!) Yesterday, I found Leroy Merlin quite by accident – it is basically an underground Home Depot and it took an hour to walk though this cavernous store. As for the boulangeries – it’s practically a daily pilgrimage, but I am blessed as there is a very good one across the street that has wonderful bread.

“Living” in Paris for five months sets a different tone. While at Home Depot France (Leroy Merlin,) I was searching for curtains. The apartment is very bright when the sun streams in during the morning. Knowing that I will have a few guests, it seems like a good idea to cover the windows so they don’t wake up at 6:00. The apartment is great! It is very quiet which is unusual in Paris and means that I won’t need ear plugs at night. You can check out the link on the sidebar to see the apartment. I arrived at the apartment about an hour earlier than I had anticipated only to wait for the owner’s husband to show up one hour and 40 minutes later on a very chilly day of 40 degrees. I learned about turning the gas on and off, turning the water on and off, how to use the oven and the radio controlled thermostat for the heat. There is a special toilet paper that must be used and even a special paper that can be used in the oven. Husband could not figure out the washing machine, the telephone and cable. So, being a good Italian man, he called his wife who came to the apartment. She is the one I coordinated with before arriving, so it was nice to meet both. Overall, I am very happy with the apartment and will be quite content here for five months.

A pastry every day? Pourquoi pas? Why not? I like this expression “pourquoi pas?” as it is very symbolic of my decision to quit my job and pursue this grand adventure. The French are much more precise in their language, very concerned with high quality and yet they have a more casual attitude about life. I was raised in the United States and heavily influenced by the Protestant work ethic and the belief that life is about struggling and overcoming challenges – presumably to prove that one deserves to go to heaven. Now I find that I am more attracted to the French way of life. Why not enjoy life here and now? Pourquoi pas? I have come to believe that we can experience heaven (or hell) every day and that there is no need to die to participate. Yes, this is simply my way of saying that this blog is a good start and that I am off to have another pastry and to enjoy another day in heaven.