Two long blocks from my apartment, at Blvd. Charonne, it’s
market day today, so I got up ready to go after a shower. But hélas,
still no hot or even warm water! Drawing upon my Peace Corps experience*, I
heated up some water on the stove, poured it into the bathroom sink, and washed
with it, and then emailed the housekeeper who said she will stop by later to
check it out.
The market stalls spread along a very wide median strip on
the Boulevard. I am so excited at the sight of fresh produce, flowers,
saucisse, fromage, that I stop at the second stall and buy some endive. I hear
a voice behind me, “Beh, you should go to that one over there, voyez la où il
y a la queue?” I turn and see the owner of the Pizza y Fichi restaurant (where
I had a delicious dinner last night). She is smiling and says “Bonjour, I am
the person from the resto last night. “ We shake hands and I ask her how she
is, and we chat a bit as we walk through the market. Dis donc! I just ran into someone I know in Paris!
It’s a great feeling of possibility- I could grow some roots here! C’est génial!
I buy some fresh vegetables and fruit, a baguette bio, which means organic, and two
croissants, non-bio, and stop lastly at a cheese stand operated by an older
couple, bundled up in layers to stay warm, with aprons on over everything else.
The woman cheerily greets me and asks what I would like. I request a thin slice
of Roquefort, and she says, alors, she will let her husband do that. He grins
and says to us, “Even now, with Women’s Day approaching…” International Women’s
Day is still a big deal here, evidemment, and it will be celebrated on March
8th.
After getting home and unloading my market treasures, I pack
up my laptop and head to la Nation, where I can catch metro #1 directly to the Carrousel du Louvre
where I have scheduled a OnetoOne
session. Quite a dramatic setting, in the “basement” of the Louvre, right
next to one of the smaller pyramides. I enter and am directed upstairs where there
seems to be a short line of people waiting to talk to a clerk. There are many
pairs or small groups of geniuses standing around, ignoring customers-very
different from my home Apple store in Shadyside. I approach two men and tell
them that I am there for an atelier. As luck would have it, one of them was my
tutor, Cristophe, and he immédiatement welcomed me and took me over
to a counter with stools where the OnetoOnes take place. He was most helpful
and I learned some helpful techie words in French such as telecharger=to download, sauvegarder=to
save, etc, plus, bien sûr, some actual content regarding iPhoto!
Being deux pas from
le Louvre, I had to stop in. Probably a good day to visit, Wednesday. I
went through security a little after 1 pm, and experienced no wait whatsoever.
I stopped at the small café before entering the larger lobby where you buy your
ticket, and had a tasty ham and cheese sandwich with a coca light.
Then I was ready to hike the Louvre. I took some photos, included here, of some
art and of the crowds.
It was a lovely way to spend my first full day in Paris. Allez, merci de m’avoir
lue!
NB: Every place I lived in
Côte
d’Ivoire had running water (maybe not exactly in Soubré) and hot water! On occasion, I visited
remote villages where there was no running water and my hosts would heat up
bath water over a fire. Those stories are for another blog!
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