Taillevent News

I think I mentioned this last year, but it is just so quintessential Paris. The way the whole city empties out in the summer, particularly in August. A little bit of history on the whole vacation thing here in France...up until the 1930's or so, France was very divided as far as classes went. There were the rich, who either didn't work much or certainly didn't in the summer. And then there were the lower class who were simply lucky to get even a single day off (see 'Down and Out in Paris and London', George Orwell). Then in the 1930's with the Socialists in power, the 40 hour work week and 2 weeks paid vacation a year were bestowed upon the people. Flash forward 70 years later, and we have the 35 hour work week, and count 'em, 5, yes dear Americans, 5 weeks of paid vacation a year. And that's just to start. I have friends here that due to their loyalty to one company, they are rewarded with two months of paid vacation a year. Viva La France!
So, all French people take at least three of those weeks in summer. Some in July, but truth be told, most in August. August has always been the traditional vacation month, but so that Paris isn't a veritable ghost town, there are some people that hightail it out of here in the month of July. Having said that, when I do my daily walk to the park I do indeed almost feel that I am in a ghost town. Okay, the supermarket chains in my neighbourhood are of course all open. And nothing ever closes on the Champs d'Elysée or along the Tuileries. But when I walk to the park, I pass one store with the 'grille' down after another, indicating that they are indeed closed. There is usually a note taped in the window marking the dates. There is a coffee shop by my house that says in the window 'Nous sommes tellement loin' (We are so far away), and then jubilantly 'SEX, SEA, SUN' in english no less.
Our little of family of four on the other hand, are taking our vacation in September. My first trip home to the U.S. in two years, and I have a 7 hour flight to look forward to with two 7 month olds! I promise I will get advice on how to download photos again, so I can at least impress everyone with shots of the Big Apple.

This may sound crazy, but I actually forgot that I have a blog. Just plum forgot about it. For like three weeks. I once heard the expression 'mommy brain' to describe this certain affliction. As far as I understand, it's when your brain turns to an oozing, uncomprehending mess while you try to coap with the day to day functioning with your kids.
So, to recharge, our now family of four headed to the beach for the day. Sun, Seine, and Sand. You see, our beach was right here in Paris. I think I mentioned this place last year, but it really is fabulous. And now that we are actually having summer weather this time around, it's even better. And it showed - it was packed. The city of Paris blocks off a good chunk along the Seine, hauls in a HUGE amount of sand, and voila! instant beach. In addition, there are lounge chairs, bars, cafés, pétanque, painting for the kids, storytelling, lending libraries, a pool, sprinklers, cops on rollerblades, and any assortment of street performers. It's where all the Parisians who stay in Paris go.

As I mentioned before, I am unashamedly a big fan of the big European sports. And not so much for American sports (basketball being the one and big exception...and okay, I kind of like hockey too). Of course soccer is the mack-daddy of sports here in Europe (and most of the world except for the good old U.S. of A.). The World Cup, as its name signifies, is the greatest competition in the sport. Not far behind at all, is the Euro Cup. Both the World Cup and Euro Cup are held every four years, but are staggered by two years, thus giving the soccer junkie a fix every two years. I still remember when they changed the Olympics to hold the winter sports and the summer sports two years apart as well. What genius!!
So this year was 2008 Euro Cup, held in Austria and Switzerland. It was explained to me by a couple of frenchies why the Euro Cup is almost as exciting as the World Cup. ALERT - this may offend some die hard soccer fans of certain countries. Okay here goes....Apparently, the best teams in the world are all in Europe, with the sole exceptions of Brazil and Argentina. So this still makes for a pretty exciting competition, as well as giving people the (in my mind), illusion, that whatever team wins the Euro Cup is the one that will battle it out with Argentina and Brazil down the road.
Unfortunately, France disappeared pretty early on from the competition this Cup. But things were pretty exciting in any event. The team most talked about was definitely Russia (are they part of Europe???!!). They, to put it simply, played amazingly well. In addition, the average age of their players is something like 20, so the buzz is that with the added benefit of a few more years on the field, this team is going to be unstoppable.
In the end, the final came down to Spain and Germany. Germany was considered to be the team to play with its head (why are the Germans always stereotyped as being the 'logical' ones?!) and Spain with its heart. I don't know about Germany, but it had been 44 years since Spain won a championship - and it was in the Euro Cup. They have never won a World Cup. Now I can attest to the passions of the Spanish people. I happened to be in Spain three years ago when Madrid was petitioning for the 2012 Olympics...My God!
In any event, their passions paid off in this Euro Cup. This past Sunday, the Spanish led their country to glory, 1-0 against the Germans. So in two years should we be expecting Spain in the finals of the World Cup????....to be continued in two years.

Okay, I just had to say a few things about Bretagne - or the Brittany region of France. Well, to be more exact I'd like to mention all the yummy things to eat there. As for the region itself - like most regions within France - its inhabitants exhibit a fierce local pride. This is one of the things I love about France - each region is so different from the others, and they love to accentuate that difference. Like Bretagne, many even have their own dialect. As the name of the region here suggests, there is a strong link to much that is Celtic. They even share the same King Arthur and Merlin legends as Great Britain. And nearby to Quiberon there is a display of stones that seem to be quite remniscent of Stonehenge.
As for the physical layout, Brittany offers a beautiful, natural rugged landscape. It is situated in northwest France, and is bordered on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean. I will go out on a limb and say it is less touristy that Normandy, so offers a little more of the real deal.
Due to the fact that it is indeed surrounded by so much water, seafood is a big thing. I think I had steamed mussels everyday. This isn't hard especially when there are so many sauces. The most popular is white wine and garlic, although curry sauce, and roquefort aren't too far behind. Needless to say a big bowl of french fries completes the meal. And the ubiquitous french crêpe comes from....you guessed it, Brittany. I should however mention that a galette comes with a savoury filling (like cheese or ham), and a crêpe comes with something sweet. We had a crêpe drenched in a salty caramel sauce that was out of this world. I had the same thing at a crêperie here in Paris the other night, and I can say that it really wasn't the same thing at all.
As for quenching your thirst, cider is the drink of choice in Britanny. Which is perfect, because it goes so well with mussels. No wine is made in the area, but Bretagne often adopts the Muscadet wines to the immediate south as their own.
Now my all time favorite treat is kouign amann. Such a mouthful for something which simply means 'buttered cake' in the Breton dialect. Now kouign amann is one of those things that varies completely in quality. Having a bad one is not even worth it when there are some out there that can just transport you. Luckily, there is a Breton restaurant here in Paris that has one of the best kouign amann I've ever had - Chez Michel by the Gare du Nord. When we were in Quiberon, the first thing we did was ask the concierge who made the best kouign amann in town. We went there three times in one week. The cake itself has a very simple taste - butter and sugar. But sometimes simple is so good.

Well I FINALLY had my vacation. You know the one, the one that was my due after hubby left me alone - with two month old twins for almost two full weeks. I think the guilt of that heinous act, coupled with the fact that I had stopped speaking in coherent sentences led him to offer me a week in spectacular Quiberon. Now why is Quiberon spectacular? Because it is home to the first modern spa created in France, and people like me can enjoy about five hours a day of spa treatments for six days straight. Ooooooh la la!!!
Quiberon is located in Britanny (about seven hours drive from Paris, counting two stops to feed two hungry babies). Britanny itself is home to breathtaking nature, and even more breathtaking gastronomical accomplishments - or simply, yummy things to eat. But more about the region next week...for now it's all about the thalasso experience. The world thalasso means 'sea' in Greek, and thalasso therapy is the phrase given to spa treatments that are based upon the use of sea water. So other than my massage sessions, all the treatments I enjoyed in some way used the sea water from the Atlantic Ocean - which was right outside the windows of the spa. These treatments ran the gamut from re-education for new moms in a sea water pool, to getting a massage while three shower heads bathe you in warm sea water at the same time (sheer heaven). As I mentioned, this particular spa is touted as the first modern spa - founded by some guy who won the Tour de France a couple of times a while back. The spa was completely renovated a year or two ago though, so it's showcase to everything new and modern.
Although I had an average of five treatments a day, I alternately was able to enjoy the huge swimming pool, sauna, steam room, or just lie out on the deck chairs overlooking the ocean (in my big fluffy robe of course). Most people take one cure or another for a full week, so you see the same people every day wandering around in their robes, with their schedule in their hands (kind of like the first day of school, but not quite). The best part of the whole thing though, was that hubby came along to watch the kids for the half day, everyday I spent at the spa. I chuckled to myself about this many times at the beginning of the week. But I have to say that he did very well. Even if he basically just pushed the stroller back and forth along the ocean view for five hours every day.
So after six glorious days, we strapped the boys in the car and headed back to Paris. And now that I'm back to the grind, I can tell you that I definitely miss my little piece of spa paradise...

Sorry it's been so long since my blogging. I was actually really busy preparing my trip to the Cannes Film Festival. Just kidding! Actually, I've started getting pretty organized with the twins here, so I should be back on track with the blogging. I'm starting to get more involved with getting out, and hope to even have a couple of afternoons to myself each week - but more about that next time.
My preoccupation at the moment is the Cannes Film Festival. Every night I HAVE to tune into Canal Plus' interviews and coverage of the day. It's a ritual that began last year, and I quickly picked it up again this year. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the festival is akin to a week of constant Oscars hype. What a frenzy! Not that I've ever been down south for the party, but I can imagine. And everyone that attends only confirms my belief.
This year is the 61st Cannes Film Festival. I remember last year seeing photos of when the festival first started out. There was like no one - by that I mean, almost no paparazzi, nor crazy fans. Boy, times have changed. The highlight for me though this year is the apparent girth of Angelina Jolie's mid-section. And she still has three months to go!!! Yes!!! Before I saw photos of her I was grumbling to myself that she was probably going to have one of those tiny little skinny celebrity bumps. But lo and behold she is making twin moms everywhere proud by sporting an exemplary tummy (and let me just say again, she has three months to go). Although Erik kind of ruined it for me by claiming that stars can get a combined cesarean section/tummy tuck, therefore eliminating a second surgery, and immediately achieving a pre-twin body. In any event, I know the REAL showcase at the festival are indeed the films themselves.

I have a very valid reason for not writing for awhile. No, it's not because I have newborn twins. It's because I now have cable TV and internet hook up!!! Well, just kidding, the reason I haven't written is indeed due to these two beautiful boys. But the whole hook up thing is great. I wish we'd done it sooner, it would have made my home rest during pregnancy a lot more enjoyable. Now I'm lucky if I manage to catch half of Larry King Live with my morning coffee (okay, he comes on at 11am here, but I don't even have time to brew a cup of java until then). But anyhoo.
The whole connection thing here in France is pretty good though. There are a number of different services, so things are pretty competitive. For about 30 euros a month, you get a digital hook up for your TV with about a hundred channels, internet hook up, and unlimited free calls from your fixed phone line to any fixed line in Europe and (gasp) the United States. Not a bad deal. Of course Erik took the one provider that does NOT include unlimited calls to the U.S. (is it just me, or do you think that was intentional?). But that's okay, because my cell phone provider DOES include international calls.
The down side of all this technology is that my level of french is probably going down the tubes. I'm on english websites, and my top favorite TV channels include CNN and a handful of movie channels that play movies in VO or version orginale (i.e. english). So I now know more than almost everyone in the world regarding the Spitzer sex scandal, and the latest exchange between Hillary and Barack. And the movie channels are great. No latest blockbusters here. I've been watching (well, not really, but I occasionally catch a glimpse of these movies) 'Cabaret', '2001 A Space Odyssey', Three Days of the Condor', and 'The Sting' just to name a few. And since it'll probably be years before I can watch a movie in its entirety, it's probably a good thing that I've seen all these movies before. This way I can enjoy fragments of a film here and there. Of course I still tune into TF1 when Harry Roselmack is presenting the news.

With two bundles of joy having just arrived, my mom hopped on a flight to spend a few weeks and lend a helping hand. At the moment we're still in our teensy weensy apartment (for four people now!), which is even too small to have Grandma on the couch. So we were lucky to find a studio apartment to rent for a few weeks which was walking distance from our place. Not expensive, and with the dollar being what it is, mom saved a bundle from what she would have paid in hotel bills. We found the apartment on Craigs List. Yeah, Craigs List in Paris. It's a great thing. Mostly ex-pats use it, which amounts to a lot of stuff for sale from people moving back to the states. But the apartment was a good find, so I recommend giving Craigs List a look if you're planning on coming to Paris and don't want to stay in a hotel.

In additon, mom was overwhelmed at how helpful Parisians were during her stay. Which made me think of the blog I wrote awhile back on figuring out how polite or nice Parisians are or aren't. She didn't seem to have a single unfriendly encounter. Maybe with the weak dollar, the locals are just happy to actually see some tourists??!!

In any event, being a little busy myself on the homefront, I often sent her out with lists of things to get. After nabbing an employee in the local supermarket, she was always gladly escorted to where all and any items were located. But I think the highlight of her trip was an excursion to the post office. She had a card to mail - and I vehemently warned her to stay far, far away from the post office. Erik would be happy to swing by and mail the letter by using one of the self serve computers. You see, oddly enough, the post office in France doubles as a bank. Weird huh? So in addition to the plethora of gentlefolk waiting to pick up packages, post packages, and just generally attend to their postal needs - you have people performing time consuming monetary transactions. Whenever I pass the post office right before it opens, I notice the line (an orderly line even!) that has already formed outside its closed doors. That's how bad it is.

With my mom having some time on her hands, she decided to give it a go. So after standing in a loooonnngg line, she finally made it up to the single window that was open. After an attentive study of the weight of the card, the clerk finally demanded the sum involved and proceeded to whisk the letter away. But my mom just wanted a stamp, she didn't want the letter posted there and then. Alas, for some complicated French bureaucratic reason, the clerk could not sell a stamp without posting the letter immediately. So what did she do? She left her stand, and proceeded to escort my mom to the self serve computers, where she then instructed my mother on all things relevant to buying a stamp in France. Never mind the thirty people waiting in line, and that this kind woman was the only clerk on duty. But things got even better! The change machine did not render the correct change. So the clerk then entered a discussion with another employee defending my mom's right to her 10 cents or whatever amount the machine short changed her. All this time, the thirty people in line did not bat an eyelash. In the end, my mom got her stamp, the correct change and left the post office with the belief that the French are a kind and gentle people. Who knew?

Well, as I'm typing this, I'm enjoying my first REALLY big glass of wine in a long time (well, in nine months). I am finally (twin pregancies can feel really long, especially at the end) the proud maman of french twin boys, Romain and Théo. This of course explains the fact why I haven't blogged for a bit, and will explain why I probably won't blog that often in the next few weeks either. But the boys are happy, healthy, and mom is glad to get back to her vino.
All in all, I should just mention the whole medical experience over here...for those of you who have seen Michael Moore's 'Sicko', everything in the documentary regarding the French system is indeed true (eat your heart out anti-global coverage conservatives). In other words, unless I visited my doctor at his private practice (rather than during his hospital hours), I always paid absolutely nada. Nothing for all my visits, tests, prescriptions, monthly sonograms, and finally the birth itself. Okay, I did opt for a private room (taking pity on any potential roommates because I would have twins in the room with me), and paid out of pocket for that (not much). Then I had a midwife come to my house a couple of weeks later for help (check on my recovery, check on the babies, offer suggestions) - free. As she was leaving I asked how many visits from her I was allowed, and she said as many as I would like. Now isn't that nice!
My mother in law had open heart surgery a couple of years ago. She didn't pay anything for the operation, but did pay about 10 euros a day for the month long hospital stay, meals and physical therapy she had daily in the hospital. A fair deal in my mind. On a side note, in a Viva La France moment, she was able to enjoy coffee and cheese with her meals everyday (after major heart surgery!!).
Okay, yes, the french pay more taxes. Life is full of compromises. But what peace of mind to know that no test, no procedure will be denied. I heard recently on CNN that the World Health Organization named France as the country with the best healthcare system in the world. Now I'm never leaving.

Imagine George Bush divorcing his wife Laura. Then a couple of months later he meets Sheryl Crow. And three months after that he marries Ms. Crow in a small ceremony at the White House. How cool would that be to have Sheryl Crow as the new first lady of the United States?! Well, basically, change a few names, and that is what has happened here in France.

Last weekend, in a private ceremony at the Elysée, French president Nicolas Sarkozy married ex-model turned guitar strumming pop singer Carla Bruni. This is the third marriage for the president elect, and the first for the Italian born Ms. Bruni, or new Mrs. Sarkozy. To begin with, the divorce of Mr. Sarkozy and his wife Cecilia didn't come as much of a surprise to the french people. Actually, it wasn't a very good year romantically for french presidential candidates in general. A couple of days after losing the general election, the Socialist party candidate Ségolène Royale announced that she had 'asked her husband François to leave their home...and he accepted'.

But immediately after winning the election, Cecilia Sarkozy seemed to almost disappear. In any event, the couple were known for having a rocky relationship. The former Mrs. Sarkozy was however quoted as saying that the french people elected Nicolas Sarkozy as president, not the couple of Nicolas and Cecilia, so where was the need to be ever present? Divorce quickly followed, and in December Mr. Sarkozy was photographed at what appeared to be a family outing with Carla Bruni and her son from a previous relationship at Disneyland outside of Paris. Then she accompanied him on a trip to Egypt. Things were starting to look serious. About a month ago, on the cover of the Journal du Dimanche, the headlines ran 'Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni to Wed'. It just so happens that a major press conference had already been planned for the following day (to answer questions pertaining to political issues). The second question of the day was, 'Mr. President, are you planning on marrying Carla Bruni?' After a pause, the president thanked everyone there for actually waiting until the SECOND question to demand what was on everyone's mind (I have to admit, I do enjoy his sense of humour). He replied that yes, the relationship was serious, and then he assured the press that they would find out about the nuptials after the fact. And he was indeed correct.

But all in all, the major event has not caused nearly the brouhaha it would have in the U.S. And we are all eagerly awaiting the new Mrs. Sarkozy's soon to be released third musical disc.

...And now for something completely different. If you're in Paris, and simply tired of hearing everyone speak french - how about a little Italian opera for a change of pace? A few weeks back we were invited to dinner by some friends of ours. We were given the address of a restaurant, and instructions to arrive promptly at 8pm 'after which we would no longer be able to enter' (very crytpic, but as it turns out, also false...). The restaurant as it turned out, was situated on the Quai Hôtel de Ville, and was called Bel Canto.
There are three Bel Canto restaurants in Paris. And yes, there is Italian opera at all three. The waiters and waitresses are all trained at the world famous Paris Conservatoire. This is something above and beyond your waiter approaching the table with tiramisu, and singing 'happy birthday' in Italian. At the Hotel de Ville location there are two floors - with a piano on the first. Periodically the staff will break out into tunes ranging from Puccini, Verdi and Mozart. There is a very hush hush atmosphere. If you leave to use the ladies or mens room, expect to wait by the reception area until the present number is finished. Our hostess who had invited us to dinner that night was in a particularly giddy mood, something that was clearly not appreciated by the surrounding diners. I kind of got the impression that I was in fact, at the opera.
We ended up at the Neuilly location in much the same manner. Our friend again invited us to dinner, only giving the address and time. As we neared our destination, I turned to my husband and said, 'We're going to the other Bel Canto.' I knew this simply because our friend had been to one of the two Bel Cantos about 5 times in the past two weeks (she's not one to do things by half measures). The restaurant in Neuilly is housed in a former mansion and is much more open - in regards to both the space and the people (I didn't feel like I was committing a cardinal crime if I whispered something during a song). At both locations the singing really was spectacular, and they have about 100 waiters and waitresses that work between the three restaurants, which definitely encourages a different experience each time.
The menu is 72 euros for a three course menu. The menu offered different options at each restaurant, but the wine list was the same - and extremely overpriced at that. The wines are mostly Italian, with a vertical of Sassicaia - and at both restaurants I did indeed see Sassicaia on a lot of tables. We settled for Château Montrose - I know, life is hard.

Although most people in the world of food and wine are aware of the sudden passing of Mr. Jean-Claude Vrinat, I do feel the need to write a few words. I only knew Mr. Vrinat for a little over a year, but of course his reputation preceded him. Even in New York, or maybe especially in New York, the restaurant Taillevent is very well known and highly considered. When I started working with the Group Taillevent, and Mr. Vrinat, I quickly discovered why. First and foremost, the man was tireless. He was at the restaurant probably every single day it was open, personally there to greet his guests - for lunch and dinner. He really and truly cared about the dining experience. Taillevent is the longest running restaurant with three stars Michelin, and it is easy to see why (don't worry, that third star is coming back real soon). And every aspect of the restaurant was lovingly looked over by himself. The restaurant is closed on weekends, so on Saturdays he would head over to the wine boutique and greet his guests there. All aspects of the business are closed on Sundays, or I'm sure we would have found him doing something on that day too!

When Mr. Vrinat took over the company from his father, one could say he had his hands full running a three star Michelin restaurant. But he wasn't content to stop there. He opened another restaurant, L'Angle du Faubourg that is truly a dining experience completely apart from Taillevent. The world famous Les Caves Taillevent opened to offer both the professionalism of the Taillevent team along with an amazing wine selection. Japan was also won over - six boutiques, or wine stores in Tokyo, as well as exportation to the country. Another aspect of Taillevent , cadeaux des affaires offers wine related gifts at the corporate level. And last but not least, my home away from home, Les Caves Taillevent at Printemps department store was opened over a year ago.

When I settled in at Taillevent, I sent an email to my former boss in Bordeaux. Jean Michel Cazes, proprieter of Chateau Lynch-Bages is himself an icon in the wine business. I gave an update of my whereabouts. I think Mr. Cazes' reply says it all. He said, 'I'm glad to hear you are with Jean-Claude Vrinat. You're in good hands.' Mr. Vrinat will be greatly missed.

First day of the new year, and everyone is already getting a running start on their new year's resolutions - right??! In France, I would hazard to bet that a big one this year would be to quit smoking. Way behind the U.S. and a little bit behind Ireland and Italy, France is putting into effect its new non smoking laws. Although the new law inhibiting smoking inside any public places (restaurants and cafés) was technically passed February of 2007, the law did not go into effect until eleven months later. And although the law is indeed in effect today, the first of January, it won't start being actually enforced until tomorrow the second (holidays are sacred here, no one is going to be out and about checking metro tickets or making sure people aren't smoking in cafés).

Of course this is a horrible thing for all the smokers of France, and a moment of rejoicing for all the non-smokers. The law was put in place to help protect the 5000 people that die every year from second hand smoke in France. 5000! I mean, I have enough bad habits of my own to worry about, let alone the damage being done to my lungs by other people's smoking. In addition to the innocent 5000, active smokers to the tune of 66,000 a year die because of their smoking habit. So the law is of course in place to also help encourage these people that hey, maybe now is a good time to quit smoking. I had a colleague at work that insisted when his 40th birthday came up in a few months, he would quit smoking. He figured now was a good time because he was hitting a landmark birthday, and also because the smoking laws were about to change radically. And my pack a day friend did indeed quit cold turkey on his birthday, and hasn't looked back since. Another way France tries to discourage smoking is through the cost of cigarettes. A pack of cigarettes cost on average 5 euros 30, and a whopping 80% of that is taxes. This ranks France as one of the most expensive seller of cigarettes in the European Community.

And proprieters need not fear for their revenues. Business in bars or restaurants have increased by 7% in Ireland, 11% in Scotland and 13% in Italy since similiar laws have been passed. Basically a whole new group of clientele has begun to frequent places that they wouldn't enter before. This I can understand. We have a great café on our corner, but I haven't even gone in for the past year due to the thick haze of smoke permeating the place. I'm looking forward to now enjoying a coffee or lunch there. Of course, I am curious as to how the staff is going to handle the new laws as they seem to chainsmoke through their entire shift. Nobody said this would be easy on everyone...

I have lived in a few big cities - New York, Los Angeles and now Paris, so homeless people on the street is something that I see quite often. Paris has been really cold the last couple of weeks (below freezing or a couple of degrees above), so the homeless problem has garnered a fair amount of attention. In France the homeless are called SDF, sans domicile fixe, or without a fixed home. Every city I've lived in has been different in regards to the homeless. New York always seemed pretty bad. I remember as a kid going to catch the train at Penn Station and there being scores of people just sleeping everywhere on the floor inside. When Guiliani took office, in a very macabre fashion, the city's homeless almost seemed to disappear overnight (no one talks about that during the Republican debates, why is that?).

Los Angeles is 'home' to 86,000 homeless, the same amount that is listed for the whole country of France. Having said that, I don't know if it's the kicked back lifestyle of L.A., or the weather, but I definitely think the L.A. homeless have it better than those in New York. I lived in Santa Monica, and there were many that lived along the cliffs, and in the park by my house. Soup kitchens would come to them, in that food stations were often set up in said locations to offer food, and it's true that weather conditions weren't too bad. Not that being homeless in even the best of situations is something that is okay.

In Paris, many homeless live in tents. Last year they camped out along the Canal St. Martin, so there was a long line of red tents as far as the eye could see. This is where they stayed all winter. For months there were periodic media blurbs of local merchants complaining that business was down because of the homeless presence. But all in all, things were quiet. This year, I guess in a bold move to garner more public attention and/or support, they set up along the Seine by Notre Dame Cathedral. Now when I heard this (I think it was on a Thursday), I KNEW this was not going to go over well. That very weekend, police swept in and broke up the whole tent community (with one protester ending up in the Seine River). I don't know where they've relocated. The additional problem this year is the intense cold. In an attempt to help matters, police are trying to escort many people to shelters on particularly cold nights. The city of Calais just opened a huge center to accomodate their homeless during this unusually cold winter.

As with most social and political issues, Parisians are very vocal about this hot topic. The brilliant organization Fondation l'Abbé Pierre is at the forefront of helping the cause. In addition, any political scandal can help the cause as well. In the middle of all this present concern for the homeless, the Minister of Housing was just found out to be living in a huge luxurious apartment in Paris, and paying peanuts for it, courtesy of the French Republic. In addition, homelessness is a problem that seems to touch people's own hearts and fears. A survey done recently showed that an extraordinary amount of French people fear that they could find themselves homeless one day. On top of that, there is the problem of a huge housing shortage in Paris, and although not homeless, there are a large number of entire families living in a single hotel room (and we're not talking Hotel Ibis here).

Compared to a country like the U.S., France has a smaller problem of homelessness. France receives a lot of criticism though due to the fact that it is a country with great social services - certainly better than the U.S.' Hopefully they'll be able to be put to better use to help address this age old problem.

Even though there is no Thanksgiving here in France, Christmas preparations actually begin around the same time as in the U.S. - around the third week or so of November. This is my second Christmas here, and I don't mean to complain, but it kind of feels....boring. I don't know for sure, but I think it has something to do with the meal. It's weird, because the Thanksgiving meal is more or less always the same. So if you hit the stores in mid November you'll see lots of pumpkin, apples, cranberries and turkeys. No big surprise there, and in a way it's very comforting. This November in Paris, the stores rolled out their usual Christmas food preparations - huge displays of boxed chocolates (the last thing a pregnant woman needs to have constantly confronting her), and foie gras right next to big bright bottles of Sauternes. Unfortunately the chocolate display is REALLY, really big, and right by the cash register. It takes a lot of effort on my part to pretend it's not there every time I go to the store now. In planning our Christmas menu for this year, it looks a lot like last years' - foie gras, smoked salmon, chocolate log, etc...Maybe I'm just being a party pooper because of my temporary dietary restrictions - no charcuterie, no raw or cured fish. But it's true that the French Christmas dinner is indeed pretty much always the same. Starters of foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon and of course Sauternes are a must. The main course seems a little more open to debate, but goose is apparently a big winner (bringing me thoughts of Tiny Tim), and dessert is absolutely, positively a bûche noel, or some sort of log like cake.

I read recently that France consumes 90% of the world wide production of foie gras. That is to say, almost the entire production in the whole world. Yikes. And the funny part is, most of it isn't even produced here in France - but in Hungary. Which I guess makes sense because one could think of some very nice recipes accompanying foie gras with that other great Hungarian product, Tokaji.

The other day I went to my local supermarket to buy several items. I rounded the corner expecting to see my usual huge refrigerated display of Lebanese goodies, including about 6 different varieties of hummus. All gone. In its place was an entire refrigerated section of foie gras. When I asked where my hummus had gotten to, I was told that they simply don't offer hummus during the holidays. Of course not, what could I have been thinking.

So the stores are well stocked with the usual savory items. This year however there is a lot of talk concerning the price of said foods. Food items in general seem to have gone up a lot in price recently - all types of cereals and milk products in particular. But now in addition, the typical French Christmas foods seem to have suffered the same fate. Maybe there'll be a strike because of it!!!!?

Okay, I have an excuse. I'm on maternity leave, so therefore have a fair amount of free time on my hands. It could be worse - one woman told me she got hooked on the trash talk shows (a la Jerry Springer) while she was home waiting for the blessed event. But yes, I admit it, I do try to catch my daily fix of Star Academy. Erik and I have actually had a couple of heated discussions over the whole thing 'You should be studying french, studying ANYTHING rather than watching this garbage, blah blah blah'. I try to explain that in fact, I am learning lots of french. Lots of slang, and hip insults that these young twenty somethings zing at eachother (not to mention some of those insults spoken by those nasty professors). Now I just try to push him out of the house so I can watch Maureen, Quentin and the others in peace.

The funny thing is, I've never seen an episode of American Idol in my life. I would always shake my head when my co-workers would discuss with such fervor how so-and-so got booted from the show the night before. I mean the following of this thing!! And it does indeed exist here in France as well. Actually, there are count 'em, three music reality shows here - Nouvelle Idol, Popstars, and my personal favorite, Star Academy (actually it's the only one I've ever seen). Now the beauty of Star Academy lies in the fact that it is a perfect blend of MTV's 'Real World', and 'American Idol'. Every day (well, six days a week), we get an hour of daily life at the chateau, full of confessionals, arguements, rehearsing, etc...Each day the same program is broadcast THREE different times, just to make sure that there is an hour you can squeeze into your busy schedule. This has actually worked out great for me, because if I'm not home in the early evening, I don't need to panic. I know I can catch the re-broadcast the following morning. Then, on Friday nights, we have the big 2 1/2 hour extravaganza. And I mean extravaganza. We get the crew singing solo, but also with top acts such as Madonna, Celine Dion, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and of course the Elvis Presley of France, Johnny Hallyday. All the contestants get judged, and at the end of the evening, one of three 'nominees' of the week get booted. Last week I was a little tired and went around for two days thinking that Antoine and not Claudia had been kicked off the show. That was a rude discovery.

And if you still need to see more of the Star Academy team, don't worry, each weekly publication of Public and Closer (think Us and People, but far, far worse) will provide exactly what you're looking for. If they're not somewhere on the cover (that would be very surprising indeed if they weren't), there'll definitely be some fascinating articles inside. And if you wouldn't be caught dead buying such trash, the newspaper of Paris 'Le Parisien' (the equivalency of the Daily News) has frequent articles and upadates too.

Luckily for the moment I am fine with just the television broadcasts. And I've yet to SMS my vote to 'save' one of the three nominees of the week. So I'm not that bad, right???!

Okay, we all have the image in our head of the snooty Parisian. Often they are accused of looking down their noses at our attempts to speak our meagre french, while they respond in flawless english. Or they simply walk away when you are trying to say something (I remember trying to order a drink in a bar once, just to have the bartender shrug his shoulders and walk away. The nerve!!!). But I often wonder if Parisians are more or less polite than their Amercian city counterparts. I am clarifying by saying 'Parisians' and not 'French'. Even amongst the French, Parisians often have a bad reputation. And when I lived in Bordeaux I was told that the Bordelais were just behind the Parisians in their level of snobbery. So clearly even the French are aware of this.

How Parisians are polite - in many ways they are indeed very polite. I still have to remind myself when I walk into the waiting room of a doctor's office to wish everyone already sitting there a 'Bonjour'. I find that one hilarious for some reason. Still today I find myself forgetfully plopping down in a chair, only to have the next patient dutifully calling out a greeting when they arrive. I mentally hit myself for forgetting my social graces yet again. This is the minimum politeness when addressing a roomful of strangers. Forget about it when it's a room of acquaintances or friends. This requires a complete tour around the room giving the 'bis' or bisoux (cheek kisses) to everyone. Last Saturday I went to a party where I knew about 6 people there, but still had to go around and kiss 20 people. Children learn this at a very early age. One of the cutest sights in my mind, is a small child saying 'bonsoir' in a tiny voice, and then kissing both your cheeks. In addition, every time you address ANYONE in ANY capacity, you need to preface it with a 'Bonjour' or 'Bonsoir'. And you will be taken to task if you omit this simple salutation. Of course there is also the simple manifestation of politeness used in every day language. The use of the polite or formal 'vous' form, and the more familiar 'tu' form when addressing someone immediately sets a tone. This has changed though, and sometimes you will hear strangers addressing the other in the 'tu' form (this often occurs when there insults involved though). Furthermore, I hear stories all the time about how extremely helpful Parisians have been to down and out, completely lost and confused tourists. Really. When I was talking to tourists a good deal at Printemps, I can't tell you how many times I heard 'We love Paris, everyone is SO NICE!'.

How Parisians are not polite. Actually, this list is quite small. My number one gripe, and it really, really gets to me, is how people will just knock right into you on the street or subway. It seems that everyone is expecting you (yes, you!) to move aside. It is really weird. When I met a fellow American that has been living here for several years, David Lebovitz (check out his awesome blog www.davidlebovitz.com), we spent a good a half hour commiserating on this ugly fact about Parisians. So it's not just me. And the subway is really bad. Those getting on a train never allow people to get off. The city finally had to put tape on the ground to indicate where you should stand on the platform if you are waiting to board a train. And my line, the 13, had to hire people to direct the flow of mounting and descending during rush hour. No really, I've never seen anything like it. New York is far more civilized in this respect (maybe it helps that the conducter often repeats a mantra of 'let them off! let them off!' at each busy stop). The other big problem Parisians have (and I do put this in the category of being impolite) is cleaning up after their dog. If you have ever been to Paris, you would be extremely surprised to know that there is indeed a law in place for such said act. I think about 1% of the population actually heeds it though. The rest prefer to have their city streets very dirty. Maybe it somehow goes along with the grayness that invades the city for a good 8 months of the year.

Strike in Paris - round 2! Here we go again, this time a week long and counting. Public transportation workers are continuing their 'social movement' as it is euphorically called here in France, in order to hold onto the benefits they already have. Luckily I am not working at the moment (I say this, because it is a virtual hell for most people to get to and from work at the moment), so I've been able to watch from the sidelines. The interesting thing is that there is SOME transportation available - albeit sporadic - which causes mass crowds and very angry people. In any event, the two appointments I did have this week required some creative routes, and a lot of patience. Watching the news everyday has been a very interesting experience. We have stories of commuters leaving their homes at 5 and 6 in the morning to ensure getting to work by 9am. Transport workers are stationed at stops to act as crowd control and prevent people from being crushed. Traffic jams and air pollution have have gone through the roof, and medics that make house calls can't get through because of the high level of traffic. This past Sunday, if you were so inclined, you could have participated in any of about 5 different protests in and around Paris. These included transportation workers, students on strike, and my favorite - a protest against the protests (if I had known about that one ahead of time, I definitely would have attended). Yes indeed, in addition to the transportation system, teachers are on strike (half the public schools are closed), students are on strike, and this week we have hospitals, the postal system, and the electric and gas companies all going on strike. Yikes! Get me back to the U.S.!

France obviously has a lot to offer other than just Paris. Some of its sites are the most visited in the world. Take Mont St. Michel for example. It is the fourth most visited Christian site – just after Jerusalem, the Vatican and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It is probably one of the most often seen images from France. Even in Paris, placemats with a photo of the graceful abbey can be found in most souvenir shops. Of course, as with most things, there is a reason behind all the attention. It is truly an awesome site.

It is located only a few hours from Paris, and for this reason, many tours just swing over for the day. Otherwise, you have the option of staying on the actual island itself (expensive, and maybe not such a good idea, because as long as you are physically on the island, you don’t have the view OF the island – n’est pas?!!), or staying in one of the many hotels that grace the coast town from which the causeway leads. This of course offers stunning views of the island and abbey, and it is only a short mile away, and a completely flat walk at that. OR, you can pop over from Saint Malo, like we did, which took about an hour and a half and was about 5 euros each way on the bus.

Five million (FIVE MILLION!!) visitors grace the tiny three acre islet every year. That’s a lot of people on such a tiny island. The island itself is situated one mile off the coast of Normandy. In medieval times when the abbey was built, the island was actually three miles from the mainland, and there was of course no causeway connecting it to civilization. Today, the island is completely surrounded by water only twice a month. Out of these five million pilgrims, only two million actually climb to the abbey every year. This fact became painfully obvious as we noticed the exact same souvenir magnet for 2 euros at mid point on the climb as opposed to a whopping 5 euros at the base. Okay, people it’s a little steep, but well worth the climb (and I’m not just talking about magnet buying here). There is only one cobblestone street that climbs in three spirals, and at a very leisurely pace, you should make it to the top in a half hour or maybe 45 minutes if you’re very leisurely. The abbey was originally built in 708, it was destroyed, and rebuilt in the 13th century. It acted as a fort during the Hundred Years War with England (a hundred years! That explains a lot of the animosity between the French and English hmmm?), and a prison under Napoleon’s reign, until it was restored in 1863. There is a daily tour in English that is included in the price of admission – if my memory serves, the tour embarks at 11:30 every morning, and of course they have those audio guides that you see everywhere these days.

It was a Sunday in early October that we visited the island, and by the time we left in mid afternoon, we had a hard time making it through the crowded cobblestone street. Apparently July would NOT be the time to visit (according to the number of jokes our guide told about the influx of tourists during said month), and I got a general impression that the local tradespeople have a definite love/hate relationship with the tourists. STILL, if you have a free day when in northern France, or Paris, it would be well worth the trip.

Just a mere two or three hours from Paris, the Normandy and Brittany coastlines of France offers a great weekend get away, or side trip from the capital. My mom coming to visit this past week was the perfect excuse to head out to this beautiful region. As we only had three days, and didn't want to hit things at a break neck speed, we decided to focus on St. Malo and Mont St. Michel. Neither of us had any interest in trying to maneouver through the peripherique of Paris, so we opted for a leisurly three hour TGV ride to St. Malo. Both towns are quite accessible by public transportation and due to the heavy influx of tourists, residents of the area are well prepared to direct you in the right direction if you stray from your path.

We decided to base ourselves in St. Malo as I had heard that it was an extremely charming village surrounded by a fortified stone wall (intra-murals). In addition, it is a little less expensive than Mont St. Michel and you don't run into five tourists with every step you take.

The train station at St. Malo is located a little bit out of the town, so you need to take a bus. Again, these are plentiful and pretty easy to figure out. I swear the woman working the bus stand told me the bus was free into town, but it in fact costs one euro. Booking our hotel, I for some reason had a fair amount of trouble trying to figure out the lay of the area. It was indeed lucky that the hotel I did reserve was in fact located within the walls of the town, as this is where we spent most of our time. There are a number of sites on the web for Saint Malo, but I found the most helpful to be the official tourist board site - www.saint-malo-tourisme.com. The site is in french, but there is the option to click on both english or german languages. It lists every single hotel in the the town, with links to the hotels' own websites, something which I found to be extremely convienient.

The town itself is indeed very charming - winding cobblestone streets and the sea at the foot of the town. There are of course a lot of souvenir shops, and A LOT of sweet things to eat. I don't think I have ever seen such a concentration of sweet shops, from ice cream and waffles to the specialties of the region, caramels with beurre salé, and the rich buttery cake kouign aman. For those of you who don't live on sweets, there are also a large number of creperies, plus as much fresh seafood as you want.

The highlight of our stay in Saint Malo was the early evening we spent on the beach. As I mentioned, the fabulous Mont St. Michel is not too far away from Saint Malo. And as everyone knows, Mont St. Michel is famous for its tides - the tides turn the beautiful cathedral into its own island. I never however, thought of St. Malo in the same capacity. So it was with free heart that my mother and I crossed a stone walkway leading from the beach to a small island a hundred meters or so off the shore. The water was peacefully lapping against the walkway. We did a quick tour of the very small island (I swear we were there 10 minutes), and when we arrived back at the walkway, it was.....GONE! Yep. In the mere 10 minutes we were strolling around, the tide had come in and covered the walkway by about a meter. The few people that were on the island with us hurriedly discarded their shoes and rolled up their pants. We quickly followed suit. Luckily the water wasn't that cold (I am talking about the Atlantic Ocean in October), nor the waves too rough. But I did get soaked up to mid thigh, and got to wade across while about 30 spectators on the shore of the mainland just stood and watched. In any event, it certainly made for an interesting trip.