Ceci et cela
It’s hard to believe we’re already a quarter of the way into our second year in Paris. I find myself comparing my time in 2023 with that of 2022. Generally speaking, things this go around seem to be much easier - which one would expect, I hope! I can’t stress enough how important being able to communicate is for me to really feel a part of my community. Naturally, I still make mistakes with the language but I know I’ve made major progress this past year. I can’t pinpoint when it happened but something clicked in my brain and I feel as if I understand most of what is said. Now to lose my accent…That might be too much to ask for but I’m trying.
My next door neighbors host private concerts in their apartment every spring and autumn. I took this photo on Sunday while attending the most recent concert. My neighbor Motoko is playing the violin. She studied music in Tokyo and Paris and played for the National Symphony of Kyoto. Reiko Tsuchida is playing the piano in the photo and Jean Pascal Post is playing the clarinette. They are all incredibly accomplished and talented so it’s a real treat to get an invitation to listen to them perform.
A few weeks ago I went to Musee D’Orsay to see the Pastel exhibit and also stumbled upon the Manet/Degas exhibit. I snapped a few photos of my favorites. Enjoy!
Below is how I met our local “pompiers”. There was a fire in our building! Luckily no one was hurt AND I didn’t cause the fire. The scary thing is most buildings do not have smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. Luckily someone on the 6th floor of my building smelled smoke and called the gardienne (building concierge). Apparently, there was a small oven fire on the ground level apartment. Everyone calmly made their way to the street and waited for the all clear to re-enter the building. Very grateful it was easily and quickly kept under control.
The photographs below show a few of my neighbors. I live in the middle of a very busy city surrounded by buildings, cars, trains, bikes, people AND sheep! There is a large expanse of green lawn space in my neighborhood on Avenue Breteuil and there are three sheep occupying one segment of the lawn. I walked by one day a few weeks ago and to my surprise, I saw two little lambs!!!! They are a pure delight. Everyone who passes by stops to watch them and takes a few minutes from their busy day to slow down and enjoy nature at it’s best. City life!
Okay next I am posting the obligatory “garbage/strike” photos. You may have read about the recent strikes we’ve been experiencing in Paris, and all over France. The French like to protest and go on strikes so it was nothing new to us but these protests have been the biggest and most disruptive since we moved to Paris. I took these pictures early on when the garbage workers first decided to stop picking up the garbage. You can imagine how bad it got after three weeks of buildup - not fun and simply gross. Whether you agree or not with the protesters, you have to hand it to them that they know how to get their point across. Loud and clear. Generally speaking, all the protests were very calm and orderly. There were a few bad apples who created violence but not many. Of course the media had a heyday with them and made it seem like all of Paris was burning. Not true.
Last but not least, some cherry blossom bliss. Thanks for reading and staying tuned in. Happy spring and keep creating xoxo
