25/Sept./03
WE HAVE ARRIVED! It's hard to believe, but here we are in Paris with two cats who are none the worse for wear. As the taxi begins to get close to our neighbourhood, we see that we have 'hit the jackpot'. Our little apartment on rue Tresor is in what was once the predominantly Jewish district and now looks very much like Scott's neighbourhood in the West Village. The streets are small and windy with shops, bakeries and galleries we can't wait to explore. Our street is a very small pedestrian cobblestone avenue with cafes and a restaurant at the end. This is like a dream and I can't believe that we will be here for the better part of three months.
For our first night out, we decide to eat at a restaurant suggested by our landlord Irv Molotsky and his wife (who by the way seem to be foodies judging by the extensive list of restaurant suggestions included in the manual that comes with the apartment). We try Baracane, 38 rue des Tournelles, 01-42-71-43-33. It's a small, cozy place where our attempts at French are quickly answered with replies in English. Our appetizers of marrow and fois gras, will make the cholesterol meter hover dangerously high; but we can't resist and both are excellent--don't scoff at the marrow until you've tried it--I can imagine some of you gagging. In any case, if the rest of Irv's suggestions are like this, we are in for some gastronomic delights.
26/Sept./03
HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD LOSE OUR CAT THE FIRST DAY???? But, she was gone when we got up this morning so we've spent our time making up posters and polling the neighborhood for Gin the cat!
The good news is that we found we could communicate and make ourselves understood, and hoped that the love the French people have for their animals will result in a happy ending to this day. Decided the best way to take our minds off things was to explore our neighbourhood as planned.
Sights worth mentioning: Place des Vosges--not only worth seeing from an architectural point of view, but the galleries, antique shops and restaurant can keep you busy for an entire day. We opted for a take out lunch from Paul pour Pain, rue de St. Antoine, near the St. Paul-St. Louis church (how could we resist with a name like that!) Two incredible baguette-like sandwiches were about 7 E. I really like my Paul's explanation of how differently the French and the American's view their sandwiches: in the US, the bread on the sandwich is like the handle or cover so you can eat the filling inside; while in France, the filling is simply a condiment for the wonderful bread on the outside. He was right, we enjoyed our two 'pains' in the little park in the middle of the Place des Vosges.
Picasso Museum--Housed in the Hotel Sale in Place de Thorigny (Hotel is simply a large, important building). This building has the distinction of having been the 17th Century home of M. de Fortenay who was the "fermier general", the choicest job in France during that time. Turns out, he was the man who controlled the distribution of salt during that time which made him both the richest and most hated man in all of France! Apart from this, the museum contains an incredible collection of Picasso's art--pieces obtained from his family after his death in lieu of inheritance tax! I preferred his early work and his sculptures and was amazed at how his art evolved over his lifetime---AND the number of women he was involved with!
We had dinner at Les Philosophes http://www.cafeine.com/philo.htm this evening, a local cafe/bistrot.
Things we learned today: When people hear us struggling with French, they are quick to speak English to us but enjoy when we ask them to 'parlez en francais'! Our French is better then we thought.
We were working hard to communicate with our waitress this morning about Gin when she gave up and switched to English - turns out she is Austalian and has only been here five months herself!
4:51:22 AM 
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