Any way you slice it... Bread (favorite things: week 4)

It was bound to happen.  I've fallen head over heels in love with French bread.  I understand their relationship with it now.

The corners of my mouth turn upward each Sunday when we say The Lord's Prayer... "Give us this day our daily bread".  

We live in the 5th Arrondissement, also known as the Latin Quarter (for all of the universities).  There are at least 12 boulangeries (bakeries) within 8 blocks of our apartment.  Including the second-place winner for best baguette in the whole city.   

They bake fresh bread all day long, and our evening serving with dinner is usually still warm.  We are getting familiar with each bakery and their specialties. We have nicknamed one establishment "butter city".  Let's just say they don't skimp!  

May your toast always land butter side up!

Pétanque (Favorite Things: Week 3)

Most Parisians call it pétanque, some call it boules, and a few refer to it as French bowling.

Whatever you call it, it is a popular game that is played throughout France.  The object of the game is similar to horseshoes, in that you score points by being closest to the target (the boot).  The balls are made of steel and weigh between 650 and 800 grams.

So why is it one of my favorite things?!?  Because during our third week in Paris Charlie and I each bought a set of pétanque balls and joined the Pétanque Club at the Garden of Luxembourg.  I had checked out the local pool (piscine) to get some exercise during the winter, and this seemed like another reasonable way to stay fit year round.  What I had not even considered, was the social aspect of the game.

After purchasing the equipment we were promptly given a lesson by the club coach, Nordin.  In spite of our warning about our French skills, he gave us the full lesson in French, accentuated with lots of gestures.   The first half of the lesson he kept exclaiming "Oo la la", but we progressed to a "voila" by the end.

Just one hour later we were approached by another couple and asked to play a couple of games.  And that has been the case each time we go to the park with our boules.  We have met players from France, America, Tahiti, and China.  Our language skills and our accuracy are improving each week.  And we've met some very interesting people.  What a bonus!

Get in the game of life -- it is not a spectator sport!

Auteuil Horse Track

Wine, Weather, and Winning (favorite things; week 2)
I had read about the Auteuil Horse Track in Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.  It captured his attention ---and now mine.  The weather certainly helped matters.  It was in the mid 70's on October 18th when we walked in the gate with our picnic lunch.  The first thing I noticed was the course.  In addition to the shear size, it is much different than anything I'd seen.  The horses run on grass (instead of dirt) and must complete obstacles (jumps over hedges and water hazards).  We saw just how dangerous it is firsthand.  On the fifth race there was an injured horse that was taken off the course in a horse ambulance (probably not an official term).  The following race a horse finished the course without his jockey.  Once we figured out the system we braved the betting windows and plunked down our euros.  My money was always on horse #12, regardless of his stats. It paid off in the final race.  My 4 euro bet netted me 32 euros. Enough to pay for my bets, my wine, and our admission.  I skipped all the way to the metro station.  

Favorite Things (week 1)

The flea market at Porte de Vanves.
There are many flea markets scattered around Paris.  But this one holds a special place in my heart as it was my first opportunity to practice my butchered French on real citizens during my 2012 visit.  I quickly learned "combien" (how much?) and basic haggling skills.  Today the market has definitely been discovered by Americans and most vendors speak English, as well as many of the shoppers.  But the thrill of the hunt is the same.
This week I bought buttons, jewelry, old keys, and some pottery.  We also learned the hard way that when you see something you want -- buy it.  A dealer had two sets of pétanque balls (a popular game played at many parks, including Luxembourg Garden).  He was asking 30 euros each (about $40).  We initially passed on them.  Rethinking it, we came back an hour later to find both sets sold.  C'est la vie!

Parisian Buttons

Getting Here

Most people that learn I am living in Paris for a year immediately say, "You are so lucky!" I am blessed.  No denying that.  But four years ago I felt more cursed than blessed.  We had just found out that my husband had stage 4 cancer.  He was just 52, and I was 46.  Our sons were in high school.  Our rug was not swept out from us, it was yanked -- hard.  Six months later he succumbed to the disease and we began the painful process of reshaping our lives without him.

A year later I started dating a Francophile. I had always loved images of France and dreamed of going there one day.  While we were dating Charlie took his 16th trip to France and I lived it through our FaceTime chats.  He proposed several months later and, no surprise, we honeymooned in Paris for three weeks.  That was my first taste; my appetizer.  

I wanted to see more of the country, the food, the fashion, the flea markets, the art, the ......  everything!   

Thankfully, I married a man that had the same idea.  He had lived in Paris previously for a year, and desperately wanted to again.  While we were dating he was living in Seattle, teaching classes on traveling to France, writing about France, and showing his photos of France at local bookstores -- in hopes of converting other Francophiles until he could see Her again.  

In June my youngest son graduated from high school, after being an exchange student in Grasse, France for a year.  And by then our plans were in place.  We decided we would have a different version of empty nest syndrome.  We would fly the coop!  

So on 14 September, 2014 we arrived in France.  We spent the first two weeks traveling around the countryside and settled in Paris one week ago.  Our home for the next 52 weeks.  

I created this blog to share some of my favorite things each week.  I welcome your comments and feedback and hope that France will move up on your bucket list.

Au revoir,

Mary