Olympics in France

So the Winter Olympics in Turin are all done. The Olympics are a fascinating thing. We were lucky enough to get a cable channel on NOOS that was showing Olympics 24/7 for the whole thing. They showed lots of everything, and very little commentary. I guess I didn't realize how 'dolled up' our US olympics coverage was with lots of time spent showing newscasters and interviews. And ours of course had running commentary in French, which works pretty well for sports stuff. We also saw it from a non-US point of view, meaning that the coverage didn't seek out every American performance to show, it also didn't seem to focus on catching every French performance. And pretty much zero medal ceremonies were shown.

Globalization ...and Rugby

We have an amazing amount of international flavor outside our front door. Today Sarah and I left our Paris apartment and eat lunch at a Japanese grill at Bastille. We then walk to our neighborhood Scottish pub where we watch the France vs. Italy Rugby game while sipping British beer and cider. Afterwards on the way home, we stop at the American store called 'Thanksgiving' and buy overpriced microwave popcorn. All of this is within a 10 minute walk of the apartment.

So back to the Rugby. Some of you know that I tend to make fun of American football (is it the brown oblong ball, or the one with polka dots?). Sarah and I have gotten into watching Rugby here. It's an incredibly fast paced game with these monstrous players who act like they will be fed to the lions if they lose. The ball keeps moving, none of this constant stopping every 5 seconds to 'huddle' or restart a new play. And the players don't look like the Michelin man buried under protective padding. It really makes American football look like a bunch of sissies. Harumph!

Chenonceau

Another chateau we toured. This one spans a river. In the 1500s it was a gift to Diane of Poitiers from the king of France. She was the mistress of king Henri II. This made Catherine de Medici, the queen, jealous. After the king died in a jousting accident, Catherine threw out the king's mistress, and took over Chenonceau for herself. Harumph!

Since this place was designed by women (everybody who moved in liked to add on), it has a nice comfortable feel to it. Chambord has a "I am King, hear me Roar" feel to it. Chenonceau's rooms are comfortably sized, with well placed windows looking over the river. Perhaps "I am Martha Stewart, hear me Roar"? I bet it is a knockout view in summer because it was really nice even in the dead of winter. 

Chambord

We spent the weekend in the Loire River Valley doing some chateaux hopping.

This is Francois I winter hunting palace, Chambord. As you can see from the size of people walking up to it, this place is *big*!

There is a terrace on the top floor that allows you to circle around the dozens and dozens of fireplace chimneys, it is meant to be a viewing platform for watching the hunt. The forest that surrounds it is roughly the size of central Paris. Inside there is a huge double helix staircase at the center, and oversized 'designed to intimidate you' rooms. Francois I built it, but only spent 29 nights in it. 

Place des Vosges

One of the places that's a few blocks from our house is Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris. These are some pics from it. The covered walkways extend around the inside of the square on all 4 sides, with many funky art shops (including the one with poofie fish). In the middle are nice grassy areas, which are having their winter rest (repos hivernal). The French don't put up a sign saying "Stay off the grass", they put up a sign saying "The grass is resting". With that, the reader infers that she should leave the poor tired grass alone, and sit elsewhere. Generally at any one time in the summer, about half the grass is "resting" in Place des Vosges, the other half can be used for picnics. The pic in the lower left is of one side of Place des Vosges. All 4 sides are done in the same style.

I took these this morning on our Pain Chocolat run. We've decided that the best Pain Chocolat close by is the bakery on rue St. Paul with blue trim outside. The regular Pain Choco is the best there, the supersized one just isn't as good. I started swimming again, so this morning's Pain Chocolat was guilt free (tasted even better!). 

Museum Roundup

We've visited some of the lesser known museums recently, some of them are quite good.

• Cluny - Museum of Middle Ages. Lots of different things from Middle Ages, including famous "Lady with Unicorn" set.
• Museum of Letters and Manuscripts- This place was fun. Letter from 1350, several from kings in the 1400s, letter from Catherine Medici, Albert Einstein, Mozart, Chopin, etc. etc. etc., and a special exhibit on Jules Verne. Best of all it was deserted, so Sarah and I got to toodle around in peace and quiet.
• Foundation of Henri Cartier-Bresson - photography exhibit.
• Willy Ronis - photographer of Paris in 1930-1950. Free exhibit in Hotel de Ville. Interesting people shots.
• Musee du Luxembourg- We blew this one off after we saw the line going around the block. But the exhibit we want to see will be here til March, so hopefully we'll get to see it. The Philips Collection is here from Washington, since it's home in Washington is being remodeled.
• Musee Marmottan - fantastic Monet collection donated by Monet's son when he died. Definitely recommended. We were also lucky enough to stumble on a special Camille Claudel (student/fling of Rodin) sculpture exhibit while we were there.

Homeless in Paris

Well, not really. Not homeless yet, anyway. I wanted to write about the different relationship Parisiens have with their homeless community than we seem to in Austin. I'm wondering if this is a big city vs. smaller city thing, if it's a European thing for cities of all sizes, or if it's just a Paris thing.

Parisiens will walk up to and talk to their homeless. The homeless people here stake out a regular spot. There is always the same guy with his entertaining puppet next to the grocery store, the true wino on the other side of the grocery store.

People actually approach the homeless here, in Austin we seem to work hard to not see the guy with the sign at the busy intersection. Maybe it's the pedestrian big city that brings us closer, we have no car doors that we can lock. I find myself once again challenging knee-jerk American reactions, and losing stereotypes and fears I've had since I can remember.

There are also homeless that have been homeless a long time, they choose to live that way. Two women sit on opposite sides of rue St. Antione. A woman who lives in the neighborhood said they have been there for 16 years! Every night, the Red Cross of Paris shows up on rue St. Antoine, passing out food to them.

There is a homeless guy in Place des Vosges. Place des Vosges is the oldest square in Paris, with beautiful covered walkways surrounding it. There's a square with nice fountains, and playgrounds. Sarah and I had a champagne picnic here when we first moved in. A reasonable apartment on Place des Vosges will cost over 1 million euros. But the homeless guy is camped out with mattresses under the archways, just hanging out. While it must really stink to be homeless, this guy has managed to find one of the most beautiful places in Paris to be homeless. Beats the heck out of sitting at a busy intersection of the 183 access road in Austin.

The true wino can get a bit angry sometimes, but today there was some guy waiting for the bus, sitting there talking to him. People are giving them coins, or giving them an extra pastry they purchased for petit dejeuner (breakfast).

Oh, the pic is from the Mayor's pad. The Mayor of Paris has a 10,000 sq ft apartement in City. I wanted to post another pic, and I don't have one appropriate for the post. Nice digs, Mr. Mayor.