At least I think that’s how you’d translate La Figaro’s paraphrase (“de ne pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué”) of Segoline Royal’s reaction to Martine Aubrey’s declaration of victory, in the middle of what looks to become a really donneybrook between the two over the election for leadership of the Socialist Party in France. What’s happening is exactly what you’d expect — lawyers are getting involved, […]
After finishing the last post, I shared with my fellow Parisians the Sunday tradition of hunting for the few food stores open on Sunday. In my neighborhood, it’s the Monop store, which was packed, and after that I went to the bakery just down Rue Alphonse Daudet, which makes the most incredible baguettes, which they call “Tradition,” and which are usually still warm when you get them, and absolutely delicious, […]
Being a political junkie, I’ve followed the contest for the leadership of the Socialist Party in France closely. Since the summer, it’s been apparent that the party is split between a more moderate faction, who are amenable to a coalition with the center-left “MoDem” party of Francois Bayrou, and a hard left faction, who believe the party should sharpen its differences with the right. The more moderate faction is lead […]
This is what the past week or so has been like in Paris: The days have been cloudy, foggy, damp, and sometimes rainy, bordering on cold. The kind of weather that some people would call “miserable.” But I love it. There is something about the clouds and the drizzle that is embracing, enfolding, comforting; something about the cold that is cleansing and clarifying. To me it says: Be calm. Be […]
Funny-and-sad-at-the-same-time article in the Times Online today about a discussion in August between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang [Georgian Prime Minister] Saakashvili […]
On Election Night, Suzie and I attended the official U.S. Election Night party, which was held at a place called the Cineaqua near the Trocadero. Because of the time difference, the party didn’t start until 10:30 p.m., and was scheduled to go through the night, which meant that we were going to have do so something we hadn’t done in a long, long time, namely, staying up past midnight. We […]
Our internet connection was down today, and I was operating on 3 hours sleep, so the complete post of our amazing, wonderful election night in Paris (including goofy and wonderful video) will have to wait until tomorrow. But I will tell you that I was very, very proud to be an American today. I can tell you that the French view of America and Americans has changed. I can tell […]
Suzie and I decided to splurge and attend the official American Election Night soiree in Paris on Tuesday night. With the time difference, it will require us to stay up all night. Those who know me know that I’m really, really bad at that, so we’ll see how it goes. Also, if the election is close (arrrggghhhh), we may not know the winner until after the party is over.
I went to the Franprix just down the block this afternoon to get a few groceries. I had a problem buying apples. Most grocery stores in France require you to weigh fruit or vegetables that are sold by the kilo at a electronic scale, which then spits out an adhesive price tag that you stick on the outside of the plastic bag holding the fruits or vegetables. To get the […]
On Saturday, Suzie and I, craving the outdoors, took the Metro to the Bois de Vincennes, the huge mostly natural park on the east side of Paris. It was an absolutely glorious fall day: Cool but not too, a blue sky with a few puffy white clouds, a warm but weakening sun. The trees here are in the middle of turning color and losing their leaves, which made the walk […]