The Settling

It has taken a few days, but we are now settling in nicely. We live about a half block from the Bastille statue.  It's fun to see it shining like a beacon when we walk out the front door in the morning.  Yesterday we saw House of Gucci at one of the several movie theaters in the neighborhood and then ventured over to the small Christmas Market on Place Bastille.  We had some vin chaud and talked about the movie, which we both enjoyed a lot.  We saw Santa there as well.  He was ringing a bell and walking about randomly.

It rained a lot yesterday so my shoes were quite soaked when I met Mari Homme at the movie theater, but, like a U.S. Mail Carrier, I'm determined to walk the streets of Paris in any/all types of weather.  As long as some vin chaud is waiting for me at the end of the day, I'll be fine.

I started the day with a much needed haircut. That went fine though there were language issues. There was no rain in the morning so I walked a good long way, over to Les Halles, down to the Louvre, across the Seine, back to the Bastille.  It was fun to see a classroom of little kids strolling through the Plaza of the Louvre like they owned the place, with their little backpacks and clip boards, ready for the field trip of destiny.  Field trip to the Louvre!  What a wild world. 

I found a pleasant cafe in the afternoon where I had cafe creme and wrote in my notebook.  Even though the terrace said no smoking, when the afternoon rain appeared, some people came in to the cafe and they started smoking. No one seemed to care a fig about it.  Except me.  Maybe if I had better language skills I would have staged an intervention, but I'm trying to bridge cultural divides, not stir up trouble.

A fine Monday here in the 11th arrondissement.