Monday, July 14, 2008

Farewell Paris.


A long time has passed since my last entry. We have left Paris.


I was excited about moving back home and we had lots of places to visit and things to do before we left; some we did, such as seeing a play at the Comédie Française, some we didn't, such as having coffee and macarons at Ladurée but there is always the next time.. and I never did get to the very top of the Eiffel Tower. We tried on various occasions but were put off by the long queues. I do miss it, though. Sometimes it would shock you by suddenly appearing, massive and elegant, as you turned a corner.


I miss the beauty of the buildings, the style of just about everything from paper carrier bags to window displays, the elegance of Parisians, the wonderful restaurants where you can have a 4 course dinner with aperitif, half a bottle of wine and coffee for 32 euros, the world-class exhibitions, the metro, the basement at BHV and also my friends.



This group of friends cheered me up, invited me on outings, took me into their homes and taught me about Paris - and they learned a little English at the same time. We laughed at cultural differences, revealed while translating newspaper articles: the number between commas, after the name of ex-Mme Sarkozy in an account of her departure for America, was taken to be her flight number to the USA as it was unimaginable that a lady's age would be divulged for public consumption.

Welcome back to Anglo-Saxon directness .....or would that be ungraciousness ?

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