Settling In -- Over Jet Lag (Sat Oct 18- Sun Oct 19)

The weekend -- our first of 12 weekends here.  A combination of settling in, and starting to do the sort of things we had in mind while we were here.

Saturday we'd made plans for our first meetup.  Eight years ago, Meetup was just starting out as a website where people could create events, mostly casual and improvisational.  We were lucky back then to connect with Andy Coyne, an American here with his family on a long stay.  He was effectively "Mr. Meetup", the ultimate networker and purely for the sake of connecting people.  We went to a bunch of his events, and then shortly after we left, he and his family moved on.  His efforts have spawned dozens of groups in this city now.  Everything from conversational groups, to group dinners, to pub crawls, to almost anything else you can imagine.

We signed up for one that involved pedaling around Paris on a 16 person party bike, while drinking wine.  Sounded like just the sort of thing to do on a day with glorious weather.  The group was meeting in an area of the city we hadn't been to before, so we planned to arrive a couple hours early, look around, and have a nice lunch.  We found a bargain restaurant, Au Roi du Cafe, with huge portions and good prices.  Afterwards, the bike ride...

I should mention that earlier in the day, Emmy demonstrated what I've believed would be one of her most important roles on this trip.  We’d taken her to the (very) nearby park and shortly after we arrived, another couple showed up with their 2 Jack Russell terriers.  The man took his dogs off their leash, which we took as a cue to do the same, and the dogs frolicked for 20 minutes.  We talked a little with the couple in French, and as we were saying our goodbyes, the wife told Maxine that there were a number of dog owners who meet every evening so the dogs could have some fun together.  So, that, along with Friday night when Emmy's friendliness led to a conversation with a student at the takeout place, proves my point.  Every conversation with a Parisian, in a non commercial setting, has been a result of our dog.  She's doing her part to help us feel welcome here!

Sunday was something of a day for old memories.  After a late start, we took the train over to the Blvd. Raspail farmer's market.  Sunday it's a "bio" market, but from my perspective, eh...  It was one of the nearest markets to the apartment we rented on our last trip to Paris, and I wanted to go back.  It led us on a walk towards our old apartment.  Maxine stopped at Pierre Herme for macarons (she thought they were the best last time), which we ate in the square at St. Sulpice church.  St. Sulpice is memorable for 2 reasons.  First, it's around the corner from the apartment we rented last trip and thus very familiar.  Second, there's a big scene from the start of Da Vinci Code set there.

We wandered our way towards the Seine, reveling in the glorious weather (possibly a little too warm!) and ended up in front of the Louvre Museum.  From there a short walk through the Tuileries Gardens and the metro home.

At the Metro station we actually completed the last of our settling in errands.  Unlimited use passes for the bus/train system are a real bargain.  A month of use costs about the same as 2 tanks of gas for the car at home.  And it gives you the flexibility to just hop a bus or train to get anywhere.  So, Maxine had theorized that the attendant at this stop, so near the Louvre, probably got lots of English speakers and would be sympathetic to our language struggles as we bought the cards.  He was!  He let us stumble along in French for a few minutes, but when we ran out of vocabulary, he switched to English.  We thanked him, and he in turn complimented our French. 

Tonight Maxine and I went separate ways.  Me to my second meetup, a Philosophy discussion and dinner.  Her, to a quieter evening with Emmy and dinner in a cafe.  Both worked well.  I participated in a discussion on the topic, "Does technology deepen our experience of life" and she got to meet more French people via Emmy.  That couple's advice from yesterday held -- there were several people exercising their dogs at the avenue Foch park and Emmy got to join in.

Bedtime at midnight as we're trying to keep a schedule more suited to this city!