That Figures

Me: Hey! I'm really feeling better today!

Stéph: That's good, 'cause now I'm sick.

Dammit!

Happy Halloween!

Here is an interesting article about Halloween in France - it's way more recent than you think. It also may explain why we don't have a jack o' lantern, candy at the door, or plans to get dressed up today. Maybe next year...

A Beautiful Day for a Walk

This afternoon we drove about 10 minutes out of Troyes to the Parc de Loisors in the village of Menoir.



It was a lovely afternoon, and you can see more pics at the photoblog.

Also, something extraordinary happened this morning. A few weeks ago, we went to Stéph's insurance agency to add me to his insurance. Not long after, we received a request for my birth certificate, which I happened to have (I still had two, actually, as I ordered three before I left the states), and we sent if off immediately. So this morning we got a mail from the insurance company. It was my birth certificate, with a note saying that they figured this was an original so they made a copy and sent it back in case I needed it for something else in the future. Will wonders never cease?

Bork Bork Bork!

You are the the Swedish Chef.
You are a talented individual, nobody understands
you. Perhaps it's because you talk funny.

FAVORITE EXPRESSION:
"Brk! Brk! Brk!"
HOBBIES:
Kokin' der yummee-yummers

FAVORITE MOVIE:
"Wild Strawberries...and Creme"

LAST BOOK READ:
"Der Swedish Chef Kokin' Bokin'"

QUOTE:
"Vergoofin der flicke stoobin mit der brk-brk
yubetcha!"


What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yeah, I know this isn't a proper post, sorry about that. I've been feeling pretty woozy all day, and it's taken everything in my power not to go back to bed (notwithstanding the time I actually did go back to bed). Stéph thinks it's because we haven't done much since he's been on vacation (it isn't, but he doesn't believe me) so he's taking me somewhere tomorrow afternoon. And he won't tell me where. This should be interesting....

A couple of quick notes
Dana very astutely noticed that I didn't buy any popcorn when we went to the American groceries last weekend. That's because I found some right here in Troyes! It's actually quite good, too.

Once again, I have six gmail invites I would love to give away. Please speak up if you want one.

When did I get so Computer Savvy?

Yesterday I found myself at blogexplosion.com, which is a really cool blog exchange site. So I've been surfing around looking at other blogs, which is fun, but then I noticed they advertise blogs with banners at the top of the page. It never occured to me that I could make my own banner, so I googled "free banners" and found myself here. The most difficult thing was finding a background I liked. So now I've got a blog, a photoblog, I can do a little html, and now I can create a banner. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Oh, wanna see my banner? Go to blogexplosion.com, silly! (There's also a link in the sidebar.)

Sorry, not That New York

It didn't take me long to understand that there are subtle differences in what information is required when applying for a job/insurance/bank account/library card. I am always asked, without fail, for my maiden name (which is nice, I think), my marital status, my DOB, and my place of birth.

I happened to be born in New York. Everyone here who learns this automatically assumes I mean New York City. The truth is I was born on Long Island and have only been to the city twice in my life, but to correct them...... eh, just not worth it. Actually I have fond memories of visiting the city and am happy to chat about it.

It came up again last week when we went to the bank to add me to Steph's bank account (we decided getting my own account here wouldn't be worth the hassle/cost). Our bank dude was super chatty and lit right up when I told him where I was born (I don't give the town, just the state; I figure it's good enough for my passport, it's good enough for the bank dude). He was very excited to tell us about the last time he went to NYC, which must have been awhile ago since he mentioned Windows on the World, but I smiled and nodded as well as I could (this also happened to be the first day I was sick so I was just trying to hang on at that point anyway).

I have to say I'm quite entertained by the reactions, and they don't bother me one bit. If it opens an opportunity for conversation, I'm all for it. It's just like everyone back in states who kept saying I was moving to Paris - not exactly right, but close enough and not worth interrupting the flow of conversation to correct.

It's a Nice Place to Visit....

.... no really! Paris is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Well, let me tell you what we got up to this weekend.

We arrived at the home of Stéph's friend Y and his girlfriend S in Nanterre, a suburb just northeast of Paris, around 1:30. I'm happy to report that we only got slightly lost, but it was lovely to see the Arc de Triomphe again, even though we hadn't meant to. After lunch, they suggested going into the city, since they are literally 50 steps away from an RER station (subway that connects to the metro), and wondered if we had an idea of something to see.

Well, not too long ago, I was puttering around online and found a couple of American groceries in Paris. Knowing that eventually we'd be going there for one reason or another, I jotted down the addresses. Stéph suggested this, and our hosts were game for a little scavenger hunt.

After a little map hunting, we were on our way. Our first stop was in the 4th arrondissement*, where we nearly lost our hosts on rue de Rivoli. That street was absolutely insane. I've only ever seen a throng of people that large that could stop traffic before in New York City. As we walked, Stéph and I played "Name That Accent", which is where you try to determine the nationality of the english speaker walking behind/beside/in front of you. Finally we arrived at Thanksgiving, on rue Saint Paul. Walking in the shop definitely had the "kid in the candy store" affect on me.

After I picked out a few items, S suggested we go to the other store, which was quite a shock as it had taken quite a while to find this one, and I told her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted that she didn't mind. So, off we went to the 7th arrondissement*, where we found The Real McCoy. I couldn't find a website for this place, but they did give me a little flyer and I'm happy to give them a little shout out since they were so nice and they truly had a great selection of stuff:



So I know you're wondering, what the heck did she buy? Well, I'm happy to show you:



I'm embarrassed to tell you how much we paid for that stuff, so I'll just say it was easily twice what you would pay at your local grocery. The root beer was more for Stéph than it was for me, and he had one ready to drink as we left The Real McCoy. He invited Y and S to try it, and they all agreed that it smelled like Vick's Vapor Rub. Eh?

On our way back to Nanterre, we happened to walk by this Paris landmark. It suddenly occurred to me that the last time I stood on this spot was 15 years ago, when I came to France with my high school choir. Damned funny the way life works out, isn't it?

We had a pleasant evening of conversation and dice games, and after breakfast and a walk around the park the next morning, we headed home. It took us easily an hour and a half to get out of Paris, which is another reason it's a nice place to visit, yadda yadda yadda. How do people not go postal on each other there? But I digress: Y and S were super gracious hosts, and I hope we can return the favor one day.

*What the heck is an arrondissement?
From the (Basic) Paris Glossary:

Arrondissement - Paris is divided up into twenty ``arrondissement'' or districts. The ``First'' is in the center of the city, and the others are laid out in a clockwise manner about this. As these are such a basic unit to the city, they are constantly referred to in guides and literature; almost always using simply their associated number (1er, or 2em etc). The Louvre is in the First, the Arc de Triomphe is in the Eighth. NB: You can determine the arrondissement of an address from its postal code. The last two digits of a Paris address give the arrondissement; 75018 is the eighteenth for example. The exception to this rule are addresses with the word ``CEDEX'' appearing in them.

So Outta Here

I'm very happy to report that I'm feeling much better. So much better, in fact, that all systems are go for going to Paris for the weekend. I'll be packing up the rest of my drugs, tissues and camera, so hopefully I'll be adding more pictures next week.

Y'all have a good weekend!

TV Much Improved By Medication

Back in the states, being sick meant going to two places: the pharmacy for over the counter drugs and the grocery for soup/hot tea/comfort food. Then I would bliss out in front of the tv for the remainder of my illness, as there is no better way to recover from a cold than watching Sesame Street on a NyQuil high.

Alas, this comfort is now gone, as NyQuil is not available here, and we don't have satellite tv. But I made do as well as I could. Flipping through seven channels (well six really, since Canal+ is blocked out most of the day), I watched a very cheesy made-for-tv movie starring Megan Mullally, better known for her role on Will and Grace. Of course it was all dubbed, but I couldn't help thinking she was speaking in Karen's nasal high pitched voice.

Then came back to back episodes of Touched by an Angel, or as it's known in France, Les Anges du Bonheur. When the hell did Valerie Bertanelli join this show? And what happened to Roma Downey's face? Anyhoo, the first show featured Luther Vandross, and the second featured Angela Lansbury. Whenever the actors sing (and of course there's singing), the dubbing stops and the lyrics are subtitled. Would it have killed them to subtitle the whole show? Hm.

My favorite show right now is a quiz show called Zone rouge, or Red Zone. One person is strapped to a chair in the middle of the studio and is asked rapid-fire questions by Jean-Pierre Foucault. The trick is that your heartbeat is being monitored, and if it goes too high, you enter the "red zone" and must calm yourself or lose all your winnings. They can also be quite silly; here's a sample question from yesterday's show:

What did Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple have in common?

a) their mustaches
b) their nationality
c) their professions
d) their father

Well, I'm happy to report that I'm feeling a little better than I did yesterday. Stéph is convinced I had the flu, given the unbelievable ache in my back and hips that had me shifting around every 10 minutes. It must have been a sympathy flu for all my fellow americans back home with no flu shots.

Please Pass the NyQuil

To say that I'm as sick as a dog puts that dog in much too favorable a light. I can't remember the last time I was this sick. I've got the works: stuffy nose, sore throat, tight chest, rattling cough, small fever; you know, your basic nightmare. It's been coming on since yesterday, and since one of the kids I babysit is sick, I guess I should have seen this coming. So this morning I walked to the local pharmacie, which is only on the next block.

Now, here's the thing about going to the pharmacy in France: you must tell the pharmacist behind the counter what's troubling you, and they will choose an appropriate medicine for your ailments. For me, the good news with this is that I don't have to stand in the cold remedy isle at CVS staring at a hundred different cold medications, trying to decide which is the best for me, which is already difficult without the cotton that someone had stuffed into my head. The bad news is that I have to make sure the pharmacist understands what the hell is wrong with me.

I looked up a couple of words in the dictionary before I left:

my nose is stuffy = Je suis enchifrené
sore throat = mal a la gorge
to cough = tousser

Success! Not only did I get the goods (pills for the sore throat, pills for stuffy nose and fever, and cough syrup that, according to the pharmacist, will knock me out with only one soup spoon dose) but I was also able to carry on a small conversation (they're moving around the corner next month).

I think I'll celebrate by going back to bed.

Now With Photoblogging Goodness

Look over there on the sidebar! See the new linky?

Well clicky!

Balance

The bad news is that we have to postpone our trip to the Loire valley.

The good news is that I've found all the ingredients to make a proper grilled cheese sandwich.

So I guess that's alright.

Overruled

I was loading pics I had just taken out my window, and Stéph asked what I was doing. I explained to him my Photo Assignment. He balked at the idea of having pictures taken from the window, since I've already talked about where we live, and "there are a lot of strange people" in the world. Obviously he's unphased by the Vampire living next door and The Lurker living down the street, but presumably they don't read this blog, so I guess they're considered safe.

So, I am respecting his wishes and not posting the pics that show the half-timbered houses across the street (which easily describes 75% of the streets in Troyes, so I think I'm safe there). I will, however, with his blessing, take some similar pics later in the week and post those.

Le Monde du Jeu

So today we, along with all the other geeks in France, headed to the exhibition halls at Porte de Versaille in southern Paris, to celebrate the world of role playing games.

Now, I am not ashamed to tell you that I am indeed a geek and I do love a good role playing game. So does my husband and my sister (ha! outted you as well, sis!). During the long months when Stéph and I were seperated by the Atlantic Ocean, we'd spend many an hour playing Dark Age of Camelot. Now that my sister and I are seperated by the Atlantic Ocean, we spend many an hour playing City of Heroes. Sis has also been playing Evercrack Everquest for quite awhile now (more than three years, I think). But I think we do have in common that we do understand that it's just gaming; in other words, we don't eat, breathe and sleep this stuff.

And neither does most of the folks who attended today's (unbelieveably overcrowded - why on earth we were all crammed into teeney tiny Hall 8 I'll never know) exhibition.

And then, there's these guys:


"Arr matey, where can we find a mug o' ale and a room full of trolls?"

...who can buy one of these:



Self respect sold separately


Man, I know how much fun it is to dress up and stuff, but...

Eh, that's just me.

I'm sad to report that the day was mostly disappointing. We grabbed something to eat at a restaurant across the street from the expo center, where they clearly didn't expect 500 gamers to show up for steak and frites... I can only guess because they only had one waiter on staff and they got our orders wrong (but am able to report that the Parisien waiter was gracious about it, offering to take them back). Also, we paid 8 euros each to get in, but there wasn't really that much to see. We were both under the impression that the exibition would encompass all of the center, instead of what must have been the smallest hall on the campus. We did get to meet up with a few of the guys we know from DAoC, but it was only for a few minutes as to stand in one place too long was to invite certain death from the crushing masses. There was a photo taken, and if I can get that person to forward it to me, I'll gladly post it.

At 4:00 we left, and thanks to the glory that is the A5, were home by 5:30. Totally worth the 7.90 euros.

Ah well.... we're going back to Paris next weekend, so maybe we'll have better luck the second time around.

What Do You Think?

Well, we're about to head over to Paris for Le Monde du Jeu, but I had a question for you before I go.....

Seeing how I'm (hopefully) going to have a lot of pictures to post soon, I figure I have three options: post them all here, start a photo blog to link to, or find a free/really freakin cheap offsite photo gallery.

Those of you that have been doing this longer than me, can I please have your thoughts/suggestions/experience on this?

Mini Poll Results

Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll this week! Without further ado, here are the results:

World War II Memorial 14%
the view from my window 14%

And coming in first place with a whopping 33%:

The Lurker

Clearly you people have a death wish for me. If my blog is so bad I'd wish you'd say so, instead of sending me on a suicide mission.......

Odds & Ends & Travel Plans

• We're going to spend the day in Paris Saturday to attend a Games Exhibition. I'm very excited because this will mark the first time I'll be driving to Paris without getting on a plane to fly to the states, so it'll be a nice relaxed drive instead of a panic-stricken "I don't wanna gooooooooooooooooo" kind of feeling.

• Steph's got his first break from school in a couple of weeks, and we're going to spend a few days looking at castles in the Loire region. Yesterday we mapped out our itinarary and booked a hotel. I'm really looking forward to doing some siteseeing!

• Not an hour after we booked our hotel, we got a call from a friend of Steph's who lives in Paris. He invited us to visit next weekend. Paris twice in two weeks! As they say back home, I'm so happy I could be twins.

• I'm happy to report that the radiators have been turned on, which is a welcome change from blue toes. The only problem is that it's a little too warm now; last night I was trying to find a happy medium, because the sheet made me too warm but I was too cold without it. *sigh* Hopefully this will work itself out as it gets colder.

• The mosquitoes are back and boy are they pissed! I'm eaten up all to hell. Steph is thrilled, as they seem to prefer me to him. Current count: forehead (!!!), left forearm, right elbow, left thigh. Almost healed: left thumb (twice), left upper arm, lower back. I don't think I've been this eaten up since I lived half an hour away from Mosquito Lagoon.

• Thanks to everyone who have voted in my mini poll! Voting is open until tomorrow, so please roll on over to the sidebar and make your voice heard! Hell, make it heard two or three times for all I care!

Pop Quiz: What's Wrong With This Picture?

Um, not this picture
specifically, but.....
nevermind.

Last night we watched Ali-Baba et les quarante voleurs, or, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, circa 1954. It was a light-hearted romp, and funny in the "gee aren't old movies charmingly silly" kind of way.

The last scene featured Ali Baba riding his mule into the sunset, with his new bride running along beside him. I'm not a feminazi or anything, but this stirred something inside.....

Me: Isn't there something wrong with this picture?

Steph: Um..... he should be riding a horse instead of a mule?

Ack!

Me: Erm, no........

Steph: She should have better running shoes?

Gah!

Truth is, this conversation made me laugh so hard, I cried.

The Polls are Open!

Please look over to the sidebar and check out my Mini Poll (hurrah!). You will find 10 suggestions made by You The Reader of what you'd like me to photograph. They are entered in the order in which they were received (god how many times have I heard that phrase holding on the phone?). I had to eliminate two suggestions that were slightly repetitive due to lack of space, so I do apologize for that.

So, vote as many times as you like, and the top three entries will be photographed by Yours Truly at sometime in the near future (hopefully this weekend). Voting is open until Friday so hop to it!

Broadway Beats Bible Chuckers

I went to visit Rick's website because he made an execellent photo suggestion, and while there I found this:

Ladies Village Improvement Society - Crazy Train or Emotional Subway Attack

Very Very Very Very funny!

Voting coming shortly.......

So Long Superman

Christopher Reeve
1952 - 2004

I had a college professor who directed "Chris" Reeve in D.C., and you know when you know somebody who knows somebody you almost kind of feel like you know them? (eh?)

But the way he championed the countless others who suffered the same injury as him made him a real Super Man in my eyes. I know it's selfish, but I was really hoping to see him walk one day.

Anyway, this made me really sad this morning.

Thanks Jingle Lady

Behold, I give you the mighty refrigerator:



Kind of a let down in the end, innit?

Responses are Pouring In

I've gotten some great suggestions so far for my photography assignment. They include:

• The Lurker (Thomas clearly has a death wish for me)
• the view from my window (a lovely idea, Tracy)
• the main street in Troyes
• A plant I've never seen in the states
• my husband (submitted by my sister, who was my maid of honor and knows what he looks like)
• the most different building/street sign I see everyday
• local pedestrian shopping zone (I think Anna and I think alike - "where's the shopping?!" :P)
• a local market

These are really really great! I'll keep taking suggestions until Tuesday, and then you'll be asked to vote... the top three will be my photography assignment, to be posted here.

In related news....
I did actually get the pictures downloaded to the computer, but when I added the pic of the fridge to the site, it was ginormous. Could some really nice soul explain to me in small words how to decrease the size of the photo so I don't have to rename this page Dispatches from the Fridge?

Going to the Chapel

Congratulations are in order because my oldest friend in the world (meaning that I've known her the longest, not that she's a septuagenarian) is getting married today. Love and happy thoughts go to Carrie and Jim; today will be a fantastic celebration of their love for each other!

Party on, dudes,

And be excellent to each other!

Gone Fishin'

Yesterday we made our way to Domaine des Forges for our fishing expidition. It's about an hour away from Troyes, and is consisted of about five stocked ponds and a little river, varying in size. For about 13 euros for the afternoon, you're welcome to catch as many fish as you like. Often, Steph and his dad and brother will fish off in the wilderness, but they like to go to the stocked ponds when they are accompanied by the womenfolk (me and Maman Ute, whatever niece or sister-in-law happens to tag along). Usually whatever women come along share a ticket - thereby sharing a fishing pole - because obviously women don't have the proper skills to fill up the fishing basket (or so the thinking goes. This backfired - quite humorously in my opinion - back in April when Steph was quite put out when the three women caught more than he did.). This actually suits me fine, as it gives me the opportunity to walk around the ponds and visit with our party who always spread out over the area.

First off, let me say yesterday was damned cold. I don't think it ever got over 60 degrees, and it was damp (a winning combination). I thought I was appropriately dressed but a hat and some gloves probably would have been a good idea. Miraculously, we didn't have any rain at all, especially since when we left there were signs of a good downpour all the way home.

But I digress.

The first three ponds are stocked with trout, which the French prefer, then you've got a bigger pond filled with carp, which apparently is only staked out by the English (how they found this little fishing area in the middle of nowhere is beyond me). So for the afternoon, we circled around the first three ponds and did what we could.

I spent a lot of time mulling over the prefered catching methods of the family. This started when Steph put his first catch of the day in our basket and ran off to catch some more, leaving me sitting next to the basket which contained a fish drowning in air. Now, I am as much of a meat-eater as the next guy, but my thoughts kept going to the fish dying in the basket. I don't really think fish are sentient beings, but can you imagine the next fish getting thrown in the basket and finding his dead brother, and knowing you're doomed to the same fate? Rather like that movie The Vanishing, innit?

Then there's Phillippe, who likes to rip the fish's head off before depositing it into his bag. Or Maman Ute, who enthusiasically beat her fish against a tree until it shrugged off its mortal coil. I don't know which method produces the best karma, but it was amusing to watch, anyway.

So, the final tally for yesterday:
Phillippe: 18
Papa Alain: 7
Stephane: 6
Maman Ute: 2
Me: big whopping zero
Dammit dammit dammit

Viewer Participation Required

I was just flipping through Blogger news, and since I've been blathering on about taking photographs, I thought I'd throw this one out there. But it means you (yes you) must participate!

So, your assignment is to suggest three things for me to photograph and post. (The fridge doesn't count, that's just lazy.) I'll take a bunch of suggestions and maybe you can vote on them, say next week? Alrighty then. Let's say I'll take suggestions until Tuesday.

........and, go!

Patience, Grasshoppers

I know you're all dying to see pictures, but you'll have to cool your jets till this weekend. I did buy batteries today and even took a couple of pics, but Steph is pooped and I'm not feeling mean enough to insist he show me how his camera loads pics on the pooter. Tomorrow we're going fishing, so Saturday come hell or high water I will download these pictures.

Lurker update
As I was walking to the post office today, the Lurker was hovering on his doorstep. Even though I was across the street, I could still hear him spewing. I didn't look but as I was the only person out and about, so I'm sure his comments were directed at me. Or I'm ultra paranoid.

In any case, I wished him a good day. Well in my mind I did, anyway.

Takin' It to the Streets

I knew moving here would mean getting good use out of my good walking shoes, and to tell you the truth I haven't minded one bit. I do think that Americans get a bad rap on this score; even Steph noticed that the reason people don't walk as much in the states is that everything is so damned spread out. Unless you live in New York, Boston, Chicago or the like, you're going to be sorry if you need to go to the library, town hall, the post office and the grocery all in one go. I did this exact route today and it took me a little more than an hour.

So, are Americans lazy or victims of suburbinite culture? Discuss.


Oy vey, I'm feeling a little verklempt!

Hey Buddy Can You Spare A Battery?

So I absconded with Stéph's digital camera and as I attempted to take a picture, the batteries died. No surprise since they haven't been changed since we got back from the states, and I'm not sure if we ever changed them while we were there. Since we had just returned from the Intermarché so we could stock up the fridge (i.e. still only got enough food to last till tomorrow night and now it looks really empty) there is no chance I'm going on a battery expidition tonight, so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

So Carrie and her very very soon to be hubby Jim (tee hee heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee) have taken up my offer for the free gmail invites, and I still have four left. Get 'em while they're still lukewarm!

Hi! My Name Is...

I saw this over at blondlibrarian's website so I had to do it too:

Which Peanuts character are you?

You are Sally!
Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ooh and the fridge came; later today I hope to take some pics!

The Lurker

So there's this older guy who lives across the street and down a bit. He likes to sit on his doorstep and smoke and watch the world go by. It's a harmless enough pasttime; hell, I've even been guilty of it. Here's the thing though: whenever I walk past him on the same side of the street, he always mutters something under his breath, and I have no idea what it is. The first time I passed him, I said "Bonjour," like you do, and I got a steady stream of what I don't think was "And a good day to you, young lady, lovely day, isn't it?"

Now I wait until I pass his house to cross the road, especially if he's on the doorstep. I can still hear him muttering, and I'm very much looking forward to the day when I can understand what the hell he's muttering about.

In other news.......
The vampire had a visitor yesterday. He was wearing all black. Coincidience?


"I hate waiting."
Inigo,The Princess Bride
We're still waiting for the fridge. We didn't get a call this morning, and when we looked at the paperwork we found they had Stéph's mobile number from three years ago. Strange thing is that we don't even have a mobile now, and we gave the saleswoman our new phone number. So Stéph called them, and they said it should be delivered between 11 and noon. Everything's been taken out, the old fridge moved, the floor swept, etc.

Quite a Grown Up Purchase

Thanks to the generosity of friends and family on both sides of the pond, we were able to shop this weekend for a new refrigerator. I must explain to the Americans reading this that while our new fridge will be a lot bigger than the one we have now (think a good sized dorm fridge), it will still be half the size of yours. So for the low low price of 259 euros I won't have to hoof it down the street to the grocery every day/every other day. We ordered it from Darty who will deliver for free, take away our old one and will make house calls if it blows up. They're even going to call tomorrow morning between 8:30 and 8:45 (eek) to tell us exactly when they'll deliver, which is excellent. This will be my first photography assignment, so you can see it in all it's glory!

This weekend we were pointed in the direction of a local business looking for native english speakers by literally the fifth person, so we're going to visit them tomorrow. I'm not really keeping my hopes up on this one since my french is still equal to that of a two year old, but it can't hurt to make some contacts.

Also, I'm back up to six gmail invites. Don't be shy, you know you want one, they're here for the taking.

Bizarre Double Bill

Saturday night found us at the Cultural Center in La Chapelle St Luc (another suburb of Troyes) enjoying a couple of very good musical acts, though very very different indeed.

The first half was a little vocal jazz trio, accompanied by a guy on double bass with the obligatory beret. The girls dressed identically in black strapless tops, short black skirts and black stilettoes and moved around the stage in coordinated patterns while they sang. While their dancing left something to be desired, they sang extremely well. Jazz cords are possibly the hardest style to sing well, and they nailed it. It was mostly old french tunes sped up to a jazz beat (the guy on the double bass was amazing as well) with the occassional english tune thrown in ("Wouldn't It Be Loverley" came out of absolutely nowhere).

After a 15 minute intermission, we welcomed to the stage a Moroccan percussion group (told ya they were different!). These guys were on fire; they had us clapping and singing along and I could tell the french audience was straining in their seats. Some teenagers were standing in the back swaying around and I was doing quite a bit of chair dancing myself. The band was full of so much energy, one guy, after an inspired bit of interpretive dance, actually passed out. He was carried off by his compatriots and the beat never stopped, as if this happened all the time. It was so exciting and invigorating that it took us ages to go to sleep that night; at the bar and on the way home we kept imitiating the drum players and falling all over ourselves. But you know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

It's Always Halloween Next Door

I am now convinced that our next door neighbor is not a university student at all. No, I'm quite sure she's a vampire.

Let's consider the evidence:

• She (and her vampire friends) are always up at all hours of the night
• I never hear a peep during the day
• If I do see her at all, she's wearing black and running (to avoid the sunlight, I'm sure)

So if we disappear one weekend, I'm sure it will be because we will have been attacked coming home in the wee hours of the night, by our friendly neighborhood vampire and her vampire friends.

One Month Gone

It was quite warm today (yes, after the last couple of weeks 70°F seems very warm actually) and it was a nice afternoon to do a little site seeing. There's a museum I pass as I walk to my babysitting gig just across from the cathedral that I've had my eye on, so we strolled over to the Musee St. Loup. Formerly the Abbey to the Cathedral, it has a varied permanent collection, including stuffed animals of the region (who looked pretty pissed at being put up for display), archaeology of the region (located in the cellar; not a place I'd like to spend just before closing), and fine arts, including sculpture and paintings from the renaissance up to around the 18th century.

The temporary exhibition featured artifacts found dating to the Gallo-romanic period, that were all found in Troyes. This town was founded around 2000 years ago, and as I've mentioned before, chances are a construction team is bound to dig up something of historical importance, and if I understood the exhibit well, the items on display were found around 20 years ago near the middle of town. It some interesting stuff, and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

It's hard to believe I've been here for a month already! I'm trying very hard to be patient with myself regarding improving my french, but I think I've improved a bit. Plus it's really nice to walk through the town and marvel: "I get to live here!" Now what I'd really like to do is figure out how to use Stéph's digital camera so I can take a few pics around town and show you what I mean. So that will be my mission for October.

Thank you all for sharing this with me; not just my friends and family back home, but my fellow ex-pats and curious passers-by. Bisous for everyone!

Photobucket Drama

Just wanted to say that yes, I know my pictures have disappeared. It seems Photobucket, who hosts my pics for this site, has suffered a catastrophic loss. Luckily I only had a few picks up, which I'll work on later today to replace, but I'm sure a lot of folks are scrambling today. Best of luck to those guys.

Update
It looks like my album was saved but I think I was one of the lucky ones. I don't know how many were lost, and I hope they don't get too much grief and I would still recommend their service if you're looking for site to host your pics.