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Bonjour June 2005
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April 2006



Our lady, Notre-Dame de Paris
Photo (c) Jim Leavy
Bonjour from deep in the heart of Paris
June 2005

Hello all, here it is finally, my premiere epistle from Paris. Jim, Chablis and Maggie and I have been here for just more than two months now, just long enough to stop feeling like tourists and start feeling like Parisians. The city is so beautiful, even more than we had imagined as far as culture, everyday learning experiences, and fascinating people.

Taste it, touch it, feel it, smell it are rules of journalism I learned in classes at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Fla., and those traits certainly fit here in the City of Light!

MEMORABLE SITES AND SIGHTINGS SO FAR: The Paris Marathon—seeing the leaders, including the first woman to cross the finish line; the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night; hearing Amy Tan read at the Village Voice bookstore; even better- Azar Nafish’s compelling story of researching and writing Reading Lolita in Tehran, again at the Village Voice; the gigantic posters of French journalist Florence Aubenas and her guide Hussein Hanoun, held hostage in Iraq since January; the beautiful site of Notre Dame Cathedral every morning as I walk my dog Chablis (a French poodle and goodwill ambassador) along the Seine.

SOME THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MAJESTIC PARIS: Afternoon coffee or tea at the little Louis Philipe brasserie across the Seine River, the quietness of the Seine quai (pronounced “kay”) that it’s on, the Ile Saint Louis island, dinner salons where people really talk about ideas and subjects, friendliness of the American/international community, great public transportation, love of dogs, markets with all kinds of incredibly fresh vegetables, street music everywhere--opera, Dixieland, reggae, classical, Venus lit up at night in the halls of the Louvre.

SOME THINGS I MISS: Ice-cubes, crushed, in all their wonderful forms and shapes-not easily available here, my female sisters and dear friends, warm weather (it’s warm now, sometimes hot, and then a blast of cold air blows through the narrow streets), ease in communicating, some English-speaking TV (all we can watch is international CNN), easily going to a movie-we did see Star Wars and Sahara in their version original form (that means English with French subtitles). A good cinema thing—French people are quiet, and I mean quiet, in the theaters, no eating, cell phones, yapping—love it.

INFO BEGINS AT HOME: Don’t miss Phil Gailey’s editorial in the May 8 St. Petersburg Times about his spring-time visit to Paris. Phil zeroed in on the home cooking (compared it to great down-home southern cuisine), helpfulness of the people, the beauty of the city. Do yourself a favor, visit the Times web site and read it. Then do yourself another favor and book a trip to Paris ( I know a great little hotel around the corner, Hotel Esmeralda, complete with views of Seine and Notre Dame that rents for 95 euros a night for two with private bath, 65 euros for a single). Our tiny apartment only has a shower so I might check in one night just to luxuriate in a long bubble bath!

HEAVY WEEKEND: I crossed the Seine in front of Notre Dame on a recent Saturday to visit “Du Refuge Au Piege—Les Juifs Dans Le Marais.” The moving exhibit focuses on the Jewish community in the Saint-Gervais quarter Marais (4th arrondissement) prior to deportation and after the concentration and extermination camps closed and so pitifully few came home to Paris. The exhibit is part of the 60th anniversary of the return of the deportees. Returning Jews were housed in the Hotel Lutetia, still a popular left-bank hotel for celebrities visiting Paris. Words can’t convey how the photos, and the actual yellow star, moved me and so many others in the packed gallery, a salon of the beautiful l’Hotel de Ville (Paris city hall). A boulangerie in the neighborhood is used in the poster about the exhibit (on display through Aug. 2), ironically fitting since the huge La Fete du Pain was going on in the plaza right outside, an event where bakers from across Europe come to share their rolling, dusting and bread baking skills.

SWEET SPOT: The exhibit isn’t far from what has become a favorite spot so far in Paris, the pedestrian rue des Barres, voted one of the ten most charming “pockets” of Paris. Chez Julien is there. We are saving it for a special occasion. According to the American Women’s Group Paris new Bistro Chez Moi cookbook, Steve Martin and Kevin Kline were there not long ago shooting
The Pink Panther, Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron shot a scene from American in Paris there, and Accidental Tourist with William Hurt was shot there. The street winds its way up past a garden, a monastery, nunnery, it’s just beautiful. It’s just out of the bustle and big-city hustle of Paris’ tourist sites.

LIVING WITH BELLS: Living just around the Rive Gauche corner from popular, packed Notre Dame means crowds, but also music for much of our days, and some nights. We arrived the weekend the Pope died and bells tolled and tolled and tolled. We were here for the new Pope announcement, and bells rang and rang and rang, and they ring on the hour, half-hour, quarter-hour. They do sound beautiful, and are sometimes accompanied by Gregorian chants.

SOME FAVORITE SITES: The Seine in the early morning, the statue of St. Genevieve as she welcomes and protects the Seine not far from my home. Luxembourg Gardens - a short walk away and absolute paradise with children playing with little boats in the pond, comfortable chairs to soak up sunshine, chess and boule (a European form of lawn bowling) games, perfect tulips, pansies and other flowers that look almost artificial, the Marais-so ethnic with all the Jewish bakeries, delis, temples, dating back more than 100 years. At least the Nazis didn’t destroy the buildings, but it’s sad to see so many Jews were deported and murdered, the deportation site was right behind Notre Dame, now the site of a memorial.

TOO MANY SAD SIGHTINGS: Poverty, the poor, female, male, young, old, on the streets begging for food, a few Euros. Apparently stipends are available from the government but there’s still so much begging. One sight I will never forget: A woman was sitting on a street amongst her blankets and few possessions. A woman was talking to her. As the prosperous-looking woman walked away, I told her this was so sad. She agreed that it was and then proceeded to tell me the woman was begging in front of one of Paris’ most famous chocolate shops, right there in front of the little green and orange marzipan fruits and chocolates shaped like little rabbits.

BACK TO THE FUTURE AND CONTROVERSY: On May 28, I went to a “Peace Bridge” event for French American Women sponsored by the Federation Des Femmes Pour La Paix. The event was originally scheduled for the American Church here in Paris, a non-denominational protestant church (the oldest in Europe) that serves as the Franco-American center. At the last minute the event was changed to a venue in Bercy, an interesting area of Paris where old wine warehouses have been turned into shops and cafes and there are modern apartments, offices, and conference centers. It turns out the group is part of the Unification Church, headed by Rev. Moon, also the owner of the right-wing Washington Times. Not one to miss out on anything, I went, observed multi-media presentations about these sisterhood events that have gone on between Korean and Japanese women, Jewish and German women, and others. I paired-up with a French woman and we exchanged little gifts and information. It turns out she joined the Unification Church when she was 18 but told me, as did others, the group wasn’t limited to women from that faith.

THE GREAT SOUTHWEST: We adventured out of Paris in late May for 3 nights and four days in Southwest France, " la France Profonde." Susan and Jim Pendergraft of Largo, Fla, their enchanting little daughter Savanna, and their French friends Roland and Verone picked us up at the Toulouse train station after Susan and family flew over from a few days in London. Our train ride from Paris on the TGV bullet train (left home at 5:00 for a 6am departure) was so scenic - vineyards, little villages, plus we had croissants beurre (that's butter to you) on the train. After leaving Toulouse we drove three hours to a medieval village near Sarlat, stopping to climb the hills to the village and to ooh and ahhh over Beynac (incredible village on the Dordogne River where part of the movie Chocolate was filmed). There are overlooks on the super-windy roads. We pulled over to look at one of the many castles and a man said to me, "Just like the Great Smokey Mountains isn't it?". Well, the crisp green air, smells of ripe earth and flowers, and rivers do remind me of North Carolina this time of year.

Our little B&B -La Branchat- was actually a chambre d'hote-room in a home. We had a great room with a terrace and private bath. We drove to Rocamadour where Susan, Savanna and I will never forget seeing the Black Madonna and child in the cathedral. Rocamadour is built on a cliffside-look it up on the Internet-it's amazing. We drove to little villages, visited a great Museum of Prehistoric Archeology (right up the alley for Susan and Jim, fossil specialists and dealers), had great country picnics, visited the great little city of Sarlat (old home week for Jim and me as we had stayed there on our Rick Steves trip two years ago). We topped it all off with an organic dinner on a farm. I had little fish that looked like Sardines-very good, a vegetable (legumes they call them here) clafouti, and the others ate the local quack quack-the duck. The scenery on the farm was incredible.

SPEAK UP: Jim and I are immersed in French lessons, four days a week for two hours in the morning, no English spoken, at Alliance Francaise. Our classmates include women from Iran, Bosnia, Georgia (Russia), Colorado, one other guy from Korea, and more women from Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. While many people in Paris speak English, others don’t and it helps to communicate in the native language!

AMERICAN WOMEN’S GROUP PARIS AND YA’LL COME!: Just arriving in Paris, I joined this great group and traveled to the Chateau de Montigny-le-Gannelon in Vallee du Loir (not the Loire Valley), past Chartre and Orleans. What a great day, with a bus trip through beautiful scenery. It’s a large family home, 90 miles south of Paris, also an ancient and historic castle. It is private property and the home of one of the oldest families in France. The owner, Madame Aymar de la Motte Saint Pierre, welcomed the 60-plus of us so warmly, served an incredible catered lunch in her elegant drawing room, and said she loved Americans because the American allies saved her family during World War II. She also lamented that not as many Americans are coming to France now.

REFERENDUM AFTERMATH: Pros and cons continue to vibrate about the French soundly voting “no” on the European Union referendum. One positive affect for us now - the dollar has gained strength on the Euro - now trading in the 1.22 to 1.23 range. Another good reason to visit France.

ANTI-AMERICANISM, NON! The French people we have met have been helpful, friendly, welcoming. And this week we are going to hear the author of Why French Women Don’t Get Fat.

The pastries, bread, coffee, much of the cuisine ranks as excellent!

In my next issue: restaurants, cafes, bistros, and some resources to help you enjoy your visit to France! Also tips on how you can live like a European in St. Petersburg, Fla., and other U.S. home ports of call.

Au revoir for now!

Pamela
Copyright (c) 2005-7 Pamela Griner Leavy, unless otherwise noted. Pgl_paris@yahoo.com
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