Thursday, August 17, 2006

Following another recommendation, I treated myself to yet another divine cup of hot chocolate at Café Flore. It’s true. Their cocoa is very very good…the rich creamy basically melted chocolate kind. It sort of feels like you are drinking chocolate fondue so you can imagine how heavenly that is, for me at least. The only advantage to the sort of chilly rainy weather we’ve had is that I can drink my cocoa and not feel too terribly out of season. Not that that’s stopped me before but whatever.

I found the chocolatier that several people have insisted I MUST go to. Sadly it’s closed until next Thursday so I will have to go back before I leave. Then I found the Mariage Freres, teashop of all teashops, which happens to be conveniently located right near my place. Mama would love this place. I wished so much she had been with me and we could have gone upstairs for some afternoon tea. Overwhelmed by all of the options, I decided to go back there next week as well.

It has been suggested to me that I stay here in Paris for 6 months and teach English. I have pointed out that just because I speak it, doesn’t mean I can teach it! I did entertain the notion and spent last night poking around online looking for apartments and jobs. After a few hours of unsuccessful searching, I decided maybe now is not the time to make a move. It’s always a nice discovery to realize you like where you are and whom you spend your time with. I do love it here and could see myself being very happy, but I have been so spoiled in Xander’s beautiful place in his perfect neighborhood that moving here would most likely pop the dream bubble of my amazing trip. Instead, I have decided that in the next few years, I should a gig as a producer on a film that shoots in Paris. That way I could come back while filming and spend more time in my new favorite place. That plan includes a job so the being here part would automatically be easier and more feasible. It’s not a perfectly well thought out plan seeing as I don’t know where I will find this dream job or how to go about it searching for it, but this trip wasn’t perfectly planned out either and look how well it’s turned out!

Anyway, back to my day…I then decided to wander back towards Le Marais and get a better look at the neighborhood. I found lots of cool jewelry shops, clothing stores, Jewish delis and little tucked away parks. I landed in Place des Vosges and sat for some time watching other people sit and talk and play with their families. I found a chocolate shop and bought myself a 2x2” square of dark chocolate ganache that was perfectly tasty. I tried to savor it but by the time I made it back to the Seine, I was licking my fingers removing the last trace of evidence.

The weather was actually sunny for a bit so I took advantage of an open lounge chair at Paris Plage and pretended I was beachside for a few hours. I read my book and snapped pictures of passers-by. I also witnessed a drug deal that I just so happened to be taking a picture of unknowingly. As soon as I snapped the shot I look from behind my lens just in time to realize the one guy was passing off cash to the other. Then I was of course paranoid that the guy or his little posse of friends might have seen me and they probably did not want someone photographing their friendly trade. I almost left but decided it better to return to my book and pretend I had seen nothing. That technique seemed to work but I have to admit it was tempting to turn around every few minutes to see what the little group was up to.

It started to drizzle so I eventually packed up my stuff and came home. I seemed to be out of food and beverages so I dashed over to the supermarche to get some essentials. Planning to only be gone a few minutes, I left the window open. While in the store, the sky opened up and hysterically cried onto the streets of Paris. We had a major storm, complete with lightening and thunder. Although I did bring the umbrella with me, it was rather useless as a defense against the wind and rain. I slid across the street to the patisserie to get a baguette and then braved my way through inches of already collected water in the streets. I was dripping wet by the time I made it into the lobby. What I didn’t know was that I was at least drier than the apartment. It’s a very good thing I had only left for a few minutes because by the time I made it up the stairs, there was about a 3-foot radius of water under the windowsill. About an inch more and the power strip would have been submerged. So bad! I quickly closed the window and started to soak up the water as best I could. It was very exciting as I was standing there hair dripping, skirt soaked through and now floor! Xander had warned me this could happen. I guess he wasn’t kidding. I don’t know why I feel the need to test those sort of claims. It did make for a very dramatic moment. We all need a little drama now and then, right?

Twenty minutes later and I was pretty sure I had taken care of everything. I celebrated with my wine and cheese and baguette. The rain suddenly stopped and though my body was telling me I was definitely in for the night, the photographer in me had no choice. The sky had cleared a bit and the sun was starting to set. The clouds were huddling around the most gorgeous glow of light I have seen since I’ve been here. Daddy will be the first to tell you I’ll do anything for a sunset. In Italy I made him stop the car constantly and he would so sweetly and obediently pull over on the side of the road to accommodate my desire to capture just the right light.

I threw on some clothes and shoes and ran to the river. From Pont des Arts I took hundreds of pictures, trying desperately to get just the right angle and lighting and focus. It was breathtakingly beautiful and as usually is the case, I was so very glad I had removed my lazy self from the apartment to go after the shots. Suddenly revived and excited, I decided to do more walking and shooting before going home. I stayed out for another hour and a half, going through the Louvre and to the Tuileries where the Ferris wheel was all aglow and spinning. What a perfect evening it was. I couldn’t have asked for a more lovely Paris night for myself.