Giving Thanks in Paris

I learned this week (from a New York Times op-ed) that the first religious pilgrims to settle in the New World were actually French, not English. (According to the article, the French Calvinists arrived in Florida about 50 years sooner than the Pligrims landed at Plymouth.)

Whether we were remembering the English or the French settlers, we of course celebrated Thanksgiving. Nick and Monica hosted about 20 of us for dinner, after everyone's classes were over for the day.

I brought a green bean casserole to contribute (most people brought a dish), after finally tracking down the ingredients at an American grocery store in Paris, called The Real McCoy. I was completely blown away as I walked in -- it'd been a long time since I'd seen so much junk food in one place! :) Most items are kept behind the counter, so you have to ask a clerk to take down the things on your list. (I half-suspect that this is done to delay the sticker-shock, as the markups are absolutely atrocious. Sometimes, though, the prices are worth it: you really can't have a green-bean casserole without a can of fried onions!)


Last night, we finally made our first visit to the Louvre since we've been in Paris. We were there specifically to hear one of Matt's friends -- an Art History student -- present a painting. She and her classmates had selected favorite works of art currenly displayed in the museum, and were offering late-night gallery talks to help people understand and appreciate the works. After we heard Gaby's presentation, we spent time exploring other parts of the museum. We left the museum after 10 p.m., then wandered home on a beautiful, cold Paris evening.

The Inevitable Post About Amazing French Healthcare

I suppose everyone knew this subject would crop up sometime on the blog: so far, the French health care system seems utterly fantastic.

Matt and I were each required, as part of our residence permit applications, to join the national health plan -- at an annual premium of less than 200 euros. For that, we qualify for 100% reimbursement of doctor's visit costs and most prescriptions (like in the US, certain brand-name drugs aren't fully covered).

We have been completely amazed by the difference from the experiences we've had in the US. In the first place, it's easier to get an appointment: Matt called on a Wednesday to schedule his physical -- and got an appointment on Friday afternoon! And even more important, the visits simply feel less rushed and more patient-centered.

When I had an appointment, I was welcomed into a waiting room furnished with beautiful oriental rugs and velvet-covered furniture (and all the magazines were current!). The doctor called me into her office after less than ten minutes, but still apologized profusely for the "exceptionally long" wait. We went into her even-more-beautifully-decorated office, where she took my history and vital signs herself. After she had collected all the basic information, she took me into a small examining room and covered the table with an actual cloth sheet (instead of that roll of crinkly paper). The physical exam took less than five minutes, and we returned to the doctor's office to finish up the visit. The doctor herself made the necessary notes in my chart, answered all my questions, and then handed over the bill -- which came to less than 70 euros, including lab fees. As soon as I mail a copy of the receipt to the insurance company, I'll be reimbursed (within two weeks) by direct deposit into my bank account -- so much simpler than in the US.


Today, Matt and I attended a "baby party" for our friends Nick and Monica, whose first baby will be born next month. (Nick is my classmate both here and back home -- we were in the same 1L section. Monica, his wife, is finishing her dissertation here in Paris.) We all chipped in for a couple of small gifts (they're trying not to accumulate too much stuff, since it all has to be shipped home in a few months).

About 15 of my classmates were there, as well as a dog named Kiwi. As you might have heard, Paris is pretty dog-friendly: they're welcome in nearly all restaurants and most grocery stores. But they are never welcome in parks: Parisians are terrible about cleaning up after their animals (even after several years' strict enforcement of the 'poop-scoop' laws) and green space is at a premium. Violate the rule, and you can expect a quick ticket!

We're looking forward to this holiday week, as we're gathering with a big group at Nick and Monica's house for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner (after we finish our regular day of classes, of course). We miss everyone, and hope you have a safe trip (if you're travelling) and a wonderful celebration.

A Quiet Weekend at Home

We had originally intended to go back to Versailles yesterday, to tour the Palace and the Stables (last time we were there, we spent all our time wandering through the truly enormous gardens). After a series of minor, schedule-delaying events, we ultimately scrapped our plans and just spent a quiet day around our neighborhood.

That evening, we went for dinner at a restaurant that's become one of our favorites, just because it makes us laugh: Buffalo Grill. Any guilt we might have felt about avoiding the more "French" choices is assuaged by the fact that we have an absolutely fantastic time whenever we're there, laughing at the music (what was being played on country radio two years ago) and decor (every "Western-theme" stereotype you can think of) while enjoying the view (over one of Paris' better-known plazas, Republique) and the food (the steaks, burgers, and ribs are all pretty credible).

Today was a really lovely fall day in Paris -- the near-constant drizzle broke, it was only pleasantly cool, and there was just enough of a breeze to twirl the falling leaves prettily in the air.

We started our day by attending church at the American Church in Paris, as we've been doing for the past several weeks. ACP is an interdenominational Christian fellowship, with a mainly-but-not-exclusively Anglophone congregation. By sticking around for the coffee hour after the service, we're starting to recognize some faces and develop a few friendships. We're also trying to take an active role in some of the church activities -- I'm joining the knitting circle, and we're both going to help with bake for next week's Christmas bazaar. (I can't believe the holidays -- and exams! -- are coming so quickly!)

After church, we wandered down to another Paris institution: the Shakespeare & Co. bookshop. The shop was opened in 1951 by George Whitman, an American serviceman who stayed in France after World War II was concluded. The tiny and perpetually-crowded ground floor is filled with an amazing collection of used and new English-language books. Upstairs, you can find the shopowner's original collection of books from 1951: not for sale, but free for you to sit and peruse for as long as you like. Nestled among the shelves and stacks of books are a few beds: apparently, young writers are invited to come to Paris and exchange part-time work in the bookshop for a free place to stay. We came home with several more books to fill our "spare" time (read: the last few minutes before sleeping), each of them proudly bearing a Shakespeare & Co. stamp on the title page.

A Visit to History

Yesterday marked 90 years since World War I was ended by the signing of an armistice treaty near the town of Compiegne, France. By train, it's less than an hour from Paris -- so, last Saturday, Matt and I decided to check it out.

We planned our trip based on a recent article in the New York Times' Travel section; unfortunately, the article turned out to have been rather misleading about the distances between "things to see." Even so, we were able to see not only the Armistice Clearing, but also the Chateau de Compiegne.

The Chateau, which is located in the middle of town, is more like a large palace than a true "castle." We were the only two people with tickets for the 'public tour', so we ended up with an extended private visit to the apartments of the King and Queen. (The Chateau doesn't allow photographs, so I've used a few from their website. If you'd like to see more, the link is http://www.musee-chateau-compiegne.fr/.)

One of our favorite rooms was the Emperor's Library, displayed as it would have been furnished for Napoleon. Napoleon kept himself incredibly busy and did not like to waste time -- so, he ordered that the libraries in each of the palaces he frequented be arranged in the same way, so that he did not lose time looking for the particular book he wanted.

Our guide told us that Napoleon was so obsessed with using time efficiently that he would not even attend the dinner parties he hosted -- instead, he'd wait until everyone was seated and the main course was being served, then walk to the dining room, fill his plate and make a few minutes' conversation with the guests, and then return to his desk to have a working dinner. We also saw his bathtub, custom-fitted with a desk surface: although Napoleon's excema was treated with four daily soaks, he found a way to make even his bathtime productive!


During Napoleon's reign, this room was used as a grand ballroom. During the Second Empire (under Napoleon III), the room was converted into a massive dining room capable of seating 100 dinner guests at a single table. (Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie hosted massive, week-long festivals for notable French citizens.) The room was converted into a hospital for injured civilians during the First World War. (Other rooms served wounded soldiers.)

One incredibly large room was furnished with wall-hung tapestries which depicted notable hunts in the forest of Compiegne. I was completely blown away by one in particular, which included the unmistakable image of an Appaloosa horse. Appaloosas (the breed of horse I grew up with) have incredibly distinct physical characteristics, in their faces, bodies, feet, and tail -- the tapestry depicted every one. The reason I was surprised to see an "App" represented in a European tapestry is because they were developed by the Nez Pierce tribe in what is now Idaho. The guide and I had a long conversation about this, and decided that the French army must have purchased/stolen some Appaloosas while in control of the Louisiana Territory, then taken the horses back to France. (The Appaloosa is popular in France today, and probably has better esteem among French horsemen than Americans!)

After spending a few hours in the Chateau, we took a taxi out to the Armistice Clearing and museum.

At the end of World War I, Mashall Foch directed the train service to find a secluded place where two trains (one for the French negotiators, another for the Germans) could be brought together and the peace negotiated. A site less than five miles from Compiegne was selected, where the German and French trains could be arranged less than 100 feet apart. Today, concrete monuments mark the precise locations of the French and German trains during the negotiations.

A museum was constructed a few hundred feet away to preserve Marshall Foch's carriage. Twenty years later, in preparation for negotiating the French surrender, Hitler directed that the museum be destroyed and the carriage brought back to the precise place where it had stood during the World War I negotiations. The carriage was taken to Berlin for public display, but was destroyed before the end of World War II.Today, the museum has been rebuilt and Marshall Foch's carriage has been precisely reconstructed.

Compiegne is also the place where Joan of Arc was captured in 1430 as she led a battlefield retreat. A statue of her stands across from city hall.

With apologies for the delay..

It has been an embarassingly long time since we've posted an update -- so, this will likely be an overlong attempt to catch you up on things that've been happening over the last few weeks.

The election, of course!

I'm embarassed to admit that Matt and I slept through the election the whole world watched! I got up to see Dixville Notch cast their first-in-the-nation ballots (Humprey was the last Democrat to win there!), and we watched CNN International work over the first exit polls as we ate dinner. Since the first polling stations wouldn't close until 1:00 AM our time, and we both had class early Wednesday morning, we decided to get a good night's sleep and leave the results until morning. (Trying to fall asleep that night reminded me of what it felt like on Christmas Eve as a little girl!)

We, of course, had long-since cast our ballots. I actually got to vote twice -- completely legally! Although we mailed our absentee ballot requests on the same day, Matt received his ballot more than two weeks before I got mine. The Embassy advised that anyone who had not received a ballot by October 20 should complete a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, which allows you to indicate a preference for the presidential, US Senate, and US House races. If/when your absentee ballot arrives, you're supposed to complete and return it just as normal. The idea is that the election officals keep any FWABs unopened until November 4: if the regular ballot is returned, then the FWAB is discarded and only the regular ballot is counted. (This being DC, who knows how well the process worked...but at least it wasn't a swing state! In fact, the only competitive race on my ballot was a neighborhood council seat.)

As you may have heard, the idea of "President-Elect Obama" is very popular over here. Newspapers and magazines are carrying headlines like "Obama: What the World Was Waiting For" and "For those who doubted America, the election was the best response!" (I do have the impression, though, that this isn't so much a pro-Obama sentiment as it is an anti-Bush/McCain attitude.)

The holidays are upon us

Those who have never spent the early fall outside the US may not appreciate the strategic value of Thanksgiving: holding back Christmas! On November 1, the Halloween items came down and the Christmas displays went up all over town. Some of the shop windows are absolutely gorgeous; my favorite, though, are the Christmas trees at Bon Marché (a big department store) -- there are six totally different trees, each one supposed to be an inspiration for what your own tree could look like (all you have to do is invest heavily in their fine array of decorations, of course!).

A trip to Versailles

Matt and I took a quick afternoon in Versailles at the end of October. We happened, though a fortunate accident-of-planning, to be there for "Les Grands Eaux Musicales", an occasional performance of classical music projected throughout the gardens. We arrived early enough that the fountains hadn't been turned on, so we enjoyed a leiurely stroll through the autumn leaves. (I had actually never jumped into a raked-up pile of leaves before, but finally got my first chance!) The gardens are still meticulously maintained, and we had a wonderful time watching the water and listening to the music.

Still exploring Paris

As the days get shorter, we've taken to exploring the 'indoor' attractions of Paris a little more than the grand monuments. Most recently, we found what has to be the best hot chocolate in Paris. I often steer clear of places that all the guidebooks recommend (I usually think they're too crowded to be enjoyable), but Angelina's turns out to be worth the wait! The hot chocolate tastes like a delicious chocolate bar was melted down and cream was stirred in -- it's so rich that you really can't have more than just one cup!

Along with a small group of friends, we're starting to make ritual of having tea every Thursday at the Mosque of Paris. The tea is wonderfully minty and sweet, and the tearoom is beautifully decorated: I'll do my best to remember my camera this week!