Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
Find me on Facebook 2011
Paris Journal ← Previous Next
→ Go back to the beginning
|
All it took was a little bit of rain to make the air feel much more breathable yesterday. When it happened, I opened up the biggest French door/window in the apartment and sat just inside its opening, taking in the oxygen instead of O3. Not that the air is wonderful today; Airparif says it is “average.” This morning I awoke to fog that slowly lifted. The air is cool, and the breeze is gentle. I opened two sets of French doors on the front of the apartment, and the kitchen and bathroom windows on the back. The air is sweeping quietly through the rooms. “Quietly,” because it is Saturday. Weekends bring less noise from the street. Weekends in late July and in August are especially calm because the frenzied Parisians are mostly away on vacation. This is my favorite time of year in Paris. I would not want to be here in Winter. This past winter was brutally cold. The days, which are luxuriously long in the summer, are incredibly short in the winter. Cold, and dark – that’s what Paris would be in Winter, and it is not for me. I just finished reading Paris in the Twentieth Century, by Jules Verne. It includes a vivid description of Paris in a particularly cold winter. Brrrrrrhh. Cold can kill. The owners of this apartment must have made some inquiries about new windows, because we’ve received some phone calls from people hoping to sell replacement windows. The apartment where we stay in September has had all of its windows replaced. Its owners have cleverly done this by keeping the old wood and replacing the glass with newly glazed thermopanes that not only keep the cold out, but also the noise. I love old wood windows. It sickens me to see paint peeling on them, and to see the old wood threatened by the elements. I also adore the ornate plaster moldings in the apartment where we are staying now. And I treasure the old-fashioned wallpaper on walls and ceilings, the plethora of old woodwork, even if it is painted, and the squeaky old wood floors. I adore the original, thick ceramic tiles on the kitchen floor. The ceiling heights throughout the apartment are generous. The limestone of the balcony that stretches the full length of the apartment is loaded with fossils. I could stare at them for a long time. The wrought iron balustrade on the balcony has a wave design at the top—reminding me of the ocean. I’m fond of all the plants on the balcony; they need me. They need my care. When Dan, Olivia, and Sarah arrived at the apartment yesterday, Dan and Tom had to go out for an errand that involved a visit to La Poste. I elected to stay home with the girls. The three of us relaxed in the living room. The girls read books that they’d brought with them, and I snoozed as I sat on the sofa with one girl propped up against me. That was a lovely, quiet hour. Then hunger struck the girls. I put them to work setting the table for five. I went to work peeling and slicing a big bowl full of yummy, juicy, sweet peaches. When the two guys didn’t show up and we girls wondered what they were doing, we called them. They’d gone for a walk. Upon hearing their location, I told Tom that he was very close to a good Chinese takeout (which isn’t unusual -- there are so many Chinese takeouts around here!), and asked if he would please pick up dinner, including white rice and some kind of chicken dish (that’s what the girls wanted). I sliced up a baguette that I’d purchased at the bakery earlier in the day. The girls were starving, so we sat at the table and nibbled on bread and peaches until the guys arrived. We continued to sit as the guys re-heated and served food. I did have to get up to find soy sauce, because men usually suffer from “refrigerator blindness.” Have you noticed that? It was a fine dinner, capped off by one square of dark chocolate for each diner. Then we played charades in the living room. Who needs TV? We are so much more fun. The girls asked about the movie star who lives on the upper floors of the apartment building where they’re staying in the 6th arrondissement now. I described her to them. She does not look like a celebrity, I explained, because as she goes about her daily routine, she usually wears glasses and no makeup, and she wears her long hair down or in a careless ponytail, just like they do. One evening last week, Tom and I did turn on the TV to see this movie star, because she was in a movie that was showing on TF1. We managed to catch the last 20 minutes of the movie, and we saw her. During the part at the very end, she was made up to look 20 years older than she is. That was interesting. It made her look a little like Catherine Deneuve looks now. Catherine Deneuve also lives in that neighborhood . . . . Ah, Paris. |
Saturday, July 28, 2012
At
the intersection of the rue du Commerce and the boulevard de Grenelle, you can find a McDonalds full of French
people. We decided on Chinese takeout
food instead.
Interior
of the Auberge Bressane.
Shop
window in the 6th arrondissement, on the rue Garancičre.
Cute
vehicle parked in front of a cute shop, Muji, on
the rue Saint Sulpice. |
