AND JUST LIKE THAT I'VE BEEN HERE A MONTH

Hard to believe, but it's been four weeks since I touched down in France, hauling my weight in books and clothes.  To commemorate, here's a mish-mash of observations

* Some (french) people wear berets seriously.  No hint of irony or touristy-ness.  Always straight-faced, and normally dressed in all black.  And for them, it works.  If only I could wear hats; maybe I would hop on that trend.

* Razor scooters are a thing here.  Not only for kids, but for commuters.  Roll through the metro station, hop on the train, and roll off to work.

* Rarely are there separate male/female bathrooms.  There are just bathrooms, and they're a free-for-all. Note, they're not always free: some public bathrooms (I mean you, Tuileries) make you pay an entrance  fee.  On the bright side, once you're in, there's sometimes a gift shop.  No joke.

* Savory crêpes are not crêpes, they are galettes, and they are delicious.

* Eggs, and milk, do not need to be refrigerated (or so they say.  I'm resisting)

* Dr. Pepper is the soda-ambassador of the United States.  Along with peanut butter, and Oreos, it makes up the teeny-tiny, and very expensive, American section in the grocery store.

* No matter the weather when you leave your apartment, if you don't have an umbrella you are naive and unprepared.  Same goes for a scarf.

* The Trenta would probably take a french person 6 hours to finish.  A Tall is considered, by many, obscenely large.  

* Skim milk is not really a thing.

* If you want your picture taken, look for those white-tennis-shoe-wearing American tourists.  It's some sort of unspoken code, that americans abroad must take each other's pictures.

* If there's not a baguette, it's not a meal.  Same goes for cheese.

* There is nothing better on a rainy day than a crêpe(*galette) with mushrooms, ham, cheese, and a fried egg.  Except maybe the one that follows, filled with butter and dark chocolate..

* If you want to know the state of nature, cross a Paris street.  Survival of the fittest, friends.

* If you're eating before 7:30, it's not dinner.  It's a snack.

* There is something innate in French people, that allows them to wear Uggs and high-heeled tennis shoes without looking ridiculous in the least.

photo from The Red Balloon

GIVERNY

Today, Isabelle and I were meant to go to Giverny.  And there's proof: it was the first sunny day we've had in over a week; we were just early enough to have time for a Starbucks run (my first since arriving in Paris); there were plenty of seats on the train; you couldn't buy round-trip tickets on the bus (which allowed us to walk back instead, saving 5 euros, and seeing the french countryside); we got to the Gardens just before the hoards of other tourists; it was journées du patrimoine so 11 euros cheaper than normal; and just as we got on the train to head back to Paris it started to sprinkle.  

My first Paris-made-Starbuck's-skim-latté, and train tickets

The Vernon train stop

Vive la France, and Journée du Patrimoine discounts!

Maybe the ancestor of a chicken once painted by Monet

Here I am, in Monet's garden!!

Apple trees: if lunch and the store dedicated solely to apple-soaps are any indication, apples are a specialty here.

The bamboo forest

There is a good chance, Monet stood exactly here too, once.

Craziest water plant you ever did see

It's the bridge!

I look a little uncomfortable, but have to take advantage of the pictures-of-me opportunities

Isabelle and me in front of the Lilly pond

On the Japanese Bridge woot woot

And luckily for you, my camera battery died at this point, so that is all.  

p.s. last time around in 2001 (!)