Paris Vignettes

One of the best things about any trip is the little moments when you really love being in a foreign place and you just enjoy the moment. Here are a few that come to mind--

§ Entering the subway my magnetic card works and Andy's doesn't. So now we're on different sides of the turnstiles. A passerby takes Andy's card, and using a kleenex, attempts to clean the magnetic strip. No luck. Next a woman who is with her family comes over and motions to Andy that they will both go through together, on her card, but they must be quick, and stay very close together. Victory! "Charlie on the MTA" disaster averted.

§ Shopping on RooMoo on Sunday morning while being entertained by two American jazz musicians performing "It Must Be Love"; a five-piece band, complete with a tuba player; and a French trio (with accordion, of course) playing traditional French music while some couples dance and people sing along following the printed lyrics that are passed out to the gathered crowd.

§ Spotting a Bassett Hound on RooMoo!

§ In a park in the middle of Paris, seeing a great blue heron and being reminded of last March in Florida.

§ Hearing some commotion in the boulevard and stepping onto the balcony to see hundreds (400? 500?) of inline skaters rolling down the street with a police escort. Does this happen every Friday night? It's clearly well organized. As the light turns red, they back up like a river behind a dam until the floodgates open and they flow down the to the Seine.

§ The novelty of having so many things available within a block or two -- patisseries, great Vietnamese takeout, pharmacies, small markets, wine shops, cafés, newsstands, crepe stands, fresh produce, a jazz club, and right next door, a shop selling cheesy lingerie and baby clothes (I guess one leads to the other).

§ Walking down to the Seine after dinner and just lingering on the bridge, looking at the lights and remembering why we came here.