Paris - Love - etc.

they have a secret device that produces gold-powdered air for the luxembourg gardens in paris. i see it hovering on the lanes around the trees every time i step into that park. the first time i noticed this phenomenon was more than 50 years ago, and i'm happy to report they're still doing it - the golden light is still there. this time i brought a picnic & my kindle, planning to sit a while amid the statues of the queens of france, near the flower-bordered lawns, basking in the luminous golden air, and was surprised to discover thousands of other people had the same idea.

put a couple of tables with chairs outside on the street in paris & people will sit down & order a drink. there isn't a cafe, bar, or bistro where people aren't sitting, drinking, reading, talking to friends, or strangers as in my case, all day long. they don't rush you; for the price of a cup of delicious coffee you can sit as long as you like. it's the favorite pass-time here & everyone seems to be doing it. how do they have the time? in l.a. everyone's rushing off to the gym or a yoga class.

yesterday, i wandered over to the canal st. martin just as some fool decided to jump off one of the bridges (which brought dominique strauss-kahn to my mind). a good samaritan passing by stripped down to his underpants, jumped into the murky water and pulled him out, while someone called an ambulence to kart him away. it was like being in a movie.

i'm sorry to report that twice, so far, i've been reprimanded for bad manners. i stop strangers & ask for directions, or information, without first saying bon jour monsieur, or excusez moi madame, and with wide eyes & raised eyebrows i am told to do so. it must be terribly important if they have to correct a little old grey-haired foreign lady who's trying to catch a bus or find out what time a restaurant starts serving. i will do better, i promise.

and, just to keep things spicy, i think i've fallen in love - just a little. but it can't be, can it?

More Paris

i hope monsiur dominique strauss-kahn is guilty because his punishment & descent into hell have been mighty. apriori, i think he is, but i know no more than all the experts in france - lawyers, journalists, politicians, historians, psychologists, friends, enemies - who've come out of the cracks to discuss, argue, & fight about it passionately in public without respite. judging by the media it's hard to believe there's anything else going on in the world. i watch, listen & read obsessively. but, why did his lawyer shove his hands deep into his pockets while trying to convince the judge what an honorable man DS-K is? the ladies who sat with me at the bus stop at the place voltaire yesterday suspect he was set up; they raised eyebrows about the timing, so close to elections, and the fact that it took place in a french hotel.

i saw woody allen's midnight in paris & loved it. the french critics call it a masterpiece, yet there were moments when i was the only one in the cinema who was laughing. i visited the gardens of the rodin museum next day looking for carla bruni but she was not there.

the weather has been perfect for wandering around paris, as i do each day, hopping on buses, visiting different neighborhoods, stupefied by the beauty of the architecture, the monuments & public buildings. the bus # 69 ambles through the marais, then along the rue de rivoli and makes a sudden sharp left turn under a narrow arch, with only a couple of inches leeway, emerging into the vast. astonishing square of the musee du louvre. i see crowds gathered in front of the glass pyramid entrance & remain in my seat. i'll get off later & watch the seine flow slowly under the bridges.

PARIS (up & in)

I've waited a week, but could have told you on the first day -- I love Paris! It's the most beautiful city in the world. The buildings, monuments, parks, fountains, statues, little squares from which streets radiate like spokes in a wheel are hallucinating; a geometric marvel, a feast for the eyes. I'll get to the food later.

I ask myself every day - why am I not living here? I wander around the city, mostly by foot, reading the street signs that sound like poetry; evoke history - voltaire, la bastille, la republique!!! place goncourt, rue de la folie mericourt...

so far, except for a couple of times when i had dinner with friends who were visiting paris, i've basically just stuck to my neighborhood, wandering up & down boulevards and avenues, stopping in the sunny little squares & parks, eating a picnic, watching the people, chatting with strangers.

i'm living in a comfortable modern apartment in a "popular" neighborhood, which means it's where people live more than visit as tourists, yet it's close enough to the center - 10 minutes by metro to the champs elysee, 15 minutes by bus to the louvre. the streets are filled with people, mothers pushing baby carriages, old folks with canes, kids from school - all colors & shapes. there are so many cafes & restaurants & shops i can visit nearby i hardly feel the need to go to the louvre, but eventually i'm sure i will.

meanwhile, i'm getting over jet lag, watching french tv (which is a lot of american tv) at night, listening to talk radio (a lot of news & politics) while i have my coffee & croissant in my kitchen in the morning, drinking a glass of something at a cafe in the afternoon, and doing nothing much besides walking all over the neighborhood. i'm so lucky to have this great block of time stretching out in front of me and can do whatever i please - and be lazy about it.

i've located the swimming pools in my neighborhood but haven't made the time yet to swim. who knows what i'll do? i'm not sure myself, but this much i can tell you. i'm happy living in paris, eating french food, especially the bread, and gazing at the eiffel tower from my bedroom window at night before i roll down the shutters. it's lit up at night & shines a beacon around the city like a light house.

i've got internet & skype on my laptop at home & look forward to news from my friends.

more later.