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?