We had a nice relaxing day today. We watched the summer olympics (thanks to slingbox and my sister and brother-in-law) and we did not have to watch the french coverage of the epee competition.
We sat around, caught up on e-mail and relaxed after a stressful week. Late in the afternoon we took the metro to Neuilly where we took Samuel for a walk in the bois de boulogne. We found a nice playground for smaller children, that is outside the jardin de acclimititasion(sp) and it is free.
We then drove back to the temp place(as we had left the car at Madrid yesterday).
When we returned it was after 1900 and Julia fed Samuel and then she went into the kitchen to cook dinner and left Samuel with me. No sooner had she left the room then Samuel started to cry. I tried every trick I know to get him to calm down and none of them worked. I thought he may have still been hungry so Julia came back into the room and tried to feed him. As soon as she sat down he stopped crying and started smiling. She tried to feed him but he would not latch. She gave him back and returned to the kitchen. Whereupon Samuel commenced crying. I took Samuel into the kitchen where as soon as he saw Julia, he stopped crying. I turned him away so that he could not see Julia and he started to cry. Our final solution was to place him in the bouncy seat in the kitchen so that he could see Julia and I am sitting on the couch in the dark feeling very sorry for myself.
Tomorrow is a big day as we are going to Ikea to look for tables, chairs, and bathroom and kitchen stuff. We plan on being there for 4-5 hours.
We are also welcoming our first visitors in Paris as Julia's friends from Cambridge will be driving through Paris on a return trip to London. Julian and Lucy and their kids(those of you who attended may remember Saffiya as the very cute young girl who liked to blow bubbles). They will meet us at Madrid and be the first to see our new home. Unfortunately we will have to dine out as we do not have a stove yet as that is one of the items that needed to be returned when delivered yesterday.
Also, apologies for the very sloppy writing in yesterdays post. I did not realize how tired I must have been until I read that rambling piece of......
-Dave
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
New apartment, french lessons......
I'm back!!
Sorry for the delay in posting but life has a funny way of catching up with you.
For the last week it seems as if we have not had time to breathe, let alone post to the blog.
Now time to report on the happenings in Paris and London.
First of all Diesel is doing well. Samuel is continuing to change everyday and keep us grounded with what is really important in our lives. It is not diesel in a petrol engine, or all the boulangeries being closed or a french teacher who will not answer questions but raising our wonderful little Samuel.
Samuel is less than 4 months old and has just returned from visiting his 3rd country. We spent a long weekend visiting friends and family in London. Samuel was finally able to meet his godmother Poonam and her wonderful children, Tara and Max. Samuel and Max got along splendidly. We placed them side by side on an activity mat and they spent an hour exploring each others hair, ears and arms. It was quite cute. Pictures will be posted later as we have not had the time to download the pictures. Looking forward to seeing everyone again over the holidays. Hopefully we will be able to spend more time with each of you.
Samuel will soon be visiting his 4th country. P & G continues to amaze me as they have asked Julia to attend a meeting of western European finance directors from September 1st-3rd. These are the first days that Julia will be returning to work full time so she is very anxious about having to leave Samuel for 3 days. P & G has offered to send Samuel and myself to Frankfurt with Julia. This is not the best for me as I am adapting to Paris life(lessons have begun, but more on that later, and leaving for 3 days will be a setback for my adaptation). However, as usual we have to make the decisions that are best for Samuel. The best thing for Samuel is to be with his mother so that he can eat breast milk on(or near) his regular schedule. So we have gratefully accepted P & G's offer. While Julia is in her meetings, Samuel and I will be touring Frankfort and possibly tasting a few German beers.
We took possession of our apartment on Madrid on Wednesday morning. We were very disappointed in the quality of the work that was done after we first saw the apartment. Fortunately the representative of the owner was equally disappointed. So all of our concerns are being addressed. We hope that they will all be corrected before we take possession of our sea shipment. It is a relief to finally have a place to call home for the next 3 years. Julia did have lunch at eh pub around the corner and they do televise EPL(english premier league) matches so Samuel and I will be able to view Chelsea matches(Pictures to follow. You do not want to miss them. Guaranteed to be oh so cute(Samuel, not me))
Julia has had a very stressful week as she has begun driving in Paris. The quickest route from the temporary apartment to Madrid is to drive the arc d'triomphe roundabout. Very, nerve racking, Even at 8AM in August. Julia had to manage the delivery of our rental furniture and our electronics from Darty. The Darty shipment was stressful in that they delivered some wrong items and Julia had to return to the store to correct the situation. Our shopping experience was hilarious as our salesman saw ex-pat written on our foreheads and everything he tried to sell us was the most expensive of its line. I was amazed when he tried to sell us a 1,500 euro stove. I was even more amazed that Julia was actually interested, until I pointed out the price. Then we moved on.
I started my french lessons at Berlitz this week. I have had 6 45 minutes session each day. Sometimes I feel as if I am making progress. At other times I feel completely and utterly lost. But as the week progressed I have felt more and more comfortable. Today I actually started having conversations with the instructors, albeit on a very, very basic level but It is good to know that I am beginning to think in french. I am not sure how much P & G is paying for the lessons but they have to be expensive. The Gucci store is next to the berlitz office and the aston martin dealership is around the corner. Tres cher neighborhood.
I was the ugly American this week as I was unable to connect with one of my instructors. The first lesson she tried to teach me I had her questions and her responses were always along the lines of, "It is what it is" or "you should not be confused. It is the same in english". I had to go to the admin and ask that this instructor not be assigned to me in the future. Very bad American.
Had my first solo lunch this week. Of course, I had to go to Pizza Pino(The franchise where we had our ex-pat lunch). I think the only mistake I made was when I was asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside. I said outside but pointed inside(I meant to say inside).
I also was shy this week. Our temp apartment company is unable to provide us with a second set of keys. So this week, since we have been in both apartments I have had to return to the area of the temp and wait for Julia to return with the keys(as since she has Samuel she needs to have the keys in case of emergency). I walked around looking for a cafe to have a beer. I saw quite a few and chose the one that had the fewest people sitting outside. Ostensibly so that I would not embarrass myself when ordering. of course, then I pulled out my french lesson book and worked on the exercises and had many people staring.
Saw a wonderful beggar trick this week. As I was sitting in the cafe waiting for Julia there was a couple to my right and a beggar came and stood directly in front of them until they gave him money. Not that I endorse begging but I have to admire the creativity and ambition.
Sorry for the delay in posting but life has a funny way of catching up with you.
For the last week it seems as if we have not had time to breathe, let alone post to the blog.
Now time to report on the happenings in Paris and London.
First of all Diesel is doing well. Samuel is continuing to change everyday and keep us grounded with what is really important in our lives. It is not diesel in a petrol engine, or all the boulangeries being closed or a french teacher who will not answer questions but raising our wonderful little Samuel.
Samuel is less than 4 months old and has just returned from visiting his 3rd country. We spent a long weekend visiting friends and family in London. Samuel was finally able to meet his godmother Poonam and her wonderful children, Tara and Max. Samuel and Max got along splendidly. We placed them side by side on an activity mat and they spent an hour exploring each others hair, ears and arms. It was quite cute. Pictures will be posted later as we have not had the time to download the pictures. Looking forward to seeing everyone again over the holidays. Hopefully we will be able to spend more time with each of you.
Samuel will soon be visiting his 4th country. P & G continues to amaze me as they have asked Julia to attend a meeting of western European finance directors from September 1st-3rd. These are the first days that Julia will be returning to work full time so she is very anxious about having to leave Samuel for 3 days. P & G has offered to send Samuel and myself to Frankfurt with Julia. This is not the best for me as I am adapting to Paris life(lessons have begun, but more on that later, and leaving for 3 days will be a setback for my adaptation). However, as usual we have to make the decisions that are best for Samuel. The best thing for Samuel is to be with his mother so that he can eat breast milk on(or near) his regular schedule. So we have gratefully accepted P & G's offer. While Julia is in her meetings, Samuel and I will be touring Frankfort and possibly tasting a few German beers.
We took possession of our apartment on Madrid on Wednesday morning. We were very disappointed in the quality of the work that was done after we first saw the apartment. Fortunately the representative of the owner was equally disappointed. So all of our concerns are being addressed. We hope that they will all be corrected before we take possession of our sea shipment. It is a relief to finally have a place to call home for the next 3 years. Julia did have lunch at eh pub around the corner and they do televise EPL(english premier league) matches so Samuel and I will be able to view Chelsea matches(Pictures to follow. You do not want to miss them. Guaranteed to be oh so cute(Samuel, not me))
Julia has had a very stressful week as she has begun driving in Paris. The quickest route from the temporary apartment to Madrid is to drive the arc d'triomphe roundabout. Very, nerve racking, Even at 8AM in August. Julia had to manage the delivery of our rental furniture and our electronics from Darty. The Darty shipment was stressful in that they delivered some wrong items and Julia had to return to the store to correct the situation. Our shopping experience was hilarious as our salesman saw ex-pat written on our foreheads and everything he tried to sell us was the most expensive of its line. I was amazed when he tried to sell us a 1,500 euro stove. I was even more amazed that Julia was actually interested, until I pointed out the price. Then we moved on.
I started my french lessons at Berlitz this week. I have had 6 45 minutes session each day. Sometimes I feel as if I am making progress. At other times I feel completely and utterly lost. But as the week progressed I have felt more and more comfortable. Today I actually started having conversations with the instructors, albeit on a very, very basic level but It is good to know that I am beginning to think in french. I am not sure how much P & G is paying for the lessons but they have to be expensive. The Gucci store is next to the berlitz office and the aston martin dealership is around the corner. Tres cher neighborhood.
I was the ugly American this week as I was unable to connect with one of my instructors. The first lesson she tried to teach me I had her questions and her responses were always along the lines of, "It is what it is" or "you should not be confused. It is the same in english". I had to go to the admin and ask that this instructor not be assigned to me in the future. Very bad American.
Had my first solo lunch this week. Of course, I had to go to Pizza Pino(The franchise where we had our ex-pat lunch). I think the only mistake I made was when I was asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside. I said outside but pointed inside(I meant to say inside).
I also was shy this week. Our temp apartment company is unable to provide us with a second set of keys. So this week, since we have been in both apartments I have had to return to the area of the temp and wait for Julia to return with the keys(as since she has Samuel she needs to have the keys in case of emergency). I walked around looking for a cafe to have a beer. I saw quite a few and chose the one that had the fewest people sitting outside. Ostensibly so that I would not embarrass myself when ordering. of course, then I pulled out my french lesson book and worked on the exercises and had many people staring.
Saw a wonderful beggar trick this week. As I was sitting in the cafe waiting for Julia there was a couple to my right and a beggar came and stood directly in front of them until they gave him money. Not that I endorse begging but I have to admire the creativity and ambition.
Friday, August 8, 2008
A day (or two) that will live in infamy...
Where do I even start...
Today we drove to London. In theory, this should have been a 5 hour drive with little or no complications. Instead, it turned into a 10 hour ordeal where just about everything that could go wrong did - including my making an incredibly stupid mistake. The good news is that we are all well and safe and sound in London. We are just all exhausted.
We left Paris a bit late (Dave was kind enough to let me sleep an extra half hour), but had barely got onto the ring road (peripherique) before we got completely stuck in solid traffic because of an accident just after a construction zone. We hardly went anywhere for an hour... during which time poor Samuel was miserably hot and uncomfortable in his car seat and screamed non-stop. By the time we made it onto the main highway north of Paris, Samuel had exhausted himself and gone to sleep. We drove for another hour or so until he woke up and started to scream again, so we had to pull over to cool and calm him down. We then had to fill up the car with gas...... which is where the day really went wrong. In a moment of unbelievable stupidity I filled the tank with petrol... only to discover afterwards the large label saying 'DIESEL' on the inside of the gap flap.
AAAAARGH.
I will not be competing for 'Brain of Britain' anytime soon.
45 minutes later the towing truck showed up to take us to a garage where they drained the tank so we could fill it with diesel and get back on the road. At this point we were already over 4 hours behind schedule and had completely missed our booked crossing on the channel tunnel - and they say they will only honour the booking for 2 hours after your scheduled time. When we finally got to the check in station, I told the lady about our nightmare experiences and she let us on the next available crossing without any problem.
Of course, by this point, Samuel was understandably completely sick and tired of his car seat and making his feelings known quite loudly again. He did enjoy the train crossing - if only because he was able to be free from it and be held by us. After another couple of hours of driving the other side, we made it to London. Phew. We've now all had a good meal, and Samuel has had a bath and is happily fast asleep in his pack & play.
All this on top of the previous day, where we first spent 3 hours at an electronics store spending Samuel's college fund on all the electrical appliances we will need for our apartment (oven, fridge, freezer, TV, washer, dryer, phones, etc.) and then I spent another 4 hours dealing with more wonders of French bureaucracy to get our telephone/TV/internet connection set up and a French mobile phone, while Samuel stayed home in the cool ... but had terrible gas, and so was miserable - which made things tough for Dave.
I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to get anything done in less than two hours in France. A meal? At least 2 hours. A basic communication setup? A good 2 hours. Trying to get a driver's license? Getting on for 2 hours in total, and that was just the first visit. Be prepared to have all kinds of bizarre documentation and an endless fount of patience to hand...
I am sure Dave will add his thoughts later... but for now it is time for bed.
- Julia (a.k.a. 'Diesel'... though 'dim-wit' would work just as well)
Today we drove to London. In theory, this should have been a 5 hour drive with little or no complications. Instead, it turned into a 10 hour ordeal where just about everything that could go wrong did - including my making an incredibly stupid mistake. The good news is that we are all well and safe and sound in London. We are just all exhausted.
We left Paris a bit late (Dave was kind enough to let me sleep an extra half hour), but had barely got onto the ring road (peripherique) before we got completely stuck in solid traffic because of an accident just after a construction zone. We hardly went anywhere for an hour... during which time poor Samuel was miserably hot and uncomfortable in his car seat and screamed non-stop. By the time we made it onto the main highway north of Paris, Samuel had exhausted himself and gone to sleep. We drove for another hour or so until he woke up and started to scream again, so we had to pull over to cool and calm him down. We then had to fill up the car with gas...... which is where the day really went wrong. In a moment of unbelievable stupidity I filled the tank with petrol... only to discover afterwards the large label saying 'DIESEL' on the inside of the gap flap.
AAAAARGH.
I will not be competing for 'Brain of Britain' anytime soon.
45 minutes later the towing truck showed up to take us to a garage where they drained the tank so we could fill it with diesel and get back on the road. At this point we were already over 4 hours behind schedule and had completely missed our booked crossing on the channel tunnel - and they say they will only honour the booking for 2 hours after your scheduled time. When we finally got to the check in station, I told the lady about our nightmare experiences and she let us on the next available crossing without any problem.
Of course, by this point, Samuel was understandably completely sick and tired of his car seat and making his feelings known quite loudly again. He did enjoy the train crossing - if only because he was able to be free from it and be held by us. After another couple of hours of driving the other side, we made it to London. Phew. We've now all had a good meal, and Samuel has had a bath and is happily fast asleep in his pack & play.
All this on top of the previous day, where we first spent 3 hours at an electronics store spending Samuel's college fund on all the electrical appliances we will need for our apartment (oven, fridge, freezer, TV, washer, dryer, phones, etc.) and then I spent another 4 hours dealing with more wonders of French bureaucracy to get our telephone/TV/internet connection set up and a French mobile phone, while Samuel stayed home in the cool ... but had terrible gas, and so was miserable - which made things tough for Dave.
I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to get anything done in less than two hours in France. A meal? At least 2 hours. A basic communication setup? A good 2 hours. Trying to get a driver's license? Getting on for 2 hours in total, and that was just the first visit. Be prepared to have all kinds of bizarre documentation and an endless fount of patience to hand...
I am sure Dave will add his thoughts later... but for now it is time for bed.
- Julia (a.k.a. 'Diesel'... though 'dim-wit' would work just as well)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The lease is signed!!!!!!!!!!
This is the view toward the intersection of avenue Charles de Gaulle and Madrid. It has a lovely fountain and the main traffic of Charles de gaulle is in a tunnel going under the fountain so the noise is reduced.
This is the view from our terrace(looking right) looking down Madrid toward the bois de boulogne. Did we mention that we are only 3 blocks from the entrance to the jardin d'acclimatasion(A very nice zoo designed for children). So those of you with kids make your reservations soon.
This is our kitchen. Not very exciting. Julia says it is an Ikea kitchen.
This is our bedroom looking out the window toward Madrid.
This is the terrace off of Samuel's room. We will be researching how to child proof a terrace as soon as we move in. It overlooks a very quiet sidestreet which if taken leads to a very nice pedestrian area with a franprix, a couple of restaurants, dry cleaners and wine shop. Will post more later. We are preparing to go out for our anniversary dinner.
Our new address is:
6 Avenue de Madrid
Neuilly-sur-seine
92200, France
Technically we do not live in Paris as we are outside the interior peripherique.
Our new apartment is not the first choice in terms of architecture but it is far and away the best choice due to location. As stated previously it is only 3 blocks from the bois de boulogne (equivalent of NYC central park) where I will be able to run and take Samuel on many adventures. Our new place has only 3 bedrooms but they are all quite large by Paris standards and that is one of the reasons we chose the Madrid location as we can work better with 3 large rooms rather than 4 smaller rooms. The guest room will be very nice with a brand new futon(see earlier post) with access to the terrace so that guests can sit and have a glass of wine in the evening.
Okay, I have to admit to a mistake(which I never do). I was adding to the blog earlier and the keyboard fell off my lap and all of my best material was lost. Can I blame it on the cat? So this is my second attempt at telling the story of the day. Maybe Julia's narrative will be more entertaining.
We knew that Neuilly was a haven for ex-pats but until we actually walked around today and noticed that(it seems) half the restaurant cater to the Italian specialties( which is not a bad thing as pizza is very, very good here(as long as you don't order the egg (oeuf) :))
We will be in London from Thursday through Sunday so the blog may be not be updates as frequently(As we all know GB is boring(He says with a smile to all his GB relatives(through marriage)). We will be taking Samuel to met his godmother Poonam and members of the Denman side of the family who he has yet to meet.
As we stepped out of the metro(if I had not mentioned the pont de neuilly metro station is less than a block from the apartment) Julia noticed that we have an English pub around the corner from us. My only hope is that they televise the EPL(english premier league) futball matches on Saturday afternoons. If not I will miss my beloved Chelsea dethrone Man U and keep dastardly Liverpool in their place(again).
It has been a very long day. Samuel has been great s usual. He loves the metro. Falls asleep every time. We hope it is not the noxious fumes that are knocking him out. Tonight was the first night that we left Samuel with a stranger. we had a recommendation from one of Julia's friends who live in Paris as to a babysitter. Everything appeared to go well except that she was 30 minutes late. Very anxious time leaving your child for the first time with someone that you do not know.
Very tired, time to sign off for another day. tune in tomorrow for another thrilling episode of shopping in Paris. If all goes well we will shop at Darty, Orange(cell phone & internet) and Ikea(for small furniture pieces and curtains). Should be fun.
B-Bye for now.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Futon, car(?) & carrefour
We have not heard from our agent all day which we are taking as a good sign that the lease signing will go forward as planned.
On Sunday we took a 30 minute walk to the maison de convertibles where we found a very nice selection of futons and eventually purchased a very nice 160 x 200 cm futon. It has a 14 cm thick mattress. We laid on it and it was as comfortable as a real bed. It will be delivered on August 14th if we sign the lease.
Today we took a cab to Julia;s office where we supposed to pick up her company car. Very nice office in an industrial part of town. Unfortunately the car would not start. We left the car to be serviced at the office and we took a cab to the carrefour(a grocery/home goods store) which was our original plan except we had hoped to drive. We compared prices at carrefour to monoprix and decided that it would be worth 1 trip per month to carrefour to stock up on the bulk items such as fanta zero, loo paper, cereals, etc.. We also had a nice lunch at a pizza place. I think I could learn to like european pizza. Of course, I don't think I will ever order the pizza made with tuna or smoked salmon. Can someone explain how the pizza is made with ouef(egg)? Neither Julia or I can picture how a pizza is made with an egg and we are to chicken(no pun intended) to order one.
Well, after we were done shopping at carrefour we ordered a taxi to take us back to the apartment. After we had been in the taxi for about 5 minutes we received a call that the car was ready to be picked up. There was nothing wrong with the battery, it was the keys. The car Julia has been given is a very nice Peugeot 607. Metallic gray with 4 doors. She is disappointed not to have bun warmers but it does have a remote screen for the rear window for use when Samuel is in the car. So Julia asked the cab to turn around and take us to her office where she got out and picked up the car and I returned to the apartment in the taxi.
Another eventful day in the lives of the charters in Paris. Hope your days are as interesting and fun filled. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well at 10AM tomorrow.
We will send an e-mail when we have signed the lease but be sure to check the blog for a story and pictures.
We will be in London from Thursday through Sunday visiting family and godparents who have yet to meet Samuel.
On Sunday we took a 30 minute walk to the maison de convertibles where we found a very nice selection of futons and eventually purchased a very nice 160 x 200 cm futon. It has a 14 cm thick mattress. We laid on it and it was as comfortable as a real bed. It will be delivered on August 14th if we sign the lease.
Today we took a cab to Julia;s office where we supposed to pick up her company car. Very nice office in an industrial part of town. Unfortunately the car would not start. We left the car to be serviced at the office and we took a cab to the carrefour(a grocery/home goods store) which was our original plan except we had hoped to drive. We compared prices at carrefour to monoprix and decided that it would be worth 1 trip per month to carrefour to stock up on the bulk items such as fanta zero, loo paper, cereals, etc.. We also had a nice lunch at a pizza place. I think I could learn to like european pizza. Of course, I don't think I will ever order the pizza made with tuna or smoked salmon. Can someone explain how the pizza is made with ouef(egg)? Neither Julia or I can picture how a pizza is made with an egg and we are to chicken(no pun intended) to order one.
Well, after we were done shopping at carrefour we ordered a taxi to take us back to the apartment. After we had been in the taxi for about 5 minutes we received a call that the car was ready to be picked up. There was nothing wrong with the battery, it was the keys. The car Julia has been given is a very nice Peugeot 607. Metallic gray with 4 doors. She is disappointed not to have bun warmers but it does have a remote screen for the rear window for use when Samuel is in the car. So Julia asked the cab to turn around and take us to her office where she got out and picked up the car and I returned to the apartment in the taxi.
Another eventful day in the lives of the charters in Paris. Hope your days are as interesting and fun filled. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well at 10AM tomorrow.
We will send an e-mail when we have signed the lease but be sure to check the blog for a story and pictures.
We will be in London from Thursday through Sunday visiting family and godparents who have yet to meet Samuel.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Sunday morning stroll in Paris
Being the wonderful husband that I am(sarcasm on) I took Samuel out for a walk this morning. We had two objectives. To find a newsstand with a daily telegraph and to find a boulangerie to purchase a pain au chocolate and croissant for Julia's breakfast. The first was, quite astonishingly, accomplished easily as the newsstand at the corner carried the Sunday telegraph. Shockingly the price was 5.20 Euros but it is worth the price to have an english language paper to read on Sunday morning. We continued our search for a boulangerie. And we continued......and we continued. Found many boulangeries, all of them closed, either for the day or the month. Eventually after walking around for 35 minutes I spotted a woman carrying a baguette. Using my private detective skills, I retraced her steps and was able to locate an open boulangerie and accomplish our last task of the morning. Julia will have her Parisian breakfast and I will have my sports page.
-Dave
-Dave
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Futon shopping is fun
In what we hope is the beginning of a fine family tradition the 3 of us went to an open air market this morning. Many stolen items were on display(DVD's for 10 euros). Was surprised that the textile kiosks outnumbered the food/produce. However, it was reminiscent of going to findlay market in Cincinnati where you have friendly independent vendors with fresh, good quality meat and produce. We also went to monoprix ( a supermarket/department store) where I attempted my first solo buy. I was adventurous and purchased a 6 pack of coca-cola light(not diet, but light) and an anniversary card for Julia as our anniversary is the 6th. Sidenote-thanks again to my sister, Beth, who pointed out that my previous post was incorrect. Our anniversary is not the 5th as previously reported(and confirmed by Julia.) It is indeed the 6th. The only obstacle I encountered during my shopping spree was during check-out when I did not provide enough cash for the transaction. I must be faster than the register as the amount, on the screen, changed after I took out my wallet. We then had hoped to go to Leonidas (a wonderful chocolatier), however, they had posted a sign since I reviewed their hours earlier in the week, stating that they are closed until August 26th. C'est la vie en France.(No critique at this point in time please. My french lessons begin on the 11th.)
After returning to the apartment for a lunch of meats and cheeses we headed to BHV to look at futons. Which is important, as this futon will be the guest bed, wherever we end up living. I can say that I have had enough of the French for one day. The store was packed. Apparently it was the last day of a sale. It is alarming how many people will not get out of your way, or just blindly walk into you, even when you are transporting a 3 month old baby.
Tomorrow should be an easy day of church and time in the park(weather permitting.)
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