American (stuff) in Paris

This weekend was an interesting mix of being American in Paris and knowing what it feels like to really live here. During our visit to St. Lys last week, we learned that Valentin (Audrey's brother) loves Jello, which is not a food item commonly available in French groceries. So, Saturday, we went on a mission to a store here in Paris called the Real McCoy. It sells only American foods. Sure enough, they had Jello in every flavor, as well as Dunkin Heins cake mixes, Hellmans mayo, Kraft mac n'cheese, and Cheerios (for nearly 10 dollars a box!). They also have a little cafe around the corner that sells American lunches (pb&j sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, root beer floats). While we were eating lunch we asked the kids which things displayed around the room they remembered from home. Ella's strongest loyalty is to mac n'cheese. Jonah, on the other hand, looked around rather blankly, saw the smiling sun on the drink cooler and said, "I remember the soleil wearing those lunettes." He doesn't remember anything at all. (Ella also made us laugh when she said, "I remember the Eurios" (meaning Cheerios). It's all mixed up in there somewhere.

Continuing on the path of things American in Paris, we next went to Bretano's, an outstanding mostly English language bookstore, where we had a great time browsing the children's, architecture, and cooking sections (I'll let you guess who browsed which).

Finally, in the evening we co-opted the French tradition of galette de roi. I had learned to make it this week in baking class and wanted to try it out (much to the pleasure of the rest of the gang). Abe found the feve and got the crown. He also declared the galette the best cake he ever tasted and put in an order for one for his birthday (real French people would never eat galette in February).

Today, however, was much more a day about actually living in Paris. I went to the produce market this morning, and came home with arm loads of tiny potatoes, beautiful leeks, and fresh bread, which made a feast for lunch. Then, we hopped on the metro and spent a couple of hours at the Musee D'Orsay. Ella brought her sketchbook and settled right in to do some drawing, while Jonah took me by the hand and led me from room to room saying, "Do you want to see my favorite?" (He also amazed many tourists by walking up to the Rouen cathedral painting and asking, "Did Monet paint this?")

This evening, our upstairs neighbors came over for a drink. I often run into Nicole taking Lise to school in the morning and we chat in the elevator. So, tonight we got to meet her husband, Tom (who is American), and their older sons (Sasha and Tobias). We had a nice time visiting with them and hearing their take on the neighborhood, the local schools, the homeless problem, etc. Ella and Lise hit it off immediately, and Ella has been invited up to Lise's apartment to play Barbies some time.