Walking to Work (2006-10-26)

Walking to the bus reminds me of my morning commute in Paris and renews my commitment to venture and work abroad again. In Paris Tuesdays through Thursdays we would awaken in Pigalle. Ryan went to school in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Jean Claude went to work in Montmartre. I followed Jean Claude out onto Rue André Antoine, smelling the wet cobblestones as the street cleaners washed away the previous day. I heard the sounds of other pedestrian's shoes on the wet cobblestones and an occasional car vibrating along the street. The October air cooled me as I leaned into the steep hill and climbed. One morning in late October I took a photograph of the sunrise in Montmartre. Later on those weekdays I walked back down to Le Chao-Ba-Café for the afternoon sunlight.

On weekends--sometimes long weekends including Friday and Monday--Ryan and I would travel. We visited Montpellier, Nantes and Tours, Chamonix, Berlin, and London. We didn't visit Barcelona or Venice like we had hoped.

Memories and daydreams make me think of "Disappearing Act: How to Escape the Office", chapter 12 of The 4-Hour Workweek. A colleague who also develops software for Geographic information systems is currently in Turkey while his wife teaches. Perhaps I can do the same somewhere while Ryan teaches ESL.

Remembering Le Chao-Ba-Café

Schmap added Chao-Ba to its list of Vietnamese restaurants in Paris and received my permission to use our photograph of le café. Driving to the Seattle office, I miss my morning commute in Paris.

At Musée d'Orsay (2006-12-03)

Before I recommended Versailles, I wrote my friend that I'd recommend Musée d'Orsay. We went there our last day in Paris, and I'm glad we didn't miss it.

In Versailles (2006-11-08)

A friend asked, "If you had three days in Paris and its environs, and had never been there before, what would you go see?" I recommended the places pictured in the photographs quite close to Paris on the map of my geotagged photos--in Paris and Chartres. (I excepted ones idiosyncratic to my visit like M. Berger's salon where I lived or Le Chao-Ba-Café where I worked remotely.) However, since my European travelogue then ended with October 23, 2006, at Château d'Amboise, I wrote that I'd recommend a Paris location from second half of my visit there. My recommendation is Versailles, so I've uploaded these to my Flickr photos. In Versailles we saw these places:

• Château de Versailles (although La Galerie des Glaces was under renovation),
• Château de Versailles park and garden (although the Fountain of Apollo had construction around it),
• Grand Trianon,
• Petit Trianon, and
• Petit hameau.

Viewing Venus de Milo (2006-10-18)

Because of an extra ticket for me, we toured Musée du Louvre for free again, this time with Ryan's class. After famous French painters we viewed the Venus de Milo.

Riding the Paris Métro (2006-09-27/12-04)

In early October we each obtained a Carte orange: Ryan received one from his program and I bought one at the Pigalle station. We ride the Paris Métro nearly every day we're in the city, often line 12. I once remarked to Ryan that some destination was "only 10 minutes away by Métro," and he replied, "Everywhere is only 10 minutes away by Métro!" While that isn't entirely accurate, the subway is fast, and feels safe. Despite my objections to surveillance, I appreciate that there are cameras on every platform, and people everywhere I go. There's little chance of getting lost, either, as inside every station there are maps of the Paris Métro, RER, and bus lines (which RATP also manages). Outside the station are plans de quartier that show the surrounding streets and landmarks. Even without the vous êtes ici circles, it's easy to determine where you are since the streets are well-labeled (in blue signs on buildings at the intersections) and generally short (so there's little doubt which part of the street is near). Who needs a car in this city?

Residents of Berlin or London may wonder why I'd blog about the transit in Paris. If they were to visit Seattle, however, they'd have none of these advantages: there's no subway, buses are slower and require multiple transfers, no maps are posted, etc.

Having Lunch at Sacré Coeur (2006-10-10)

I climbed Montmartre to have lunch in the sunshine in front of the Basilique du Sacré Coeur and to think. The city was hazy from the butte, but many people were enjoying the view and the harp music playing in the public space.

Commuting to Morning Workplace (2006-10-09)

Tuesday through Thursday I plan to walk up Montmartre from Pigalle, from our homestay to the office of Jean Claude, where I'll borrow his Wi-Fi from 10:00 until 18:00 (+01) when he closes. Then I'll walk back down to Pigalle to Le Chao-Ba-Café for a Skype conference call with Seattle at 18:15+01 (09:15-08), and work until 20:30+01 when Madame serves dinner. (Mondays I plan to work at Le Chao-Ba-Café in the evening only; in the morning we'll be returning from our weekend--to Montpellier, Nantes, Chamonix, Berlin, Barcelona, Venice, and London, perhaps.)

Watching Tour Eiffel burn on Nuit Blanche (2006-10-08)

On Nuit Blanche (October 7 in Paris, the week before in Brussels) perhaps one and a half million people took to the streets to view modern art in historic buildings. We met up with new American friends living in Chartres and saw several art installations: the Tour Eiffel with blinking lights; giant black orbs in Hôtel de Ville, accompanied by a band that featured a theremin; a giant glass bead necklace in a fountain in a building in Le Marais; and in a church in Le Marais a large table laid out like Paris, complete with candles in the shapes of buildings.

Working at Le Chao-Ba-Café (2006-10-07)

My dad wrote "AH PARIS... Have you found your cafe?" It appears I have. I have my laptop, and with free wifi (connecting and asking the server for the "mot de passe") I also have email, chat (using trillian), and Internet telephony (using Skype). It's a remote office!

Walking down Champs-Élysées (2006-10-07)

It's difficult to pick just one photograph from a walk from Place de la Concorde down the Avenue du Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, and beyond to Avenue de la Grande Armée, where La Grande Arche de La Défense is visible in the distance. Consequently I uploaded several to Flickr, and placed them on the map using the satellite image.

Trying Wi-Fi in Le Cafe les 2 Moulins (2006-10-06)

Near our homestay is Le Cafe les 2 Moulins featured in the movie Amelie. The springs pushing out of the seats made my leg numb. (The Wi-Fi interrupts every half-hour, and resumes five seconds after pressing a button on a Web page. This is better than other locations which require a new login every half hour!)

Looking in the sidewalk fountain in St-Germain-des-Prés (2006-10-05)

An "exploding sidewalk" fountain is near the building in which Ryan has classes.

Touring L'Opera (2006-10-04)

Touring the Musée du Louvre for free (2006-10-01)

Many people leave the Musée du Louvre at the end of the free day (the first Sunday of the month). This time we saw multiple sphinx, a statue of the god Horus, and many other Egyptian antiquities.

Ascending the Tour Eiffel (2006-09-30)

Ryan and William (and Our Founder) visited the Tour Eiffel, visible from the Parc du Champ de Mars.

In the salon at chez M. Berger (2006-09-29)

We relaxed in the salon of Madame Berger's apartment, seen above from the kitchen. To the left is the room of other boarders Jason and Tom--from Australia. A hallway from the kitchen connects three rooms, a toilet, and a bath. Madame Berger is in one of those rooms, with the only television. Another boarder, Tetsuya--from Japan--is in another. Ryan and I are in the third, on a bunk bed. There's another toilet and bath off the kitchen. Madame Berger provides all of us (and her boyfriend Jean Claude) breakfast, and cooks dinner, each day. The apartment is half a block from Moulin Rouge.

Resting in the Jardin du Luxemborg (2006-09-27)

Our first resting place in Paris was the Jardin du Luxemborg. We lay on the grass (in the approved location) and looked up at the trees.