It has been a quiet time in Paris--moderately cold with a few days of scattered showers. I re-visited some old haunts, took in a few new places, and mused over the changes over the years. I have been visiting Paris, at least annually, since about 1982. And I have owned the little studio apartment on the rue Jouffroy d'Abbans since December 2000...
As usual, I attended Sunday morning service at the American Church, strolled along the Seine, walked the length of the Promenade Plantée, and checked out a few unfamiliar neighborhoods like the Butte aux Cailles area with its lower buildings and bungalows.
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| The American Church |
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| The Seine across from the church |
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| Sacré Coeur |
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| Parc Monceau |
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| The Promenade Plantée |
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| Around the Buttes aux Cailles |
There were Christmas decorations and lights still visible in many neighborhoods, and in shop windows, but no Marché de Noël along the Champs Elysées this year. Tree needles were scattered everywhere along the pavement and sidewalks, and I ran into a tree mulching crew on my walk along the Promenade Plantée. In some areas a faint scent of pine prevailed.
The guardian of my building, Marie Ferreira, did have her crèche of little santons up as usual, which was reassuring to see. She normally dismantles the elaborate affair the Saturday following Epiphany... This year it was a little simpler than in than in the past as her husband is suffering from colon (?) cancer and has been in and out of the hospital. There is a note of sadness in the air...
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| Christmas decorations |
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| detail of the santons in Maria's crèche |
And suddenly today the G20 across from me has now become a Franprix--overnight. I saw it change before my very eyes! Yesterday it was a G20 and then, when I peered out of the window in the morning, it had a different name! I must admit that I was in total shock. It had changed ownership in recent years, and the store was completely remodeled a year or so ago, but still...
The extra time in Paris has given me a period to orient myself to the décalage horaire, that difference of six hours that takes such a physical adjustment, and do some eleventh-hour ordering before I leave for West Africa. I bought labels that will work for call numbers on book spines, hastily picked out and ordered a handful picture books on Amazon.fr, and found a few more illustrated children's Bible-story books of different reading levels on another French site that Fina might be able to use. It would have been better to have actually bought these titles in person, rather than through a website, but I didn't really have the luxury this time. Of course, I might have chosen differently if that were the case... There are always buying mistakes... We shall see...
Well, I've enjoyed my stay and am now at the Charles de Gaulle airport awaiting departure for Ougadougou. The early rain changed my clothing plans slightly, but so far all is as planned...
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