13 Juillet (Dimanche) - Dinner at Au Cadran Voltaire. There was some poor guy there who had drunk a bit too much and fell asleep. The waiter tried to get him up but had no luck. It wasn't long before the security guy was there rousting him out of his slumber. Who would have thought they actually have security people at a restaurant?
14 Juillet (Lundi) - I am so pissed at this city right now. We could not get to the Invalides for the party with our new friends last night. Both the buses we needed were not running. The two taxi stands in our area were closed because of a music thing they were having at Place Léon Blum and the ones we tried to hail on the street wouldn't even think of stopping. On top of that, our €55 passes would not work in the métro. To say I was upset is putting it EXTREMELY mildly.
Around ten-ish, we decided that we could either hang out at the apartment stewing in our own juices, or we could bop on down to Place Léon Blum and check out the festivities there. We walked down, got ourselves a table at Au Cadran Voltaire, ordered deux bieres and set back to take it all in. There was some kind of music thing going on that was either presented or, sponsored, by MTV. I'm not sure which but there were MTV signs in front of the stage area. They played a lot of old stuff (like Respect by Aretha and We Are Family by Sister Sledge, for example) plus some new stuff and a few French things that I recognized.
It wasn't the way we had planned to observe the celebration of le Quatorze, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances. If the situation had been different, it would have been much more enjoyable.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Showing posts with label Au Cadran Voltaire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Au Cadran Voltaire. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Paris 2008 - 29 Juin
Dimanche - Laid around the apartment all day. Around 21h00, we went down to Place Léon Blum and Au Cadran Voltaire for dinner. We sat at a table that was, for all intent and purpose, on the café terrasse even though it was technically inside. We got to see Italy win the EuroCup 2008, though at the time I had no idea who was playing, nor the importance of the game.
About the same time as we got our meal, three black guys came and sat at the table behind Robb. He hadn't seen them come in, but it was only moments before he was complaining about the smell. It's true, almost every time one is anywhere close to a black person over here, one is overwhelmed by the stink. Of course, it's not just black people. One day on the bus, a cute guy came and stood next to me. Then he raised his arm to hold onto the overhead rail. Oye, such a stink. Strangely enough, most of the French people aren't offended by it and probably don't even notice it.
Later, I used my new video tool to do a short video of the Place and a bit of the restaurant from our table.
A few things I really don't like about being in France. First and foremost, having to wait for a bus or walking down to the metro instead of getting into my car and driving to my destination. That isn't a major problem at this time of year, but I don't even want to think about having to do it in the winter. Secondly, the inability to communicate and be understood easily. If you don't have a good grasp of the language, and don't understand the colloquialisms, you miss so much and feel like an outsider all the time. Thirdly, the "stink factor". Especially at this time of year on the bus or on the métro. And finally, having to watch where I walk.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
About the same time as we got our meal, three black guys came and sat at the table behind Robb. He hadn't seen them come in, but it was only moments before he was complaining about the smell. It's true, almost every time one is anywhere close to a black person over here, one is overwhelmed by the stink. Of course, it's not just black people. One day on the bus, a cute guy came and stood next to me. Then he raised his arm to hold onto the overhead rail. Oye, such a stink. Strangely enough, most of the French people aren't offended by it and probably don't even notice it.
Later, I used my new video tool to do a short video of the Place and a bit of the restaurant from our table.
A few things I really don't like about being in France. First and foremost, having to wait for a bus or walking down to the metro instead of getting into my car and driving to my destination. That isn't a major problem at this time of year, but I don't even want to think about having to do it in the winter. Secondly, the inability to communicate and be understood easily. If you don't have a good grasp of the language, and don't understand the colloquialisms, you miss so much and feel like an outsider all the time. Thirdly, the "stink factor". Especially at this time of year on the bus or on the métro. And finally, having to watch where I walk.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)