Getting the Hang of It: Summer Life @ Rue Cassette
Let’s face it, getting adjusted to life in France takes longer than most people expect. The art of getting the hang of almost everything – the language, the attitudes, the cost, the (sometimes completely unnecessary) processes…none of it comes easy. And despite our ability to unleash our thoughts about these trials and frustrations via le blog, we at Rue Cassette are of course, no exception – and we would be bold-faced liars to claim having mastered much of anything here since our arrival nearly 20 months ago. Take the language for example – where my language professor just last week told me that my pronunciation of "I could" (J’ai pu) was actually telling him, quite accurately in fact…that "I stink" (Je pue)…And subtlety that reminds me, that getting the hang of it in French may just take a few more weeks…or realistically, decades.
However, there is one thing that I think Shannon and I can claim pretty boldly to have gotten the hang of – not due to skill, hard work, or luck…but just because it happens to be so easy. That my friends, is summer life in Paris. Mastering the art of summer life really only takes three ingredients, which we tend to repeat with each lucky visitor that begrudgingly forks out the ridiculously high summer fares to cross the Atlantic and get a piece of the action. The good news is that, each of the following ingredients has an exceptionally high Return on Investment (think zero cost, much pleasure), something that can help effectively counteract the shock and awe that comes with each and every restaurant tab. For the benefit of the loyal RC readers that are also wisdom-seekers, I shall describe each of these activities along with their cost and benefits…as well as potential pitfalls to avoid to maximize the experience:
1. Cat-napping in Luxembourg. Even if you don’t have an abundant pack of friends like the ones pictured behind me, this is generally a can’t lose option. Add music? Even Better. Bring Food? A nice touch.
Cost: 0 EUR (Microsoft Zune Media Player sold separately)
Expected Benefit: Rest, Relaxation, Jovial spirit, Feeling Local.
Potential Pitfalls: Ensure proper padding from the grass in the morning hours, or you could leave with a sufficiently embarrassing wet bottom (not pictured). This will inevitably neutralize the benefit of Feeling Local.
2. Seeing the city on Wheels. Seeing Paris by Velib (public bike) has been voted unanimously as the finest way to enjoy the city.
Cost: 1 EUR for 24 hours, foreign credit cards accepted.
Expected Benefit: Adrenaline boost, scenic views, efficient point A to point B transport, euphoria.
Potential Pitfalls: Being hit by a bus, smart car, or garbage truck. Being hit by another Velib is generally considered a sign of good luck.
3. Sunset Walks on the Seine. A stroll along the river banks is not exactly a secret, but still as reliable as anything else…
Cost: 0 EUR (unless you decide you must go into the Louvre on your walk)
Expected Benefit: Seeing the finest grands monuments and bridges of Paris, good dose of exercise, feeling better about an over-indulgent lunch or dinner, possibility of seeing Eify when it sparkles, a clear feeling that sounds like "Paris, je t’aime!"
Potential Pitfalls: Dodging rowdy revelers on the Pont des Arts, being asked to take couple and group pictures for fellow visiting americains…
A Strong Finish for Ms J. (with a Little Help)
But before one particular Rue Cassette inhabitant could thoroughly enjoy those precious summer activities, there was some work required to wrap up the academic year. And those of you who have seen Shannon in the month of June before, you would know that this is not a "closing up shop" task that is taken lightly. In addition to completing the standard report cards, stripping down the classroom, Ms. J also does a detailed progress inventory from start to finish of each of her students, highlighting the finest pieces of work from the year…all tied together with a bow in a little gift that is known simply as…the portfolio. The work required to knock out 18 of those puppies typically calls for some major volunteer labor reinforcements…even if it requires summoning them from approximately 5000 miles away…
The end result…nothing short of tear-filled joy and emotion (perhaps more the parents in tears vs. the children), unprecedented praise for the finest 1st grade teacher in all of Paris, and a wait list to be a part of Ms. J’s future class as long as the Seine itself. Here we find the classroom decorated with finished portfolios…you can almost picture each students’ anticipation for the ‘release party’, and the corresponding relief of both Ms. J and her "International Helper" after a very, very long set of prep sessions…
But Shannon had more reinforcement and support throughout the course of the year than just the imported help. The other ISP first grade teacher that made an equally strong finish is Rukiya Cochu – here found with an equal expression of relief! Congrats again to you teaching goddesses!
Bettesworth-it Part 1: The ‘Rents Achieve a Paris Triple Crown
If you guessed that Shannon’s imported classroom helper pictured above was in fact her sister, you wouldn’t be far off. Despite her girlish good looks, this is actually…her mother Carol, who has now achieved a perfect 4 out of 4 years in helping Shannon complete her end of year portfolios…from suburban Issaquah to big city Paris! If you also recounted that this is the 3rd time that Carol has been featured on le blog…well…then you spend too much time reading le blog! Carol arrived a week in advance of Rich to fulfill these important responsibilities, with an occasional break to take in the Rue Cassette city views (or perhaps take in some A/C au natural)…
When Carol earned some time off, we granted her permission to take a short day-trip to Château Vaux-le-Vicomte – a place that teaches us an incredibly valuable life lesson about how to deal with your boss. The rule is simple – if you build an incredibly ‘phat’ house (or in this case, castle), sparing no expense…and you have a pretty good feeling that it’s nicer than your bosses’ house…and you also happen to be top financial advisor to your boss…well, in that case, don’t invite your boss over for dinner. You will find that if you do, you may just get fired…or actually be put in a very dark place, for a very long time.
Such was the lesson we learned when marveling at the 17th century Vaux-le-Vicomte, the architectural inspiration for Versailles after the boss (King Louis XIII) came over and decided that his new château was going to make this one look like chopped liver. Little did Louis know that Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, the most worshiped superstars in France, would choose the original version for their wedding reception. That story made Shannon giggle…
A glimpse of life at the Vaux. This place had it all..with the exception of the crowds, who all were tricked into visiting Versailles instead. Below you will see the main ballroom (where they set up thousands of candles for a special candlelight showing), as well as the rub-a-dub-dub (thanks for the grub) table…
In my mind, the only thing more disrespectful than robbing a guy and throwing him into jail with an iron mask, is to hire away his chief gardener. And such was the case in this story. This beauty of a creation pictured below therefore became the most relevant resume bullet for the gardener to be summoned for the Versailles gig…
Here we find Vaux from afar at the end of our tour…with two happy subjects. I am certain that Carol appreciated her break from an endless work week, and I’m even more sure that she’s not going to show her boss their new kitchen remodel…
Father, photographer, and Paris aficionado Rich earned his ‘Triple Crown’ Visitor award just days later upon arrival. There a few reasons why you can tell from the following photos that he has, through hard work and dedication, truly mastered the art of fitting into the culture of this grande ville. Most notably, the blue beret cap with a native french confident smirk, which simply says "REI, au revoir mon ami…."
The next thing is the accompaniment of a dinner jacket at a casual restaurant, which seems to say "Le nouveau Richard has arrived!"…
After the last couple of Bettesworth visits there were just a few "must-eat" restaurants that we had not experienced…and high on that list was the notoriously delightful Chartier, a classic bistro known by locals and tourists alike for it’s reliable and reasonably-priced eats…and here we have what I would consider "local tourists" ready to give it a whirl…
Inside Chartier the ambience and cuisine delivered as reliably as a bow-tie on a french waiter…and sure enough, there goes one now…
But as we are reminded from my Return on Investment introduction, in Paris during the summer time…it is true that the best things in life are gratuit. So we walked. And with sunsets like this, it is not difficult to keep walking….
and walking…
and, of course, smiling. Why? Again, I refer to our guiding anthem by Frank Sinatra describing Paris: "Because my love is here…."
Bettesworth-it Part 2: The Record-Setting Return of la soeur named Beauvert
With Anne ready for new levels of Paris authentic and groovy experiences, we had no choice to head to dinner at Le Pure Cafe in the heart of the newly discovered 11th. I thought that her selection of an original German-bier-Frau outfit was especially appropriate for the laid-back, yet cutting edge haut-couture feel of the establishment…
Shannon didn’t so much stick with that particular fashion theme per se…but seemed equally as happy nonetheless….
Anne’s timing for a visit, was…how shall I say…choice. Not only for the 85 degree weather, but equally for the most action-packed, exhilarating night of the year (not to mention literally, the longest) – that features 20,000 musicians throwing impromptu jam sessions in the streets! It’s the event that tells aspiring performers "the world is your stage!"…Yes, I’m talking about la Fête de la Musique!
With literally millions of Parisians packing the streets to witness the performances, rarely in the US have I seen government-organized, city-wide parties that appear to be this cool (although I did hear great things about the Ballard block parties this year…Ja sure). Well, If these are the types of government spending changes we can expect to see with the 2008 election, now THAT is "Change I CAN Believe In"…
The celebrating was everywhere, including on this floating bar docked a few hundred meters from the Notre Dame. What is not pictured here is the 20-person marching band that was (somewhat undesirably) supplying the "mood music". I did really enjoy the part when they were playing "Louis, Louis…oh, no…now we gotta go now" and I, naturally in reflex reaction yelled out "FINAL FOUR!"…as any loyal Duke fan would. Let’s just say from the looks on people’s faces, they are not so much the March Madness fans over here. A quick recovery yell of "TONY PARKER!" seemed to recoup some of my losses thankfully…
One of the great things about Fête is that you don’t really have to go anywhere to see performances…the music comes to you! So you can sit back, put on some shades, and hear plenty of butchered versions of Bob Marley’s "no woman no cry" and Nirvana’s "smells like teen spirit"…
They are looking more like identical twins each day…
Our favorite Paris foot bridge Pont des Arts always serves its purpose as the city’s social center, and the night of Fête de la Musique is certainly no exception. As Shannon surveys the scene, I think it’s pretty safe to say that she has been caught effortlessly enjoying a fine, music-filled evening around the town…
But getting back to the formula for successfully mastering summer days…I still maintain that the public bicycles called Velib are the most superior form of transportation offered, which is a bold statement considering the number of trains, buses and even boats within an arms reach. And although Anne is clearly not the first guest we’ve taken on an extended Velib tour, she certainly was the first to do this with a high belt and heels…another well-executed mimicking of the french attitude of slightly laid-back, but always, always fashion-focused (yes, this can actually be achieved ON the bike as well)…
But wait a minute…that doesn’t mean we didn’t fully earn the little refreshing reward that comes at the end of every major Velib voyage..and in this case, it came with a special toast to the one and only quadruple-crown holding, german-bier-frau wearing, bicycle-peddling….Beauvert! Anne…we raise a glass to you and look forward to your (perhaps sooner than we may think) visit #5!
Highly Qualified and Noteworthy June Visitors
If you are visiting Paris and meet the following criteria, I would strongly recommend that you stop by Rue Cassette: 1) you happen to be related to a member of our wedding party 2) you grew up going to my church 3) you have made it to the semi-finals in one of the past Good Grief Maple Leaf flip cup tournaments 4) you have a strong Scandinavian name representing your heritage and 5) you have a ridiculously cool job like being in the Secret Service…all those are good indications that it would be nice to catch up over dinner. And such was the case with Josh Magnuson, who dropped by Paris for an undisclosed work assignment and a dinner with us at old reliable Kong…
Seeing as we had limited time with Josh, we thought the best approach was to give him at least one of the ingredients of summer life enjoyment – so after dinner Shannon, Josh and I strolled along the Seine…and voila, just happened to witness Eify in all of its sparkling spendor…magnifique! By the way – a little known piece of french vocab that may impress your friends on this subject is "lumieres seintillantes" for sparkling lights…pronounced sounding like "LOOM-Y-AIRS SCENT-Y-ONTS". Next time you are on the champ de mars, go ahead and throw in a little "J’adore la tour Eiffel…et ses lumieres seintillantes" and you may just feel yourself a little more french-ified. But back to Josh. Typically I don’t use the RC blog as a courtship service, but beyond all probability this Lutheran, flip-cup loving, secret-service globetrotting young man is single and anyone wanting to know more should give Josh a facebook add…
What are other good indications that you should be having some significant RC quality time when in France? 1) You have played with me on stage in rock-band fashion 2) You are under 30 but somehow, some way, enjoy french cuisine and wine more than nearly anyone I know 3) you are willing to use your boat on Lake Washington as a moveable picnic grounds for Dick’s drive-in fare and 4) you speak french better than the inhabitants of Rue Cassette (well at least 1 out of 2 of you), and 5) your mantra in life is…Vive la France! Such were only a few of the criteria met by Justin and Julia Garrett upon their personal Tour de France that began in June. And their foray into the world of local cuisine began with a resounding OUI OUI OUI, HON HON HON! (think dirty frenchman laugh…). Shannon and I were cruising the streets of our very own 6th arrondissment prior to their arrival, and stumbled upon the irresistible little restaurant BOO…one with that had instant appeal and high probability to win the ‘sufficiently swanky’ award of Juin 2008. I promise you that despite the name, there were no BOOs given by our table….only standing ovations for the chef…
Given the previous narrative, it shouldn’t be all-too surprising that a Sunday bike trip to Le Marais was the agenda du jour during our weekend with the Garrett family. You may recall my ‘potential pitfall’ of being hit by a tour bus like the one in the intersection as we stop at a red light. Well those types of dangers did not prohibit Justin from pulling out his camera and snapping a shot of us in action during the cruise…
If you ever stop by Justin’s office at Microsoft in Building 3, I wouldn’t be surprised if you run into this photo on his desk…a candid snap shot of his wife expressing simple enjoyment of living la vie francaise….
Unlike myself who would only claim to be a 100% phony musician ("smoke and mirrors"), Justin is a classically-trained pianist, veteran guitarist, and yes…he does vocals. I found out that after some red wine, he also charitably gives lessons (and concerts!) for free. Now that is a great time for the guys…maybe not as amusing for the ladies that are forced to tolerate the output until the wee hours of the night….I would say goodbye and thank you to the Garetts, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we will be seeing a follow-up RC featurette from them on le blog of juillet 2008 (that is next month, follow me people)…
The Summer Keeps Rolling Along…
In conclusion, I’ve found that following picture will represent my summer so far, catching an all-too familiar moment of bliss. A casual peddling in light traffic along the edge of Jardin Luxembourg, picnic blanket in my basket and a smile on my face…next stop, more memory-making adventures to share with you on the next version of le blog!
First.
Second…weak. Story of my life right now.
Oops. Wynne\’s second message was supposed to be from me. Anyhoo, first, a big ups to Uncle Lars and Aunt Shannon. I liked the Juin blog a lot–a real page-scroller–because chillaxin\’ in parks is the bomb, the history lesson that came with the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte narrative was crazy informative and bicycles are dicronculous.