New Apartment

Hello all - it has been a busy week and this is my first chance to update the blog. The main event of the week was moving into our apartment on Monday afternoon. It is in the Marais area. The apartment is very nice - I didn't realize it, but all the appliances are brand new (oven, microwave, washer/dryer, etc.). Very nice. We also learned that all our utilities, including Internet, TV, phone, electricity, heat and water are included in the rent. This saves me from setting up a French bank account and paying utilities. Excellent - I'm using our wireless right now!

Next big event of the week was a visit with our friends Debbie and Ray Curtis (from Tucson). They were in Paris for 3 days with a tour from Tucson. We met them and some other friends Wednesday afternoon. We walked back to the apartment from our meeting place for a short break. Then we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower, where we re-joined the tour group for a Seine river cruise. Got a nice view of Notre Dame in the sunset. We returned to the dock just before the twilight and the tower lights coming on. Quite nice, but at this time of the year, that means about 10pm. Debbie and I walked back towards the center of town to find a cafe for dinner and ended eating around 11pm. Finally made it home on the metro by midnight! On Wednesday night! The Curtises got to experience the metro (one of which was jammed), and our walk back to the apartment took us through a red light district (rue St Denis - we didn't know, honest). So a couple of added tour attractions for them.



So this is my first week of commuting to work. I walk about 10 minutes to Hotel de Ville stop and take the #1 metro straight to Le Defense. I look directly towards the towers of Notre Dame and pass the Pompidue Museum of Modern Art ast I walk to the metro. I was quite impressed my first morning - now it's old hat. The metro ride takes about half an hour as there are about 10 stops. But I plan to get a pass next week to take the RER (urban train) which also goes to Le Defense with only 2 stops and takes about 15 minutes. This should change my commute from 45 to 30 minutes.

This Wednesday was the start of the "BIG" sale season in Paris. I knew something was up when I couldn't find a seat on the metro either to or from work. Everyone was commuting to the big mall in Le Defense. Ordinarily, I can find a seat both ways, but I stood all the way on Wednesday. The sale continues, but I guess the early birds get the good deals! Au revoir.