chez thompson

Au revoir, mes amis.

It's hard to believe it has come to this, but we are repatriating back to the United States. Our spotty blogging of the past few weeks (months?) belies the hectic life we have been leading. Job interviews, late nights working, job offers, acceptances, organizing the move, the fiercest garage (living room) sale Paris has seen, packing, selling, throwing away etc. Not to mention the numerous manifestations (protests) that have clogged Montparnasse half a dozen times in the past few weeks. Why do they have to play club music from the 90s at these things? But we digress. The move. It all boils down to this day. Agnes and Roxy head back this afternoon. John will stay to oversee the move and return next week.

A big thank you to all our loyal readers, those who post comments and those who don't. We've enjoyed sharing our Paris experiences with you and we hope you've had fun reading our blog. If you're ever in Paris, check out our old street Cherche Midi and savor super-delicious caramels at Reine Astrid, a tartlelette pomme at Poilane, a brunch Diane at Nemrods on Sunday, a really good steak frites at le Rousseau for lunch and a fantastic authentic bistro dinner at Chez Dumonet. Agnes will miss having La Grande Epicerie and Le Bon Marche within walking distance. Nothing like that in DC. They provided her and Roxy shelter during gale-force wind and rainstorms and relief from the sweltering canicules. Au revoir Picard! Where will she find a noisette in the states? (And don't even think "macchiatto at Starbucks" otherwise you're banned from reading any further.) For John and Agnes, it's a homecoming. For Roxy -- it' s a big, new adventure. No matter where she ends up, in the suburbs of Cleveland or a small town in Oklahoma -- she'll always be born in Paris.

We leave you with one last excursion: Last weekend we hopped on the 10 line all the way to the end.

There we visited Le Jardin Albert Kahn. This magnificent oasis of green is plopped down in the midst of Boulogne Bilancourt, right on the edge of Paris. For 1 Euro 50, you can stroll through a Japanese garden, a fir tree forest, an English country garden and much more.
Or romp around, as Roxy did. In the midst of it, you could easily forget you were in one of (if not the) densest cities on earth. No sirens, no protests, no motorcycles.

And so, this is end. Until we start our DC blog, that is. But we'll always have Paris.

Pony Up!

Last weekend we met a high school chum of John's in the Lux. "V" showed up with his lovely French wife Anaïs and two little ones -- the youngest, Otto, about the same age as Roxy. It was a chilly day, the chilliest of the year in fact, and we waited for them by the statue of liberty:

Meanwhile, Roxy took off running. She's that orange dot you see on the pelouse interdite.

Papa John had to "recover" her several times.

Otto insisted on riding on the ponies. He's quite the horseman. Here he is showing Roxy the ropes:

Toute le monde:

From our apartment, we can see the ponies cross the boulevard du Montparnasse every morning as they make their way down the rue Vaugirard to the Lux.

Sunday in the park

Last weekend, while John was toiling away at his office, Agnes and Roxy headed down to the Place de Breteuil where there is a loooong strip of pelouse that stretches all the way to Invalides.

There are two very petite playgrounds just off the place. After some initial trepidation, Roxy began exploring:

Of course, this being Paris, we were joined by teenagers playing tonsil-hockey. Roxy does a double take:

A Call for Photos

Has Agnes knit you or your offspring something? Please e-mail her a picture of the item, preferably being worn by someone. This means you Missy & Tommy, Clamsey, Rebecca, Miesje and any other recipients of knitted goods. Thanks in advance!

Doin' the dollar limbo -- how low can it go?

Well, the dollar has sunk to a new low -- $1.5047 to the Euro. "Ouch," is all we have to say. It's not cheap living here to begin with, but this makes it brutal. A typical Parisian cafe charges between 4and 5 Euros for a creme, which is sort of like a latte. That's ridiculous to begin with but now those cups of caffeine and milk will run you around US $7.50. This should kill American tourism off for a while.

Looks like Jay-Z had the right idea.

Think it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Thanks, Ben.

Just hangin' around . . .

Not much doing here at Chez Thompson. We've been following the election brouhaha as best we can. And yes, we voted from Paris. Paris is cool and gray -- a few really chilly days but today's just damp and not too cold. Here's Roxy wearing the latest, designed especially for her by her mom using leftover scraps of yarn.

Happy V-Day.

All is well here at Chez Thompson. Roxanne seems to have outgrown the apartment. She zooms from room to room and expresses great frustration at not being allowed to play with knives or run her hands through the kitty litter.
Sometimes it's hard to catch her when she's not in motion, but here's a shot of her healping to rearrange the cloth napkins. She's wearing a sweater knitted and designed by her mother.

Last night, said mother escaped from domesticity for a few hours and met some friends for coffee (at Starbucks no less) and then went and saw a movie. Below are Ping and Simeen, off-camera were Michelle, Lauren and Inhee.

Playmates

About three or four times a week, Roxanne hooks up with her lil buddy Sunniva who lives across the street. They love to play cards:

Oral hygiene is an important part of their friendship:

Sunday strolling in the 15th

Q: Where in Paris is this bamboo grove located?

A: Yesterday we took our Sunday stroll in the 15th along the Seine. We popped Roxy in the poussette and hooped on the 10 line and got off at Javel. It was an incredibly windy day and walking down the street was akin to being in a wind tunnel. Our destination was Parc André Citroën, named after the car maker. (Interesting note: Citroën was the son of a Jewish Dutch immigrant). Turned out to be a modern park with a great grassy field and several modern concrete and stone water installations that skateboarders were using as ramps during the winter. It backs up to a cobblestone promenade along the Seine and under an elevated train:
Lots of families and kids running around. Still, the overall feel was quite cold and unnatural despite the small bamboo grove. After, we strolled along the Seine for a while and posed for a few photos.

Then it was time to head back home and warm up with some chocolat chaud.

The Montparnasse Quarter

A few weekends ago we ventured out for our usual Sunday walk. Our immediate quartier is deathly quiet on Sundays, so if we want any action we need to motor on out. Usually we head up towards St. Germain, or west towards the Eiffel Tower. This particular Sunday we headed southeast, behind the Tour Montparnasse and into the Montparnasse quartier. On the rue Montparnasse, a small street not to be confused with boulevard de Montparnasse -- you will find a stretch of crêperies. It's basically Little Brittany and they should market it that way. Also on this street is a very good Thai restaurant called Krua Thai. We have never eaten there, but we have it on good authority -- two friends of Agnes's, one Malaysian and one Singaporean -- that the food is authentic and yummy and not completely French-ified the way so much Asian food is in Paris.

On the boulevard Edgar Quinet, a wide tree-lined street where you can imagine how village-like the area was before the tower was built, back when the likes of Hemingway and Zola, Modigliani  and Chagall roamed about, there now exists an artist's market each Sunday:

Tucked away in a mews off the boulevard Raspail was this line of apartment fronts that looked imported from the provinces:

John and Roxy posing outside a blue door. Agnes is a sucker for blue doors.

On the way home we took a detour through the Cimetière Montparnasse and stopped at the grave of Alfred Dreyfus (of "l'affaire Dreyfus" fame).