Ma femme, elle est arrivé!

Carla has finally made it to Paris! And to commemorate this momentous equation I have sat her down with a fresh French baguette (pictured). It was unfortunately a rainy and cold day, but fortunately her luggage was lost. Fortunate because we didn't have to roll it all through the streets, and they will instead arrive tomorrow afternoon to our front door! Unfortunately however, she only had one pair of shoes, which are high heels -- exactly the Paris fashion for a rainy day. So out we went, and found a wonderful crêperie.

Crêpes are an essential part of the French food pyramid. They are actually what gives the pyramid is sheen. And when eating crêpes, you must drink "cidre," or fermented apple cider. We each ordered a nicely priced formulè, which included a savory crêpe, a sweet crêpe, and a drink -- all for one low prix. I chose "le Bistrot", which included chèvre chaud (warm goat cheese), tomate, and something called "lardon." Goat cheese pretty much trumps everything on my palette, i.e., I love it, so away I ordered. And when my crêpe arrived I suddenly saw "lardon" is cubed bacon! What nice flavors together; but now a dilemma: it appears I have a salad on top of my crêpe. Should I eat the crêpe first, and then the salad?


For her sweet crêpe, Carla ordered a chocolate one. Actually it appeared she ordered chocolate with some crêpe. What is the bien élevé way to eat such a thing? In a way reminiscent of Mr. Bean ordering steak tartare without realizing what it was, Carla scooped some chocolate up and added it to her café. Then a little spoonful on my plate. No matter; once the crêpe was gone, she still had a large chocolate puddle. Blame it on the rain.


After filling up on crêpes and cidre, we decided to try to use "le mot du jour" (word of the day). Today's word is provided by our BFF Guillaume: "putréfaction," which means decomposing, as in "Bonne putréfaction Cher Beethoven." So we visited the Cimetière Montparnasse, one of the largest cemeteries in Paris. And was thereby able to committ "putréfaction" to the list of words we have mastered.

Strolling through the muddy graves in high heels was so Paris. Nous sommes arrivés, aussi. We spent about an hour looking for the grave of Man Ray, and then César Franck, but to no avail. We did find, however, the grave of Serge Gainsbourg. Serge who? Only one of the most significant French poet, songwriter, and singer that helped define French popular music in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Sa musique sont mega super bonne! Ca, j'adore.

Finalement, we came home and made our first meal in notre apartment Parisienne (pictured, left). Counter-clockwise from the right, we have toasted baguette topped with chèvre (goat cheese) and drizzled with miel (honey). We made a nice salade with epinards (spinach), and pieces of Ementhaler (Swiss cheese). And for dessert, a wonderful piece of gâteau Basque (Basque cake). I asked, but Carla did not want it topped with chocolate.

Bonne nuit Carla!