Entre Les Murs

A Beautiful Weekend Spent Indoors

I haven't been seen here much because all my energy is going into studying for the CFA exam at the beginning of next month.  This will get worse before it gets better - but that doesn't mean things aren't going on in our life in Paris.  This weekend we hosted our friend R for the weekend.  He chunneled across on Friday evening for a break from his debauched London single-guy lifestyle.

He and Janet went to the Musée D'Orsay on Saturday, and then had lunch in the garden of the Rodin museum.  I spent the day writing a practice exam organized by the local chapter of the CFA at the nearby Université de Paris Dauphine (The grungy building makes York University's campus look like Cambridge, but I gather that it has the best reputation of the public universities for business studies).

In the evening we went to a dinner party at the home of a colleague of Janet's.  A number of the other guests had had to cancel at the last minute due to business trips, illness, etc., so the three of us were the recipients of lavish French hospitality meant for twice as many.  They even had a fellow in the kitchen doing the cooking and serving - now that's how to have dinner party.  Aside from one faux pas - where I confused the host with another husband of a colleague of Janet's who is a professional photographer, and asked the private equity executive why none of his photos were on display - the evening was flawless.



It has been over two weeks since we've seen the kestrels, so clearly there is to be no egg this year.

posted 14.5.07 0 comments

Studying Non-Stop

With Janet away, I am now studying almost every waking hour.  I have adopted some of my remembered habits from university days, but despite the distilled wisdom of centuries of students I have eliminated the alcohol food group from my diet.  I feel this will improve memory retention.  That leaves just the other three: caffeine, chocolate and sugar for all my nutritional needs.

Pace, Mum.  Just kidding (sort of).  In fact, Janet's absence allows me some culinary indulgences not generally possible around my finicky pussy cat.  The night before last I had some very tasty chicken livers purchased from my poultry vendor in the street market, and last night I had sauerkraut and sausage.  Tomorrow I am even considering buying a broccoli.  Given my current point on my twenty-six hour daily cycle (another relapse to student lifestyle), I should be going to bed shortly after the market opens.

posted 3.5.07 0 comments

Tour de France on a Tandem

Janet is away, visiting her father on his birthday, and since Sunday I have been hosting R&D, a pair of Canadians who will be riding around France for almost two months on a tandem bicycle.  They planned to spend a couple days staging here in Paris. and since Air Canada lost one of their bags and badly damaged their bicycle box, they did have some sorting out to do.  However, they have done trips like this before, in Australia and Ireland, and seem to be practiced at organizing themselves for departure.


Completely forgetting that it's May Day, I was looking out the window this morning thinking the traffic was awfully light.  But it is indeed a holiday, so R&D have picked a good day to make their way out of town.  They will be blogging their Paris adventure here.

posted 1.5.07 0 comments