La ville est toujours chez moi

My first time back in Paris after four years and it felt like I'd been gone a few months rather than years. We rented an apartment in my old arrondissement. The covered market was snazzier. There were a few new stores and restaurants. But it still felt like home. 

This time the Brit and I experienced Paris (and travel) as parents. Cobbled streets took on a new feel when pushing a stroller. Dining out was no longer a leisurely, multi-course affair with an aperitif and a bottle of wine. Now it was taking turns eating while the other one tried to keep the little half-Brit entertained. But it still felt like home. 

Switching to speaking French was sometimes more of a conscious gear change rather than an automatic and fluid shift. But it still felt like home. 

I'll try not to stay away so long next time... Paris still feels like home.

Swarm of locusts

This morning the Brit popped around the corner to pick up croissants and pain au choc at our favorite neighborhood patisserie and it turned out the place had been cleaned out because of this article.

While I’m glad that Nohra has received some much deserved publicity, it’s annoying for us regular locals because nearly nothing was left. The Brit came back with a few madeleines. Hopefully the patisserie increases production to keep up with increased demand or demand gets back to a reasonable level.

In the news

Rest of world favours Obama

Seattle Times Reporters Protest GOP Endorsement

French jerk makes 70k euros

Wtf is going on in this city??

3 killed, 2 wounded in N. Seattle; gunman shot

Woman shot in head, killed outside Seattle's Town Hall

Father slain in Central District

Homeowner shot in North Seattle robbery

French Klingon

I was in a serious funk today for a combination of reasons so the Brit decided that we should go out for a yummy dinner. We went to Voila for some nom French food and it did cheer me up a bit. Somehow the evening ended up with me speaking to the Brit in Klingon (via an online translator). I guess the side trip to local Paris ended up in the Final Frontier.

All foreigners must stay away, unless related to the Pres.

In an attempt to appeal to France’s xenophobic right-wing voters, President Sarkozy has said that he wants to reduce the number of foreigners moving to France. Does anyone else find it odd that he would take this position considering his current wife was foreign (until after they married) and his father was also foreign?

Things aren’t looking too good for Sarko

Sarkozy hides in bar amid protest

It’s about time

Washington state House approves same-sex marriage

Snow in Seattle

And there's supposed to be more on the way.

Occupy Seattle

Last weekend, the Brit and I went to Melrose Market which wasn’t around before we left Seattle. Afterwards we decided to pop up the street for some coffee and on our way to the coffee shop we saw people marching up the street. It was Occupy Seattle protestors on their way to I don't know where.

Afternoon in the Arboretum

Sun!

For those who don’t understand why sun in Seattle is such a big deal, click here.

You know you’re married to a Brit when…

…he spends a weekend morning listening to cricket on the radio rather than sleeping.

Where’s the fire truck?

Yesterday early afternoon the lights flickered in our temp apartment and about a minute later they went out completely. While I was trying to figure out what was going on, the fire alarms started blaring. I immediately put on my shoes, grabbed my purse and headed outside.

There were a few of us standing around and I chatted a bit with one of the other tenants. I mentioned that the fire trucks hadn’t arrived even though the alarms had been going for quite a few minutes. It turns out she works for an insurance company and said that the fire department not receiving the alarm signal happens much more often than people would think. It turns out, that’s exactly what occurred.

Fortunately, there was no fire in the building. But there was a fire at an energy substation that cut power in Kirkland, Bellevue and Redmond. I know this could have happened on the other side of the lake, but this gets added to my list of reasons not to live on the Eastside.

In the news

Geese cause traffic chaos in Seattle

Dog Pack Kills 100 Animals, Terrorizes Town

Lawyer pleads guilty in car 'keying' case

How’d that get missed?

We found a house that we like and that’s within our budget. It’s a new build and has never been lived in, but even though it’s brand spanking new we decided to have it inspected. Everything was going well until the inspector came down from the attic area and announced…there is no insulation.

The Brit and I both had a wtf??!!! reaction. It turns out there’s no insulation in the crawlspace under the house either. We certainly weren’t expecting this.

One thing after another

Since we arrived, we’ve been house hunting like mad. We made an offer on a huge new build house and while we wait to hear back from the seller, we need to start looking for a car. The Brit is unusually tall so the main issue is find something that he can fit into and drive comfortably but that isn’t so big I feel like I’m driving a tank.

Back

The Brit and I are back in the US. The good news is we were upgraded to business class for the LHR to SEA flight. The bad news is our temp housing is on the Eastside a.k.a. the darkside.

Across the pond

After nearly 8 years of living in France, I’m going home. The Brit and I have decided to move back to Seattle…

In the News

France: Mulhouse airport traffic controller killed

IQ tests measure motivation - not just intelligence

French police arrest migrants in Paris

France riot police face beer and wine meal ban