Vive La France: December 2009

As 2008 came to a close, we prepared to welcome 2009 with a mix of excitement, trepidation, and hope. We had been planning to move to Paris for a couple of years and with the economy taking a nosedive the reality didn’t look too hopeful. With Obama’s victory we decided we had the “perfect storm” and within 8-10 weeks we signed a lease on our Arlington condo with a wonderful couple who came to D.C. from L.A. to work for Obama. Now we were off and running on our next two tasks...

The first task was to find a place to live in Paris. The second was to get our French up to conversational speed. The latter is a work in progress. On the Paris rental scene, we found many places on the Internet but didn’t want to commit without seeing the neighborhood and the apartment. But it’s amazing how many of your friends know of people who are living in France, just moved back from France, have family in France, or even lived there themselves. To make a long story short, after putting the word out that we really were serious about taking off for an extended stay in Paris, we were put in contact with a friend of a friend and we are now firmly ensconced in his apartment in the “Quartier Latin.”

And we couldn’t have asked for a better location. We are basically at the corner of Blvd. St. Germain and Blvd. St. Michel in the Latin Quarter. We are three minutes from Notre Dame Cathedral and about the same from the Jardin du Luxembourg. We have everything on our doorstep - health club, bank, cinemas, restaurants, the butcher, baker & candlestick maker and a wonderful open-air market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. During our first week here, Mark’s nephew Erik and his wife Emily were visiting Paris. We spent their last 3 days here together, culminating with dinner at our apartment. Mark’s first [and apparently successful] attempt at Blanquette de Veau...

In a nutshell, that’s the story of our time so far in Paris. Nearly every other week or so, we have had visitors, both family and friends. We’ve been on several trips to “La France Profonde,” including Provence, Dordogne and the Loire Valley. Some of our adventures are described in Mark’s blogs. So rather than bore you with our Paris misadventures, you can go to our blog-site to catch up:……..

And, we hope you enjoy these pictures of Christmas in Paris as much as we did taking them.

We depart Paris on December 31st to spend the cold winter months in sunny Delray Beach, Florida and will return to Paris in the early Spring of 2010 for another extended stay.

With our very best wishes to all our family and friends for a happy and healthy 2010.

Katherine & Mark
53 rue de la Harpe
Paris 75005