Parler Paris Nouvellettre®, Paris Newsletter

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 • Paris, France

KING CAKE PARTY!
(Les Galettes des Rois)
Saturday, January 8, 2011
11 a.m. at Lutèce Langue
OPEN TO EVERYONE!

Come for conversational exchange and celebrate the New Year over Galette des Rois with Vin Chaud.

Practice speaking French and English. Make friends, discuss interesting topics, learn about other cultures, progress in understanding and speaking, naturally and easily. Meets three times a week -- come as often as you like! For further details, visit Parler Parlor

Those of us who have crossed the cultural divide from our American "default modes" to the French way of life, have on one hand forgotten what our other previous life was like, and on the other hand are reminded of it regularly by virtue of our American friends, family and clients who continue to struggle with the differences.

Even this statement may not make sense to you, but let me give you a few examples.

One time in New York City I was waiting outside a shop in Soho for their doors to open at 10 a.m. along with a few others. At 10:05 a.m. I commented to one of the others, "Oh well. They are just taking their time." To which she replied, "No, they are taking OUR time."

At that moment it was so clear how my perspective had changed after living in France, where a shopkeeper can close at a moment's notice, maybe leave a sign on the door if we're lucky, without a care about loss of business or upsetting their clientele. Our money means so little to them (life is not about money in France) that neither the shopkeeper nor the client would see anything unusual about the situation, but to an American, it would be almost shocking!

Yesterday a friend who spends a couple months a year in Paris asked me if my towels dried as much like cardboard as hers did. In the U.S., it's unheard of not to have a laundry dryer, and it's probably sitting pretty in a 'laundry room' that is as large as a Parisian bedroom, with machines capable of handling up to five cubic feet of capacity. These machines can dry towels in less than 30 minutes getting them soft and fluffy and smelling like roses!

Yes, we have dryers, but who has the space for one? And yes, there are machines that do both wash and dry, but when the only way to extract the water is by condensation to a reservoir which must be emptied (there is no venting system for 'fluff drying'), taking hours to dry towels and tons of electricity, many of us opt out and let them air dry on racks. (I've actually come to like the way the stiff French towels 'exfoliate' my body when drying off and notice that they absorb water faster than 'over-softened' American towels.)

Visiting friends huff and puff up my 70 steps and immediately ask why we don't have an elevator. The only place one might have a similar situation is in an old building in New York City, otherwise 'walk-ups' barely exist Stateside, so it seems like such a 'hardship' to actually use one's legs to get up three flights of stairs.

To this I chuckle since there is no way I'd ever agree to destroying a 17th-century aristocratic stairwell in exchange for a modern convenience that would deprive me from the wonderful natural exercise the stairs provide -- it's like "Step Reebok" without the "Reebok." (My body's never been more fit thanks to the stairs!)

Yesterday in the post office there was an Anglophone (possibly British) on his cell phone talking very loudly while making a transaction all at the same time at the "guichet" (window). No one else in the entire post office was saying a word and if they were, you wouldn't have heard them -- they learn so young to modulate their voices so that discretion is respected. By contrast, he didn't seem to even notice or think anything of everyone hearing what he was saying. It was all I could do to restrain myself from saying something to shut him up (but I didn't).

Once, I was sitting across from an American couple on the bus who were having a terrible argument, but no one could hear one word they were saying. It was a clue that they had lived here a long time and had well crossed the cultural divide.

Guests in one of our apartments complained there was an odor in the refrigerator and so they put all their foodstuff outside the window where it's as cold as the refrigerator. When I went to investigate the problem, thinking something was rotting inside, I discovered there was nothing unusual -- it was just like all the other refrigerators in France that had adopted the odor of a good smelly cheese.

To all of you who visit France or imagine yourself living here, be prepared to let go of your western (or other) "default modes" and cross the cultural divide -- you'll have so much more fun!

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At Paris Palais Apartments you will find our most luxurious and palatial vacation rental apartments. Large and spacious, beautifully and professionally decorated, completely equipped and functional, these apartments can accommodate up to eight in your party -- all in the center of Paris just steps away from the city's main attractions and neighborhood amenities.

Featuring...

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For Les Petits Palais, visit Parler Paris Apartments.

Own a Piece of Paris.

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French Property Fractional Le Notre Dame - The Ile de la Cité is where life in Paris began centuries ago, centered around one of the world's most important cathedrals, Notre Dame. Just a few steps away is this old-world elegant studio apartment with windows providing a perfect and beautiful view of "Our Lady."

For more information on this and other fractional ownership properties now available, or to learn how you can design your own property, visit French Property Fractional.

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West Village New York City studio apartment (with a perfect view of the Empire State Building) is available for vacation rental January 8 through January 17th.

Located in the heart of the coolest 'hood' in the city. "It's super cozy, clean and comfortable."

$170/night, $1000/week. Four night minimum, a 50% deposit reserves your stay. For your reservations requests, email: erica1111@gmail.com

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