Paul, Olivia and Student Demonstrations!

Thursday, April 17. Paul arriving today which is great but I'm going to miss my grammar class which isn't. Lyn comes to my apartment around mid-day and we take the metro to Gare du Nord to meet Paul's train from London.

Once again, there are student manifestations on the metro. They are all over our car and making a lot of noise. It's deafening. I try to ask one of the students what it's about and she tells me that it's because the government is proposing to reduce the number of teachers at the lycees. So I decide, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and raise my arm in support. They cheer. Then I hold up both my arms and the whole car becomes completely quiet (French students may protest but they are fundamentally polite!). So I say, in my accented French "I was protesting many years before you were born." (Je faisait des manifestations beaucoup d'annees avant que vous etiez nees! OK, so I should have used the subjunctive form of etre but that's what happens when you're speaking another language!) Cheers from the crowd. I hold up my arms again, they quiet, "I was in Paris in May '68." (J'etais a Paris en mai soixante-huit! Ok so that was a little fabrication as I wasn't actually in Paris until September of '68 but I figured they would love it!). Well, they go crazy! One of them asks my "prenom" and when I tell them "Janet" (with it's French prononciation of course), they start chanting my name. "Ja-nette, Ja-nette." It is just too cute. Lyn and I get off at Republique to transfer to Gare du Nord, and I'm still laughing. :)

At the Gare du Nord, we find the quai for the Eurostar train which has just arrived. People are pouring off in droves. Paul is among the last, looking every bit the prosperous Englishman with his raincoat and his stainless steel rolling suitcase. We had planned to go directly to Pigalle to drop off his suitcase and then to Montmartre but realize the suitcase is too large to schlep through the metro so we stand in a very, very long line to get a cab to my apartment. It's a crazy cab ride, a very circuitous route because some streets are closed off due to manifestations.

Later, we have a wonderful walking tour of Montmartre, most of which I have done before but Lyn has a hand-drawn map that Alain has drawn so we explore a few new streets and see a lovely house designed by Adolf Loos (Moravian architect 1870-1933). We see the windmills, the Bateau Lavoir, the vineyard and end up at Place du Tertre for lunch. On to Sacre Coeur and down the oft-photographed stairs next to the funicular and back to Les Abessesses. Paul and I head back to my apartment and pick up a few treats for him at the patisserie downstairs as Lyn, Tyler and I are having dinner at Olivia's apartment this evening.

Olivia lives on rue Furstemberg which is one of the most charming little streets in Paris (and it's where the Musee Delacroix is located). Her apartment is small but lovely; it's a one-bedroom but all the space has been used so efficiently that she lacks for nothing. Fabulous kitchen and salle de bain. We have a wonderful evening with her, discussing everything from Mali to movies (her favorite American actor is Robert Mitchum!). Here's the dinner: white asparagus with olive oil, fois gras, two kinds of fish, an eggplant dish, potatoes, salad, and dried plums swimming in red wine for dessert!

We take a cab home, first dropping me on Blvd Sebastopol, then continuing on to Pigalle with L&T. (NB: l'equipe est un nom feminin!) It's ironic that practically the only times I've taken a cab in Paris have been with Tyler, who's probably an even bigger proponent of public transport than I am! That's what bitter cold will do to you when you're tired and it's a long walk to the metro stop!