Things I (heart) about Paris

Greetings from the 16th Arrondissment! We have officially been here one month and are LOVING it thus far (completely recognize we are still in the honeymoon stage!).  I feel like the month has given me some perspective and I wanted to share some of the things I <heart> about Paris. Of course, the next entry will be about the things I do not <heart> about Paris.

Here is a list of the obvious things to love about Paris that I will not be covering in this entry: pastries, outdoor markets, architecture, museums, cobblestone streets, baguettes, espresso, cafes-o-plenty.

Now, on to my list. 

Lunch

I freaking love lunch. Really, I am a huge fan of all meals, but lunch here is profoundly different. The pace here is generally slower (painfully slow at first), but I have acclimated to the rhythm and am starting to enjoy a little more pleasure, and a lot less rushing about.

The workday here begins sometime between 9:30 – 10 a.m.  When I was working at home, I regularly was in the office before 7:30 a.m.  Insane.  Here, you spend time with your family. Enjoy an espresso on the way to the office. Don’t rush. Breathe. This was very hard for me to do.

12:30 rolls around and what do you do? You go out for a really long, decadent, enjoyable lunch. With wine. It is expected that you leave the office for lunch. Pretty much required. So, off you go to a local bistro and enjoy time with your friends. You don’t rush. You have more than 30 minutes. It is a beautiful thing.

And this is my new favorite lunch. Salad chevre chaud. Happy.

  Pets are People too

Pets are allowed everywhere here. This little pupster was curled up at a neighborhood bistro on the booth. Just relaxing.

Pups are allowed on the metro, on the bus, in restaurants, in bakeries, in cafes, in stores. Except the grocery where there are regularly three or four dogs tied up outside. Again, just relaxing.

And since pets are people too, they clearly need pharmaceuticals. And if your pet needs a prescription here, you must get it filled at the pharmacy.

 Skinny, Well-Dressed Men Sleeping

It is no secret that I have a thing for skinny, well-dressed men. My ideal man is somewhere between Dr. House and Roger Sterling. The Paris Dad is aging nicely into this role, so we are all set.

At any rate, since things move slower here, if you find yourself tired mid-day, it is acceptable to just lay down somewhere and nap. And then some insane American woman will take your picture.

 (I did send this one <above> to Annette Benning immediately after taking it and described him as quite possibly the perfect man. Don’t you agree?)

 Sundays

Most of you reading this blog are old enough to remember (although perhaps not admit) that everything used to be completely closed on Sunday.
Well, that is still the case here. Sundays are delightful. Outdoor markets, church, and time in the park. The parks are crazy crowded with families picnicking and relaxing.

 Unless you are out of milk. Then it kind of sucks.

 Velib

What is Velib? Velib is the mother of all bicycle sharing systems. There are over 18,000 bikes spread across 12,000 stations throughout the city. Literally, there is one every few blocks.

For €1.70 you can rent the bike for the ENTIRE day! Or anything under 30 minutes is free. So if you want to bike to another area, just grab one and go. And you can return it to any other Velib station. It rocks.

 My Induction Stove

Okay, this is not Paris specific, but our flat has an induction stove. I can boil water in 90 seconds. It is quite possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me. Sad, I know. Sometimes I boil water just because I can.
All of my crazy cooking friends will totally get this.

Cheap Wine

And it is good wine. Cheap. Need I say more? And Parisians love their rose...

 Au revoir for now! I am sure the things I don’t <heart> will be slightly more entertaining. LOL