Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year's Resolution

Learn how to take pictures!! Too dark, too light, goofy grin, too far away, bad lighting, too close, goofy grin (again)...















Happy New Year!!

Our new, great find at the wine show, Gonet Sulcova brut - yum! I love my Christmas tree so much that I keep it up year round...actually we don't have any storage for it in our tiney flat.


Wow...I'm wider and almost the same height as my beautiful tree!!




I HATE bright lights!!!!!





It's Snowing Again!!

This is what we Parisiens consider snowing...if you look really hard you might be able to spot some of the white stuff falling.

Winters are so much nicer here than Jersey. I still have nightmares of shoveling and shoveling and shoveling...for days and days and days.



Bercy Village


Bercy Village is in the south-eastern side of Paris. It was originally 19th century wine warehouses that have now been converted into boutiques, art galleries and restaurants. The tracks that were once used to move the wine barrels in and out of the wine warehouses are still in the center of the walkway. There is also a large cinema at one end of the village.

After a movie, we enjoyed some food and beverages at The Frog.






Thanks anyways!

I dragged my computer all the way to the Montparnasse Starbucks. My fellow bloggers, Leesa and Jasmin, offered to help me with my blog.


Needless to say, the Wifi at Starbucks wasn't working. So, we headed over to McDo's (which is what they call the McDonald's here in France). Guess what?!?! The Wifi was not working there either. Maybe I just wasn't meant to blog!


On a positive note, Jasmin taught me how to open my computer (don't ask...I'm way too embarrassed!) and how to turn off my computer. I

444a okay....now how weird is this.... as I was right in the middle of typing this post, my keyboard changed from French to an English keyboard!!! That's why the three 4s followed by an "a". Luckily, Tom was sitting next to me and was able to do something to make the keyboard French again - tres bizarre!

Maybe the blogging gods are trying to tell me something.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas

I love, love, love the Champs Elysées! I go to movies here and also just enjoy walking and taking in the energy and lights.

On one end is the Arc de Triomphe and in the winter they put up a ferris wheel between the Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries Gardens.


Is it a bear or a dog??

After the Champs Elysées, we headed to the Latin Quarter and Panthéon area to enjoy pre-dinner drinks followed by a delicious Indian dinner.




Tom's new hat... I noticed that when we were in Germany and now back in France, that Tom's hat brings a smile to people's faces.







Au revoir

I loved my old computer. But Tom decided that he could make it even better. I did become a little concerned when Tom brought out his hammer...but since technology is not my forte...

Needless to say...I now have a new computer.



Goodbye Bob

Our son leaves us every December to spend the holidays in the U.S.

As you can see, he is very upset to be leaving his parents...oops wait...actually Tom just told me that he was so embarrassed by my photo taking that he was covering his face. Oh well.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Arghh again!!

I have been blogging for about a month now, but I have not shared my blog address with anyone. I know that this drives my husband crazy, but I feel that it's not ready for the world to view it yet.

Last night, my friend Leesa called. Leesa is the one who is responsible for getting me into this blogging mess. So, as Leesa is on the phone with me, Tom convinces me to give her my blog address.

As we're talking, Leesa logs on. Her first comment is "Oh no". Not a good start.

Leesa gave me the name Noel because of Starbucks. Actually, the first name that she gave me translated as either giraffe or monkey (or some other zoo animal). The Starbuck's employees thought that it was hysterical. Hence, my second new name Noel.

However...apparently I don't know how to spell my name....Noel is the boy's name and Noelle is the girl's name. Go figure!! Since I have no idea on how to change my blog address or gmail, I will remain Noel.

Oh I forgot...the reason why Leesa gave me a pseudonym is because my name is impossible to understand here in France (or in Spain, Germany, Portugal, Hungary etc....).

I have a lot to learn....

Weisbaden, Germany

We went to Weisbaden (pronounced Vees-baden) which was across the Rhine River from Mainz.











Sunday, December 28, 2008

Germany

I tagged along on Tom's business trip to Germany. We stayed in Mainz (pronounced Meintz). Our hotel was next to the Rhine River. Mainz has a great holiday market - although it was a wee bit cold.

































Now what?!?!

So, my blogging goes on, but very slowly.

My computer has died (actually my husband killed it). So, now I have a new computer. It has a French keyboard which I thought was so cool. Now, I realize that it's very difficult to get used to. There are so many keys that are not in the same positions.

For instance:
"I was mad. " becomes "I zqs ,qd;" on my French keyboard...very difficult to teach an old dog new tricks....

Le Bon Marché








The prices of the Hershey's Syrup is 7.39 Euros which is about $11!!


Let it snow!!

December 9, 2008

Snow is a rare event here in Paris - usually only once or twice each winter. When it does snow, it doesn't stick to the ground.

Years ago, when I worked in NYC, I remember trudging through the NYC streets. There were piles of snow and puddles in the streets - what a mess!! I definitely don't miss the snow.




December 8, 2008

La Marché de Noel and La Défense