Exploring Paris - Part II

On Saturday Tim, Drew, Kaitlin and I started off the morning by heading to the Père-Lachaise cemetery to see Jim Morrison’s grave. Though I had already seen it during my visit in July, it was interesting to go back to the cemetery and see some more of the other “famous” graves.

The lunch on Saturday turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. After getting denied by two other restaurants because our group was too big and we didn’t have a reservation, we headed back to Galleries Vivienne and found a restaurant owned by an American expat who had a Thanksgiving-inspired menu for the week. I went with the traditional offering (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables), which could have easily passed for a home cooked meal.

For dinner we ate at Le Café de l’Homme, which is across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The meal was great (I went with the crab appetizer and steak entrée) and we finished just in time for the 11pm Eiffel Tower light show, which we had a great view of from the plaza outside of the restaurant.

During the light show an American yelled out “USA” when the tower was lit up in red, white and blue (representing the French flag) and he was subsequently booed. It was pretty funny.

After dinner we grabbed a drink at the George V hotel. It was pretty incredible and if money is not a concern appears to be a great place to actually stay. A drink at the bar appears to be the only thing there in my price range, however, so I don’t think that I’ll be lodging there anytime soon unfortunately.

Exploring Paris - Part I

As I write this I’m on the return train from Paris to Lausanne and it’s hard to believe that the trip has come to a close. I can’t thank the Ryans enough for a fantastic time in Paris and for taking me in as one of the family for the Thanksgiving holiday. One of the downsides about living abroad is the sheer distance from family and friends, so it’s always extra special when I’m able to see those from back “home”.

Weekend Recap…

On Friday we started off the day by checking out the Christmas “markets” along the Champs Elysées.











There were basically hundreds of individual booths lined up on both sides of the street for Christmas and people were selling everything from food and candy to clothes and handmade crafts.










For lunch we had grilled magret (the “breast of a fattened Moulard duck”, or so the internet tells me) sandwiches and they were unbelievably good.

During the afternoon, a couple of us took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower. The line to take the elevator to the top was extremely long, but there was no line for those willing to climb the steps so Drew and I went up on foot. I had never gone up the Eiffel Tower before and the view was beautiful.




















For dinner we ate at Le Grand Colbert in the Galleries Vivienne. We did not know until we arrived, but it was the restaurant where Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves ate towards the end of the movie Something’s Gotta Give. I vaguely remembered the scene but would definitely not have made the connection if the restaurant didn’t showcase the film on the back of the menu.

Thanksgiving in Paris

Today I took the train to Paris for the Thanksgiving holiday. I unfortunately don’t actually get any days off since it’s not a holiday in Switzerland, but the thought of working while my friends and family are back in the U.S. celebrating one of my favorite holidays was definitely not appealing.

Fortunately for me, the Ryans had planned a trip to Paris for the holiday and graciously invited me to join. Given that our families spent Thanksgiving together in Yosemite for the first 14 years of my life, this actually is serving as a nice Thanksgiving reunion of sorts.

I arrived at the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris around mid-day. The four hour train from Lausanne is a scenic one and takes you through the French countryside with the most notable stop along the way in Dijon. After arriving, I proceeded to the hotel to drop off my stuff before meeting up with the Ryans for an afternoon walk around Le Marais.

(As a hotel-related aside, there are two items that merit further mention. First, I’m staying in a hotel that my parents stayed in nearly 35 years ago…purely by coincidence. Second, what is the deal with French hand showers that don’t have shower curtains? Is it that hard to mount the showerhead above head level and provide a curtain? Awkwardly washing oneself with one hand while holding the showerhead in the other and unintentionally spraying water all over the bathroom is suboptimal.)

For dinner we ate at the restaurant of Cercle d’Union Interallié. As can be seen from the pictures, the décor was very fancy and made me feel like I’d been transported back in time a century or so. The photos were taken outside the dining room where we ate, but you get the idea.










As for the food, I thought it was great. The most memorable aspect was the cheese, which they served after dinner and carted around under a glass cover. The cover served an important purpose -- once it was removed, the smell felt like a punch in the face (pungent is an understatement). It was very good, though, and the cheese guru did a good job of providing selections appropriate for everyone’s individual tastes.

And before I forget, also worth noting was Tim’s pre-dinner drink. I can’t recall what it was, but when it looks like this does it really matter? Needless to say, he received some thoughtful comments from the peanut gallery…

French and English?

Some of the English language TV programs in Switzerland (documentaries in particular) are overdubbed in French. Rather than simply removing the English and replacing it with French altogether, the programs contain both languages. The volume of the English is typically lowered a bit, while the French is on a slight delay as if someone were translating it from English real time.

At times this can be helpful as you’re able to hear both the original English dialogue as well as the French translations. However, it is often the case that the English is adjusted too low and ends up merely getting in the way of the French. As a result, the programs actually become harder to understand than if they had simply been entirely in French. At least for me, that is.

La Resurrezione

Last night I did my part to become more cultured and attended the final concert of Lausanne’s 12th annual Bach Festival. It was held at L’Eglise St-Francois and, contrary to the festival’s name, actually involved an Oratorio by Handel called La Resurrezione (while the festival focuses on Bach, it apparently also incorporates some of the works of his contemporaries).

The venue itself has an interesting history and dates back to the 13th century. It initially served as part of a Franciscan monastery before becoming a protestant church following the reformation. While at times the performance made you forget that you were actually in a church, there turned out to be one ongoing reminder – the cold, hard wooden pews.

Though I couldn’t understand the Italian lyrics, I enjoyed the music and thought that the singers were very talented. Going into the show I had no real clue what to expect – my knowledge of classical music broadly and Handel’s work specifically is virtually nonexistent. Fortunately my ignorance didn’t seem to hinder my appreciation of the performance.

After the show I did a search on La Resurrezione and came upon a…how should I put it…interesting detail surrounding he oratorio’s history. For the opening performance (in ~1705), the role of Mary Magdalene was played by a female and this caused a great deal of commotion as there was a papal mandate against female performers at the time. In order to placate the church, the role was subsequently played by a “castrato”. Any yes, the term means what you think it does.

Fiona Update

As noted a little while back, there will soon be a furry addition to the family in the name of Fiona. While she won’t be ready for pick-up until after Thanksgiving, the breeder sent my mom some pictures so we could see how she is doing. She's the one with the pink collar.

Billag

When I first received the letter addressed from a Swiss entity named “Billag”, I immediately pictured some sort of early 20th century Russian-style penal labor camp for those in Switzerland who are delinquent on their bills (see “Gulag”). Sometimes you have some insight into a company or organization based on its name. In the case of Billag, not so much…

It turns out that Billag is actually the Swiss entity that manages the country’s television and radio license program. For the paltry sum of ca. CHF 400 per annum, I have the legal right to watch TV and listen to the radio in my apartment (I also apparently have the right to listen to my non-existent radio in my non-existent car). And the amount related to TV is before the cost of cable, mind you.

And what if I don’t listen to the radio? Can I avoid paying the roughly CHF 150 per year that relates specifically to the radio license? Well, based on my initial conversations with the customer service department of Chez Billag, I appear to be SOL. Apparently, I have to “prove” that I don’t listen to the radio and – at this point, at least – I’m not quite sure how one goes about doing that.

As the customer service agent kindly informed me, the fine for non-compliance is CHF 5,000. And if a Billag service person comes by my apartment for a random check and finds any indication that I even could listen to the radio (e.g., a clock radio alarm, a stereo, an internet connection!!!), that’s all they need to justify the fine. And that’s regardless of whether I actually have ever even listened to the radio.

Perhaps my initial impression of totalitarianism wasn’t so far off base after all…

Miscellany

The weather hasn’t been very conducive to outdoor activities lately. Even if it hasn’t been raining, the temperatures have been fairly cold (highs in the 40s). It felt a little warmer today so I spent some time down by the lake and took some pictures.










Here are some brave souls who decided to go out sailing despite the inclement weather…










As seen in the following pictures, the birds seem to be taking advantage of the absence of people. In the first shot they seem to be lining up and waiting for the ferry like their human counterparts otherwise would be...










There definitely seems to be more snow up in the mountains. The official ski season has already started, though apparently the majority of people tend to wait until after New Years to start heading up on a regular basis.










For the trees that still have their leaves, it appears that it’s only a matter of weeks before they’re completely bare.

Quel temps fait-il ?

Every weekday morning there’s a program on TV that shows the weather conditions (via weather station cams) across Switzerland. There’s no commentary – the show simply provides a constant rotation of 30-second live clips from weather cams in 15 or so locations while music plays in the background.

This morning, which happened to be very cold, I had the channel on before leaving for work. During the weather cam shot from Zermatt (the alpine town at the base of the Matterhorn), a song came on that I found particularly apropos: California Dreamin’ by the Mamas and the Papas. I could definitely relate…

One step forward...two steps back...

I think that I’ve written before about how learning a new language often feels like an endless circle in which any sign of accomplishment is inevitably overshadowed by a humbling setback. Tonight in my French class I had such an experience following a couple of weeks in which I felt like I was really making positive progress.

During the class, we read an article about people who had made significant life-changing decisions (e.g., quitting a high powered job to start a non-profit organization). After discussing the text, the teacher asked us each provide a real life example involving someone that we knew personally and to provide the class with some related details.

When it came to my turn, I completely blanked. As I didn’t have an example that immediately popped into my head, I tried to provide a general example and it proved to be a big mistake. As if speaking in a foreign language isn’t difficult enough under pressure, it’s much more difficult when you’re effectively ad-libbing and trying to manufacture a story.

The sad thing is that I had the perfect example but didn’t think of it until too late – me. I think it’s safe to say that moving half-way across the world is a fairly significant life-changing decision…

Dream Job?

It’s always refreshing to see someone who truly loves his job -- particularly given that the older I get, the more convinced I am that very few people actually fall into this category. Sometimes I witness this in somewhat unexpected places, however.

Last night I was leaving the office late and saw a sight that I’ve seen a number of times before: a member of the building’s cleaning / maintenance staff washing the floors. At first glance there’s nothing remarkable about this, but upon closer inspection you see that the guy appears to truly love what he’s doing.

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that his job is performed while riding what could probably best be described as a zamboni built for waxing floors. Regardless, the guy seems to be the happiest person in the world when on the clock. He’s always smiling and greets you with the sincerest of hellos and goodbyes (albeit in French, of course). Not once during the 15 or so times that I’ve seen him has he ever seemed even remotely bored, annoyed, or any other negative adjective that the vast majority of the population would use to describe themselves when having a bad day at work.

For some, cleaning floors day in and day out would be a monotonous profession. This guy, however, apparently has found his calling (I write this as a compliment, meaning absolutely no disrespect whatsoever). He seems to love what he does and, from what I’ve seen, does it very well. I think that really says a lot.

Swiss TV

Television in Suisse Romande (the Western, francophone region of Switzerland) consists primarily of French and, to a lesser extent, German-language channels. There are also a handful of channels in Italian given that it’s the third most prevalent language in Switzerland. While a few English language channels are also available (e.g., CNN International, the BBC), they are almost exclusively news-related.

Given the limited English selection coupled with my desire to further develop my French, I typically watch the French language channels, whose content ranges from original French (or Belgian / Swiss) programming to foreign programming dubbed in French. Thus far, I’ve yet to become very attached to any of the original French language programming, aside from news and current events-related shows. Instead, I’ve been much more partial towards the English programming (almost exclusively from the U.S.) that has simply been redone with French voices.

The mix of U.S.-based shows is – for lack of a better word – "interesting". It is a collection of shows dating back to the seventies, ranging from critically acclaimed (e.g., ER, Law and Order (original and SVU), Friends), to simply popular (e.g., Melrose Place, Dawson’s Creek), to seemingly random selections (e.g., Knight Rider, Starsky and Hutch). There are also a significant number of animated shows such as the Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park.

For the most part, the voices in French are pretty well matched up with the original voices of the English-speaking counterparts. That said, every so often you’ll see a show where there’s a striking difference, which comes off as both funny and a bit hard to process. When you’re used to a specific character having a certain voice in the original show, it’s a bit weird to hear a completely different voice (irrespective of the different language). It’s hard to provide a concrete example, so I’ll rely on pure abstract – picture yourself watching Seinfeld in French and Jerry’s voice sounds more like that of James Earl Jones…

Fiona

As if I didn't have enough to look forward to during my return home for x-mas (seeing family and friends, getting my fix of all things Americana, etc., etc.), I've now got another reason to make the long-distance trek -- Fiona. The new addition to the family is scheduled to officially arrive later this month and I can't wait to meet her. The picture itself says about all that needs to be said.

Ever since the loss of Murphy earlier this year, there's definitely been a void that's needed to be filled for me. Even though I hadn't lived in the same house as Murph in nearly a decade, he was definitely always in my thoughts and made every trip home for me something to look forward to. Though one can never replace a pet (particularly one with the personality, energy and overall joie de vivre of Murphy), Fiona's picture reminds me of the extent to which a new puppy in the house (and more specifically in one's life) can have a positive impact.

Fiona definitely has big shoes...err paws...to fill, but from her picture alone she looks like she's up to the challenge. Here's a shot of Murphy from a couple of years back. If you ever make to New York City and have the opportunity to stop by Fred's Restaurant on the UWS (http://www.fredsnyc.com/), you'll see a similar version hanging on the wall...

Apartment Photos

In response recent requests, the following are some apartment pictures since the ones that I posted in September were taken before my furniture arrived. The apartment is still clearly a work in progress, but at least it’s coming along.

The front deck probably won’t get much use until next Spring as my search for patio furniture has thus far been fruitless. Apparently all the major local stores that carry such furniture only do so on a seasonal basis. I’ve looked online as well, but haven’t had any luck on that front either.