Joyeuse Saint Valentin

So it is the 14th of February again in Paris... I wish I had some exciting, romantic, dripping with cheese evening plans to share with you but unfortunately this chicken noodle is celebrating the day of love alone. I won't lie I may treat myself to a glass of nice wine and a delish dinner this evening (courtesy of Picard of course!! Hehe). Anyway, I got to thinking this morning as I lay awake at 4:30 am (have I ever told you how much I love jet lag?) about how different this happy little holiday is in America and France. In the states, I am pretty sure decorations and hearts and flowers and giant stuffed bears start showing up in stores pretty much right after Christmas, why would we let any significant time pass between holidays where money could be made, that would be silly!? Whereas here in Paris, there were very few decorations or even references to Valentine's until the start of this week. Here (and this is my little opinion) this holiday is really still about the love of someone and making that person feel special, instead of cramming into an over booked resto, with a price fixed menu, cheesy red roses and that box of chocolates with the (mostly disgusting) random fillings*. People aren't dressed in red and pink today and there aren't cupids hanging over the entrance to the Metro - although that would be funny to see! So all this thinking really got me interested to see what I could dig up about the history of St. Valentin in France... here is a taste of what I found...

Valentines Day Traditions in France  courtesy of Lost in France

"No one really knows how Valentines day originally came about or even who St Valentine really was - the Catholic church has three different St Valentines and in ancient Rome the 14th of February was marked as a holiday to honour the god Juno. Custom has it that in France and England Valentines day originally came to be held in mid February because this was the time of year that birds and animals started pairing off and mating. Eventually it became popular to exchange small tokens and love letters and so the day was born.

An old Valentines day custom in France and now officially banned was called the "une loterie d'amour" or "drawing for love". This entailed single people of all ages entering houses that faced opposite each other and calling out through the windows till eventually they paired off with each other. The male suitor if not particularly attracted to his partner would leave her and the women left single would build a large bonfire and ceremoniously burn images of the men that had deserted them whilst simultaneously hurling abuse and curses at the ungrateful men. Though this was probably very therapeutic for the rejected women inevitably it was a practice that soon became out of hand and was eventually banned by the French government. < I am going to add my two sense here because I find this super interesting... seriously... why ban this it sounds like a good freaking time, well I guess as long as you are chosen but if you aren't just make sure you have a bad of marshmallows handy and a good roasting stick (don't forget a cold beer or glass -actually bottle- of wine and make it a party!! >

In France Valentines cards are called cartes d'amities, the first recorded Valentines greeting was supposed to have been sent by the Duke of Orleans, a Frenchman who was held prisoner in the Tower of London after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. During his imprisonment the young duke is said to have sent poems & love letters to his wife in France."

So to close out this little lesson on VDay in France - let me share with you a few awesome les petites phrases de la drague (pick up lines) to help you and yours celebrate this day of hearts, kisses and love (en Francais bien sure!)

Est-ce que ton père a été un voleur ? Parce qu'il a volé les étoiles du ciel pour les mettre dans tes yeux.
(Was your father a thief? Because he stole the stars from the sky to put them in your eyes)

Tu as dû avoir très mal quand tu es tombée du ciel... 
(It must've hurt when you fell from heaven...)

Tu dois être fatiguée parce que tu as trotté dans ma tête toute la journée.
(You must be tired, because you've been running through my head all day)

Je viens d'arriver dans ta ville. Est-ce que tu pourrais m'indiquer le chemin jusqu'à ton appartement ?
(I just arrived in this city. Could you tell me the way to your apartment?)

*Don't get me wrong, even though that sounded a bit bitter,  I love all that stupid crap too so if anyone wants to send flowers, chocolates or jewelry - it will be accepted with open arms!! Any chance to make a person feel special today or any other day of the year should be fully taken advantage of.

WOOOT WOOOOOOOT!!!

Although I will probably be the only one that gets excited about what I am about to write, I can't help but share it, even if I am like- oh I don't know - 6 months or so late... oops, sometimes I am a bit slow on the uptake. BUT as I was reviewing my blog stats the other day (side note about this to come below), I noticed that there was an unfamiliar link that was directing people - or at least one person, quite a few times, to my blog from A Taste Of Garlic. A blog that I have been following for awhile, because it is all about other people's blogs that are here in Paris, they could be American and here for school, families gettitng used to the culture, French cuisine blogs - there really is a serious mix of everything in this one -stop - about France - shopping -spot.  Anyway, I clicked it and what did I find - a sweet little shout out to my own personal favorite blog - Nouvelles Aventures!! WOOT WOOT for me, the best part is that the shout out is for one of my favorite posts and ever present topic of conversation - Men… French vs American. Now, I would prefer that you go and read  both of the posts yourself (use the links above) but just in case, making that extra click is too much check it out:

The whole preface of this paragraph is about a woman trying to attract Australlian or French men...

" From what I hear, she’s not doing too well on attracting French ones...

Unless she want’s to inform me.us otherwise?

Perhaps she needs to take some advice from Ksam at Totally Frenched Out or Laura at The Everyday Life of a Young American Girl in France?

Or perhaps she should ask Heather at Nouvelles Adventures who asked Why are French men so irresistible in her post on Men… French vs American?

Heather is, of course, one of the three joint winners of this week’s Award for Explaining What You Should Know About France! "

So thank you Mr. Keith Eckstein for noticing my little blog and sharing it with a few others, although, as I mentioned before, I am a bit slow on noticing in this case, it is very much appreciated and I hope my man comparision will help someone out in the long run... because we all know how my French man experience worked out... or should I say didn't work out ;)

** Side note - only because I mentioned this above when reviewing my stats for the blog. Not that I expect millions of hits or even want that. I write to share with my family or friends who need a break from work and there is nothing interesting to read on MSNBC or CNN (hehe) and could be wondering what I am up to. But mostly I write for me, because when this whole experience is over I want to be able to remember every dance with a pompier on the 14th of July, every strike I sat through on the metro, every heartbreak, every experience and well just everything. But please if you do read, feel free to comment and share, I sort of look forward to the thought that someone will!!

Danger... Air Conditioners Gone Wild

Ok. So... There are way too many things wrong with this picture. FYI to those of you wondering what the on earth this is a picture of - it's a portable air conditioner dangling Chuck Norris style from a building I walk by everyday on my way to (and from) the office...

Back to all the things wrong... Let me just name a few:

1. We will start with the obvious.... Hanging big and presumably heavy objects out of third floor window is just no ok. I think it's safe to say this is beyond a safety hazard.
2. Summer is on strike here in Paris. I won't lie I think I have worn a jacket more in July and so far this month than I did for all of last fall. It's grey and rainy and the last few days Mr. Wind decided to join the party so why on earth an air conditioner is hanging out of a window is seriously beyond me.
3. Ok I know I said summer was on strike but the humidity doesn't ever quit here (awesome for the hair.. HA NOT!!) so pumping cold air and having the window wide open... Yup. Pointless.
4. On the same note even if it was hot how is having the window open helping to keep the cold air that is blowing from the machine IN the building?!?!
5. I think I'll end the list here because well honestly I have spent way too much time today trying to rationalise this mystery.... Who carried this thing from their house or the store I suppose, on the metro, up the stairs and then proceeded to shove that thing out a window that only opens partially??
Thoughts? Answers? Anything...
I guess from now on I need to keep a closer eye on what exactly is hanging above my head as I mosey down the street...

Today...

I was browsing a few news outlets on-line today looking for some new info about the strikes - that we are lucky enough to still be having here in France, but, instead came up with a little tid bit of history I happened to find quite interesting. Today marks an anniversary that I (now) have two connections too:


On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

This inspired me to do a bit more research... go ahead... read on and be enlightened.

The statue was originally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World" and was a gift from France to American in honor of their friendship and alliance during the American Revolution. The statue stands approximately 151 feet tall and was designed by a French sculptor, Frederic- Auguste Bartholdi. Now I am not sure what else this man was responsible for sculpting in his life time but I am fairly sure that if you Google his name this green lady would be the most well known..... Back to Miss. Liberty - the statue was delivered in 1885 to New York dismantled and package in about 200 different boxes. It was reassembled ( did you know that Lady Liberty is made of copper sheets?? Now you do!!!! ) on a cornerstone in the harbor and during the dedication ceremony (given by then President Cleveland) the last bolt was put in place. For the next 32 years the statue was the first sight of "home" to over 12 million immigrants as they entered the United States.

So today not only marks the anniversary of a very familiar landmark but it marks the 7th day of strikes in the last month. You learn something new everyday!!