Ft. Knox Doors

Before moving into our apartment here on “Rue Nic” in January, I lived in a series of short-term rental apartments throughout the second half of last year.  In the words of a fellow expat, I couldn't help but notice the vault-like construction of apartment doors.  “Steel construction with multi-point deadbolt locks, with steel plates and channels to prevent a crowbar from getting a hold. And if you want to get a key duplicated for an apartment you don't own, you need almost as much documentation as you do for your carte de séjour!” (French residency card)

But, as my colleague pointed out, one realizes that most Parisians aren't here in the summer. It’s as if Moses parted the Seine and a mass exodus ensued.  He forwarded an e-mail from the U.S. Embassy that provided a friendly reminder to all of us Americans who were left behind, and are used to telling the neighbor to keep an eye on the house if we leave for a whole week. In Paris, all your neighbors are gone too, making August National Burglary Month in France. The irony is that most apartment buildings aren’t air conditioned, so you have to keep the windows open to capture enough breezes to combat the stifling city heat.  It must have been the burglary rings that coined the saying, when God closes a door, he opens a window.  (July 23, 2010)

Ft. Knox Doors: Postscript

Three days later, I let a stranger in the house. Someone knocked on our back door (old service entrance in the kitchen) at midnight saying they couldn't get in the building's front door. He said he was Mr. Dev-(something) from the 5th floor, saying the front door system was not functioning and he couldn’t get in.  Pause: I looked to our weekend houseguest, who nodded, and decided we could take him if there was a problem (Sid was in bed.).  It was an older gentleman, blue jacket with brass buttons, profusely apologetic and briskly making his way to our front door to get out. Sid was furious that I'd let a stranger in the house at that time of night, at the outset of vacation / burglary season. I didn’t sleep very well, thinking maybe I’d put my family at risk.

Next morning, it turns out that the front entry door really was broken and the guy really is our neighbor. He got in through the basement door and had to hustle back (as much as a 70-year-old can) to let his family – who was waiting down on the sidewalk – in through the basement door and up the dangerously narrow back stairs. He came by mid-morning to thank us (OK, me!) for helping, and suggesting we get together for an aperitif when he and the fam return from holiday.  I’m glad I was able to break the ice with a neighbor by helping him out…even if I still didn’t catch his last name.  (July 29, 2010)

Cass

Perfect Storm At 44 Rue Nic

Bonjour Everyone,

Very early this morning (at around 0045) our "back" doorbell buzzed which had never happened before.
I was already in bed but Cassie, Mark and Susie were still awake.  The buzzer kept buzzing so Mark and Cassie went to the kitchen back door and spoke with a French man outside they couldn't see who told them in broken English that the downstairs front door was broken (It's electrically operated with a code pad that opens the latch when the proper code is inputted) and that he needed to come through our kitchen to get upstairs.  They let him in which I was unhappy about not knowing who he was and after receiving a notice from the U.S. Embassy this last week about vacation time here when organized gangs of thieves roam neighborhoods looking for apartments to rob.

He was in fact one of our neighbors who knew who we were but who had never deigned to actually have anything to do with us.  He came downstairs this morning to thank us again and to tell us he wanted to have drinks with us when he returned from vacation later in August.  We actually introduced ourselves and he introduced himself and it was a pleasant exchange.

Cassie called the apartment management company to let them know about the door problem and got an evasive answer from them as to the time that the said repairs would actually take place.  Of course, with the electrical door system out that also meant that we couldn't access the basement to take trash down unless we took it down a very rickety back elevator with a thin plywood floor that looks like it was original equipment in this 100 year old building.  I also had to go to the store as we've had more mouths to feed this weekend and we were out of some things so this entry will close with the email I just sent Cassie a while ago that explains the above title for this blog entry.

Of course there will be many many more blog entries but this is the most interesting one in a while.  Here's the email:

Hi,

Before I went to the store, I met the folks downstairs who I think belong to the fella you let in last night.  They were still packing a car with bags for vacation and wanted to know how I was going to get back in.  The lady from Embassy (our apartment management company here in Paris...*) lied to you this morning.  Angela has been gone for at least 2 days and won't be back until the first week in September.  The reason I know this is there was an "exterminator" with grip clamps and a dark green plastic bag in front of our door when I returned from the store with groceries who was trying in vain to get the front door open.  I told him that it was "terminee" and asked if he was the repair person while I yelled up to get Niall to come down to let me in.  He then let himself in to the basement somehow but when I went downstairs with Niall and Kian to watch the door while they tried to get into the basement, both the exterminator guy with the clamps and green bag and another 30 something type young man with an IPhone and helmet were standing outside the front door.  The guy with the helmet lives in the 7th floor and the exterminator was here to meet him and he told me there are rats in his apartment and the exterminator was there to kill them.  They both needed to go through our kitchen to access the back steps as the regular steps don't go all the way to the top floor so we now have another neighbor who wants to bring beers down to share with us.  I gave him our home phone number in case he's locked out again and told him that we'd let him in.

The twins brought all of the garbage bags back upstairs and Niall took them down to the basement in the back elevator which has a plywood floor so only he went with the bags and came right back up.  Mark and Susie took the bottles to the recycle place on their way to some exploring over near Passy and will be back by 3.  I'm calling their cab for them momentarily which will be here by 3:30.

I purchased tickets for Enrico Pierranunzi on Saturday night at Sunside.  I think the show is sometime around 9.

It's been quite a morning here and things just keep getting better.  You might want to let Mr. Tartarin know that there are rats upstairs which most assuredly means that they are in the walls too.  There truly was a reason we brought cats particularly Gracie who's way meaner than Nellie and the two of them together should keep us safe but the folks at Embassy have more than just electrical problems.  The neighbor from the 7th floor also complained bitterly about the pigeons as I guess there are far more places for them to have sex on the roof than even outside our windows.  I look very forward to hearing what Mr. Tartarin is going to do or not do about the rats.

Hope you're having a lovely day.

Love you,

Sid

--
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Hunter S. Thompson

Love to all and sleep light wherever you may be tonight.  You never know what might be in the walls...

Sid

Mark Patrick And Susie

My old friend Mark Patrick and his girlfriend Susie arrived late last night from Frankfurt.  I hadn't seen Mark since Fall 1977 and had never met Susie who doesn't speak English fluently.  Even though it was late we all sat down and talked and talked until Susie mentioned something about "singen" looking at Cassie and I.  Mark said "she'd like you to sing" and so it began and before we knew it 2:30 am arrived as nobody wanted to stop.  Cassie loved Mark and Susie and loved singing with Mark. 

Mark and I essentially picked up where we left off so many years ago and it was magic.  It's Saturday afternoon and they don't leave until Tuesday so much more music will be played. 

It's a gift to me and I'm grateful.  So good to see my old friend and meet his lady.  More follows every day this weekend.

Love to all everywhere......*

Sid

Asperateur Indeed

Hi folks,

Today we're cleaning the apartment as Angela essentially stopped working about 2 weeks ago in preparation for her vacation in Spain.  Perhaps she'll be back by sometime in August.  Me and the guys are used to cleaning as it's what we used to do in Lynchburg.  The vacuum (asperateur)  that came with the apartment was shall we say bit past it's prime so a little over a week ago we ventured to the local Darty (pretty much the same as a Best Buy) and purchased an LG (Korean) bagless vacuum cleaner which I must say KICKS ASS.  It's a little bit of a hassle to clean but it works great and it has wonderful attachments that help with cat fur reduction on the furniture.

Cassie comes home from the U.S. tomorrow morning and we intend on having the house pretty presentable when she walks in the door.  It's quite something to rejoice in a new asperateur. 

So goes it in Paris this morning.  

Bon journee!

Sid

Vuvuzelas And Car Horns Late Last Night

Although we live in Paris evidently there are either a lot of Spaniards in town or folks who were very very glad to see Spain win the World Cup last night.  As for the "beautiful game", most of the match looked like both teams reverted to American football last night sans pads.   Something like over 12 yellow cards and one red card.  In essence, it was an ugly game and although it was at times entertaining, for the most part it was much like a street fracas.

Soon after the Spaniards scored their only goal the car horns started honking outside and I could hear people yelling down the street.  I think that was around 2315 local time (11:15 PM) and the noise continued as I endeavored to fall asleep after midnight.  If I wasn't sure where I was I would have thought I was at Mardi Gras.

Then, this morning I was awakened very early by the sound of thunder and wind.  Rain was falling at about 0545 and I got up to close the windows as lightening and thunder boomed across the faux canyons of the 16th arrondissement.  It was quite a show and the most violent storm I'd witnessed since arriving here.  It's still raining as I write this although now just a steady rain which was needed here.  The high temp today will probably not top 77F which we'll take and enjoy even if it is raining.  I have to make a short store run and start doing interview prep with the twins as they have their big interviews with the American Library here tomorrow at around 1630.  It's another college day too with both Kian and Niall continuing their college studies with Strayer University online which again has proven to be one of the best calls we've ever made for both of them.

Lastly, whoever foisted the vuvuzelas (made in China thank you very much.....) on the world should be shot and his or her family sold into slavery somewhere off planet.  They drove everyone insane at the world cup and they're everywhere here in the streets.  As if there wasn't already enough noise here already........  Cassie told me via Skype yesterday in Poquoson with our friends the Hortons how "quiet" it was there.  Amen to that.........although she told me after we arrived here in March that she'd never noticed all the noise here before but then that was with the windows closed with winter weather still outside.  When summer came and the windows stayed open more it was like having everything in the street right next to us in bed.  Jarring to say the least although we've sort of gotten used to it.  I am certain that when we return to the US we'll seek out a far quieter place.  We DO love the apartment and again love living here.  You'll just see references to the cacophony outside from time to time in these posts.

Love to all everywhere........  The next noise fest will be Wednesday night for Bastille Day here with jets doing flybys and tons of fireworks and drunk people.......can't wait........*

A bientot,

Sid

European Weather Guessers

Just a short post to thank the European Weather Guessers who are almost as good (or bad) as the local Virginia Weatherman back home.  They missed it completely with their forecast for today and we're lovin it.  The last few days have been in the high 80s or low 90s and since we have no air conditioning it's been very warm in the apartment.  It's been a very long time since any of us were without air conditioning so sleeping at night has been sweaty and also being in a city with few green spaces makes it all the more hotter.

Today the forecast weather was sunny and around 93 but right after 10 am the clouds moved in and now the revised forecast is around 83 with thunder showers the rest of the day.  It's cool in the apartment for the first time in a week and me and the guys are all enjoying a respite from the heat.

Cassie however is over the Atlantic headed for Dulles Airport for a week of meetings and some travel in Virginia.  She took new sun dresses as everything there has been melting for weeks.

So bonjour from the "chill" zone today.

Sleeping is gonna be good tonight.

Love to all everywhere.  Remember to never take your a/c for granted.

A bientot,

Sid

26th In The 16th

The old chestnut about time flying when you're having fun really applies today as it's our 26th wedding anniversary today or at least at around 2300 local.  I suspect I'd sound a bit too pat saying that it doesn't really feel like that much time has passed but it sure has and I would have never imagined that we'd be celebrating it here today in the 16th arrondissement here in Paris, France.  I've made reservations at our favorite French restaurant Chez Geraud this evening and it's going to be sweet.....

Cassie heads to the US Saturday for a week and next week the twins and I go for their interviews at the American Library to volunteer there hopefully for the rest of our stay here in Paris.

Sometime in the next few days or early next week the makings of a small PA system arrive from Musikhaus Thomann in Germany and the wood shedding begins for our show in Cluny on August 15th and to get me ready to play out as a solo here in our hood this fall.  We'll have it set up in our living room making a sort of "salon" for impromptu jam sessions if we meet some new musicians in our travels here.

It's a bit cloudy today and in the low 80s which is just fine with us after the mid 90s last week.   Life is good here in the 16th every day even on hot days.  

It's great to be celebrating my 26th anniversary with the woman I love so much.......*


Love to all everywhere......*

Sid

I'd Like A Little American Please............

We've been here 4 months now and our culture coach Gilles Asselin had warned us that the French don't warm up quickly to strangers let alone foreigners. 

Late in the morning 2 days ago our doorbell rang and I went to answer the door.  There was a very formally dressed elderly lady on the other side who immediately began speaking to me in French.  I held my hand up and said, "je sui American" and told her I was still learning the language at which point she spoke in reasonably good English and told me she was my neighbor directly below our apartment.  I introduced myself to her in French and she shook my hand but didn't offer her name while explaining she was on her way upstairs to visit another friend.  There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments and then she turned to go and I wished her "bon journee" and closed the door.

I told Cassie about it when she got home that evening and she laughed and said, "now there's a blog entry for you; her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she wanted to actually speak however briefly with the Americans upstairs but she sure wasn't going to give them her name."  I'm certain we were an integral part of her discussion with her friend upstairs.  I had met the son of a 90 plus year old couple who live on the top floor and his name is "Emme'" who's an independent film maker and of all things, a harpist.  We exchanged business cards and I've bumped into him a couple of times in our lobby but haven't spoken to him since.  We also say "bonjour" to other folks we see outside their apartments but that's about it for the time being.

Perhaps more of  the folks in our building are starting to become interested in letting a little "American" into their lives.  I asked the lady from downstairs the other day whether we were alright as neighbors and she replied, "bon....".  Now that's a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one.........*

Maybe next time she'll tell me who she is......*

It's kind of nice being such a curiosity.  I guess our secret is still safe here.

Love to all everywhere.....

From your friendly local quiet American.

Sid