My New Blog Home

In case you're wondering what I'm up to these days, go check out my latest alternative to having a midlife crisis (or perhaps it is one, in disguise): www.roadmuse.com

It's a "musing" and video blog, made with my husband and creative partner Cedric (actually he did all the hard work of making the website; I just breeze in and out being creative whenever I feel like it).

Hope to see you in another blogging universe....and keep eating your greens!

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien

What I didn't do in Paris:

I didn't become a famous artist, nor did I stage an awesome comeback with my band (save that for next decade!).

I didn't master the subjunctive, and words like "moelleux" and "citrouille" continue to smirk at me, daring me to try to pronounce them.

I didn't become a French chef, and the sad fact is I still don't know how to use a knife and fork properly.

I didn't write a book about being an expat in France (though I could have!).

But I did make some good friends here. I did look at a lot of things, and a lot of people, and I even painted some of them. I had a lot of experiences that I wouldn't have had if I had stayed in my cozy apartment in Oakland, and I guess that's the reason I came here in the first place.

So now I am leaving France with my five senses intact, ready to work on whatever's next. Non, je ne regrette rien... (except maybe those extra helpings of gratin dauphinois...)

Last Day in Paris

Today is May 1st, a national holiday, and Paris is a car-free city (almost). I feel a bit like Will Smith in I Am Legend, walking the streets in search of other humans (I'm exaggerating, of course; there are always other humans in Paris, even on a national holiday, it's one of the things that makes the city an interesting, exciting place to live).

But it made me wonder: would I have stayed here if there had been less cars, or less people? Would I have stayed if I had had the house and garden - the space - that I dream of having? But then it wouldn't be Paris, it would be somewhere else. Maybe someday they will get rid of the cars and Paris will be transformed into a green city. There are already many encouraging signs pointing that way. But it will always be a dense, packed place. And I am seeking wider spaces, more open spaces...so I must bid this beautiful lady au revoir, for now. See you in my dreams...

Time For a Change

I can't believe it. The window in Avize that has been untouched for the last six years has finally CHANGED! I'm taking it as a sign for me too, to move on.

Farewell lovely Champagne, lovely vineyards and kitschy store windows. Farewell lush farmland and valleys and forests full of wild mushrooms and even wilder boars (though I never saw one).

Farewell, farewell, anon, hither, parting is such truly sweet sorrow!

Back from Japan!

A wondrous trip. Too many things to blog about but I'll try to get around to posting some here and there. We arrived in Nagoya at the tail end of the cherry blossom season. What a delight: the world in pink. It almost made me want to write haikus. Just got back to Paris and my eyes are still readjusting to gray....

Food in Japan (both fast and slow)

Images of Japan

Reading the Signs

This was on the outside of a building, a hair salon, in Kyoto.

Subtitles

As I prepare to leave this glamourous life in Paris for an unknown one in the States, I'm aware that many things - both large and small - will change about my daily environment and influences.

For one thing, I won't be reading subtitles in French every time I watch a DVD. I've grown so accustomed to reading the subtitles instead of listening to the dialogue, that I wonder if I will start subconsciously adding them in.

(Bonus points if you can guess which movie this is! Clue: It's Hitchcock)

Rainbow Over Boulevard Magenta

Second double rainbow I've seen this month, after weeks of crazy weather: rain, hail, sleet, and even snow in Paris! After a relatively mild winter, April has been somewhat of a shock. Maybe not the cruelest month, but certainly the coldest.