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Just Another American in Paris - Paris
Just Another American in Paris is Anne’s blog about how a typical Washington, DC family (with two policy-oriented jobs, two kids, and two cars) came to Paris for a three-year, which eventually became a four-year tour.
Being a blog about Paris it does, of course, offer many insights into the vexing question of Dog Poop! So, let’s get started with Here’s the Poop and then move on to Parisians and Their Dogs.
I’m not sure that Dog Poop is such an issues in rural Brittany (where I live), perhaps it rains too much for the dogs to go out and thus, all the poop remains indoors?
Of course, there’s more to Paris than Dog Poop. There are dead people as well! You can find some if you spend An Afternoon at Père-Lachaise.
But, being the sort of person I am, I just wonder how many of the inhabitants of Père-Lachaise ended up there because they went arse over top after slipping in, what has to be, by now, Paris’s most famous landmark(s)?
Moving swiftly (but keeping a careful eye open) on….
Happily, this blog contains the obligatory post about the 2CV.
Now, here’s an interesting fact. I’m not too sure how true it is but it was told to me by a Frenchman (he was drunk at the time but that was quite normal for him and I don’t think it detracts at all from the story; it may even add to the local colour?)….
When the 2CV was first put into production, it was found that the bonnet didn’t close properly. It was discovered that if you gave it a good boot, it would then close properly (or, at least, as properly as anything on a 2CV works!)
Thus, someone was employed (an Algerian, I believe) to give a hefty kick to the bonnet of every 2cv that came off the production line!
Now, as I said, I’m not too sure how true that story is (as it was told to me by a drunken Frenchman) but, even if it isn’t true, it ought to be!
So, back to Anne’s blog and what do we find?
A quick look at the category listing on the sidebar shows that there are 44 posts about French Cuisine, including this one about Fruits de Mer (which happens to be my favourite food of all time) and this one about roasted pigs’ heads (which are, interestingly enough, also my favourite food of all time!)
There are 109 posts about Street Scenes. My favourite has to be the one about Roller Cops! Or perhaps it’s this one (scroll down to see the interesting parking!) or this one… For the lack of a ….C or even this one about Creative Parking (readers of my blog at www.BretonDiary.com will understand where I’m coming from!)
Anne guides us cearfully through the streets of Paris, requesting that we Watch Your Step and warning us about The Parisians that Everyone Loves to Hate.
With some advice about French Stereotypes we are suitably prepared for this Street Scene.
But then, just to balance things up, Anne shows us how beautiful Paris can be.
Anne does pop over to visit Jolly Old England and has a few things to say about London Town.
But, before long she’s back in Paris where she discusses that other vexing question that is in the minds of many of the intellectual spirits of the Left Bank… Potty Parity.
And, here’s me muttering on about all things Parisian (from a perspective of Just Another American in Paris) and spoiling all your fun. So, if any of you lost soles out there feel a bit Lost in Translation, pop over to Just Another American in Paris and let Anne sort it all out!
And me? Well, having scoured this blog in vain for the obligatory Lingerie post (obligatory for a Paris blog, that is; in rural Brittany, our lingerie choices come down to summer long-johns or winter long-johns and we don’t talk about them…. much!), I’ve decided to take a quick look at Girls with Brass. As Anne says… “You go Girls!”
All the best
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A selection of Books About Paris that might interest you
- Little Black Book of Paris (Little Black Books)
- A Tour of Two Cities: 18th century London and Paris compared
- Where to Wear Paris 2006: Fashion Shopping Guide
- Essential Paris (AA Essential)
- The Rough Guide to Paris (Rough Guide Paris)
- Paris (AA Spiral Guide)
- Paris (Globetrotter Travel Pack)
- Paris Hotels and More: Rooms with a View (Taschen Hotel)
- The Historic Hotels of Paris: A Select Guide
- Paris (Lonely Planet Encounter)
Paris | Keith Eckstein April 9, 2010
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By Anne, April 9, 2010 @ 6:37 am
Keith, thanks for the review. I did not realize the giant hole in my observations of French culture; I’ll get on that lingerie post right away!
By Corine, April 10, 2010 @ 6:13 pm
Keith, I am so excited to bump into your site. I dream of visiting Paris one day and your blog is a candy shop for me.
I look forward to following along. Thanks for doing a great job
By Ange, April 11, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
HA! Dog poop is one of the reasons I left Paris!!