Food, the Louvre and Work

After two weeks in Paris, I think that we have finally settled into a bit of a groove. Nancy has found all the places that she needs to shop from: the fromagerie, le cave du vin, l’épicerie, etc. Most things can be had right in our neighborhood, although the big Franprix store is a ways down St. Michel. We have tried to minimize how much we eat out, at least for French food. We simply can’t afford it, or at least we would prefer not to fling our money away like that. When I got all my paperwork set up to start working at the Muséum, I expressed some shock that the discounted, employee price for lunch at the cafeteria was 5 €. “Êtes-vous Scottish?” It is interesting to note that, in this French socialist Utopia, people who are paid a higher salary are charged more at the cafeteria. Yuri, another of the visiting curators who is more senior than I, gets to pay a little more than 6 € for lunch.

Fortunately, there are some lower-priced dining options for when we want to get out of the apartment. Donner sandwiches, as kebabs on pita bread are called here, are a favorite choice. Last Friday, after Daphne had to visit a pediatrician about her inflamed ears, she got choose dinner. We went to the Donner sandwich spot near the Jardin des Plantes on rue Linné, and Daphne proclaimed it the best meal she had ever eaten. I had to agree. On the way back home, we stopped at Mouffetard for a crêpe. That’s living.

Speaking of food, we had dinner last Sunday night with Sim, Naomi and their 7 year old sone, Remy, at their apartment in the 1st. Naomi is the sister of one of my friends from work, and she is the manager of our flat on rue St. Jacques. It was a lovely evening of wonderful company, excellent wine and delicious stinky cheese. Daphne and Remy hit it off so well that they met up the following Wednesday at AquaBoulevard to swim and whoop it up. Daphne had a blast, although that was probably what exacerbated her ear condition.

It has been nice knowing that we have so much time in Paris — and that Barb and Kari are coming next week — so we haven’t been trying to cram seeing and doing everything into our days. We can make short adventures here and there, and then take the time to read or sit in the park or write or whatever.

The Louvre — which Daphne for some reason insists on calling the “Lerve” — is free to everyone on the first Sunday of each month, and 1 June happened to be the first Sunday of June. Daphne and Nancy had already been there a couple of times on days when I have been working (Nancy bought a pass and Daphne is free anyway). The chance for a free visit, though, was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. Apparenly, neither could any other tourist in France. When we got to the museum, the line was so long that it had to be managed by Louvre cops that herded people to two different entrances. We came in by the Lions rather than the Pyramid, which was something new for all of us. We spent the morning exploring mostly the Italian painters, trying to explain to our pagan daughter who Jesus was and why people liked to paint him so much.

Last week at work, I finally got to start handling some specimens, and not at all too soon! There is a mountain of work to be done in the short time that I am here — although I guess if I don’t finish, it just means that I need to come back. My mission is to find the type specimens of French freshwater mussels stashed in the Zootheque. The Zootheque is where the main part of the collections of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle are stored, beneath the Jardin des Plantes. It is like a big cement bunker, a dungeon with rows upon rows of mollusk shells. It is a cold, uncomfortable place to work, but I love it. Last week, I set about inventorying what was there, and this week, I will likely spend much of my time doing the same. If I can get through all the Anodonta specimens (one of the four genera that I am working with) by the end of June, I will be happy.

Next week, Barb and Kari are coming, and Nancy and Daphne are looking forward to showing them around. Now, every time Daphne whines about something she wants in a shop, we just say for her bring Grandma here and see if she will get it for you!