What's Your Arrondissement?

As every Parisian adult knows, and every Parisian school-child learns, the arrondissements in Paris are shaped like a snail, with arrondissements 1-5 forming the heart of the city. Sure, I recently used this same map for a different posting. But I'm finding it's coming in handy yet again...



When we were planning our move to Paris, we had thought of living in the 6th or 7th, where the schools are known to be good, till one of our good friends, a Frenchman who had lived in Paris himself, quietly appraised me and said, "You're not a 6th or 7th sort of person." They're lovely places to live, and it seems like most expats choose these neighborhoods over all others. But he was 100% right; I'm just not 6th or 7th enough.

Every breakdown and guide to Paris' arrondissements I've seen focuses on the tourist sites in each area. But if you live here, what does your arrondissement say about you? The answer's here at A Year in Fromage.


 

Bubble Trouble

In case you were wondering, Bubble Tea -- those sweet Chinese tapioca drinks -- are taking over Paris, too. Well, anyplace there's Chinese food nearby and in many tourist spots where there's likely to be Chinese tourists. The girls love their Bubble Tea, as you can tell at the New Year's Parade in Paris' Chinatown. It was their favorite part of the event. In fact, they look like an ad for Bubble Tea. "Bubble Tea! It's Bubblicious!"

 

It's a packed crowd, but the girls are small enough to squeeze in at the front. I give Gigi the camera, and see whether she's inherited the Kodak gene. Turns out, she has! Here are some parts of the Chinese New Year's Parade that are colorful, and interesting. But not as great as Bubble Tea:

 

 

 

 

 

Gong Hey Fat Choy! Happy New Year! And may it be filled with bubbles.

 

 

 

Sweetest Job Ever

My most recent article for the Wall Street Journal is about the best artisanal, hand-made candy makers in Europe. And while I can't repeat any information or photos that you'll find in the article, I can send you over there to read it.

As you can imagine, Anthony and the girls had a lot of fun helping me research it:

 

Meanwhile, I am allowed to share with you some things that didn't make the article; I could write a whole book on just this store and its contents!

 

The store in Paris, Bonbon au Palais (which means Candy at the Palace), is the prettiest candy store I have ever seen in my life, bar none.

There's even more about the store at A Year in Fromage, but what I didn't include there was all the non-French candy the girls also got to enjoy.

Here are loads of delicious Irish candies in our house for the tasting and photo shoot:

 

 

 

And here with a gorgeous Spanish lollipop. They're not complaining!

 

Game Theory

I've talked about Ticket to Ride, a board game about trains around Europe. But that's just the tip of it. We're big into family game time, especially on cold, rainy winter weekends, and we especially love games that tie in thematically with our lives here.

Memoire de France is a memory-match game with special places around France, including many Paris spots we know and love -- one of which we can see from our window, and exactly half of which we can walk to in five minutes or less:

 

To read about more great French- and European-themed games, check out the post at A Year in Fromage.

It's Not All Romance

When I look out my window or walk around my neighborhood, I see gorgeous old buildings that look just like the Paris of your dreams. But this, too, is Paris...

 

To read more about "inner" vs. "outer" Paris, and to see the not-so-romantic buildings in my life, check out the posting, This Too Is Paris.

And to see everything from Senegal's glorious color to its goats and from the garbage to the giraffes, check out Family In Senegal.