TechnoT savvy

Part of the reason for the very intermittent missives is that neither of us is tech savvy. Yes, Michael teaches about keeping up with technology, but that doesn't help us master things like this. And so after spending lots of time uploading images that now seem to have completely disappeared, we sit here wondering how to proceed. Okay, we'll deal. A few quick updates. Marjorie's co-author, Dixon, came to Paris. We've been working well together. Our writing voices & working styles are so similar that Dixon said, "We share a common ancestor." For a change of pace, I have shifted from writing about food markets to snapping photos of various kinds of markets--fabrics, stamps, antiques, birds, buttons--all kinds of images that might (or not) land in the final book. We had the relief of finally obtaining our carte séjours, a bureaucratic circus that required countless hours of time, reams of paperwork, and even a few chest Xrays, medical exams, interviews, and the forced watching of a film about French values... and finally netted us i.d. cards festooned with burgundy (how appropriate)-colored stamps, which we will probably never need to show anyone. But at least we can't be kicked out of the country for that reason. Our enjoyment of the food continues. Among the highlights have been a traditional Lyonnais meal with a dish of silkworkers' brains (not real ones), fantastic falafels, morning croissants (we've happily fallen into a rut with a few favorites), & rhum babas. Marjorie has acquired a taste for oysters; Michael hasn't. Another highlight was an early morning visit to Rungis market--a humongous wholesale & distribution center that feeds most of Paris. Maybe you should be glad that we can't upload the pix, since we've got several of the meat halls that would make your stomach turn: severed tails, tongues, and other t- anatomy. The food halls & sights were so chilling that Marjorie found it necessary afterwards to dip into a therapeutic hot sauna in the Marais. We've gone to gritty cabarets in Montmartre and to elegant Grand and Petit Palaces. We've discovered some edgy art at lesser known galleries and rediscovered classic sculptures at the Louvre. Paris has all extremes, plus everything in between. We are currently in London for a few days and enjoying the re-immersion in English, but we both miss Paris. We miss our friends & family too. Come to think of it, who needs technology after all?