These are the People in my Arrondissement

I love my arrondissement and I have never felt more at home than I have in the 7th.  After three weeks of drinking café crèmes, buying apricots and demi-baguettes, and visiting the papeterie for writing supplies, I have come to know some of my neighbours.  

Je vous présente mes voisins....

• A fawn coloured senior French Bulldog with one red bulging eye.  He is walked daily along rue Cler by a woman who only wears mini-skirts and has to bend very carefully when cleaning up after Monsieur Bulldog.

• A trio of tiny nuns dressed in navy blue habits that grope and fondle the produce at Top Halles.  They have animated discussions about grapefruit sizes and are very selective about which green beans they buy.

• There are always a couple of rich American ex-pats in their tennis skirts, eating croissants at Le Petit Cler and discussing their summer travel plans.  "This year we only get one week in the Hamptons because we have to visit Chip's parents in South Beach."

• A group of clochards that straddle the unused vélibs at the intersection of rue Cler and rue du Champ de Mars.  They drink canned beer and sing boisterously.

• The woman who serves me every day at the boulangerie and welcomes me with a cheery, "Comme d'habitude, Madame!", as soon as I walk in the door.  She hums the whole time and never stops greeting and thanking customers.  

• A stunning petite woman with short dark hair and toned legs that  wears a different pair of red-soled Louboutin's every day.  She glides across the cobblestones of rue Cler like she is wearing ballet slippers and not towering four inch works of art.

• A woman who reminds me of Inspector Clouseau.  Every morning she sits near me at Le Petit Cler, trench coat tightly wrapped around her, whispering in French with one hand cupping the mouthpiece of her cell phone.  With her free hand, she unwraps chocolates and sneaks bites in between whispers.  She always has a copy of Le Figaro but I have never seen her read it.

Moment of perfect happiness...

Spreading a thick layer of market bought blue cheese on a still warm demi-bagutte.  Blue cheese is the new margarine.  

My new "secret" staircase at Tuileries Gardens.  It lets me enjoy my favourite view of Paris while avoiding the tour buses.