So good to be Slim!

Saturday March 11

Must go to cell phone store to get more minutes on the phone. Walk to the only Orange (french carrier) store I know on St. Germain and start to rehearse in my head how to ask in french. As I am approaching the man in the back there is a woman speaking to him in English and asking him all sorts of questions. Sigh! I am next and ask him to load more minutes into my phone. No problem. That was easy! After me a family comes in and it is father, mother and daughter. They are English and father says to phone guy Parlez-vous anglais? Guy smiles looks at me and winks. I walk out overhearing English dad saying my daughter just moved to Paris and needs a cell phone. Yeah, that is not all she'll need I say to myself. Tonight is dinner with Katie (english new friend) in the Bastille and out for a late night b/c there is no early nights with Katie. Katie and I meet first at my place and then we are on the metro to go to dinner. I do the ususal and go through the gates and chunk my ticket. We get to our stop and there is a huge back up. Katie says oh get your ticket out we are being controlled. What? She said get out your ticket they are checking to make sure everyone paid and no one jumped the rail. What the Hell! I chunked my ticket at the last stop. Katie looks at me and says you're going to get fined. Awesome. I've decided to think of it as a french donation program. Mind you I am all dressed up in a skirt, tights, knee high boots that are not good for hopping the rail nor is my proper skirt! I get up to the police and give him my best English and Illinois drivers licence and say I just got here there is no sign that says you have to keep your ticket. I am not from here etc. He looks at me and starts writing out the ticket. MERDE! 35Euros!!!! But, of course, they take Visa, MC, Diners, AMEX etc to pay them. Bastards! Dinner just got very expensive. Lesson learned, keep all metro tickets all the time! Onto to dinner...Go to another cute french cafe for dinner and then she takes me to a local bar she knows. La Bar Famille? I think? Anyway, as we are walking she is telling me she knows the owner and he is really nice and she is sure he will let us in. Let us in? It is a bar, right? She says you'll see. As we approach it Katie starts to pull on the handle and it is locked. It is crowded inside and the people sitting at the bar turn around as we have to ring a door bell to get the bartender/owner to come over. Enter Slimane cute Armenian bald guy that owns the bar. He sees Katie and I and buzzes us in. Wow! We approach the bar and Slim (for short) leans over the bar and gives Katie the french kisses and says Bonsoir to me. Katie introduces me and he asks us what we would like to drink. This is all in French mind you so I get about 70% of the conversation. We get some red wine and two seats at the bar. After we sit down at our perch next to the front door katie says watch. A group of guys approach the door and ring the buzzer Slim looks up and says Ferme! Waves his hands in the air like an "X" and the guys move on. What? Katie tells me he only lets in people he knows and girls. Oh! Good plan! So, as the night progresses Slim comes over and tells us how pretty we are and we can tell him who to let in and who not. This is going to be fun! When cute boys come Katie and I give Slim the thumbs up when they are not cute they get the thumbs down. After a few more glasses of wine a cute Frenchman next to us Federico comes over and introduces himself. He is very cute and friendly and we chat a bit. He is going to some club with his not so cute friend and invites us. We say Merci but not tonight. Slim eventually closes the bar and lets katie and I stay. We hang out a for a little while longer (you know the routine with the cabs at night) and are off to home at 5am again.

Sunday March 12?

Katie and I meet at La Marais for late lunch. We end up hanging out and of course drinking wine until 4pm. Katie is staying with me b/c her toilet exploded and she has no running water. We have to go to her old apt to pick up the last of her things and then back to her condo to feed her cat get a change of clothes and then home. We walk to her old apartment which is right next to my old Hotel from past trips. it is in the 7th arr and next to our old bar where we met. Katie tells me as we are walking that we have to stop by bistro B on our way back b/c Pascal is working and she told him whenever she is in the neighborhood she will stop by for a glass of wine. Okay! We get the last of Katie's stuff and are off to bistro B. Pascal is very nice french bartender and gives us two glasses of chardonnay. I then get introduced to Gaytonne (who is from somewhere in the south of France) and i get 4 kisses from him. He laughs and mutters something to the effect of benefits of being from south of france he gets more kisses than others. Also, met Ben another nice waiter. Introduce new character Laurie (from Chicago) meeting up with her for possible chance she has to go back to states and I get her apt. Warning she is quite an eccentric. Katie warns me no one at the bar likes her and will not give her kisses. Hummm? Laurie arrives and says bonsoir to Gaytonne and he looks and her and gives her a "humpf!" with a snotty look. Pascal rolls his eyes at her and says in English what do you want to drink!? wow! This is some serious french attitude. I sit quietly and watch people, listen to Katie and Laurie talk and Pascal comes over and gives me a flower. He says en francais une fleur pour ma fleur. Oh how cute! He gives me kisses and I know I am in the french circle with these guys! We depart and head to the Metro to make the trek to the Bastille to katie's. We are standing on the platform and this couple walks down in their early 60's and I say to katie they are from teh south. In fact, I bet you they are from Texas! Katie says how do you know? I say, look at her hair, makeup, outfit and look at his outfit and ostrich cowboy boots. Okay girls this one is for you: Woman has blonde hair that is hot rolled and winged but does not move due to overkill of Aquanet. Lots of orange foundation, blue eye make-up and frosty pink lipstick. Outfit is North face jacket and dark blue gap jeans heavily starched with seam down front and brand new Nikes. Husband is also in matching Northface jacket (his and hers, cute, eh?) and Wranglers heavy starch seam down front and cowboy boots. We get on same car and frosting on cake woman grabs the poll after trains moves and she has extra long square, thick fake, french manicure nails! YUK! She giggles after she stumbles and says I almost fell. I hear the accent and it is strong. They are not from Dallas. Thank god! Katie smiles at me and I say to them so where are you from in Texas? They look at me surprised and say Denton. Damn, I'm good! We chat a bit it is their first time in Paris and they are visiting their daughter who is in school here. They say how did you know we were from Texas and I tried to be as nice as possible and say it was the shoes that gave you away. (among many other things!) Arrive at Katies and pick up groceries from her fridge were cooking at my place tonight! Fish and veggies. In bed at 12 not bad for Katie and I.