Yesterday, Quynh and I went to Chinatown, and thank God she was with me because I don't know Chinese food from Vietnamese from Korean. Still don't, by the way, but I did learn about some beautiful (and Quynh says tasty) new fruits. Also learned about gelatinous green things that some say are tasty but that I passed on trying. Did, however, have a delicious meal at what is rumored to be the best Vietnamese restaurant this side of Saigon or Hanoi. It was PACKED too, and we ended up sharing a table with a cute, recently married couple--he is from Canada, and she's from Romania. They met while working for the same company here in Paris. Very sweet. Anyway, they frequent this restaurant (Le Bambou, in the 13th if you get here) and said it's always busy. I had noodles with pork, other stuff, and sauce, and I had a dessert which I can't seem to figure out how to describe except that the outside was kind of like a sweet dumpling, the inside was mushed up mung beans (they could have left that out), and it was in a sweet milk with sesame seeds. It was warm and quite tasty. I'd order it again...if I could figure out how.
Then last night I went to a dinner party at Jim Hayne's atelier. He has been hosting Sunday night dinner parties for between 50 and 100ish people for 30 years. Every week. Whew! It was also packed but fun. Met mostly Americans, a few French, and one Brit. Dinner was lamb curry. Those of you that know my tastes are probably going..."oooh...did she eat it?" Yes, I did eat it, and it wasn't bad once I got past the idea of EATING lamb (Mary had a little lamb...so sad). And the curry didn't have whatever curry spice I dislike; it was more of a brown than a yellow sauce. Served alongside were taziki, lentils, stewed apples, and rice. Cinnamon raisin cake with cream cheese frosting followed, my favorite part of the meal as you might imagine. Again, it was fun, but it was so packed that it was difficult to get around and impossible to meet everyone there. But everyone that I met was super nice, and on my way out, Jim even let me get a picture with him. 
Today I got my class schedule: 12:00 - 2:00 daily. I'm going to have to have a late breakfast b/c you know me--I'm used to eating lunch around that time, although my lunches have gotten later since I've been here. Classes start tomorrow, so I left the spot where I got my schedule and headed out to find the spot where my actual classes will be held. I had brought my rain hat along as it was barely sprinkling when I left home, but by the time I got where I was going, the rain had become steady, and I was well drenched. About that time Quynh and I connected, and I headed BACK up the street to meet her for lunch. Along the way, I passed another Jerome Mesnager painting, this one on rue Saint Jacques. What's funny about this one is that the red sign you see the figure leaping to grab is basically saying that this is a car's exit and not to park in front of it, and they're on doors all over Paris. I thought it was funny that the artist decided to create art around something so mundane as a "no parking" sign. And although you may be beginning to think that these paintings are literally everywhere, they are not, but because I love them, I think they jump out at me when I pass one. I'm usually the only one taking a picture, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
So now that I'm home and dry, I'm thinking about tonight. There's another meetup tonight that I'm supposed to go to, and as much as I want to go, it's just so tempting right now to stay inside, away from the cold, wet rain. Maybe I'll rally & go. Think I'll take my umbrella this time.
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