I saw Rémy today! And went to a swing dance.

While exploring Paris the last couple of days, I did go to a swing dance last night. The group was very welcoming. I had a great time meeting new people. The style, dress, and music was very similar to US swing dances. It was very easy to get involved. I’m going to be attending a lot of swing dances to get to know the dancers, studios, and swing scene in Paris.

A visit to the Galeries Lafayette revealed it to be as posh and grand as ever. The multi-building store on Boulevard Haussmann never disappoints with its large selection of ladies fashion, men fashion, kids fashion, housewares, and home goods. The domed ceiling is always a sight to behold. The glasswalk was unfortunately closed :(, “exceptionally closed.” Not sure what that means, may be similar to “strenuously object.” I took care of some shopping before heading to the terrace…

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Amazingly, this was my first time to the terrace top floor of the Galeries Lafayette. Up here, there is a commanding view of almost all of Paris. The Palais Garnier Opera House is right across the street. The Eiffel Tower stands prominently to the right. The city skyline always takes my breath away. And for about 30 Euros, you too can have a Paris skyline on your wall. In the souvenir section of Galeries Lafayette, they sell the skylines of major cities around the world as a single line of metal shaped with the landmarks for each city.

Cellphone: There are many things to get once you move to Paris and many of them require a permanent address, a French bank account, and a utility bill statement. Cellphone service is one of those. I went to Orange store today to get a sim card. In order to have the service contract, it’ll have to wait until I’m situated in a long-term flat. So, I went with their Holiday prepaid cellphone service for the time being. It will work fine for the next couple of weeks.

Metro Card: I am still in the search for how to get a long-term metro card (Navigo pass). The latest is I have to go to one of the larger stations, bring a passport photo, and probably present my permanent address, a French bank account, and a utility bill statement. Wish me luck. It’s my adventure for tomorrow. As a back-up, I’ll get a month pass.

This is the story of moving to another country. There are a lot of things to get, but have back-ups or temporary workarounds since many times you will not be successful on the first try. While it can be frustrating, I’m learning the art of how to ask for the next best thing for what I need. Whether that’s a temporary service, a required deposit, or other stop-gap measure.

Now on to Remy. Today while grabbing a baguette sandwich, I saw a small mouse in the restaurant (not actually Remy, unfortunately). I wasn’t even eating Ratatouille. It scurried under the counter after being seen by a couple of people. The servers were rather nonplussed, though. I won’t mention the restaurant since I’ve been told mice are quite prevalent in Paris. C’est la vie!

Speaking of Ratatouille, I did saute some fish with ratatouille as the garnish at my AirBnB. It was amazingly good. It did bring some “perspective” in how good french food is. I am looking forward to continuing my culinary adventure in Paris.

Until we meet in Paris…