John and I have been busy diligently dragging ourselves to various museums this week, among them the Rodin and Picasso museums. We've set a goal for ourselves to see one museum or tourist attraction per day, and seeing as how Paris seems to be the king of art cities, we certainly have had our days filled.
We've also been running in the Luxembourg Garden, which has proved to be a very pleasant way to churn through two miles. Since we are without jobs or a schedule of any kind, we don't usually have to contend with weaving through the crowds of people like we do on Saturdays when everyone comes out to run or meander through the park.
Otherwise, we've found a very small and neighborhoody bar just behind the Saint Sulpice church which features an all-French crowd and therefore the perfect place for us to practice our French. We made a few friends who then showed us an even smaller and more locals-only bar where no one spoke any English at all--I think it was the first time since we'd been in Paris where we actually couldn't speak any English to the bartender. We had a really good time except for this one rather embarrassing exchange I had with a French guy:
Me: Alors, as-tu habité à Paris depuis tu étais petit?
So have you lived in Paris since you were a kid?
French Guy: Ouais, je suis né ici.
Yeah I was born here.
Me: C'est vraiment génial, je suis envie de toi!
That's really cool, I'm jealous of you! (or so I thought I said)
French Guy: (giving me a really strange look)......quoi?
.....what?
John: What did you just say?
Me: (hesitantly repeats)
John: (laughing) You just told that guy you want him! "Envie" means "desire" not "envy".
Me: Oh...uh oh...
I wish my French misunderstanding had been more along the lines of the gateau/cat incident. Luckily we cleared the matter up, but it just goes to show that you better be sure of the meaning before just carelessly tossing around words that you've heard on tv!
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