Well, I've only been here six hours, and I've already (a) spent a fortune; and (b) had many delicious things to eat. So in other words, things are proceeding as planned.
I only slept a few hours on the plane (I got caught up in "Australia," which always seemed as if it were about to end, but just kept on going), but it was so much nicer to arrive in daylight, rather than the crack of dawn. It's beautiful here - sunny and breezy and dry, about 65 degrees.
I found my little apartment without too much trouble (an easy Air France bus ride, and then a five-minute walk). It's perfect, of course: in a very old building, but renovated within the past few years. One side of the apartment looks out over a playground for an elementary school, and it seems that in Paris, recess lasts pretty much all day (they're still at it, at nearly 5pm), and all the kids do is stand around and shriek. Hopefully they go home at some point.
The neighborhood is a mix of quiet, posh residential blocks, and busy boulevards with lots of shops, and lots of traffic. There are so many SmartCars here, and of course lots of Renaults, Citroens, and scooters.
Here's what I've eaten so far: a plate of salads (lentil, red cabbage, cous cous) with smoked salmon, pickled herring, smoked trout, and a salmon mousse, served with a kind of savory pancake, and followed by plum crumb tart. This was at a perfect little bakery that just has a few tables out front for lunch or snack, on a street with a string of excellent food shops.
Here's what I've bought to eat later: baguette (natch), radishes, cheese (Comte and a goat crottin), Muscadet, butter cookies, orange juice, yogurt, vanilla tea from Mariage Freres, and milk. It all fits nicely in my petite cuisine.
Here's what else I need: honey, confiture, cornichons, saucissons, sel de mer, butter, mineral water, fruit.
Plus somewhere to have dinner, so that I don't get hungry.
