Bear with me, because this may be a little bit of a rant. But - when are things open around here??
I've lived here for two years now, and I still don't know. Every week I seem to head out on an errand only to find the shop/market/office is closed, and I'll have to come back. The French system, even in Paris, still functions on a closed-on-Sunday/closed-for-lunch mentality that to an American feels completely alien and bizarre.
I will give you some examples of the pitfalls in my weekly shopping routine: I live next door to a big supermarket, Monoprix, which I think of as kind of a combination of Whole Foods and Target. Blessedly, they are open every day except Sunday. They don't, however, sell some things - good bread and good cheese, for example, or olives, whole bean coffee, cilantro, whole wheat flour, peanut butter, or oatmeal - so these necessitate a trip to the nearby covered market, boulangerie, coffee roaster, and natural foods store. Additionally, I'll often throw in a trip to the butcher or fishmonger - though you can get meat and fish at Monoprix, they don't have a large selsction - and then, of course, the caviste for some interesting wine. And, as I've mentioned in a previous post, any over the counter drugs or prescriptions necessitate a trip to the Pharmacie.
Okay, so already that's a little complicated. Fortunately, all of these places are within a 15 minute walk of my house - though, tragically, not all are within the SAME 15 minute walk. The market is in one direction; the coffee shop, pharmacie, and natural foods store are in the opposite direction, the best butcher and fishmonger are in still a third direction...you get the idea. With the baby now, I do the majority of my shopping next door at Monoprix because I just do not have this kind of time.
Because its not just the endless shopping, its planning WHEN you can actually get things. The covered market, where I can get cheese, olives, cilantro and other specialty veggies, and good wine and beer, is not open on Mondays, and is closed Tuesday through Friday from 1PM to 4PM. It IS open on Sunday morning until 1PM, though generally a madhouse as the French shop for their Sunday lunch.
Every boulangerie has its own schedule of closures. Most are closed on Sunday and one other random day that must be memorized, though some are open on Sunday and then closed two other days. Of the three closest to me, one is closed Saturday and Sunday, one is open Sunday but closed Thursday, one is closed Sunday and Wednesday -you get the idea.
In addition, many stores that are open on Sunday morning are then closed all day on Monday, making Monday an unofficial third weekend day in Paris. Some of these stores ARE open Monday, but only after lunch, from 3PM-7PM, say.
And this doesn't include the various government offices that become part of your daily life in this welfare state. These function according to a complex system of national holidays that are completely different than the holidays in the US, and include Catholic holidays that Matt and I had to look up on Wikipedia to understand: Ascension Day and Pentecost, for example. But really, these days are just like their equivalents in the US (Presidents Day and Columbus Day come to mind) - excuses for people to take a three-or-four day weekend. Often, if the holiday itself is on a Wednesday or Thursday, businesses will "faire le pont" or, literally, "make the bridge" - taking off the Thursday or Friday or both to give the workers a long weekend, where they can all go to their family country houses and snipe at their relatives. And many government offices have extremely abbreviated hours on a week with one of these holidays in it ...
Finally, the French school holiday calendar makes up for its relatively short summer break with periodic two week breaks during the school year, usually one in October and one in February/March. During these times, businesses could close down, people will be out of the office, and things will just generally slow down. Oh, and don't forget AUGUST, when everyone goes on vacation - some for the whole month, some just for two weeks - but not the same two weeks ....
Whew, okay, rant over. I have to stop now so I can get the shopping done in the twenty minutes everything will be open!
Bony Siap Lukai 'Setan Merah' Lagi
ReplyDeleteBerita terbaru dan terkini bola Bola Soccer dari Agen Bola Indo11 – Swansea - Para suporter Manchester United tentu masih ingat bagaimana Wilfried Bony menjebol gawang Anders Lindegaard dan membuat tim kesayangan mereka kalah. Bony siap mengulangi hal tersebut beberapa hari lagi.
Swansea menjadi penentu kemenangan Swansea City atas MU di Old Trafford, Minggu (5/1/2014). Sundulannya pada menit ke-90 memastikan The Swansmenang 2-1 dan menyingkirkan MU dari Piala FA.
Agen Bola Indo11 Terpercaya – Pada Sabtu (11/1/2014) mendatang, Swansea akan kembali mendatangi Old Trafford. Tim asuhan Michael Laudrup itu akan menantang "Setan Merah" lagi, kali ini di ajang Premier League.
"Itu adalah penyelesaian impian bagi saya dan sebuah hasil impian," ujar Bony.
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Erick Thohir Cuma Kecewa Inter Kalah dari Lazio, Bukan Kritik Tim
ReplyDeleteBerita terbaru dan terkini Bola Soccer dari Agen Bola Indo11 – Milan - Presiden Inter Milan Erick Thohir membantah sudah mengkritik timnya sendiri pascakekalahan atas Lazio. Ia menyebut dirinya cuma sekadar tak puas dengan hasil yang dituai.
Inter menelan kekalahan 0-1 ketika menghadapi Lazio, Selasa (7/1/2014) dinihari WIB. Usai laga tersebut pers Italia menyebut bawa Thohir sudah mengkritik performa Nerazzurri.
Agen Bola Indo11 Terpercaya – Akan tetapi, pebisnis asal Indonesia itu kini menyanggahnya. Thohir pun menegaskan bahwa kubu La Beneamata kini sedang bersatu-padu menuju target yang ingin mereka capai bersama dan itu takkan terimbas oleh hasil di satu-dua laga.
"Saya membaca di media bahwa rasa kecewa saya mengenai kekalahan kami kemarin dinilai sebagai bentuk kritik ke tim," kata Thohir.
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Rodgers : Kontroversial, Tapi Liverpool Memang Lebih Baik
ReplyDeleteBerita terbaru dan terkini dari agen bola Di Upton Park, Minggu (6/4/2014) malam WIB Liverpool meraih kemenangan 2-1 untuk merebut kembali puncak klasemen dari tangan Chelsea.
Agen bolacity holiday Terpercaya - Kedua gol The Reds dibuat Steven Gerrard melalui eksekusi penalti, sementara gol tunggal tuan rumah dibuat Guy Demel pada penghujung babak pertama.
"Ada keputusan-keputusan yang buruk dibuat wasit, yang menguntungkan kami dan yang merugikan kami. (Tapi) kami jelas tim yang lebih baik. Ujuar Rodgers.
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Mourinho Ingin Enjoy
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"Kekalahan ketiga akan sangat buruk untuk kepercayaan diri kami terkait dengan pertandingan hari Selasa," ujar manajer Chelsea Jose Mourinho di Sky Sports.
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The Gunners Makin Kesulitan
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Agen bolacity holiday Terpercaya - Kali ini Goodison Park yang menjadi kuburan buat 'Gudang Peluru' saat mereka takluk 0-3 dalam lawatan ke Everton, Minggu (6/4/2014) malam WIB.
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"Saya tidak akan mempertanyakan semangat tim ini, tapi kami kehilangan kepercayaan diri. Kami terlihat tidak padu saat harus mencetak gol. Satyu lagi kekalahan besar saat menjalani laga tandang telah mengurangi karisma dari tim ini," tutup Wenger.
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