THE PARIS LETTER: When the heck are things open around here?

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!

THE PARIS LETTER: How to Navigate the Pharmacie

I don't think I've written a post on la Pharmacie, which is amazing considering how much time I spend there. Our little Paris family is entering its second week of illness, a terrible cold that's been ping-ponging around the three members of our household, and thus the Pharmacie has been on my mind, and on my daily shopping route when I've been able to leave the house.

When I first moved to Paris, the Pharmacie was a very intimidating place for me. There are no American-style drugstores in France, where you can browse the aisles and the aspirin and laxatives are self-service. This means that all drugs, including aspirin, are kept behind the counter and must be requested from the pharmacist - challenging if you don't speak the language. Additionally, most of the basic medications have different names in France, and it can be very hard to navigate what you need for even the most routine symptoms. I still come home with a strange medication about once a week- at least they're relatively cheap.

I've grown to love my pharmacie, though, and now that the ladies there know me and Sophia, its a wonderful place to go - they're always very sweet to her, and give good basic medical advice. They're part of the people in my neighborhood, just like my cheese guys and my favorite butcher, and I trust them. HOWEVER, the last thing you want to do in a foreign country when you're sick is have a long conversation in another language, so I'm going to give you my tips on what I've learned:

DOLIPRANE (Dollypran) is your best bet for a basic pain reliever/fever reducer. My personal favorite is Doliprane 1000mg, or Doliprane "Mille". The pharmacist may ask if you want it "A Avaler (ah ahvahlay) or "Effervescent" - avaler means "to swallow" in French, so this is the pill form, and the other is fizzing water soluble disc, like Alka-Seltzer. You can also get Doliprane in 200mg and 500mg forms.

DOLIPRANE ENFANTS - This is children's Tylenol, and is sold as a pink liquid dispensed by a dropper - similar, I think, to how its done in the US. However, because this is Europe, the weight is in kilograms - so multiply your child's weight in pounds by 2 to get an approximation.

ASPIRIN: This is spelled ASPERINE and pronounced "aspayreen"; you will also sometimes see it as "Aspegic" pronounced "aspayjeek". And there's also often good old Advil, just like at home.

FERVEX - This is your Theraflu substitute, and I find its actually a bit milder - still works as a decongestant and puts me to sleep, but doesn't quite give you that "all the water has been drained from my body" feeling I get from Theraflu/Nyquil.

STREPSILS - These are cough/sore throat drops; they come in many flavors, and do actually have some medication in them.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES: These are big in France, and you can find a full stock of them in most pharmacies. My husband thinks homeopathy is a farce and won't let us take them, but if they work for you, they are available all over the place in France.

You can also buy the following useful things at a pharmacie: tampons, condoms, contact lens solution, pregnancy tests, baby bottles and formula, and dental floss.

Tampons: tampon periodique (not to be confused with just "Tampon" which is an ink stamp in french...)
Condoms: preservatifs (yes, this one can get embarassing if you're talking about, say, preservatives in food....not the same thing)
Contact Lens Solution: solution nettoyante pour lentilles
Pregnancy Test:  Test de Grossesse
Baby bottle:  Biberon
Formula: Lait Artificiel
Dental Floss: Fil dentaire

Additionally, a pharmacist can often refer you to a doctor, and call an ambulance if things are really serious. They are a great first stop if you're feeling bad in France, and many speak some English, at least in Paris. 

French Pharmacies also sell high end skin and hair products, which I've been gradually exploring and which can be great deals and gifts to stock up on when you're visiting the city - more on this in another post.