Je suis arrivé à Paris!

Je suis arrivé à Paris!

“Who hasn’t altered his life course at least a little so as to get closer to a crusty baguette?” 

– Eric Maisel, A Writer’s Paris; A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul

Bonjour! I hope you are doing well and have had a good week!

I have arrived in Paris and am now settled into my new digs. The apartment is absolutely delightful! My first day was spent getting shown around Sceaux (pronounced “so”), a lovely suburb of Paris, by the very kind and generous regular occupant of said apartment, Ian (my friend, Trisha’s boyfriend). In true French fashion, we had savory crepes for dinner and sweet crepes for dessert, accompanied by much cider. Délicieux!

Then I collapsed into bed…and woke up thirteen hours later to an empty apartment, as Ian had left for the airport.

After such a late start – and a couple of espressos made in my cute new kitchen – I decided to stay close to home and get started on my screenplay.

And I am pleased to report that I had a fantastically productive and oh-so-enjoyable first day of writing! It is a real treat – and very important for a first draft, I find – to be able to fully focus on just ONE writing project with very little in the way of other distractions and obligations. It’s like going on a first date with one’s characters to really start to get to know them 🙂

Sceaux is a 20 minute metro ride south of central Paris…I can see the Eiffel tower from my kitchen. Although I haven’t made it to Paris proper yet, I must confess I’m already in Heaven with the cobblestone streets and quaint shops, delectable food, lovely people and beyond beautiful parks.

I walked to the town center to get groceries and what a joy! Pain du chocolate and a fresh baguette (still warm!) at the boulangerie (bakery), a bottle of rosé at the wine store, freshly roasted chicken and potatoes at the boucherie (butcher), brie & goat cheese at the fromagery. Can you imagine? A store full of just CHEESE!

After dinner, I took another stroll through the stunning (and massive) gardens at the Château de Sceaux.

The people, I must say, have been very kind. Although my French is pretty shaky, I find that if I at least make the attempt to speak French when I first meet someone, then that sets the tone for a far more positive encounter. But I suspect I look like a deer in the headlights more often than not – for when they say something back to me, nine times out of ten, I don’t have a clue what they’re saying.

Bonne journée!

If you didn’t catch last week’s blog about my writing trip to Paris, here is the link to Je Voyage à Paris!

Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and the Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her weekly blog, please sign up here.