29 October 2014

Arrêt momentané

I have to go to Paris this morning. My train leaves Saint-Aignan/Noyers at 6:44 a.m. I'll be in Paris before 9:30, if all goes well. I have an appointment at the U.S. Embassy at 10:30. It's no big deal — I just have to have my signature notarized on an American document, and the embassy in Paris is the only place in France where I can have that done... for a $50 fee.

Add to the $50 fee — notary publics in the U.S. charge between $5 and $10 for the same service — the train fare from Saint-Aignan to Paris and back, plus lunch in a café or restaurant, and the total cost is about $150 U.S. I'm trying to remain sanguine about that. C'est quand même du grand banditisme...

Yesterday's lunch was a blanquette de boulettes de veau with a mixture of white and wild rice. I had made veal meatballs a week or two ago and had some left in the freezer. I used chicken broth instead of veal broth to make the blanquette sauce.

On the positive side, the weather in Paris is supposed to be sunny and fairly warm. A walk from the Embassy, at the Place de la Concorde, through Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Quartier Latin and on to the Gare d'Austerlitz might be the day's most pleasant activity. I'll be back in Saint-Aignan before 6:30 p.m. this evening, if the trains run on time. The Burgundy saga will resume tomorrow.

25 comments:

  1. How's that? No carrots in the blanquette!

    Hope you had a nice day in Paris.

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    1. I guess I'm a purist (ha!) when it comes to blanquette — no carrots. But as you saw, I combined white and wild rice.

      And I had a good day in Paris, with good weather.

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  2. the minute you said the US embassy, I could picture the building in my mind; it's been 44 years since I visited paris. je me souviens!

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    1. The security around the Embassy these days is incredible, as Evelyn mentioned.

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  3. Tell me about it! I've just spent €300 all up getting my birth cert apostilled and translated in order that RSI (health insurers) can sit on it and do nothing for months while I wait for my carte vitale. But to be fair -- the notaire was the one step of the process who didn't charge me -- she did my certified copies for the Australian authorities for free. Next up I have to go to London as the quickest and easiest solution to getting passport photos that meet Australian and British standards. Both passports up for renewal in the first half of next year and the photos required are a different spec to ID photos in France.

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    1. Sesuan, we have taken our own passport photos using our digital cameras and printing them on an inkjet printer on photo paper. They have been accepted. My next step is to renew my passport too. It expires in January.

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    2. We've done our own in the past too. The specifications now say you are not allowed to print with an inkjet, but that's not our problem as we have a proper photo printer. The problem is lighting. We just can't get the lighting right so the photo is well lit and with no shadow. We'll no doubt fiddle around some more and maybe get it happening, but it may suit us to go to London in February anyway, and that could include a visit to a photo booth which solves the problem.

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  4. So you are THERE right now, as I type, at 6:20 a.m. my time. Paris!
    Susan, that is crazy about the passport photos!

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    1. At 6:20 a.m. Central time I was just sitting down in a restaurant for a long lunch. More about that later.

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    2. Oh boy! Can't wait to read about it!

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  5. Oh, I wish you had let me know sooner. I would have come into town. As it is, I have just gotten to today's computer session and you'll be on your way home soon.

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    1. Ellen, I didn't know how my day would go. The Embassy appointments can take hours. This time it went much faster than in Juky 2013. Next time...

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  6. awww a day trip to Paris (what I wouldn't give)

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  7. I'm there with you in spirt, Ken. I tried to take a photo of our embassy on my last trip which was almost impossible due to security. I hope your visit goes as planned. I'm not expecting any pictures.

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    1. Evelyn, I took over 200 photos on my 5-mile walk through the city, from the embassy to the Gare d'Austerlitz. But no photos at the embassy, They made me leave my camera at the security check-in desk.

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    2. Paris is a moveable camera feast lol. I remember the Gare d'Austerlitz well and your final destination. Did you walk along the Seine? Where was lunch?

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  8. I guess that since it is a last minute trip, the train tickets are full fare.
    I was reading the other day that the US consulate is asking for US $2500 to each of its citizens who is planning to renounce his/her US citizenship (FACTA reasons) as an application fee.
    There must be an MBA or a Marketing chap at Foggy Bottom who has devised this way of making money.
    Hope you have an enjoyable visit in Paris

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    1. That's outrageous. Always greenbacks! I had time to buy my train tickets a while back, so the round-trip cost "only" 60 euros. I had a good lunch and a long walk, which I enjoyed.

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  9. I know you will enjoy the day!! I sure would!

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    1. Lynn, I did. It would have been more enjoyable if Walt had been able to come with me.

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  10. Next time I am going to visit you because you are a great cook...

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  11. Routine notary stamp here in Calif. is $25.

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    1. Chris, I guess the cost varies a lot from state to state in the U.S.

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  12. Glad your visit to Paris went well. The lunch photo looks good!

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