Chinese New Year in Paris

It was a gorgeous Sunday morning by the time we left the apartment and headed off to Place d'Italie and from there to "Chinatown." There are in fact several pockets of Asian communities in Paris, one in the 1st and another in the 20th arrondissements, but it just so happens that we live not far from one of the larger Asian centers, the area around Avenues d'Ivry and de Choisy in the 13th arrondissement. And word was on the street that there were a number of festivities planned fo celebrate the "Year of the Pig." So off we went.

And what a beautiful springlike day to be out! Flowers and even some trees are starting to bloom, so take heart you folks living in Pennsylvania!


We strolled down to where I normally do my grocery shopping, or rather meat shopping, now that I go to the open air market at the Gare d'Austerlitz on Tuersdays and Fridays. (Got to leave soon as a matter of fact.)

Ther were large crowds of folks walking along Avenue de Choisy, one of the main streets in "Chinatown" and plenty of banners were hung along the sides of the streets. Occasionally there would be a crowd gathered in front of a business, usually a restaurant, and just outside the front door would be a small-scale dragon-and-drumming act culiminating in the traditional firecrackers which had been strung in the trees.

But no parades, no organized celebrations of any kind that we could see. So what was everybody doing?

Why eating of course! There were lines at most restaurants and some were a dozen or more deep out the front door. As we walked back toward the Place d'Italie we thought about stopping for lunch as well (although I had fixed Asian food the night before) and we kept rationalizing away standing in lines until, well, we were out of "Chinatown" and found ourselves circumnavigating the Place d'Italie.

But lunch was called for and so we stopped at a small pizzeria, Del Navona Pizze, a place we had often walked by on Blvd. des Gobelins. They advertised offered "wood-fired" pizzas and that sounded good so in we went. We weren't disappointed. Both of us ordered pizzas (mine came with the wonderful "Merguez" sausage), of course, and a half bottle of Valpolicella. One of the two men sitting next to us caught our eye at one point. He casually remarked to us as they received their pizzas that they were big but good. And he was right!

We sat for a while after eating and relaxed. We chatted for a bit with the fellow next to us -- between his limited English and Susan's limited French we actually had a pleasant conversation. It turned out that he works for the company that handles the lights of Paris, the street lights that is, while his wife works for a wine distributor! He was eager to explain to us the wonders of a particular white wine from the Jura called Vin jaune or "yellow wine". Aged for a half dozen years, he claimed it was a terrific wine and one we should try at the earliest possible chance.

Susie and I left the restaurant soon after our "tablemates" and strolled back to the apartment. I dropped my camera bag off and then off we went back out walking up rue St. Hilaire to Jussieu and the no. 10 metro.

We got off at the Odeon stop, walked toward rue Dauphine and then turned down the tiny rue Christine. Our goal was at the far end: the Action Christine cinema, which was showing one of favorite films: L'adorable Voisine, better known to me as Bell, Book and Candle, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. There was already a line forming outside, but we didn't have long to wait. We were soon ushered (literally) into the tiny theater, comprised of actually two screening rooms, for a total of about 300 seats. By the time we got inside we were lucky to find a pair of seats together in the second row on the far left! But the view from everywhere was great, the seats were really comfortable and easy to just lay back and watch the film.

And what a fantastic experience! I had never seen this film at the theater and we both commented afterwards how it seemed so much better when seen in a theater han on the small screen. For some odd reason it never really struck me that way before. I had seen this film so many times over the years on the small screen and now seeing it HUGE was dramatic to say the least.

And the French audience seemed to get every joke; they seem to understand way more about Americans than we think; almost like family. . .

After the movie it was just twilight, but still nice and warm and we decided to walk home.

So we did.

Wish you were here,

Steve