Day 13 from France: Red Bull & Vodka

Shaboom sends us her update from Paris...

Seeing as how I normally go to sleep at 7am, Saturdays are always rough because I have to get up at 4am to go sell fruits and vegetables at the Parisian farmers' market. I originally took the job because I thought it would help me meet some people somehow. I haven't really made any new friends at the market but I've learned about all sorts of produce that I never knew existed and I have also come in contact with so many interesting characters that if I don't write a book someday I should be ashamed of myself.

For example, there's the rotund egg lady who runs around in a colorful sombrero with miniature eggs suspended from the entire perimeter of the brim like pompoms. She clutches a plastic chicken and yells to the passers-by about her terrific egg prices.

Then there's the 54 year old Israeli baker who talks non-stop about sex and how sad she is that her husband isn't putting out. I offered to lend her Obsessed! so that I could finally get some sleep. I think it's a fair trade. Plus, once she met him she kept gushing about how handsome he is and that she and I are true friends because we know how to share.

Later that same day, she was really upset because she couldn't get a hold of her husband no matter how hard she tried. He wouldn't answer his cell phone and didn't pick up at his office or at home. An adjacent merchant remarked that he was most likely in bed with his mistress and our lovely Israeli baker started to cry! Extra-marital love affairs are so much a part of life here that I think everyone has incorporated it into their culture and their being. Everyone is very matter of fact and treats it simply as a truth we all have to deal with.

I ate a chocolate croissant, an apple and a crêpe for breakfast with a cup of tea and a café au lait. When I got home from the market, I had some leak/potato/shallot/ garlic/celery soup (that I made a few days ago from scratch) for lunch. For an afternoon snack, Obsessed! came with a pain au chocolat straight from the bakery before I took a little nap.

In the evening, we drove about an hour north to throw a crêpe party birthday for a girlfriend. We made crêpes for 30 people - about 4 per person. We were crazy crêpe makers until about 4am so you can understand why I ended up guzzling 3-4 RedBull vodka drinks after having started my day so early. I rarely drink at all anymore so it was kind of fun feeling a little tipsy.

Didn't get home until 6am, probably fell asleep at 8am - had to get in some "indoor cardio" with Obsessed! as he's complaining it's been waaaayyy too long. Lord. I reminded him it's only been 24 hours but somehow, I don't think he was listening.