le printemps est arrivé!

well, spring has arrived in paris. i am sitting in romains bedroom, trying to navigate his french keyboard, hiding from the thunder storm that is raging outside. he and his friends have been brave enough to go to the social club, while katy and our friends risked the weather for a show in the 20th arrondissement. as i do not like being wet and even opening the windows in this weather results in instantly becoming soaked, i have decided to stay in and pass this saturday night listening to the sounds of the rain mingling with casey dienel, and updating my blog. i will try to finish some long overdue posts, but first the arrival of spring is on the forefront of my mind.

today, as the sun was shining softly from behind white clouds, the breeze was only blowing gently, and the temperature was warm enough to require only a cardigan, ro decided to show me a park that he used to go to as a child. he wouldnt tell me the name of it, or where it was. we went stop-by-stop on the metro, finally riding a smaller line that i had never ridden before, the 7bis. imagine my surprise when we emerged from the metro station at the same park danny had taken katy and me to, during our first few weeks in paris!! i didnt have the heart to tell romain that i had been there before. his excitement is just too catching to ruin. luckily, the park is huge and sections close periodically, so we didnt go anywhere i had been before and i never had to feign surprise.

kids ran rampant all over the park. their tiny voices giggling in french were hard for me to understand, but completely charming. ro instantly became nostalgic, pointing out places his parents and his brother had taken him as a child. 

romain took photos of me, in fact, he took all the pictures in this post. at first, i did not appreciate it. in the earlier photos, i am either closing my eyes, scowling, or making some ridiculous face. but as he began to get frustrated with only having a 50mm lens and not having as much creative freedom as he is accustomed to, i relaxed in an attempt to raise his spirits. we wandered the park all afternoon, eating new yorkaise hot dogs, ice cream cones, and large, sticky barbes à papa, known as cotton candy to us americans. the direct translation is 'papas beard'. french cotton candy is much stickier than american cotton candy, or even the british candy floss. it ended up all over my arms, my pants, and i am sure i am going to be finding pink fluffy bits in my hair for the next few days.

i thought paris covered in snow was beautiful, but it is nothing compared to sunshine and the warmer temperatures. velibs  are littering the streets now, as people forgo the metro in favor of frances bicycle transit system. i have not yet worked up the courage to ride a bicycle in the busy streets of paris. romain assures me that in the summer bicycles are his sole mode of transportation and i will soon be forced to at least try. i am sure that my tendency for klutziness and parisian traffic will not mix well.

since spring has hit, everyone in paris seems to be in a much better mood. people have begun to talk to me on the metro, which is something that would have never occurred before. even ro has changed. i wouldnt have thought it possible, but he has gotten even happier. just this morning, he attempted to play spies with me in the kitchen, hands in the shape of a gun, crouching low so we wouldnt be seen by the 'enemy'. he keeps repeating one phrase, be it in conversation or text messages. he simply says, i like this moment.

well, i like this moment too. i cannot wait until spring is here in full-force, complete with leaves and flowers, and i can finally wear flowery sundresses, eat gelato, and knit in front of the eiffel tower.