Springtime in Paris

Yesterday was the perfect Spring day - blue skies with white, fluffy clouds and warm weather. I took advantage of my Friday off by getting outside and enjoying it. After sleeping late, I started my day by walking to the office where I must register for health benefits. It is located about 20 minutes away from my apartment and my walk took me past the Eiffel Tower. Tons of tourists were there enjoying the great weather and the scene. I arrived at the office with an excellent attitude - I knew I would need more documentation so I went to find out what I was missing. French bureaucracy is like no other and you are practically required to return two to three times before you can complete your business. I was lucky in that I was only missing one document, and I shall have that in the mail early next week. So, next Friday I can return and register. This is really quite good as it has taken three trips to the bank to get checks and they are still not right. I am going for the fourth time next Tuesday, but this time I have an appointment with my banker, so it should be resolved.

From there I made my way over to Alliance Française, where I am taking my French class. I went there to change my class as I can't understand the teacher and need to be in a lower level class. I was able to switch to a conversation class, which is what I thought I was getting the first time. So, two errands successfully completed, I headed over to the Luxembourg Gardens. The afternoon was still gorgeous and I was only a couple of blocks away from the Gardens, which is one of my very favorite places in Paris. I sat by the fountain, watching people and reading a book, while I waited for my friend, Julie.
We met up around 6 pm and headed for a café and a glass of wine. From there, off to find some dinner (we had pizza) and while away the evening. I headed home around midnight. So, all in all, a really great Spring day!