Author Archives: Bill Karpen

In the months since my last missive, I’ve been settling into the new apartment and the new neighborhood, getting everything set up, figuring out my favorite shops, cafes, my metro routes. My cat Gertrude loves to perch on one of … Continue reading →

As I mentioned in my last post, when I first arrived in Paris, I was a little freaked out by how inadequate my French was. Even after five years of high school French classes and a bachelor’s degree in French … Continue reading →

Hi all! I know it’s been a little while since I’ve posted. Last spring ended up being a little much, and then I got out of the the habit of posting and, well, you know how it goes. When I … Continue reading →

The first clue was that, when my friend Kyle was here a couple weeks ago, we were able to have a few picnics. Three to be exact. In the space of a week. I forgot to take photos of the … Continue reading →

The days are getting warmer and longer, thankfully. Last week I woke up to sunshine streaming through the window and decided I wanted to take my bike out for a spin. It had been a couple months… So I hopped … Continue reading →

Before I moved to this neighborhood, I knew exactly two things about Montparnasse: (1) that it has what some consider to be the ugliest building in Paris, the Montparnasse Tower, which caused nearly as much of an uproar when it … Continue reading →

Happy new year, everyone! Hope you’re having a wonderful start to the year! Today was the beginning of a cold snap here in Paris — the high was 32 degrees. It’s been trying to snow through the day, and this … Continue reading →