A day in Paris

Ah, Paris!  The Seine, Notre Dame, cafe-lined streets, crazy Pompidou Center.  I spoke with two Egyptian construction workers and at length, with an African from Cote d'Ivoire about the problem with sending money to Africa when the government does nothing for its people.  The only path forward to is to invest in businesses which can then employ people.  His friend from Mali piped in.  I bought a new scarf from him to replace the one I left in Casamance.  I would never have begun these conversations except having experienced life in Senegal, particularly Dakar.  I noted that diversity pretty much disappeared in the low number arrondissements.  The African population is sequestered in Arrondissements 10+.  For that reason, I missed a glass of wine with my friend from Morocco.  He had a late meeting and it would have taken over an hour to get to where I was, notably less diverse.  I perhaps would not have noted this before my trip to Senegal.

Paris is lovely and the sun gradually emerged, warming a rather chilly day.  I took in the sights, visiting Shakespeare & Co bookstore to buy a book of poetry, admiring the statuesque architecture of Notre Dame and stately standard fare buildings.  In the evening, I joined my old professor, Dr. Isabelle de Courtivron for dinner in a French bistro, where I shared stories of Senegal and updated her on my family. She, in turn, told me about her life.  Notably, her father is a diplomat and she lived in several different countries, but predominantly France and the U.S.  Although she lived in the U.S  most of her life, she did not want to grow old in the U.S.  Her dog joined us for dinner; they are allowed in restaurants, and she was well behaved, indeed!  She spent a year campaigning vigorously for Macron, feeling that France needed him, and even though there have been bumps in the road, she thinks he is the right guy.

She also cautioned me about chaos in Paris the next day....