What's In A Name?

Whenever I introduce myself to French people I tell them the English pronunciation of my name. On several occasions this has led to confusion but nothing to dire. However, one day a Frenchman instructed me that I should introduce myself and pronounce my name in a manner consistent with the French pronunciation to a) make it easier for the French b) avoid any confusion.

I reflected on his remarks and I could understand his point. Listening to my Anglophone friends introduce themselves here in Paris I notice that they too use the French pronunciation of their names. My theory on this whole thing is *bleep* that. Whenever I encountered a French person in NYC they would always without fail introduce themselves using the French pronunciation of their name so why should I do otherwise now that I live in Paris?

The way I see it is my name is my name and if its a little difficult for a non-anglophone to understand or pronounce that's just too bad.

When Starbucks Came to France...

...I'm pretty sure they never envisioned such fustercluckery when it comes to coffee preparation.

Mind you there was an "efficiency" man that was pre-taking orders while we were standing in line to expedite the process however there was very little expediting being done considering I spent almost 35 minutes standing in line. Oh and my drink wasn't even ready by the time I got to the end of the bar.


Starbucks Opera
3, Boulevard des Capucines
75002 Paris, France‎

London Update: Better Late Than Never

So I went to London two weekends ago and the trip was a roaring success thanks to a favorable exchange rate and cooperative weather. I didn’t have a detailed itinerary to follow and I just went with the flow. I don’t usually fare very well when trips aren’t planned down to the minute but I think I handled it fairly well this time around. I travelled with my friend YM and we stayed at a very nice Holiday Inn in Camden Lock. Booked at a rate of $50/night through Hotwire.com we really beat the price.

This particular trip consisted more of hanging out, letting loose and shopping than sightseeing. However, thanks to my lovely friend Fauzia acting as tour guide all hope wasn’t lost. She let us partake in her Saturday morning ritual of visiting Borough Market, strolling along the Thames and then visiting Tate Modern Museum.

While I appreciated being able to speak in English with any and everyone and the cute bars and restaurants there was no feeling of love at first sight. Sorry London. However, I’m not opposed to a follow up visit if the exchange rate stays at its current level.

In keeping with my New Year’s promise to myself I have three other trips planned. A day trip to Reims this month, a weekend in Vannes the end of March and a long weekend in Bordeaux for Easter. I have to start planning some Q2 trips stat.