You don't know what you don't know

We are nearing the end of week four on our travels and it's been a lovely journey for us all.  Getting into routines that work for both school and work related activities, and finding all of our favorite places to eat, hang, shop and drink coffee.

I've been cooking quite a bit since we arrived, as we are "living" not "vacationing" over here and that also provides me with one of my favorite ways to contribute to my family.  I love cooking.  I love designing new dishes and following set recipes.  I even brought my own collapsible measuring cups and spoons in case there were no American measuring cups over here.

One of my prized possessions is my cook book collection, which I stored.  It is one of the few things I stored instead of downsized.  Imagine my total surprise, to find out one month later, when I discovered HANDLES for the pots and pan set.  In a drawer.  Stored separately from said pots and pans.  Le sigh.  Genius for storing though.  I covet them.  http://www.beka-cookware.com/ranges/evolution

Also, I just fired up the Espresso maker here.  Hubs has a mediation tonight and is desperate for caffeine, although he has been mostly caffeine free for months.  Almost good enough to have me give up PG Tips Tea.  Which I could not find in the stores here.  But they had a two pound-ish sack full of my beloved triangle tea bags in Barcelona, so I brought that back to Paris with me!

Not speaking the language can be a burden, and a financial one as well.  The stepson and I went to the Left Bank this week, and our metro cards apparently came with a paper card to paste our photos to.  Which only step son even has because I either threw out the paper or it was stolen from me with my wallet on day two in Paris.  Fines for using cards without photos?  $50 Euros apiece.  $100 Euros for not knowing the language and being able to follow directions upon landing at Charles de Gaul airport.  I'm surprised it took them a month to catch us.