Testing the waters

Bonjour!!
So I have arrived Paris two weeks ago yesterday! So much has happened!! First the weather, it freaking cold. It never seems to go above 60 degrees, and the sun is always hiding. As In the States, people here have been saying it's been a long winter, and cold without an end in sight.
My grandmother who is the first reason I came back to France after an almost 9 year old dry spell has been recovering from her perforated ulcer surgery. That means she is better, and getting ready to be released the real world in a week or so but also the I am not as inclined to visit as often as I did when I first arrived. I first stayed at Myriam's place in Versailles. She went out on vacation to Britanny and left her small addict apartment for a good week. I couldn't have been luckier!!! The only problem is that versailles is an off suburb of Paris from which you can only get to Paris and other sunburns by train. And I tell you ; it cost a lot to ride public transportation here. It cost 6 euros one way to get to my grandmother or 4 to get to Paris centre one way. That is 7 and 5 dollars respectively one way!!! Life in Paris is mad expensive!!! You cannot find an apartment under 800 euros unless or 500 if you co-live or share!!! That's 1000 or 650 respectively. But regardless of this I remain positive and full of aspirations without setting any goals, and let the wind carry me and show me where to stear.
After a couple of days I also succeeded in borrowing a friend's bike. I knew that in order to survive in this city I would have to drastically reduce my transportation costs. So yea!! Thank you Helene!!!!
During my first week I also got to test the waters and play some in the streets of Paris. My first Saturday was a bit of a disaster. I woke up with a terrible hang over, all thanks to a great reunion happy and party time with Rita and her colorfull friends, ranging from Sherriff the algerian bar owner where we started off with his tap beer he needed to empty out as he had just been forced shut on administrative leave for violating a city ordinance by being open after 2 am and aka being too noisy to the arch enemy neighbors. As a matter of fact, after two beers getting ready to leave, a group of four undercover cops paid him a visit to let him know the neighbors were still calling on suspicion he wasn't serving his administrative closed sentence. We all insisted we had been there helping him clean the bar with a couple drinks to make the work a little more pleasurable. 8The cops left with a warning! Close call. Either way they themselves said they had better things and thugs to catch. Anyway we continued our night fun in the smallest two piece apartment where a hoarde of 30 people crammed together with Mojitoes bad rock all waiting for Sherriff's famous couscous. By that time he'd already been totally plastered since after lunch but still pulled off the delicious north African dish, and the topless dance after closing the door to the bedroom where people stood standing chatting a la francaise of boring normalities and quotidiens. This friday, sheriffs bar will reopen and I can assure you I will be there as the celebration will be filled with his chef's amazing Morrocan Tagine and great great fun different happy people!!!
Paris is not a boring place, it is not filled with depressed people. It will appear to be if you surround yourself by those who are depressed or if you believe they are. The truth is that like anywhere else if you smile here, most likely you will smiled back at.
In any case I woke up with a terrible headache, and only got to play very little at random places surrounding Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur where Rita now a full time photographer artist displays her argentine exposed black and white prints in front of closed up shops or indoor makeup restaurants. Sunday however is another story. I set myself up in the Marais; the old Jewish quarters. The streets are narrow and filled with Falafel restaurants. The narrow alleys get filled with Jews and tourists of all sorts.I first thought I would do best playing french waltzes, but I quickly tried some klezmer and to my surprise, people responded best to the Jewish repertoire. I only made 70 euros by the end of the day, but I couldn't have been happier with such returns. I honestly didn't expect to make more than 50 after the 6 hours of playing. I ended my first weekend in Paris content and satisfied knowing that the street music could make me just about break even living in such an expensive city where the competition of street musicians is very very high, and of caliber. Everywhere touristic you are sure to find not only solo artists but amazing groups of musicians each as amazing as one after the other.
The truth is that I had no expectations and also some fears to tackle such a renowned music scene, and I can honestly say I couldn't be happier with the result. No expectations, no goals, no pre conceived idea of what I d like to reach; rather only intuition, feeling the wind, it's direction and listening to it and to your friends. So far it's led me well, I have been received and guided suggested where to play, where to ask, who to speak and only great things have come from it. I'm loving Paris, it really is a cosmopolite city, filled with Africans, indian, pakistanais, chinese, Americans, europeans, people from all over the world, all just as marvelled to be in a place where so many people From Different places living and congregating sometimes mixing. Paris feels very different than what I remember. I do not feel the hate; or the xenophobia that was dominant years back. The Sarkozy years are past; new restaurant and shops are now owned operated by young people like me, uninterested at the french old status quo, and striving to make this place an integrated little new york like gumbo. Of course I've only arrive very recently. Yes. I have also been confronted with some really aggressive people, drivers or passive aggressive unhappy people; but all I can do is love where the universe and it's breath have sailed me to. And that is where happiness and content lies in; the pure being in the present, fully aware and feeling with all your senses.
It's time to go to bed. I wish I had more time, but I have run out for today. I already have in mind my next blog entry, be prepared for pictures and sound clips!!!!

Here are some quick pics of bike ride I took along the seine to save on riding the train. It was 2 hours long at a good 22km of pedaling. Smells of lilac and may 1st muguet filled the air !!!

Good night