April in Paris: Voyager Avec Enfants (Day Three)

So, Day 3!We let the kids sleep in a bit because we ’d had a late night the day before and not any time-sensitive itinerary for the day anyway. While they were sleeping, I headed out to pick up some stuff to make breakfast at home—baguettes at a nearby boulangerie called Le Champ des Délices, and some basic groceries at a small chain market on t he corner called Franprix. The cashier was, I think, somewhat annoyed that I didn’t speak French, which…fair enough. People in the States get irrationally pissed at those who don’t speak English, and I suppose I could have brushed up a bit before we made our trip. Despite the fact that I took French for something like four years in high school (much longer if you count elementary school, which I don’t really, as the instruction then was barely formalized) I can barely speak a word now aside from isolated phrases. Ever since I learned medical Spanish (badly), it has corrupted my French to the point that even if I try to speak French, Spanish just comes out of my mouth instead. But one thing this trip has made me realize—though it really didn’t help that much in the Franprix—that I understand much more spoken or written French than I thought I did. Even now, two and a half de cades after taking my French Regents exam (don’t worry about it, it’s a New York thing) and gleefully decided that I wasn’t going to take French class any more, ever.(" Hey Henri, check out this asshole tourist posing with her baguettes pok...
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