Finding happiness (in Paris)

All day I’ve watched from my huge windows overlooking the Place d’Aligre the torrential rain come down in ropes, and the blustering gale make life very difficult for the people who earn their living running stalls in the market below me. I ventured out briefly after breakfast as I needed fruit and vegetables, and also some fish for dinner. But for the rest of the day I’ve worked at my desk, although constantly distracted by the changing colour of the sky, and the dramatic movements of the clouds. I think I’ve been influenced by Brecht’s Lucky John, star of the play I went to see last night at the Theatre of the Bastille, who loved to look at the clouds.

I must admit that my image above, about the rain coming down in ropes, is from the French idiom I learned yesterday, ‘Il pleut des cordes,’ which I was told was the equivalent of ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’ Personally, I find ropes the more evocative image.

The other idiom I learned at the same time (this was all while buying a skirt in Lyon), was ‘Avez-vous trouvez votre bonheur ?’ which was asked of me by the young male shop assistant as his elder female colleague was wrapping up my purchase. While I understood his question literally, I had no idea of precisely what he meant in that context. Fortunately, his colleague came to my rescue, saying to him, ‘She won’t be able to understand that because it’s idiomatic,’ and then proceeded to explain to me that this is what one is often asked after making a purchase, or finding something one wants in a library, and so on.  With another customer, who also knew a little  English, we then started searching for idioms in the two languages, with and without equivalents. This was how I learned ‘Il pleut des cordes’. We decided there really isnt an equivalent for ‘Have you found your happiness ?’

But, quand meme, despite the rain coming down in ropes, I can’t think of many happier moments than sitting by this window watching the changing sky.