My Town: Gentilly

This has been a busy week, like they all seem to be, but this one was special because I got to visit with a friend of mine from America who now lives in Paris, not too far from me.

I met Amanda when she was a student at the Christian school where I worked before coming overseas.  We have a long history and a strong friendship that goes way back.  She is marrying a French guy that she met in America, and so we will be able to see each other often!  How cool is that!?!

Okay, I've wanted to take you on a tour of our little suburb called Gentilly.  The tan building is my apartment complex, and so as I come out my gate, we're going to turn right and go into the "city" center.  (Centre Ville)  I say "city" in parentheses because it isn't very big and it is more like a village. 

But it's my village and I love it.  This is my Boulangerie and Patisserie, and unfortunately it is just across the street from our apartment.  They have the best pains aux raisins (pastry with a creme filling and raisins) and baguette tradition graine.

Just down from our apartment building is some scaffolding under which we have to walk to get into the middle of town.  This scaffolding backs up to our apartment and the workmen must only work from 7:30 -8:30 am.  Glenn and I aren't sure what they are doing because we never see any workmen when we pass by (we only hear them banging early in the morning!) and we aren't seeing the scaffolding move.  

Further down the street is a small store that carries African food.    Yippee!

On Tuesday, Glenn and I went to the local open-air market and besides buying two huge bags of fresh fruit and vegetables, we bought a couple of take-ways of Poulet Yassa, Poulet Columbo and Thieb (flavored rice), all dishes from Senegal.  How fortuitous!

Now, we don't buy ALL our food at the market; some we buy at the local grocery store about 8 minutes away by foot.  We can buy everything we NEED, but not everything I wish ... like cheddar cheese or Trappista cheese from Hungary.  I'm not complaining, but in a perfect world ...

This is the Mayor's office, called the Mairie here in France.  The Mairie is usually the most beautiful building in the city/town.

I hate seeing graffiti on any building but I do appreciate good, colorful art!

Glenn has a goal of walking every street in Gentilly and keeps track of them.  Right now he's about 2/3rds of the way through!  This is just one of the many beautiful views we saw as we were walking through our little burg.

Not too far from our house is a sports complex with a walking track.  It's a small track; I think I'll have to walk 15 loops for a kilometer.  :-)

I don't know if you noticed the style of the buildings in Gentilly.  For the most part, they are "new" (relatively speaking), square and plain.   I miss the intricate, old buildings and their beauty, but this is my new town.

Well, that's the overview of Gentilly, my new home.  If you'd like to see more, please come for a visit.   Love to have you!

Okay, this last photo is on a totally different subject.  One of our new friends here has practically wallpapered a room or two of her apartment with colorful Bible verses.  It is quite impressive.  

This upcoming week Glenn and I start our French language classes at Alliance Francaise to help us get up to snuff on our French.  Three mornings a week, 9 am to 12 noon.