When San Francisco Meets Paris / Quand San Franciso Rencontre Paris

Starbucks not only sells coffee, mugs, music CD's, and a limited amount of food, but also teddy bears , if you can believe that. They were selling these a couple of months ago when the weather was still nice. Eventually, I had to adopt one, even if these things are designed for tourists... What can I say, even after all these years, when it comes to my City By the Bay, I'm still a tourist at heart and probably always will be.

Starbucks ne vends pas que du café, des tasses, de la musique sur CD, et un peu de nourriture, mais aussi des ours en peluche , si si, c'est vrai. Ils vendaient ce modele là il y a un mois ou deux quand il faisait encore beau, et j'ai fini par craquer pour celui-ci. Ca doit être pour les touristes ces trucs là, mais bon malgré toutes ces années passées dans la région, en ce qui concerne ma ville près de la Baie, j'imagine que j'aurais sans doute toujours l'âme et surtout le coeur d'un touriste.



The sweat-shirt on the bear says "San Francisco" and the T-shirt he's wearing underneath says "City by the Bay." The khaki short has real pockets and the sweatshirt has a hood with a string sewn in to tighten it, in case it gets cold, I suppose? Pretty sophisticated gear for a teddy bear, don't you think? I think the only things he might be missing to give it that truly local look are the white earbuds attached to an iPod and a backpack. Otherwise, let me tell you, it's pretty close!

Le sweat dit "San Francisco" et le T-shirt qu'il porte en dessous dit "La Ville Près de La Baie". Le short kaki had des vraies poches et le sweat a une capuche avec un lacet cousu à l'interieur pour bien pouvoir la fermer, au cas ou il fait froid, peut-être? Pas mal pour un ours en peluche, vous ne trouvez pas? Les seules choses qui lui manqueraient pour avoir vraiment le look du coin sont une paire d'écouteurs blancs attachés à un iPod et un sac à dos, mais sinon c'est bien ça!



And if you wonder why we need hooded sweat-shirts in the middle of the Summer around here, let me just repeat to you what every local ever told me since I the first time I set foot in the City: "There is no colder winter than a summer in San Francisco" ... and don't you forget it!

Et si vous vous demandez pourquoi on a besoin de sweats à capuchon en plein été à San Francisco, laissez moi vous répèter ce que tous les gens du coin m'ont dit depuis le premier jour où je suis arrivée: "Il n'existe pas d'hiver plus froid qu'un été à San Francisco" ... et ne l'oubliez surtout pas!

By the way, while researching these famous words attributed to Mark Twain, I found this website stating that Mark Twain was quite possibly referring to Paris when he pronounced or wrote the famous words...

En recherchant cette phrase célèbre généralement attribuée à Mark Twain, j'ai trouvé ce site (en Anglais) qui laisse penser que Mark Twain ne parlait peut-être pas de San Francisco mais de Paris quand il a écrit ou prononcé ces mots célèbres...



By the way, speaking of Paris, the picture you see behind the teddy bear was taken by Michel of Spirit of Paris, a friendly blogger and very talented photograph in Paris. If you truly are a Parisian lover (or if you're just curious), you'll absolutely want to check out his magnificient photographs. The archives go all the way back to August 2002. He also gives photographic tours of Paris, check it out if you are interested.

La photo derrière l'ours a été prise par Michel de L'Esprit de Paris , un blogueur photographe Parisien sympa avec beaucoup de talent. Si vous aimez vraiment Paris (ou si vous êtes juste un peu curieux), je vous conseille fortement d'aller voir ses photos magnifiques. Les archives remontent à Août 2002 . Il donne aussi des tours photographiques de Paris, si ça vous interesse.



Before I leave, a little joke about our beloved City:

You know you are from San Francisco when:

You take a bus and are shocked that 2 people are carrying on a conversation in English.

Someone says TENDERLOIN and you don't think of steak.

You never bother looking at the MUNI line schedule because you know the drivers have never seen it.

A really great parking space can move you to tears.

You know that anyone wearing shorts in July must be visiting from Ohio.

You assume every company offers domestic partner benefits.

Your boss runs in "The Bay to Breakers"....and it's not the first time you have seen him/her nude.

You are thinking of taking an adult class but you can't decide between yoga, aroma therapy, conversational mandarin or a building your own web site class.

You haven't been to Fisherman's Wharf since the first month you moved to SF and you couldn't figure out how to drive to Coit Tower if your life depended on it.

You were born somewhere else.

Left is right and right is wrong.

Your monthly house payments exceed your annual income.

You dive under a desk whenever a large truck goes by.

You can't find your other earring because your son is wearing it.

Your family tree contains "significant others."

Your cat has its own psychiatrist.

Smoking in your office is not optional.

You pack shorts and a T-shirt for skiing in the snow, and a sweater and a wetsuit for the beach.

Rainstorms or thunder are the lead story for the local news.

Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the US

A man gets on the bus in full leather regalia and crotchless chaps. You don't even notice.

Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

When you drive under an underpass - for one moment you think "earthquake".

You realize the only Republicans you know are your Aunt and Uncle in Texas.

You realize there are far more Rainbow flags in the city than California State Flags.

You go to your office manager's baby shower - the parent's are named Judy and Becky.

When your church elects a new Bishop who abandoned his family and two young daughters to fulfill his sexual urges with another man.

Last but not least ... You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from San Francisco.

I hope you'll forgive me but I will not take the time to translate the joke. Rather, I will take my camera and go for a walk instead. I haven't done that for weeks and you know it's time! Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that everything is going reasonably well for each and every one of you. Talk to you all later.

Pardonnez-moi, mais au lieu de prendre le temps de traduire la blague, je vais plutôt prendre l'appareil et aller me promener. Je n'ai pu le faire depuis des semaines et il est grand temps! En attendant, j'espère que tout va relativement bien pour chacun d'entre vous. Allez, à la prochaine.

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Resources:

Starbucks collectibles (North America)

Mark Twain (English link)