Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I love Paris in the Springtime

Paris is such a fabulous city to visit. In spite of the old saying, I suspect one or two people even like living there! We had the pleasure of Paris over the 2006/2007 holiday season. This photo was taken from the top of the Centre Pompidou (I think) on a blustery, rainy night.

We stayed in an apartment off Rue Rambuteau for a week, frequently passing the Centre. Finally, we visited the Herge exhibit and then went up to the top. (Sorry - I don't know how to inject the proper accent on the second e.) I will say that I spent more time appreciating the Herge exhibit and the view from the top than I spent appreciating the art collection that was open that evening - if you catch my drift.

I love Paris in the Springtime. And in the Fall, Winter, and Summer, too!

(Note: the old saying to which I refer is: "It's a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." I think I would gladly live in Paris.)

1 comment:

Barry Leiba said...

I know four ways: the HTML way; the least-setup way; the super-geeky way; the smoothest bestest way.

The HTML way: Type é
That's the HTML code for a lower-case e with an acute accent: é
The others work everywhere, but this only works in HTML, so you have to use one of the others in other contexts.

The least-setup way: Use the character map applet (in Accessories -> System tools) to find the character you want, copy it to the clipboard, and paste it.

The super-geeky way: Learn the four-digit character codes and enter them manually. The code for e-acute is 0233. Make sure "num lock" is on, then hold down "alt" and type "0233" on the numeric keypad (not on the numbers across the top of the keyboard), then release "alt". Et voilà.

The smoothest bestest way: Define an alternative keyboard mapping. This takes some setup, but it's worth it if you use accented characters often. Go into Control Panel -> Regional and Language options -> Lanuages -> Details. Add the "United States-International" keyboard. You can set up hotkeys to make it easy to switch mappings (by default, ctrl-shift cycles through them).

When you're in international keyboard mode, you type things like 'e ... and the ' doesn't appear, and the e shows up with the acute accent. If you really want ' you have to type a space (or another character that doesn't validly combine with the ') after it. Useful combinations are 'e (actute), `e (grave), "e (umlaut), ^e (circumflex). 'c gives you ç, and ~n gives the obvious Spanish ñ.

Go wild.