Tuesday October 5th

Today was not particularly eventful.

After my morning of classes, we ate lunch (baguette and goats cheese, washed down with delicious Orangina - why can't they sell this in Australia?!) in a small garden near the Luxembourg Gardens, which were closed to the public today due to the Senate being in use. We weren't disappointed however, as the small park we were in was beautiful, with lots of autumnal leaves in colour.

After lunch we decided to escape the cold weather by doing a spot of shopping at H&M (again, why don't we have this in Australia? It's awesome!) I bought a pair of jeans and some tshirts, as well as a ridiculously fluffy and warm angora jumper for a diminutive price, while David had a look at their boots and corduroy pants.

No photos today as we didn't go anywhere particularly picture worthy. 

Monday October 4th

Today was my first day of classes at the Alliance Francaise in Paris. I like it so far, but can't help feeling like I should already know what I'm being taught (and I do, to a degree, but not enough to change classes)  The small class size, and lovely young teacher and definite pluses, though the fact that the only common language is French does make things difficult when it comes to explaining unknown words and concepts.

After my three hours of class, I was met by David, who had been walking around the area. We went for a long walk, looking for the best boulangerie/pattiserie in the area to buy a baguette and some pastries. We ate leftover chicken with bread and fantastic French butter in a park, before continuing our walk to the Seine. We walked all the way along to the Eiffel Tower, admiring the views and historic buildings along the way. One of my favourites was the National Assembly building, due to it's importance in the French Revolution, which I studied last year.

One of the highlights of the day was turning a corner in a pretty but unremarkable street to see the entirety of the Eiffel tower framed between the buildings. An entire primary school was leaving for their lunch break in the gardens under the tower. We enjoyed the view, but decided not to go up on such an overcast day, and instead sat on a bench eating croissants and pain au chocolats, and hand fed sparrows which delighted an older Asian lady.

We ate a relaxed dinner of baguette, fresh goats cheese from the market, and Lambrusco wine which I hadn't tried before, but rather enjoyed.

A couple more photos after the jump.

Paris Je T'aime

My first real day in Paris was perfect.

I met David at the bus stop, and we bought a baguette and apple tartlets on the way home, which we ate for morning tea. Soon after getting home we left again, and explored the area. We walked through a gorgeous lush garden along the outside wall of the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, and then made our way to 'West Country Girl' creperie which was very cool, and delicious. Buckwheat crepes with lovely ham, cheese, and egg with a runny yolk, followed by regular crepes with salted butter caramel sauce, with cider - aka the most amazing meal ever.

After lunch we headed to the cemetery and walked around that for a couple of hours. It was surprisingly quiet and free of tourists, most of the people visiting were actually French. It was so beautiful, all the cobblestone paths and graceful trees, really lovely. While we were there we heard a demonstration of some sort going on, which I later read was protesting changes to the aged pension. We wisely avoided the protest though, and chose to instead go and buy some food.

First we visited a patisserie and bought some dessert - clafoutis and apricot and custard flan - both delicious and not too sweet, which is something we've noticed and appreciated with all the sweets we've tried so far. We then went to a fromagerie (cheese shop) and bought a wheel of Camembert. The French sure know their cheeses! The lady there picked up and squeezed all the cheeses to test for ripeness, and picked out one perfectly ripe for us. At the supermarket we bought some staples, tea, coffee, milk, yoghurt, and of course wine and then headed back home for a quiet evening in. Our dinner of baguette, Camembert, and €2 wine (which was comparable to a $10+ bottle in Australia - even the dirt cheap wine here is good!)

So a day of walking around my beautiful neighbourhood in Paris with one of my best friends, shopping in typically Parisien shops and eating the most French foods imaginable. All in all, a perfect day in Paris.

On traveling

Two planes, four different delays, two trains, one taxi, three flights of stairs, and I'm in Paris. My apartment is beautiful and remarkably spacious given it's size. The area (the 20th arrondissement, near the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise) is vibrant and just gritty enough to make it real. It's raining, but tomorrow the weather's supposed to be nice so hopefully I can visit the beautiful gardens (the Parc des Buttes Chaumont) I drove past in the taxi on my way here.

Today I have plans to - 

• Finish unpacking (almost there, it's suprising how much quicker it is to unpack than to pack) 
• Meet David, who's staying with me for a while since he's in Paris too. 
• Stock up on groceries (my breakfast consisted of coffee and aeroplane oreos) the apartment was stocked with tea and coffee supplies, but other than that just a beer, a packet of pasta, and a jar of mustard)
• Explore the area
• And most importantly, eat. There's a nice crêperie reccomended by food writer David Lebovitz that sounds lovely and would make for a great first proper meal in Paris. But it all depends on what David fancies too!

Anticipation. Hesitation.

I'm so excited but at the same time, so scared.

I know it's stupid. I'm well prepared, I have the important things organised. I speak the language, I'll be with friends, then with family. I'll have so much fun and see so many wonderful things.

But three months is a long time. Three months, without someone. Without that someone who just makes life easier.

But it's not just that. 

Will I get  homesick? 

Will I get overwhelmed?

Will I want nothing more than to just come home?

Or worse, will it be the most amazing three months of my life and be over far too soon and I'll be back at work, back to life before I even know it...

wan·der·lust/ˈwɒndərˌlʌst/ Show Spelled[won-der-luhst]

–noun

a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.

 

 

 

 

In 11 days I leave for Paris, England, Scotland and Ireland for 3 months.

There's so much to do before I leave.