Well I have had another couple of lovely weeks in this beautiful city - trying to make the most of the few that I have left! Last Wednesday night I met some friends just by Notre Dame at the Seine and we then met up with a big group of au pairs who were there as well, it still does seem a little surreal to be constantly meeting all of these new people who are having similar experiences to me, but coming from completely different countries - Russia, Germany, South Africa, Finland, Mexico, Brazil, Italy - but also so many Americans, British and New Zealanders as well. Luckily (though probably a shame as well) the standard language used is English, although everyone does admit that it is much more fun to speak in French (often with the various french speaking males who stop to chat) and much easier when the tongue is loosened up after a glass or two of wine!
I didn't have a late night though as my first class was Thursday morning at the beautiful hour of eight am! Seeing as I chose a school on the completely other side of Paris (it does have a reputation of being one of the best though - so hopefully the early mornings are worth it) it takes me around fifty minutes to get there... which means that I need to leave home at seven am! I was surprised to hear Louis up and about before me alarm went off, until I looked at the time and realised that it was 7:20!! In record breaking speed I threw on some clothes and raced out the door, being one of those embarrassing people who do their hair and make up on the metro, but managing to arrive only fifteen minutes late for class by running the entire way (it is lucky that this city is so big that the chances of someone I know seeing me are minuscule) and arriving exhausted and looking like I had just gotten out of bed (funnily enough I had!) but is was a good lesson and I enjoyed being able to understand everything that my teacher was saying!
The (really only) benefit of starting class at such a un-human hour is that I am finished by 10:30 and have the rest of the day to do something! My friend Maggie who is also an early bird and I decided to check out L'Invalides which houses various war museums as well as the stunning building with Napoleon's Tomb (It is the gold dome that appears in many of my photos) We only visited the museum for the ancient wars, WWI and WWII, Napoleon's Tomb and a quick stop for lunch in the four hours that we were there! But it was fascinating and well worth the time we were there, but I think it would take two days visiting the museums to do it justice!
With a very, very early morning on Saturday waiting for the taxi at 4:15 to whisk me off to the airport for a quick trip to Nice to watch Collingwood win the Grand Final (well that was how it was supposed to happen anyway). Managing to get off the plane and onto a bus in record time, it was lovely to watch the last half of the game with Dad (even if it was heartbreaking). We then had a wonderful day in Monaco - I kept an eye out for a billionaire husband, but had not luck, shall just have to keep searching. A lovely quiet day on Sunday, with my first swim in the ocean since Indonesia last year!
It was so nice to see Mum, Dad, Paul and Liz again and being in Nice felt like a completely different country to Paris with the beaches, colourful buildings and the distinct Italian accent I could hear in the French there! I was blessed with a flight that was landing into Orly airport on the hour so that I had a fabulous view of the entire city lit up as well as the Eiffel Tower sparkling!
Unfortunately I think I was terrible company for everyone in Nice as I managed to take a spectacular dive off the stairs at home and plunge into the wall/heater at the bottom - definitely funniest home videos material - which resulted in spectacular bruises all over my body as well as a really, really sore shoulder which had me in pain all weekend (hence the constant whinging!). Fortunately just as I was starting to consider amputation it started to get better and I now only have the pretty blue/green patches all over me as well as the horrendous memory! Needless to say I walk very, very slowly down the stairs now!
I left home exceptionally early on Monday morning, there was no way I was being late for another class, which afforded me the benefit of watching the sun rise behind the Eiffel Tower, which I walk past on my way, as Louis Vuitton advertising campaign was being shot - one of those surreal moments!
Wednesday was a quiet day as Caroline was still recovering from her bug, Aurore was tired and Louis and I had started coming down with something too! I did head out to meet some friends at the Champs de Mars though and we had a lovely picnic for a few hours there. It was quite funny for us though when someone came over to ask if we were Australian, American or English... they were quite surprised when we had to reply all three (as well as German, Welsh and Dutch) apparently they had taken a bet on it - we must have been talking far too loudly because they were sitting across the other side of the grass!
Louis had the day off school on Thursday, which meant that I had to as well, although as I wasn't feeling that well either it worked out quite well for both of us to have a rest day. I was a little surprised when Caroline wanted me to take him to the doctor (I was sure it was just a cold) however when she rang up in the morning and easily got an appointment that day with their doctor whose office is literally across the road, I started to understand why the French are well known for rushing to the doctor for every teensy issue. Once we had been (It was hard work on my part as the doctor spoke no English and Louis lost his tongue for answering her questions) and it cost a whole 20 euros for the appointment, which they can then apparently claim back in its entirety, I understood exactly why! One of my friends told me that she had to get some medication on time and it cost only 40 cents!
Juliette, Aurore and Louis' cousin came to stay on Friday night, with Caroline and Mathias at the theatre as usual, and it was quite funny for me to hear the girls whispering and playing well after I had told them they should go to sleep - brought back many memories of many sleepovers when I was their age. I however, have learnt from my parents mistakes and simply put in my headphones and ignored them (Bad babysitting I guess, but I know from experience that it's pointless to battle!) they were to sleepy girls this morning though!
Today I braved going to the hairdressers to have my hair cut and coloured, it was a close shave when I was explaining the colour that I wanted and the hairdresser pulled out a photo of white/grey blonde to see if that was what I was after! Fortunately I managed to explain what I wanted and even though I did hold my breath as I looked in the mirror as he dried my hair, the colour was exactly what I had wanted! I also went for the big 'chop' with my hair now just above my shoulders in a long bob - a big change for me and I'm still getting used to it, however I think I like it!
I then met some friends at the Museum of Arts and Decorative Fashion for an exhibition of a famous fashion designer (many of the girls studied fashion at uni and so were really looking forward to seeing it) Hussein Chalayan. His work was quite incredible, more art than fashion with long stories behind each collection. There was one memorable piece which was a table that then became a skirt!
We then headed to Angelina's for a hot chocolate, supposedly the best in Paris which it probably is judging by the queue to get a table which was out the door and down the street! We decided just to get takeaways (one of the few legitimate French cafés where you can have takeaway) and it was well worth it! They perfect antidote to a freezing cold day (the temperature has dropped from above 28 the last few weeks, to only 12 degrees today! I had a quick dash to buy coats and jackets on Friday when it changed drastically) was drinking what was basically just melted chocolate!
Today was an exciting day for Louis (he told me it was far better than Christmas) as the new metro station at the end of our line was opened. He has literally been talking about it for months and months, surmising about what colours everything would be and constantly asking if I thought that it might open early (as in two weeks ago) but I assured him that building work is rarely finished on time, let alone early, however he still dreamt about it! When I got home this evening he was absolutely bouncing off the walls with excitement as Mathias had taken him to see the new station as well as ride the metro along the entire line in the driver's cabin and talk with him about all things metro! He had all sorts off stickers, badges and brochures that people had given him and I received a very detailed account of the entire day. A friend had told me about the old metro stations that were closed at the start of the war and never re-opened, so they are exactly as they were in 1939, including the advertisements on the walls and everything. I was fascinated and found some information on the internet about them which I shared with Louis, who of course loved it and was fascinated. Wikipedia articles about the 'Phantom Metro' has been his bedtime story for the past four nights! He managed to see two of them (although in the dark, so he said he couldn't see much) along the line today, but they are locked up well so it isn't possible to get inside and see them unless you take a tour which occurs only once a year (and not in the next six weeks either, unfortunately) so hopefully I can figure out a way to go and have a look, the pictures that I have seen look incredible!
Tonight while watching a French version of X-Factor with groups of singers (who were all fairly average, obviously we are much better singers than us Aussies) I kept thinking that the female judge seemed familiar, then once I heard her speak (in brilliant French as well) I realised that it was Tina Arena! She apparently lives in Paris and is a bit of a star in France as well. It was nice to hear her speaking such beautiful French - hopefully I will speak as well as her one day!
The photo I have put up with this week is one I took on my way to French class on Monday morning - not a bad view and definitely worth getting up early for!