Sur Seine

What I'm reading...

2008-10-25T19:10:00.004+13:00

Ah the luxury of working only part-time and having a steady supply of books. Actually as someone said to me, I should be able to milk the whole 're-adjusting to life in NZ' phase for at least a month. Which gives me another ten days or so for rampant reading without the guilt of feeling I should go and get another job.
So here are a couple of books that I have enjoyed and am enjoying and why.

Animal, Vegetable and Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver came highly recommended to me by a friend who obviously know my tastes well as I am just lapping up the book. I'm about halfway through and find myself fascinated, despairing and encouraged on every page. The book is a sort of memoir which takes us through a year in the life of the author, as she and her family pledge to feed themselves only on homegrown or locally raise food. It's about seasons, gardening, organics, eating well, the state of America's food industry and more. It's very informative and well written and will make you think twice about what you're eating and where it comes from! I'm not even finished yet and I give it a 9/10.

Les Belles Images par Simone de Beauvoir
I am trying to keep at least one french book going at all times and this is the current pick. I have always wanted to read Simone de Beauvoir but perhaps this was not the best one to start with (the Dunedin Public Library left me with little choice however). Paris has not changed much but the hi-fi systems, clothing and conversation topics of the characters have dated and I just can't say that I'm riveted. 4/10
Anyone who does want a good french read, look for Amelie Nothcomb, she is fantastically funny.

The Poetry of Pablo Neruda by René de Costa
I really enjoy Neruda's poetry but knew nothing of the man's life, loves, inspirations etc. This book presents Neruda's poetry in chronological order, interspersing them with a running commentary and biographical details. The commentary can be a little academic in parts but it really does add to the reading of the poems. Bonus - the poems are printed first in their original Spanish and then in English, very motivating for a beginning Spanish speaker. 7/10.

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
While in Paris I heard Jeanette Winterson speak at a festival. She quoted, by heart, the first five minutes of her novel 'Oranges are not the only fruit' and I was hooked. Found Oranges great and thoroughly enjoyed this one too, though it is a rather different style. Unsure of where to start with summing it up, I'll just quote the back of the book for this one: "Winterson breaks the mould of history and fiction alike in this intricately enjoyable book." Apparently the genre is 'Gothic farce'. It is certainly a unique novel and her writing is fantastic. 9/10

And now...

2008-10-20T08:41:00.003+13:00

What's on the cards now for this Kiwi? Well for starters I think this blog needs a makeover; the heading is a blatant lie -and is anyone else having problems with Blogger? I have a lot of trouble getting my posts to look like I want them to; everything ends up sneakily jumping to weird places and it's tricky to upload photos. Hmmm, if I knew what I was doing I would get in their and edit that Html but I think that it might be more satisfying to start from scratch. I'll do a shop around.
As I can no longer really talk about daily life in Paris I am going to switch the content to topics that I want to rant and rave about.
I'm just in the process of applying to do a graduate diploma of journalism in 2009. I am applying far and wide but really hope that Christchurch will say yes! In the meantime I will continue to sharpen up my non-fiction writing with some blogging.
Step one is to commission my tech-savvy brother to replace my ibook's hardrive.

The kiwi has landed...

2008-10-13T22:19:00.009+13:00

..right in a pile of these.

No longer am I to munch on patisseries in Paris. Now it will be fatty chips in Roslyn.
But really, so long as the cravings for goats cheese and pastis don't get too overwhelming, it's pretty great to be home. I mean what is there not to like about this:

So in view of the fact that I am blatantly no longer in Paris but think I would like to keep blogging, there are gonna be some changes round here. On the blog that is, maybe personally too, we'll see about that in future posts.
Some last snaps of France? Try and stop me.

The Monastery of Mont St Michel

Traditional Breton costumes

From the Tuileries gardens at sunset

The ruins of the Royaumont Abbey

Yellow boat in Concarneau

woah

2008-07-23T06:24:00.002+12:00

Oh the lazy blogger that I am, coming back from the dead-but only ever so briefly-after many months dormant. My parents are here visiting in Neuilly and I have the luxury of mum's laptop for a few weeks.
This weekend Alex and I did a weekend trip to Belgium - Brussels and Gent - and were presently surprised by the quirkiness of the place and the excellent food. I will perhaps even post some photos tomorrow! Before that the family braved French roads and tripped around Brittany for 10 days. Ironically of course it is only once back in the big city that the weather gets really warm and we all wish there was a bit of beach here. Today at Paris Plage ( tonnes of sand dumped along banks of Seine) we dunked out feet in the fountain and felt our noses burn. They actuall float a pool in the Seine so that will be the destination tomorrow if this heat keeps up.
This evening sis and I are off to an open-air cinema screening of an Audrey Hepburn film, actually we had better make tracks!
bisous

still here..

2008-03-24T05:43:00.002+13:00

oops, 1 month since my last post...
Well I am stil here, just not getting to the internet much and I am sad that I have not been updating more regularly!
Here goes a rapid-fire bullet point entry to get things up to date.

-Infected wisdom tooth saw me spending first 3 days of holidays with a half-inflated face and a much moaning.

-On the 28th flew to Vienna and made the very scenic train trip to Schladming, my little slice of Austrian paradise.

-Ate a lot of cake and watched in wonder as the valley and surrounding mountains were blanketed with snow, and it kept on snowing until the sun came out on the day I left.

-had two lovely days of skiing, on with my own personal ski instructor (thank-you Herbert!) which did wonders for my technique, which I'll be honest I was completely lacking in before.

-Thought once again about the possibilty of spending a lot longer in this place.

-6th of March, long train trip to Venice, but incredibly beautiful and relaxing. Missed one connection which added about 3 hours to the day and thus arrived late and went straight to hotel.

-bad hotel. tried not to look around me too much when in the shower, and checked out first thing in the morn. A friend arrived that evening and we stayed in a much nicer place with kitchen and space and light and security!

- really loved Venice, spent hours and hours just walking and photographing and eating gelato and sighing.

-Back to Paris on the 10th where I have been back at work ever since. I only have 11 more weeks of work and its all over!

-Had the kids sole-charge for one exhausting weekend and just kept my sights on the arrival of my sister.

-She arrived on Friday and despite freezing temperatures the initiation to Paris has begun. She's sitting beside me right now checking to see which of her favourite bands will be playing here in the next few months.

-We have a heck of a lot of eating and sightseeing and shopping to fit in so it's jsut as well that's she's planning on staying for a while!

Happy Easter everyone,
xx

The bell.

2008-02-22T23:38:00.002+13:00

I am not going to arrive at the hundred post mark before tomorrow. The 23rd of February is going to mark my one year anniversary in Paris! I should write some kind of resumé about how this period has changed and moulded me. All the lessons I have learned and the genelral life-enrichingness of it all...but I'm not going to.
Let me just say that it has absolutely flown by; that I feel I have matured a lot and learnt a lot about who I am and how I operate. I have also developed my French side and have comfortably integreted into French culture.
But enough of that. Today is the start of the school holidays!!!! Yaya! 2 weeks of free time and travel. Today wil be the 'profond' tidy-up of the playroom, a task I detest and will thankfully only have to do 3 more times EVER. Then I will have the kids tomorrow while their parents do the once a semester gallery crawl and then I am freeeeeeee. My first 3 days I will be vegetating in my studio with some dark chocolate and 20th century French poetry. I have a stack of books and can't wait to just blob and read and read. And the weather might even be nice enough to spend a little time outdoors....if I am walking briskly.
Then I fly to Vienna and take a train to Schladming, my home away from home in the Austrian alps. I am so excited to see my family again and do some skiing! From Austria I take a 4 hour train ride down to Venice where I will stay for 3 nights. And the month of March I will be staying firmly in Neuilly and eating rice.
Oh yes, I called this post the bell, quick explanation: I have picked up a tutoring job, just one lunchtime a week speaking english with a 9 year old boy. He is an only child who lives in the 16th (chic) with his parents and the Spanish nanny. I have only met with him once but it was both hilarious and a little disconcerting. He speaks practically no english, but understands me quite well, replying either in french or spanish. We sat face to face at the enormous dining table where our grated carrot and vinaigrette was waiting for us; nanny was in the kitchen preparing the lamb cutlets. I couldn't help but noticing the paper napkin beside my plate and the linen one beside his (in a silver napkin ring), and then the little silver bell. Surely, I thought, this is some little trinket that just happens to be lying around. Mais non, 'tring tring' and nanny apprears with an orange juice, 'tring tring', the entrée is finished and we would like our main. Unbeleivable.
I hold an interesting position of being very much part of the working class here but also somewhat reverred as an educated foreigner who has chosen to learn french and will presently retire to my exotic homeland to start a 'real job'. I have been allowed into two very different worlds, which is another thing I appreciate about this experience.

hola

2008-02-08T22:56:00.000+13:00

Well I don't think that I am going to be able to fit all those posts in! I am trying though. Had a French test this morning, easy and completely quickly so that I would have time for a quick blog before running off to work - you see I really do have my priorities sorted!

Saw my first blossom this week, waaay to early for spring but the weather is definitely warming and it the days beginning to lenthen a little. Life is good. And it's the weekend! I have a list as long as my arm of things to do...grocery shopping, a flea market, the CHinese New Year celebrations, church, salsa, a visit to the Paris Mosque...And if the weather is as fine as predected some parkful wanderings.

This is so short but I have to run! Here is a picture from New Year that someone just emailed me, this was the preparation for our feasting. I'm not actually helping but I did make a lot of pizzas that day...

2008-01-29T23:53:00.000+13:00

Ok so I have approximately 40 days to write 10 more posts and thus make it to '100 posts a year'.
I will try my best. On the 23rd of February it will be one year since I arrived in France! It has flown by, and now that I have a departure date in mind it seems to be going even faster.
For the sake of practicality and a good friend's wedding, I have decided to aim to return to NZ around the middle of September. Having spoken with my employer about this, she has decided that she won't need me this summer and thus my job will come to an end at the end of June. Good news I can keep the apartment til the end of August, bad news I will be out of an income.
Incidently, does anyone out there know of someone who is interested to coming to France to work as an au pair? I made a good impression and my employer thinks that Australasian girls might be the way to go from now on. I can absolutley recommend my family so if anyone is interested do email me: sofahuber@hotmail.com.
Suddenly there is a little bit of pressure to do, see and learn all the things I want to before my french sejourn is over. Today in french class we talked about the meaning of 'bonheur' (happiness) and we each had to recounta recent moment of happiness. Here is mine, sadly unaccompanied by the photos that I did take.
It is Sunday afternoon and temperatures are unseasonally mild. I don my raspberry coat and mint gloves and wander down the street to the bustop. The number 93 chugs slowly through the 16th arrondissment, past place Victor Hugo, down and around the Palais Chaillot, through the crowds around the Eiffel tower and finally by the impressive golden dome of the Invalides. I descend and take a narrow ruelle towards the heart of the 7th. The tiny rue récamier houses a modern art gallery and I spend a little time perusing before continuing my walk. I let the streets decide my direction, choosing the smallest and most interesting and always looking up. The most intersting things are found by looking up. Eventually I come to the cafe Flore and sit down in the small park opposite with my sketchbook. A little sunday afternoon people wathcing. Soon enough my sweet tooth leads me towards the Seine, past the Ladurée boutique. This sumptuous patisserie makes incredible goodies and I wait the obligitary 10 minutes in the queue to buy my lemon macaron. The paper bag matches my gloves and dusk falling I march quickly towards the water. Standing on pont Solférino the sky is streaky pink over the Notre Dame and Ile de la Cité, golden yellow towards the Grand Palais. At 6 the Eiffel tower begins to glitter and the Seine is reflecting all the colours of the sunset. The macaron crumbles perfectly on the outside and my mouth fills with perfect lemony goodness as I stand and love Paris.

eating.

2008-01-15T22:26:00.001+13:00

This is the time of the year when the French really like to eat well. Ok so christmas was the real pinnacle of the feasting but the flow-over period seems to be quite extended.

I saw this figure the other day: around 80% of all champagne produced in France is consumed between Christmas and New Year. Add to that foie gras and lobster and truffles and the incredible 'buche' (the traditional Christmas desert; steamed pudding cannot compare), I tell you what - je me suis régalée.

Anyway I was going to tell you about the Galette des Rois. The galette is like a pie in appearance, golden and glazed and full of promise. It's made of flakey pastry and filled with a sweet almond paste, it's good the first 2 times but after that a little stodgy. The galette is eaten on the 6th of January - epiphany - and then for several weeks after. Hidden inside each galette is a little figurine (a fève), and whoever finds this in their slice, becomes king or queen for the day and gets to wear the cardboard crown that came with the pie. Depending on how much you paid for you galette, you can find all kinds of things inside. Between home and grandma and invitiations to friends houses, I would say the kids have had a go at around a dozen galettes. Little A showed me a pocketful of his winnings (the kids wont eat left-over galette if the 'fève has already been found, I don't actually think they like it) and there was everything from a gilt camel to a ceramic baby Jesus. I just went to Wikipedia and aparently the tradition dates from the the time of Ancient rome when the Romans celebrated the god of saturn and used the hidden fève to elect the king of the celebrations.

There you go, you learn something new everyday, or at least I hope you do!

ciao

still here!

2008-01-14T04:22:00.000+13:00

The grip on the blog is weak at present but I will persevere. I'm so glad that people enjoy reading it, and at the risk of being a cheeky monkey: I will accept donations towards fixing my computer! A new hard-drive is a little difficult to stretch to when there are still at least 4 countires to visit on my list before the return to NZ. For the meantime I will be blogging intermittantly and without photos sorry. I'm secretly hoping that there is an un-known Parisian reader out their who's in the process of upgrading to a new laptop and would so love to give me their old one... Michel are you out there?
The down-side of internet cafes is that one feels a little self-conscious when bursting into laughter. The guy next to me has already figured out that I am an english-speaker and wants to chat about the All Blacks; yes I KNOW that France beat us, thank you for the reminder.
Has been a full-on week, but I'm very happy to be busy again. On Wednesday the kids don't have school in the afternoon, and this weeks activity was to take them (and 12 friends) to see a very popular kids group in concert (French equivalent of the Wiggles). The CDs are a favourite of the kids, so I knew most of the words and we had a great time being choo choo trains and cowboys. Back at the house it was total chaos and i felt like a veritable superwoman having coordinated the shoes-coats-off-handwash-sitdown-eat-drink-handwash-play-nicely for fifteen little darlings. After 10 months of this job there is little that can phase me.
More soon when I will tell you about the Galette des Rois...ooo exciting....

Happy New year!!

2008-01-05T01:01:00.000+13:00

Hello everyone, well those of you who are still faithfully checking the ailing blog! It's nice to know that someone is out there bieng interested (or nosy!)
Sorry to be posting sans images for the moment. I probably won''t be reviving the dead computer anytime soon, so for now am posting from an internet cafe.
I had a really wonderfully restful time in Ireland. I was not blown away by the countryside or culture, but found the people to be very warm and welcoming and with a great sense of humour. The rolling hills were a refreshing green, kept that way by the incessant rain, and the beaches were wild the way I like them. I drank A LOT of tea, truly this is country which takes its tea-drinking seriously.
I was back in Paris for one short night, just enough time to sleep and re-pack, before taking the train to Lille. Lille is a middling-sized city an hour north of Paris (2h in a car) where my ex-neighbour is now living with her family. This family have been kind of like a second family to me during my time here so it is always a delight to see them. The 'kids' are all studying in Lille at present and have an enormous apartment not far from the centre. I and around 15 others arrived on the 30th to help with the preparations for the 'revéillon'. We baked pizzas and quiches for hours and i tried desperately to keep track of names...too many Guillaumes and Maries.
By the time the evening of the 31st arrived we numbered about 50 and the neighbours had already laid 3 complaints about the noise levels. There was a dance floor and DJ, and to my astonishment everyone know how to dance 'le rock'. I mean really knew how to dance, guys doing the inviting and all. So different to NZ party culture! True these youths had almost all come from well-to-do, Versailles-dwelling families (no not IN the castle) and the fact of knowing how to dance is quite the social indicator.
Thanks to my salsa-experience I was able to hold my own and so danced til 5 am when there was a scuffle ofr floor space and 50 or so of us did our best to sleep a little. I stayed til the 2nd, cleaning, playing pictionary (I think i have reached a milestone with my French in actually being capable of playing!) eating left-overs and checking out Lille.
Now back in Paris with a pile of paperwork to get ready for Mondays visit to the prefecture. Yes it is time to renew my permit and all going well Ill be allowed to keep working here for another six months. SO looking forward to Monday, which is also back to work day.
For now, home for soup and then off to the American Library of Paris (the Americans have a very strong presence here in Paris) where I will stock up for a blisfully lazy weekend.
ciao

Merry Christmas!!!!

2007-12-25T07:09:00.000+13:00

Merry Christmas from Ireland! Lots of love to freinds and family, who probably don't even check this blog anymore due to its lack of activity!
I would dearly love to be updating more regularly but it's just not possible at the moment! My laptop died (needs new hard drive-eep!) around the time of my last post and it's not getting fixed anytime soon. So it's internet cafes when it's absolutely vital and thus very few updates. I have had an ok couple of months. The cold greyness of Paris has been a little miserable, and work was very busy leading up to Christmas. But despite missing home a bit and having the flu (send your pity my way), I am finding things to be happy about everyday!
I'm on a two week holiday right now, and arrived in Ireland this morning. My Irish friend from Paris has invited me to spend Christmas with her family in Belfast. We've already been out for burnt coffe, driven around the water front, through the ex-IRA hot spots and past the local castle. It's very relaxing to be holidaying in an english-speaking country! I think much of my time is going to be spent curled up in front of the fire eating mince pies!
I might be organised enough to post again with photos in the next few weeks.
Hope those of you in the Southern hemisphere are having a lovely toasty summer holiday!
xx

Of fish heads and grapefruit.

2007-11-07T07:56:00.000+13:00

Wow, I really out-do myself when it comes to titles. I was just coming up with some polar opposites to describe Palermo, I could equally have gone with 'kittens and cupola's' or 'mountains and marzipan.'
Palermo was a really interesting place to visit, our five days was long enough to see everything without rushing but a little longer would have been nice too. Sicily is definitely a place I would like to go back to one day, Mount Etna and Taormina are waiting for me! The temperature was at least 10 degrees higher than in Paris, the people were really friendly and open and the food was GOOD! I travelled with my Irish friend, and we stayed in a really charming B&B in a very grimy little alleyway in the old town. The view from my window: In my experience pretty much every European city has an 'old' part, and it's usually the place to be. There was a daily market in the square at the bottom of our street and plenty of feisty neighbours (ie. screaming fights at 4 in the morning) so it felt very lively. Here's the market in the evening:
The streets around our part consisted of enormous wonky cobblestones, and there were fish bits, kittens and stringy dogs everywhere. As well as watching carefully where one put ones feet, it paid to walk with purpose and definitely avoid all eye contact with all men.
The Sicilians love their deep-fried food, and the smell of it is everywhere. I'm quite glad that we weren't there in summer, as it was quite hot enough and there were virtually no other tourists.
The city has taken a fair beating over the years and parts of it are very old, so as I walked around and entered churches and courtyards and gardens, it really felt like discovering something hidden and special. Maybe one day everything will get scrubbed up and restored and have an 8€ entry price slapped on it, but for now it's just perfect.Palermo is a port town and the waterfront is quite industrial so thankfully it was only a short bus ride to a swimmable beach. The water was a gorgeous colour, and there were a few other hardy souls who were swimming. It looked like it must be a buzzing beach resort in summer but by this time of year it was just a couple of open gelato stalls (yum), clusters of weathered fishermen and some more stray dogs.
Aie, too much blogging and my eyes are getting sore. I'm really not finished with Palermo yet, so there will be another post soon.

autumnal

2007-11-05T06:20:00.000+13:00

I am just back from a lovely holiday in Palermo, Sicily. I am going to blog about it shortly but first I'm making some leek and potato soup to fortify myself for the epic re-telling.
I've just been out for a wander along the river, the autumn colours are stunning, and with the light breeze the sky is filled with a golden confetti of leaves.

I had slipped my camera into my pocket so that I could get some shots of the colours and was glad to have it on hand when this guy slipped out of the Seine:

It's a beaver! He was so cute, and very bold considering there were about 6 people and a dog stopped to watch him.

brush up.

2007-10-23T09:19:00.000+13:00

Oh and I forgot... This add campaign is funny and will teach you some highly useful french vocab.

trop gourmand.

2007-10-23T07:37:00.000+13:00

Helloooo. I'm just engrossed in watching my favourite French television program. There are not many good ones out there, but I like to try and and watch some telly to learn new vocab and 'train my ear'. This 'emission' is about an Austrian chef who drives around France in her red VW beetle learning to cook traditional French dishes in their region of origin. She always has to hunt out ingredients from the local farmers and butchers, go foraging on salt marshes for herbs, don bee-keeping gear, pluck the pigeons etc. It shows the lovely rural side of France.
And because, as Alice told me today, I am too gourmande, I need a snack when I'm watching the box. Tonight it was macaroons. Oh yum.

These are the mini variety, and I have a whole box of them which I will try to make last as long as possible. I have raspberry, pistachio, chocolate, vanilla and coffee. They are perfectly flakey on the outside and soft and gooey inside. You can find macaroons in most boulangeries but a few of the big names in patisseries do them REALLY well. Ladurée are supposed to be the best, and they come in about 20 different flavours but mine are Le Notre and also very good. Come to Paris and I'll take you out to try some.
In other news, Paris is cooling down rapidly, but still very beautiful with all the autumn colours. One more week until the clocks go back and we are plunged into darkness, ugh. Only 3 more days of school and then it's 2 weeks of holiday! Which means about 12 days off for me.
And I'm going to spend 4 days of it in Sicily!
More on that later, now I have some macaroons to eat.

stuff

2007-10-16T08:25:00.000+13:00

Well my three lovely girls have moved on, I think they must be in Nice by now. It was so nice having them around! My apartment seems awfully boring without them and their clutter!
It was fun times; though I had work the week days so it was probably most fun for them! But we did get to do some stuff together, mostly eating and watching tv after their full days of sight-seeing.
We did get to have a very fun weekend together. We took the toy kiwi out for a crepe dinner on Saturday night. The toy had a squeaker in it's head and we squawked it whenever we saw French supporters (it was the night of the quarter final). Here is Emily on the metro, squawking at a really glum looking Frenchy.
And eating our tasty meal:
After this we went to a bar to watch the rugby. It was so full that we had to stand on the stairs to watch, but at least there were a few other groups of kiwis there, so our cheers were on par with our competition. Okay so we lost and it was disappointing for a little while, but the exuberance of the French was so contagious that we soon forgot our sorrows and set out to have a fun night. It was also the night of the 'Nuit Blanche' when contemporary art is exhibited all around the city. It was mostly installation art; we visited the Tuileries garden which had been transformed into a fairytale-ish fire garden. Paths were lined with fire-filled terracotta pots; men in top hats made fireballs come spurting out of contraptions resembling giant potbelly stoves; enormous wire spheres were dotted with more flaming pots creating kind of burning bushes. The heat hit you in waves as we walked the length of the garden towards the ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde.
And my camera had no battery.
Anyways we ended up on the Champs Elysees where people were tooting their horns like crazy, waving flags, sitting on car-roofs or hanging out of windows all night long.
We slept away half of Sunday, and then went to the lovely Rodin museum, where the sun came out and we lounged around and yawned.
My gosh it is suddenly late and I feel like I have been sitting here for hours. Well I have been watching 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring' at the same time. I recommend it, but it may make the sensitive cry a little.
So to conclude, we also went to visit the catacombs of Paris. Not as gothic and gloomy as I thought it would be, but nevertheless quite a unique experience. The catacombes used to be quarries under the city, and then when over-crowded cemeteries were linked to the spread of disease in the 17th century, the graves were exhumed and the bones stored in the tunnels. My guidebook describes it as the 'most macabre place in Paris', which is pretty exact.

For Anna!

2007-10-06T08:13:00.000+13:00

I feel bad for people who check this blog regularly and find no updates!
So Anna, seeing as this post will feature your sister, it is dedicated to you!
I has been a GREAT week here! I can't think of a nice poetic way to express it in english - but, 'je me sens bien dans ma peau!' I think it might be something to do with autumn. I love seeing the trees change colour from week to week, I'm thankful to be living in such a leafy part of town. It's still reasonably light in the evenings, and during the day the skies are a lovely cool blue, and the wind is nippy enough for new scarf and gloves. And on top of that I've had the absolute pleasure of good Kiwi company. It's been a fabulous few months for visitors, I'll be sad once it's all over!
Alicia, Jessie and Emily arrived in Paris last weekend. They've been living out of their suitcases for months and I think they are doing so well to still have a good morale! We took it pretty easy (okay so I might have been a little brutal with wake-up time, but I like to maximize my weekends!) lots of strolling and shopping, eating, eating, eating and a Sophie's Special Bike Tour.
We had pretty awesome weather, 'hot' enough for jandals even. I love biking in Paris, it's is just magical to go rolling along the Seine, through the Latin quarter - and my fave - circle the pyramid of the Louvre.
They've popped down to Lyon for a few days, and will be back for more fun and games tomorrow. We're going to try and find a bar with some other Kiwi supporters and watch the AB's and les Bleues battle it out in the quarter final of the Rugby World Cup. So cool that France and NZ are coming up against each other! Also it's the Nuit Blanche tomorrow night, which sees the city turned into a series of outdoor contemporary art spaces. It sounds amazing, and photos are sure to follow!
For those of you who check my flicker photos, I've put up a heap more, all very muddled and in no order what-so-ever! It's like op-shopping.
ciao xx

In the French countryside.

2007-09-25T09:10:00.000+12:00

I've just had my first whole weekend looking after the kids, from 7am on Friday til 11pm on Sunday, I was 'Mum'. Hug, Bath, Food, Medication, Story, Lullaby, Direction, Retribution, Mediation distribution. Keeping the kids happy and entertained is not too tricky, it's keeping the well-oiled machine of a household running which tires my out!
The best part about it all was getting to go to the country house with the grandparents. We left the house spotless, got the kitten into her cage, and drove about an hour and a half north of Paris to the 'Moulin'. The property was formerly a farm with a water-powered mill and several buildings, stables, a barn etc. The stream still bubbles along the side of the house which has now been completely renovated/restored, and the mechanisms of the old wheel take up part of the sitting room. It was so gorgeous. I don't know why they don't just live there all the time.
There must have been about 10 acres of birches and firs and walnut trees, landscaped paths, the stream, a duck pond, dozens and dozens of flowerbeds, and absolute tranquility. I kept my window open at night, and could here the water flowing by beneath me. The autumn colours were so spectacular, and there were squirrels and pheasants and moss growing on the roof tiles, and 'sigh', it was so adorable and so authentic. The kids had so much space to play, we had a blast running around with the soccer ball, riding bikes and playing tennis.
I didn't have my camera, so this photo is cheating, but you know, it's the vibe of the thing.

The lazy bloggeuse

2007-09-20T21:18:00.000+12:00

Yes, I have been a lazy blogger this last wee while! Here are some snippets of what I've been up to lately...

This is the big screen they have put up in front of the Hotel de Ville (town hall). It is here that I have settled down on the artificial turf to watch the All Blacks compete in the Rugby World Cup. It's always a good atmosphere and there are always some other Kiwi's around.

Had Jenny come to stay last weekend (she has a couple of pics up on her blog), which was so much fun. Because she will be coming back through Paris on the last leg of her travels, there was no stress to see all of the must-see sights. Instead we contented ourselves with a lot of 'must-eat' items, shopping, people-watching, dancing, flea-markets and general catching up.
Our actions on Saturday were slightly impeded by the annual Techno Parade. Literally thousands and thousands of young people poured down the main streets, following the floats which were blasting out dance music. It was quite jaw dropping; crossing the street involved waiting for a slow moving section of the procession, and making a run for it, trying not to get hit by the flailing limbs of a spaced-out, gyrating teenager.
Here are some snaps of the crowd:
I wish you could hear the music to go with it, it was soooo loud. And as with every year, the parade acts as a vehicle for raising awareness of an issue. This year the issue was 'Save the Planet.' However as the enormous trucks pumped out their toxic exhaust fumes, and the litter piled up in the gutters I couldn't help but feeling that they were only adding to the problem!

And some flowers at the market.
Tomorrow morning the children's parents are off for short trip to Rome, so I will be sole-charge for 3 days. We'll spend at least 24h at the Grandparents holiday house, and the rest of the time will just be pretty fun, lots of videos and icecream I think!
I have a day off today to compensate for missing my weekend, so soon I'm going to go and meet up with my cousin and do some wandering while the weather is good.
ciao!

Celeb Watch

2007-09-10T08:59:00.000+12:00

It was only a matter of time before I saw one. I mean I'm always hearing about famous people who have just spent the weekend in Paris; but so far no George Clooney at the boulangerie.
My moment with George will come I'm sure, but for now I'll settle for ADRIAN BRODY!!!!
Swoon, he is even better looking in real life. Walking home down rue de la Vieille Temple, I passed a cosy little hole-in-the-wall bar, and slowed in amazement as I realised that the gorgeous man sitting just inside the door was Adrian himself. We made eye contact. And that's the end of my story. After I had passed the door I contemplated going back to say hi but by then the 5 friends coming up behind me had all spotted him too and it would have been a bit mob-like.
So, there we go, it was pretty exciting.
But not as exciting as watching the All Blacks win their first game of the World Cup! They have installed a gigantic screen and some fake grass in front of the Hotel de Ville, and all the games are broadcast live. Yesterday a big crowd turned out for the game including about 50 odd Kiwis I'd say, and we all stood for the anthem, and cheered very loudly. It was lovely and sunny, and they just kept on playing awesomely so even a novice fan like myself found it very enjoyable!

Such a hard life...

2007-09-05T07:34:00.000+12:00

Have I ever mentioned just how incredibly awesome that family that I work for is?
I've been back at work for 4 days now, and it's been thoroughly enjoyable. Two long months of holiday has given me lots of time to reflect on the job and what I would like to do differently, what I hope for with the kids etc. In the middle of my holidays I spent two weeks with the family at (one of) the holiday houses. It was such a relaxed period; late starts, late finishes, and heaps of time for cuddles and stories and swimming. I feel like my relationship with the whole family has really deepened and I'm letting myself depend on them a little more.
The family spends summer holidays in the south of France, in a highly secured holiday village just near Cannes. It was incredible. And even though I was technically working during the two weeks, it was on of the highlights of my summer. I mean just look at it...
The huuuuge house is on a gorgeous property with two pools, a petanque area, lovely old olive, pine and fig trees and access to a private beach. The weather was impeccable and the air was scented with rosemary and mimosa. Every morning I could trot down to the Mediterranean and bob around in the warm salty waters. Afternoons were spent by the pool, at the beach or playing monopoly when it was just to hot to be outside. A Minister and his family stayed a week and doubled our numbers and noise levels. Though their 3 boys were a real handful it was lovely to have the company of their nanny and bodyguard (though as he always reminded us, he was technically 'head of security'.
When the children were finally in bed we would sit out on the patio, eating fresh seafood and drinking rosé and generally marveling and how wonderful life can be.
Back to my wonderful family (don't worry NZ family, you're still the best!), tonight the mother told me we would celebrate 'la rentrée', 'back to school', and could I stay late for dinner? Turned out to be a surprise birthday dinner for me with all my favourite foods and a sumptuous cake. I'm sitting here bursting at the gills after 5 courses, one of which was a cheese platter with 7 varieties and I think I have truly merited the title of 'gourmande'. "Ah oui, Sophie est assez gourmande," as the parents always say when asked if I enjoy French cuisine.

Vienna

2007-08-28T09:05:00.000+12:00

Eventually the time came when I had to leave the little paradise of Schladming, and head for Vienna. I had two days to run around the city before catching my flight back to Paris. It is a very beautiful city, and of a very manageable size. I was staying with my second (or third possibly?) cousin, who incidentally just moved to Paris this weekend. Here are some of the things I did and saw...

I also went to the zoo which was fascinating but kind of painful. I mean some of the animals just looked soooo miserable.

But this guy was incredibly cute and bored looking. I couldn't get a good shot of his eyes, but they were gentle and brown and very human-like.
So I think that wraps up Austria. It really was great, so much like NZ but with old stuff. Yes it is late and I am writing like a ten year old. I loved the shades of green, the bright starry nights, the thickets of raspberries growing in the woods, the tumbling waterfalls, the fat shiny blueberries that blanketed the hillsides. Okay, just a few last photos and then I can move onto more recent happenings.

More pics of Salzburg.

2007-08-21T10:19:00.001+12:00

traditional Austrian outfits.
The little town of Mondsee, above Salzburg.
Where we stopped for lunch...mmmm.
The hat that I should have bought.
Leo gets eaten - it looks like a face!
Fountain in the old town.
Typical 'headstone' in a graveyard we visited.
This is just so wrong. Although they would have to be the smallest and most unassuming golden arches that I've ever seen.

mixed up.

2007-08-21T10:08:00.000+12:00

Okay so these photos are to go with the previous post, this blog is not functioning properly today!

1.
2.

3.

Austria take two.

2007-08-21T08:43:00.000+12:00

Okay, so some more on the magical country of Austria. For part of my stay I was joined by me French friend Leo. We were able to get out and do some exploring together. Neither of us speak German and we we were both keen to eat as many Austrian sweeties as poss, so it was a good match!
One day we took the train to Salzburg to see the sights, and most importantly to do the Sound of Music Tour. Salzburg is a very pretty city, small enough to walk around and full of charm. We wandered around the old town, fueled up on a lunch of sachertorte and strudel, and then joined our tour group. We had a very lively tourguide, who had lots of interesting facts about the city, and all the background info on the film, the Sound of Music. Our tour was full of Australians and Americans, and most admitted to having seen the film at least five times, some were even doing the tour for the second time. Given the dire-hardness of the fans, Leo and I were a little disappointed that we were the only ones singing along to the soundtrack.
So we saw...

1.The lake in which the von Trapp children capsize their boat.
2.The Pagoda where Liezel and Fritz sing the 16 going on 17 song.
3.The Church were Maria and Captain von Trapp get married.

Back in Paris, 1 year older.

2007-08-19T10:25:00.000+12:00

It is far too late for me to be blogging, I ought to be asleep and building up energy reserves.
I'm back in Paris and was overjoyed to meet the Holmans at my metro stop and to have them staying at my place for a couple of nights. I know it's going to be hard to see them go again!

Just wanted to say thankyou so much to those of you who sent me birthday greetings! It really made my day to come home and find a full inbox and lots of warm fuzzies. I had a bit of an un-birthday, but I was staying in such a paradise that everyday felt special. On the morning of the ninth, around the hour I was born, I took I kind of symbolic swim in the ocean, and tried to imagine entering the water as a 23 year old and coming out 24, oh so much older and wiser. Truth be told I don't feel any different, and after that I kind of tried to forget that it was my birthday cos it made me miss home and the normal birthday rituals. Nobody remembered until dinnertime when one of the kids clicked, and then there were red faces and cake and candles were scraped together.

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on! Austria and now the family holiday on the Cote d'Azur, which was truly exceptional and the perfect antidote to city living.
But first the sleep.
zzzzzzzzzz

The blogs that will have to wait.

2007-08-05T09:37:00.000+12:00

I'm realising that in spite of all my good intentions, blogging and holidays don't really mix well for me. I was meaning to tell you all much more about my time in Austria with more yummy pics, but it's gonna have to wait...again.
I've just finished packing (or reshuffling the case that I never really unpacked 4 days ago) and am heading to Cannes tomorrow on a hideously early train. I always seem to be getting hideously early trains, I should learn from this.
I'm going to join the family at their holiday house for the next 2 weeks. It will be tough, being on the French Riveria and having to be in the pool or on the private beach all the time.
I'm really looking forward to seeing them all!
But probably won't be much time for e-mailing or blogging, I'll be back in action around the 19th.
Hoping all my readers are well!
time to sleep a little.

A wonderful holiday

2007-08-03T03:51:00.000+12:00

I'm back in Paris, feeling refreshed and fit, but missing my newly discovered Austrian family.
The last three weeks in Styria, and then Vienna were so wonderful, much more than I could have hoped for, somehow jam-packed while being incredibly relaxing.

For those of you who don't know my family history, my grandfather is Austrian, but has lived in NZ for over 50 years now. His family still live in and around Schladming, the little village where he was born and grew up. The legend of Willi Huber lives on, and everywhere I went I was introduced as his granddaughter and there was nodding and reminiscing and I was instantly accepted into the fold - though scolded for never having learned German!

It was so special to visit the farm where he grew up; gaze upon the formidable rockfaces which he climbed with his buddies, visit the alpine meadows where he was a shepherd during the summer months. There are many similarities between the countryside in NZ and Austria, so I felt very at home and reveled in the fresh air and water. I took ALOT of photos, so I'll put some up here, and more if you follow my photo link, and write some more later!

still here, still heidi

2007-07-29T01:23:00.000+12:00

yeah i am still in Austria! I ended up changing my flights so that i could stay longer. But the extra week has flown so fast, and now i have only three days left! I'm sad to leave, this place is really special, and the people wonderful!
it was probably dumb to start writing this because i actualy want to go outside now...
bye bye!
ill be back with photos middle of next week.

and cream with that please...

2007-07-15T18:22:00.000+12:00

Hi y'all,
So, this is just mostly to say first of all that I made it to Austria safely Mum and Dad and sorry about the lack of contact but my hotmail account is not working and I have no credit on my phone and my magic phone card won't work! Thus I am using my blog as a means of communication - less than satisfactory, but until I get some higher speed internet that is not all in German you might have to call me if you want to chat (I'm at Hofbauer with Finni.)

So so much has happened in the last week. I realy should go back to last weekend and describe my visit from 2 Kiwi friends but that particular food and sightseeing extravaganza will have to wait for a later post.
After the girls left I did I whirlwind clean of the apartment, loads of washing etc, got packed and prepared to depart for Austria.
I missed my flight.
And I actually don't want to talk about it because I'm feeling so blissfully happy here and bringing it up gives me a little cold shudder. Anyway, thus began my 24 hour travel adventure invovling many trains and little sleep, which finally landed me in Schladming, Austria. Schladming is a darling mountain village where my grandfather was born and where his family still lives to this day.
I LOVE IT HERE!!! Actually it is soooooo great. You will all have to wait til the 26th for photos, but I assure you that it is a little paradise, and the mountain air, long hikes and lashings of cream are doing wonders for me.
Today the sky is blue, we can see all of the mountains - including the Dachstein Poppa! - and my 2nd cousin once removed (?!) is taking us swimming at the lake...because it's about 35 degrees...hehehe.
Okay, time to go and skip in the alpine meadow. There is one just outside the front door.

Ribs

2007-07-07T06:03:00.000+12:00

I had my chest x-rayed today.

Yes indeedy, this morning I travelled way down to the south of Paris for a medical examination. Just one of the many steps in the lengthy process to get my residency permit.
I was supposed to turn up with a history of my vaccinations and hospital visits as well as a chest x-ray. I had none of these things, but knowing how long it could take to get another appointment decided to try and bluff my way through it.
On arrival at the Office for International Migration, a pile of papers was thrust into my hands and I was ushered into the 'medical visits' waiting room. It was a large room decorated in tasteful mint green (is this the international colour for 'something medical will take place here'?) with cubicles laid out in a circular fashion. The whole procedure was a bit like being on a factory line, and took no more than 15 minutes.

Step 1: present pile of papers to the nurse at reception.
Step 2: enter first cubicle, remove shoes and get weighed and measured.
Step 3: enter second cubicle, cover left eye and read the top line, repeat with the right.
Step 4: enter third cubicle, strip and don a stylish navy hospital gown.
Step 5: be summoned by the radiologist, take a big breathe and get zapped.
Step 6: re-dress, wait on the bench until your x-ray is developed, and then hope that the next free doctor is not the scary looking giant barbie who you spotted on arrival.
Step 7: enter fourth cubicle, that of friendly, chatty doctor, prattle on about NZ and hope that she'll just start checking the boxes. She does, and even lets the vaccinations that you 'may have had at 16 but I can't remember...' slide.
Step 8: Exit building with a stamped and signed medical certificate and a chest x-ray for my wall.
For once something was relatively easy! And the French can rest assured that I didn't bring any contagious pulmonary diseases into their country.

A Tuesday in Versailles

2007-07-06T07:01:00.000+12:00

As the title of the blog clearly states, I went out to Versailles on Tuesday. My neighbour Leo was my guide as she grew up in the city, which is about the size of Dunedin but has a cooler castle.

We queued for the Chateau in pouring rain, sheltering 2 Australians under our umbrella, and were all pretty damp by the time we got to the front. Of course the moment we were indoors the sun came out and we kind of wished that we had foregone the pricey entrance fee and settled for a wander in the immense gardens. Still it is absolutely beautiful inside and when there wasn't a fellow tourist blocking your view it was lovely. There was a phenomenal number of people there, and because there is a set route to follow you feel a little like you are being carried along in a multi-lingual river of bumbags, matching walking shoes and cameras.
It is just gob-smacking to think of the work that went into all the detail, and the thousands of people who must have toiled for years to create it. You only get to see a tiny part of the entire buildings, and even that takes forever to tramp around. You can see why they opted for chamber pots back in the day.

We finally burst back out into the sunshine and coffeed on a warm terrace. It happened to be happy hour at the local cinema, so we went to see Shrek 3 - which I really enjoyed and was made funnier by the French. Leo has just spent the last month as a waitress in a local restaurant, so we dropped in for dinner and got treated like royalty. Full of profiteroles we staggered train-wards, and on the way happened across a go-cart. Instead of going to the dump in France, you can just chuck your junk outside your house and call up some dudes who will come and collect tit for you. Thus you will often come across piles of stuff on the footpath, which is awaiting collection.
The pile we found was enormous, and from it we extracted a go-cart and had fun on the empty streets. I would have loved to take it home but storage is limited and crazy neighbour would surely have had a fit. So we drove it to Leo's house and left it as a present for her younger bro.
It was a fun day.

got a light?

2007-07-03T08:11:00.000+12:00

The French love to smoke. I know , I can't just tar (wheehehe, I'm too much) everyone with the same brush, but I'm sure that in the 15-35 age group we're looking at about 60% smokers. In any case, you only need to look down when you're on the street to see the hundreds of cigarette butts, and breathe deeply to smell the tobacco in the air. So many people I see have a cigarette as an extension of their hand or lower lip, or a tell-tall square box in their back pocket.

Something I've been noticing a lot lately is how this disgusting habit facilitates a whole world of flirting and innuendo. I have some girlfriends who are smokers, although they seldom have a full packet, and they never have a lighter or matches. The act of asking for a 'clope' or a 'feu' is carefully thought out. I watch in amusement as the crowd is scanned, and any good looking fellow smokers are picked out. Once the target is selected, smokerette hovers closer, lashes lowered, cigarette poised between fingers; a damsel in distress. In the best case scenario, beau smoker will notice lack of fire and approach, lighter at the ready. Faces lean towards one another, a few words are exchanged in a puff of smoke, smokerette feels pampered and knight in smoky armor feels chivalrous. Win win.
You also know that when a guy asks you for a light, they're hoping that they can strike up conversation, perhaps you'll turn out to be a smoker too and you can stand together awhile in your intimate fug of carcogens. Today as I walked home from the supermarket, a beau gosse pulling out of his driveway slowed, leaned out of his window and asked 'do you have a light?' I gave my usual 'sorry I don't smoke' line, to which he slowly winked and drove off.
Oh the French.
Also spotted today, a glossy black delivery van with Fanny Saga written in cursive gold script across the side. I can't even imagine.

Monumenta

2007-07-03T06:22:00.000+12:00

Today I visited an exhibition at the Grand Palais; it was called 'Monumenta' and featured the monumental works of German/French artist, Anselm Kiefer. The paintings and sculptures were dedicated to two poets, and lines of their writing featured in many of the pieces.
I really liked what Kiefer himself had to say about his art (here kind of clumsily translated)

One must not understand what I want to say in my works. One must see something. One must see with ones own way of thinking, one's own background, and express what has been discovered. Each spectator must, in some way, finish the work with their regard.

You'll get an idea from the photos, but for each of the works, Keifer constructed a huge corrugated building to house it. Quite awesome to enter the exhibition space and see these huge cartons and then enter each one expectantly.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

En vacances

2007-07-02T07:48:00.000+12:00

Yoopee doo. I am on holiday.

Last night I kissed everyone goodbye and will see them all again in Cannes, at the start of August. Four months here in Paris have really flown, and my time with the family has been great. Having said that this holiday is sooo welcome, and I know that I need the time to relax and look after myself for a while.

Today actually felt like summer too, after the weeks of rain that we have had. The sun was out and I went to a Jazz festival at the Defense. I went with a friend I hadn't seen for two months and he thought my French had greatly improved, but that I have a slight German accent?! Weird, not sure how to remedy that one.

I went to church tonight, a little Baptist one in the 16th, and found that so many people I talked to have some sort of link to NZ. A brother married a kiwi, a friend studies there, they did work experience there, and they all dream of visiting one day. It's like this mythical little paradise, where we all play rugby and live in bush-clad tranquility, surrounded by sheep.
Hehe, sometimes I like to elaborate on the remoteness and savageness of the country. Those moas can wreak havoc.

So, I feel a little like a kid in a candyshop, with the prospect of a 5 days in Paris all to myself and so many festivals happening and museums and gardens to visit and photos to take and macaroons to eat. Then I have two kiwis coming for the weekend so we'll get all touristy I imagine.

alors, ciao pour l'instant. And there will be more regular posts this week no that I have mucho free time.

The Green Cross

2007-06-25T06:52:00.000+12:00

When you need a pharmacy in France, you just look for the green neon cross, there's bound to be at least one, if not five on every main street.

I know I said in my last post that I was feeling a lot better, but it seems that after every three days of work I crumble all over again. So on Saturday, as the doctors clinics are closed, I decided to go see a pharmacist instead. I had heard that pharmacists in France are highly competent and very trusted as a source of advice for all minor illnesses. They are also able to give out drugs that would require prescriptions in other countries. So it's quite common, if you've got a little 'souci' (worry) to go and have a chat with your pharmacist, who will most likely hook you up with some suppositories. Well not always, but seriously, I think it is the preferred method of um, administering your medicine here. The twins had ear infections last week and there were suppositories as part of the prescribed medications.

I have 4 pharmacies within 5 minutes of my place, all on the the same street, so I chose the one that the family uses, hoping some name-dropping might get me friendly service. I'm sure the service would have been lovely anyway, as the lady listened attentively and then scurried off for solutions. Pharmacies here don't sell the plethora of stuff that Kiwi ones do, and the front of store, with just a smattering of makeup and shampoo, was smaller than the storeroom/concoction lab, or whatever it's called. She returned with a pill for my churny tum and another for my nausea as well as some general advice for keeping well. It was so cheap, and if I had been a French - or if my carte de sejour had been processed...grrr - it would have been pretty much free.

So the lesson of the day: when in France, your pharmacist is your friend. And in the event that you pick some fungi in the wood and want to know if you can eat it, take it to your pharmacist, they're trained to know their mushrooms too.

And just to change the topic a little...I have a mosquito who is stalking me. For the last four nights I have woken with a start at the sound of a buzzing in my ear. Back in April when we had the heatwave, there were lots of mosquitos, and I would often be woken by them and then sit there, book in hand until the rascal flew close and I could smoosh it good and dead. They are pretty big and slow so I always succeeding in exterminating them and thus ensuring I could safely go back to sleep. Only this time round, though I leap up in bed and switch on the light, I can never see her (only the females bite). I sit there with my book ready, scanning the room, ears straining, and there is nothing. I give up and go back to sleep, and when I wake up I have a new bite.

I'm mystified: I know that I hear the buzzing and it always terrifies me out of my sleep, but I never see a mosquito. I've just been reading Maupassant's short story The Horla, and here, I am with my own Horla. Though instead of a mysterious creature that drinks milk and water in the night, as in the story, this one is drinking my blood. Ew!

better and better

2007-06-20T20:46:00.000+12:00

I almost back to my normal self. Still a little drowsy in the afternoons but feeling much more alive! And there are only 5 more school days until the summer holidays so I'm kind of slipping into a more relaxed mode. I've just sorted out my July holidays, which will start here in Paris with visits from Dunedinites and then I'll be flying to Austria to spend a couple of weeks with the Huber clan. I am very excited about this and am having visions of myself in a dress made from curtains dancing on a wild-flowered meadow and singing 'the hills are alive...' Even if that particular scene does not eventuate I am sure there will be much mountain walking and strudel eating and general unwinding after 4 months in Paris.
I have another week to plan out at the end of July and am tossing up between WWOOFing in Italy, checking out Croatia or possibly hitting Berlin again. It will kind of depend when the family needs me in August. I'm going to be joining them all in Cannes for what will surely be one of my most luxurious working holidays ever.
I have to keep thinking of theses lovely prospects as sawdust fills the air and parts of my kitchen pile up beside me. I've lost count, but the builders and plumber are back AGAIN to 'fix the leak'. I'm smug because I suggested right from the start that is was a leak from the apartment above and no one would listen to me and know it turns out that, whadd'ya know, it's all coming from my upstairs neighbour. Unfortunately all the water has ruined my walls during it's descent so it's out with the kitchen again.
I'll get some pictures of the craziness once the men have left. If they ever leave. It has been 3 hours already...

Garden State

2007-06-16T03:25:00.000+12:00

And while I have a lot of time to kill...let me share a little bit of greenery with you.
I must say that I am pretty impressed with the effort that Paris is making to become more eco-friendly and, well, in my opinion more livable. Livable for those who need to see a leaf every now and then! There is some kind of initiative at the moment to start developping more gardens - including community projects to produce veges - and optimising green spaces. For this month the square in front of Hotel de Ville has been turned into a large garden display, and always eager to smell the roses, I went to check it out.

Such a pity that they won't be keeping it permanently! It turns an otherwise boring flat space into a veritable paradise in the center city.

overload

2007-06-16T02:45:00.000+12:00

What a dramatic title, but it kind of sums up a little of how I am feeling. I think that perhaps I have some kind of virus, I haven't really been myself for about 4 days, but have felt obliged to keep working. Stupid of me probably but I hate to disappoint people and I find calling in for a sick day really hard to do! Today though I can't stay standing for more than ten minutes so I sucked it up and said I needed the day off. And of course my darling employer was entirely sympathetic and offered to help in any way she could. Why was I worried?
So this week has been pretty horrible from a health point of view but at least the kids were well behaved and now I have 3 days to recover the best I can. Bring on the holidays. I feel the dire need to get out of the city.
Can you see the ocean from your house? Go now and gaze upon it. Is there a climbable tree in your garden? Go and clamber into the branches. Do you have a dog? Take him or her to the beach and run in bare feet along the sand. Oh to climb a hill or do a handstand or pick a wild flower. My dreams are filled with waves and forests and treetops, because I can't have any of them here in Paris. I love this city and it constantly surprises and delights me but it's hard not to feel a little like a caged bird when I compare it with the wide open spaces of home.
And here finish the melancholic ramblings of bed-bound Sophie.
Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm going to miss out on a fun-filled weekend in order to be sensible and take care of myself.
Last weekend was awesome, we went out to a Jazz festival at the Chateau de Vincennes. People were picnicking and lounging on the grass and it was hot. It was quite blissful to lie on the grass and listen to jazz in the warm evening air. Here are some pics:

arty

2007-06-06T07:26:00.000+12:00

Sunday began with American style pancakes, scrambled eggs and toast. A hearty brunch to fuel a trip to the Musée d'Orsay for free museum Sunday. Four of us girls met up in Neuilly and first had a look around the annual 'garage sale'. This is basically an opportunity for anyone and everyone to set up a stall out on the street selling off their old junk. It was a cool festival atmosphere; they closed off the streets to traffic, Madonna and Pink were blasting through the loud speakers, the smell of patisseries and nougat filled the air and the sun was out. Actually it was too hot to spend long looking at table after table of ugly vases, novelty shot glasses and jewellery from the 80s, so we carried on our way.
We decided on Musée d'Orsay which is definitely one of my faves and did the sensible thing by choosing to visit just half of one floor. It's not as big as the Louvre but in my opinion you would still need about 8 hours to do it justice!
Here are some of my 'coups de coeur'.

Circus by George Seurat

And life imitates art as this guy in a pointilist shirt photographs a painting in the pointilist style.
Porte de la Rochelle by Paul Signac
The Meal by Paul Gauguin
And when museum fatigue hits it's time to trot across into St Germain for Croque Monsieur and a rosé. Perfect finish to a lovely day.

gratte-ciel

2007-06-04T06:53:00.000+12:00

Last week I took a couple of trips to La Defense, once out of necessity, and then twice more because I was quite intrigued.
La Defense is the skyscraper district to the west of Paris. Many of France's largest corporations are housed here, and a total of 1500 businesses employ about 150,000 people. As I get out at my metro stop I can flick a glance to the left and see the impressive Grande Arche on the horizon. I kind of thought it would be a pretty boring place full of suits and tall buildings. It has both of these but also turns out to have some architectural gems and some funky sculpture. I had a dreaded visit to the Prefecture (situated in the Defense) on Thursday morning to continue the process for my residency permit. When I had to go through this process while living in Lyon it took several trips and many tears before I obtained the silly thing; so needless to say I have been braced for the worst. I went armed with 9 documents and their photocopies, and happily, thanks to my 9am appointment I had only a 20 minute wait. Normally one can expect at least an hour of queueing. And then found myself face to face with a lovely woman a who stamped in all the right places and now I can go back in two months time (and wait in line for 90 mins?) to pick up the little sticker and pop it in my passport.
I feel privileged to say that I am among the few who have had a mostly pleasant experience with French bureaucracy.
Lets cut this long story short. On this obligatory visit I had a quick look around and saw that the area merited some more of my time, and my oh my, it has a huge mall.
On a bright sunny friday I returned with camera:
Miro sculpture with the Grande Arche
Looking up when standing under the arch.
View from the arch, looking towards Paris. If you look very closely you can see the Arc de Triumph on the horizon. The two arches are perfectly lined up.

More photos on flickr.
And then on Saturday I attempted the mall but it was so enormous and teeming that I skipped through Auchan (big ol cheapo supermarket) and, armed with my groceries fled into the sunlight.

Blitzen, Boating and Balkan Beats

2007-05-29T08:37:00.000+12:00

I have returned from a really great long-weekend in Berlin. It was so lovely to see family and to discover a little more of a really fabulous city. The weather swung wildly between hot stillness and violent storms, but it was perfect really. When it was hot we swam in the lovely rainwater lake amongst the lush green forest.

When it was stormy...
It all began when we sat down for dinner on the terrace on Friday night. We had seen the black clouds gathering, and now, as we loaded our plates the sky grew very dark and the thunder began to rumble. A brisk rustling of leaves was the only warning we had before the storm was upon us. Those of us sitting with our backs to the elements leaped up as the rain began, and seconds later the wall of wind sent everything flying. We were almost all inside when an almighty crack sent half a tree crashing onto the terrace, right were we had been sitting. It was one of the most impressive displays of weather I've ever seen. The poor neighbourhood took a bit of a beating, and it was definitely the end of our meal.

The sun was out again the next day and we hopped on a sightseeing boat down the Spree. I'll let the photos do the talking.

So much cool architecture, I think it is a city which does a marvelous job of both preserving it's past and looking to the future. And how about those people on bikes, Germany certainly is leagues ahead of France when it comes to respecting our planet!
Speed polka anyone?
Yes I must just mention the amazing Russian Disco that we went to on Saturday evening. It was in a dim bar with a kind of shabby retro decor (anyone seen Goodbye Lenin? If you're a geek like me you might remember pre 'fall-of-the-wall' wallpapers and upholstery, it was the same kind of thing) and music to make you move. Sweaty and packed but so much fun! Look out for one opening in Lyttleton sometime in the future, (S & J - a little advanced publicity for you guys.)
It wasn't long enough and the pouring rain in Paris didn't make coming home much fun, but I know I'll be back and in the meantime I'll try to learn a little German...ya das ist wahr.

what i is be doing this weekend.

2007-05-24T09:23:00.000+12:00

Warning, I'm slowly losing my grip on the English language. French is creeping into the cracks and crevices of my brain and there are now several words which have completely made the switch. For example when I'm craving some cheese (so often) je me dis (oops there I go), I say to myself, gosh some fromage de chevre would really hit the spot. The word 'cheese' would never even enter my head, it's all fromage from here on in. Speaking of which, tonight I tried double cream brie, which was so amazing. Practically dripping in the centre and sooooo smooth and delicious.
Where was I going with this post? Oh yeah, so just to prevenir you all that I'm off to Berlin tomorrow! Woohoo! I really like Berlin a lot, and I love the fact that I get to see my family! It's my cousin's 21st on Friday, and my dad's parents are over from NZ to join the celebrations so it will be a very international family reunion. I'm only staying 3 nights, but I'm sure I'll fit lots in and no doubt have some photos and stories after the weekend.
So until next week,
Amusez-vous bien!

Yeah it's not bad Paris.

2007-05-21T08:55:00.000+12:00

2007-05-21T08:25:00.000+12:00

Saturday evening was the national Nuit des Musées, during which museums and galleries all around France were free to the public. It was a lovely mild evening and I queued 20min with my friend Jenny to visit Musée de l'Orangerie. For any art fans out there, this is the gallery which houses Monet's Waterlillies in two specially designed oval rooms.

They are magnificent, and the natural lighting from the skylights was just perfect.
The gallery had a host of other gorgeous paintings too, some old favourites...
...and some new discoveries...
And the mirrored frame on this Marie Lescaurin is so pretty.

There was also some lovely reproductions of Paul Guillaume's Parisian apartment. Monsieur Guillaume 'discovered' many of the big name painters and exhibited them in his galleries (saving some of the finest pieces for his own walls as you can see.)
can you spot me?
bisous xox And have a good week one and all!

resume

2007-05-20T20:58:00.001+12:00

Can I just start this post by saying that I am a little bit scared right now...I have just heard a grumpy string of profanities outside my door and am hoping I'm not the one to have caused the outburst. Do I have my music up too loud? Has a speck of my clothing fibre been found in the entranceway? Did I leave the toilet door SLIGHTLY ajar...?
My apartment shares a front door, foyer and toilet with two other apartments. One of these is inhabited by the lovely Leo and the other by an obsessive compulsive madame (let's call her OC for short). OC is vacuuming her place, I can hear her. She did it yesterday too. And the day before.
When Leo and I leave our front doors open so that we can visit, OC comes storming out to see what's going on. Sometimes she's in a good mood and just wants to gently berrate us for out clothing choice, preferred brand of coffee, belief systems - basically anything goes so long as she gets to do all the talking. Other times she has some serious issues to discuss: Was someone cooking fish last night? Because she could smell it and it made her nauseous. Do we clean the soles of our shoes every night? Because it's just not good enough if we don't. When did we last change our sheets? Twice a week would be preferable.
Sigh. Enough of that, suffice to say I feel a little like I'm walking on eggshells when she's home.
Onto more interesting things...
Thursday was the start of my 4 day weekend, I lunched with a gaggle of aupairs (thankyou facebook) and we had a great time and finished up with a spot of op-shopping.
Friday I went out for a little walk and saw this:
Now what we have here is the ladder/lift thingy that people use when moving into - and out of - upper storey apartment buildings. This particular ladder is in use on some swanky apartment on Quai St Michel. I don't know who was moving in, but there were police vans all along the street, so I like to imagine it was someone famous.
It was a lovely day and Paris was bustling and springlike.

un petit coin sympa

2007-05-18T03:49:00.000+12:00

Last weekend I visited a lovely garden in the 16th Arrondissement. It is called l'Espace Albert Kahn, after the explorer -and gardener- who created it. It's an unexpectedly large patch of verdure which is divided up into 4 0r 5 themed gardens. The most beautiful of these is definitely the Japanese garden, complete with darling little bonsais and maples and ponds full of carp. It was lovely and uncrowded and the sun came out for us for at least half an hour. Honestly 2 weeks ago it was like summer here, and today I put my winter coat back on. Yucky.

Faire le Pont

2007-05-16T21:49:00.000+12:00

Let's just leave the feet for a minute while I give you a little French lesson.
May in France is the month of public holidays, tomorrow is the third so far this month, and falls on a Thursday. In fact so far they have all fallen on a Tuesday or Thursday - and what is one to do with this mid-week break? You faire le pont and take off the Friday too, giving you a 4-day weekend. Faire le Pont literally means to 'make the bridge', so you're just bridging that pesky little day between you and the weekend by not going to work. Apparently May is a difficult month for businesses, and I can understand why. Long lesson short, this weekend je fait lepont. Not sure yet what I will do with all this time, but no doubt it will be good.
Back to those feet, we (Irish friend Caro and I) did a lot of Salsa dancing this weekend and I also learnt the Bachata, which sounds more fancy than it actually is. But the most beautiful songs seem to have the Bachata beat, so it's good to know.
In other weekend happenings I managed to catch the one afternoon of sun to go running along the Seine, and I was pleasantly surprise to see many fish, hopefully proving that it's not as polluted as I thought. I still wouldn't eat them though.
The weather really turned on Sunday, bringing level 3 storms (this is totally arbitrary as I have no idea what the other level represent, I just saw it on TV) to the region. On Sunday I left the house to trot the 500m or so to the Boulangerie. From what I could see the sky was blue, so a t-shirt was deemed acceptable. Seconds after leaving the shop, my fresh and unprotected baguette in hand, the skies opened and there was an incredible - almost horizontal -downpour. All around startled and soaking people were running for cover, branches were being ripped off trees and poor baguette was really soggy. Just looked at the time and realised I need to run to work asap! Another post soon.

Ah Kids.

2007-05-11T07:21:00.000+12:00

I'm tired. I just added up how much time I have spent with children since Sunday evening - and it's about 43 hours. Until Wednesday we had two extra kids staying - brothers with impressive lung capacities - and Tuesday was a birthday party with 15 gamins! And I can tell you, trying to get 5 kids bathed and fed and into bed within 2 hours is like, um, searching for an analogy, um, walking up Baldwin street with a sack of piglets under each arm and one jumping on your head. Twice. And getting 15 kids to take their shoes off, wash their hands and please stop biting Clementine is, well, arghhh!
So yes, it has been fun and I am SO glad that it is Friday tomorrow. And although I'm moaning a bit now, the birthday party was really cool. A fairy themed fête for la petite, her twin brother will celebrate his next week - so I get to do the whole shebang over again!
Here are some pics of the wee treasures.
And that little girl in the top photo who is crying (in the red sack) cried every 15 minutes. In every photo that she appears in (and I took about 100) she is crying.

And the winner is...

2007-05-07T04:10:00.000+12:00

Well, I don't know yet but the results of the presidential elections will be announced in a few short hours. Ségo or Sarky? Left of Right? Madame or Monsieur?
I've just been to a salsa class, - on a boat! - and driving around the Place de Concord and down the Champs Elysées we saw everyone getting ready for the big moment. There were police vans and cars everywhere, TV crews getting set up, lighting, satellite dishes, camermen, curious tourists. And of course the French flag is flying from every building, and hanging from every second tree down the Champs Elysées.

Bon, bah...

2007-05-05T07:20:00.000+12:00

Um yeah, so I don't actually have anything to say, except that May is a good month to be French because we get a heap of public holidays.
And in other news, French class is as boring as ever - my tutor is obsessed with us having lengthy discussions about the elections, and frankly, we have exhausted the topic; I found an amazing op-shop today, thankfully I self-imposed a one item limit before entering, or I would now have a ridiculous number of floral dresses and 70s leather bags; the All Blacks new uniforms took up a two-page spread in one of the daily papers; I opened my mother's latest book today -and cried! Beautiful descriptions of the West Coast that took me straight back home to NZ.
And a random photo. Because a post without a photo is like sleep without dreams.

2007-05-01T09:49:00.001+12:00

top of the Butte
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

2007-05-01T09:48:00.001+12:00

Graffiti on the kiosk
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

Le Weekend

2007-05-01T09:38:00.001+12:00

Buttes de Chaumont
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

I went to this really cool park called Buttes Chaumont. It's the biggest and hilliest and tree-iest that I've yet found in Paris central. It has a very realistic looking fake stream flowing through it, and equally realistic looking fake caves and waterfall. Right up at the highest point of the park is a little 'temple' - or kiosk as my friend called it - with awesome views over Paris. I'll post some photos of it too.

Boom

2007-04-30T08:46:00.000+12:00

Thunder and lightening in Paris and finally some rain after many hot dry weeks. I know nothing about meteorology (or even if I have the right word there) but I wonder if being on a larger land mass makes for louder thunder, brighter lightening and a more impressive storm than I've ever seen in NZ. I have actually jumped a couple of times as the thunder has crashed through the night.
I'll quickly finish up telling ya bout my holiday. After Switzerland we drove up towards Strassbourg, but stayed on the German side of the border and went to Europa Park for a two days. I hadn't been to a theme park since I was about 11 and it was so much fun. I screamed my throat sore for the first three rides but it's funny how you get kind of used to the pure terror of plunging down 7 stories and then going upside down and all at terrifying speeds. Trop cool.
And the teacup ride, well that was definitely some scary times.

Last weekend Dave from Dunedin was in Paris for a couple of days so we got to catch up play tourist for a couple of hours. He takes even more photos than I do, so it was good not to get told off for having my camera out all the time.

And I found a little video -listen for the bells!

2007-04-26T09:18:00.000+12:00

Now where was I?

2007-04-26T08:45:00.000+12:00

I was telling you about my holidays, okay so we got up to Cassis and now I'm going to fast forward a little. Suffice to say that after Toulon I went to Avignon for a night. Cute place, I recommend. After that I trained through Lyon and Geneva to Zurich. Here I met up with my lovely friend Leo and her family. She and I and her two younger brothers had two very fun days trotting around Zurich (and yes Malcs we went to Grossmunster and spent a long time trying to identify all the biblical scenes on the big bronze doors.) Actually Grossmunster was really great because you can climb up into one of the towers and get great 360 views of the city. One day we took the train around the lake to Lucerne and were planning to take the gondola up to the top of a mountain whose name I forget...Anyway it was going to cost millions of dollars to take the gondola (maybe I exaggerate a little) so we decided to just walk up as far as we could instead.
It was so lovely and green and Swiss as you will see in the photos. We were walking through fields of wildflowers, the sound of cowbells resounding round the rolling meadows. It was very idyllic and I felt like I was Heidi. I like Switzerland, and I can already tell that I am going to feel very at home in Austria! (I have an Austrian grandfather and am hopping to visit all the family there in June.)

coupe et brushing=nouvelle tête

2007-04-25T07:39:00.000+12:00

I have a gaping hole in my wallet and a nice cool breeze on the back of my neck. If you didn't figure it out from yesterdays post, I had a haircut today. I had tried to find a cheapish hairdresser, as it is ridiculously expensive to get a snip here. Not helped at all by the fact that I can't help but convert the price in Euros into the weak and puny NZ$. I judged entirely by appearance and booked in at a shabby looking little salon with late 70s decor and a reasonable looking price list. What they don't tell you though is that they are going to charge you the same again for the 'shampooing et brushing'. What the...! This is all part of the service people! It's just a blob of shampoo and some uneccessary fluffing with the sèche a cheveux! Grr. I should have gone to the swanky salon next door and paid the same and maybe got a cup of tea or something.
However, grumbling aside, I really like the result and it got the thumbs up from the kids (who always tell you the truth about your appearance whether you like it or not!) I will try to forget the fact that I could have probably bought a return flight to London and just enjoy my 'tête de poupée'. Yes, that's what the hairdresser said when he was done, go look it up in the dictionary.
Here it is, my new tête, along with my best poupée face.

2007-04-24T08:18:00.000+12:00

Tomorrow I am going to say goodbye to some friends of mine. They have been with me a long time but I think it's time to cut to the chase and get them off by back once and for all. It's knot that I don't like them but when things get hairy sometimes it's best to part ways.
So hey, Bob's your uncle and I'll let you know how the separation went tomorrow.
Confused? And what's more this photo has nothing at all to do with my loony ramblings, it's just a house I liked in Cassis.

2007-04-24T08:01:00.002+12:00

Towards the end of my stay in Toulon I took a day trip to a little town called Cassis. It's right on the coast, about half an hour by train from Toulon, and I really love it there. I visited the town back in 2004 when I was in France on exchange. I'm not sure quite how we stumbled across it but Mum and I stayed there for a couple of days and I enjoyed it so much that I knew I wanted to go back if possible. Also I was absolutely desperate for a swim and knew that the spectacular Calanques would offer sparkling turquoise water and relative tranquility!
The day I visited it was stinking hot and there were heaps of people due to it being school holidays. I avoided the worst of it by seeking repose in the Calanques. The Calanques are kind of like little fjords I suppose, they cut into the white limestone creating spectacular cliffs and little bays. It's a bit of a hike to access them by foot but well worth it, and after slipping your way across the soapy rocks in the hot sunshine the crystal waters are fantastic!
This is where I swam:
There were only a few hardy kids paddling around when I went into the water (the water is pretty nippy all year round, but nothing for one who is accustomed to swimming at St Clair!) but I think I started a trend as soon everyone was leaving their little rocky picnic spots and plunging into the green. Sublime! And I'm glad I only saw the schools of little pink jellyfish after I got out.

The beautiful Cassis

2007-04-24T08:01:00.001+12:00

yum
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

...and more Cassis

2007-04-24T07:58:00.001+12:00

Look at the colour of that water!
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

I'm back

2007-04-23T01:16:00.000+12:00

I'm back from a really wonderful holiday. It started slowly but ended up being jam-packed and covering three countries. I think I might spread it over a couple of posts, but I have put up lots of new photos (follow photo link) so you can skip ahead in the story if you like. So I started in Toulon where I was warmly welcomed and spent 3 lovely days discovering the region. The weather was fantastic and it was so nice to see the sea everyday. Highlights were: The medieval village of Castellet, which was very tiny and quaint and looked out over rolling hills of olive trees, vineyards and terracotta-coloured houses.

Going to another sweet little village to see a kind of blossom festival, much colour and noise and loads of people. And a steep climb up to the top of this village revealed the crumbling ruins of a castle and more sweeping views out over the Var region. I also enjoyed eating a lot of avocados and seeing a woman walking a ferret on a leash. Why is this suddenly a link? i do not know and I can't figure out how to change it so I'll leave this post for now.

une pause

2007-04-13T08:43:00.000+12:00

Tomorrow I leave the sunny haze of Paris for the (hopefully) clear blue skies of the Mediterranean. I'm hopping on the TGV (an awesomely speedy train) down to Toulon, a port town between Marseille and Nice. There I will be staying with a French couple who I don't yet know, but if their son is anything to go by, will be lovely. I'll stay there for four days and then move on to Avignon. This was a bit on a random stopover but it's a town I have always wanted to go to, and I like being able to explore a place all by myself. I'll have one night there and then continue the train journey to Zurich. My neighbour Léo will be staying there with her father and invited me along. I have no idea what to expect as I know nothing of Zurich but it should be fun!
This will also be a great week for my french, with no anglophiles around to tempt me into idle english chatter. I'm only taking one thick novel with me - it's french, and apart from that two tiny bags into which I'm struggling to pack everything. So if the coat-necessitating colds of winter return, or a pigeon poops on my one pair of pants...well, tough!

Since my lovely long and social easter weekend I have spent the last three days mostly alone. It's a been a pleasant and peaceful time, sleeping late, wandering around my neighbourhood which is leafy and calm and garnished with beds of yellow tulips. I've bought baguette and eaten it dunked in chocolat chaud for breakfast, and then in soft boiled egg for lunch, and finally with cheese for dinner. Yes I really can eat a whole one of those puppies in 12 hours! I've drunk so many cups of tea to wash down the dark, rich, and absolutely divine easter chocolate. I've stood on the nearest 'pont' over the Seine and watched the ducklings paddle around the houseboats. I've delighted in it being warm enough to wear a dress and have trotted to the park to read my book and enjoy the sun on my legs. I've watched the electoral campaigns/ scandals and debates as they have played out on tv - am finding the whole thing far more interesting than I thought I would! I've just been taking pleasure in slowing right down and being content with my little Paris bubble.
Ah, sigh, I think I might just miss her over the next week.

Okey doke, so the camera battery is charged, my refrigerator is empty and the departure hour checked and rechecked. Just need some good shut-eye now. So au revoir for the next 8 days or so, I'll leave you with one of my favourite poems...

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

-e.e cummings

technology

2007-04-12T00:54:00.000+12:00

wow, I'm really glad that I managed to get that video working. This was from a couple of weekends ago when Tim was passing through Paris for a few days. We didn't get a great view due to the low cloud but there was this really sweet old guy playing a harp which added to the atmosphere of the place.

Visiting Sacre Coeur

2007-04-12T00:44:00.000+12:00

Joyeux Paques!

2007-04-10T06:45:00.000+12:00

Coming just a little late, but happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all had a safe and relaxing long weekend. I'm not sure where to begin with mine! It has been a delicious, chocolate fueled weekend thanks to Le Nôtre, a very chic deli with amazing food. I was given this scrumptious cake - it's called 'Pleasure' - and chocolate eggs, by the family. Melt in the mouth delicious! I popped into one of the local Le Nôtre boutiques to buy an Easter gift for my friend Caroline, and watched in amazement as the woman in front of me spent 80€ on a giant egg for her daughter. I bought the cheapest thing I could find!
I spent Saturday night just north of Paris in the cute little village where Caroline lives. In the morning we roamed the local market, bought a picnic and drove a bit further north to the town of Chantilly. We sat in the sun eating skittles and took some photos of the chateau from outside the walls. Sadly it was too expensive to visit as there was a horsey show happening in the grounds which bumped the prices up.
Eager to visit something beautiful we stopped in at the Abbey de Royaumont on the way home. I'm so glad we did because it was a gorgeous tranquil place and looked stunning in the last afternoon light with all the new green growth of spring.

There are lot more photos if you follow the link! We drove into Paris for the evening and went out dancing at Barrio Latino, a very cool cafe near the Bastille. It comprises 3 stories in a beautifully renovated old building, full of curvy old settees and velvet footstools. And once the dancing starts...well if you really want details you'll have to email me, my inbox was so sadly meagre today...ah bribery.
Today was hot, hot, hot, and we picnicked again, but this time on the Champs de Mars with the Hillsong crew. I haven't actually been to Hillsong yet as it is on Friday nights and I work, but they are trying to launch a Sunday service so hopefully I can start going eventually. There were about 70 of us and it was so much fun, playing volleyball on grass, eating a lot more chocolate and meeting people from all around the world...Russia, America, Australia, South Africa, India - even two from New Zealand!

A touch of Venice

2007-04-02T09:16:00.001+12:00

Venetian Festival
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

The sun was out today and so were some funky venetian outfits. Down by the marina in the Bastille there was a mini Venetian Festival; everyone had their camera's out and with good reason. There were costumes of every colour and the blossoming trees along the waterside were gorgeous. More pics if you follow my photo link.

Virtual Visit

2007-04-02T07:09:00.000+12:00

Just for 'm'amuser' here is a little pictorial tour of my neighbourhood. All the pics are taken from a moving car, so excuse the quality! The journey begins at the periphery of Paris and ends up on my street...

Pretty

2007-03-28T08:10:00.000+12:00

Paris is just brimming with creativity.
On Sunday I went to the Bastille, and was astounded by the gentleman juggling and balancing a fish on his head. From there I walked along the Viaduc des Arts, which is a series of galleries and workshops, on top of which is a lovely tree and flower-lined walkway. In one of the galleries I saw the installation to the left; plastic soldier dolls in glass jars. I would love some of these on my counter, so much better than a vase of flowers-and it would last forever! Whoopee!

And this morning I went to a lovely park in my neighbourhood and saw this wee fellow. A lifesize topiary dolphin. Cool! And he is not sideways in real life, it's just that I can't figure out how to turn that photo around.

At the market

2007-03-27T23:57:00.001+12:00

There is a live goldfishin that bowl.
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

door-knocker at Sacre Coeur

2007-03-25T08:13:00.001+12:00

Sacre Coeur
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

Can't think of a title.

2007-03-25T06:54:00.000+12:00

Another week in Paris. They are speeding by, and tonight I have to fast foward one hour due to daylight saving. It has been miserable rainy cold weather, no chance to play in the park and not much desire to leave the house!
Have had a lovely Saturday hanging out with a fellow kiwi. Tim is traveling through Europe for a while on his way to Romania, and got to Paris a couple of days ago. We went to a street market near the Eiffel Tower to buy lunch and then metro-d to the Sacre Coeur to eat it there in the drizzle. I love Sacre Coeur, not only is it in the fascinating and lively suburb of Montmarte but it gives a gorgeous view of Paris and it's great to get some elevation in this relatively flat city. We happened upon an antique fair just below the cathedral and had an amusing time perusing ancient oddities from cash registers to leopard skin hats. I bought a comic book about firefighters called 'The Fire of Love', mwahaha. Driving rain forced us indoors at this point so we went to the Modern Art Museum which is free (hooray!) and was well worth a look around. I'm so tired from much walking that I think I will finish with pictures, cos ya know, a thousand words and all that.

gourmande

2007-03-21T11:19:00.000+12:00

Okay folks, just a quick wee post because I absolutely most go to bed soon! (It's past midnight here.)
The week is going well, I seem to have shaken off my cold am feeling much better. The weather is dreadful here right now; snow, sleet, hail and hand-chapping temperatures. But after this spring arrives...or so all the Parisians keep telling me.
Tonight the children had their 'spectacle', which was like a school concert but very brief. Either this is just the French way of doing things or my childhood memories of our school concerts are somewhat warped. Now that I reflect, it must be a cultural difference because I've watched the videos of my primary school concerts and they are loooong.
So after the concert we celebrated the birthday of the children's mother with delicious cake and champagne (the real stuff from Champagne!) After putting the kids to bed we adults sat down for our meal (at 10.30pm. I'm slowly adjusting to the mediteranean timetable) I have to write about it because it was so incredible; scallops covered with freshly grated coconut, asparagus and chicken with black truffles - the truffles amazing experience in themselves! - fresh bread, cheese platter, and for desert an 'opera', a cake with layer upon layer of yummy things, garnished with gold leaf. oh wow.
Next Friday the family want me to cook them a 'typically Kiwi meal', gulp. I am thinking roast lamb and pavalova - any other ideas people? I feel the need to impress somewhat after all the incredible food they have been feeding me!

Not very chic

2007-03-18T05:15:00.000+12:00

I would have liked to have been this girl today. Strolling, gaily around the Eiffel Tower in my beret and stylish white collar. But alas it was not to be, and all my hopes of visitng the Musée d'Orsay were dashed when I woke up with a nasty cough. On the upside though, I awoke from a dream in which I was conversing in French, something I don't think I've ever noticed before. So I thought of the advice my nearest and dearest would give me and decided it would be wise just to stay at home this weekend. I did wrap and warmly and briefly visit the supermarket for oranges, apple puree, eggs and other such invalid food. Since then I have been reading, learning some new vocab, and praising the inventors of youtube. Sad but true, without the internet I would not have been so happily entertained today! Speaking of entertainment, I wonder if 'Nouvelle Star' is on the telly tonight... (French equivalent of Pop Idol, just too funny when they chose to sing a song in english!)

Rot the Baby

2007-03-17T08:19:00.000+13:00

Morbid title huh. But it goes quite well with the cleaver and skull handbags which I spotted in a shop window. I love the juxtaposition of the cute pink-patterned dresses with the deathly accessories.
Last night I babysat the kids and the little one would not go to sleep, she napped too long in the arvo. I sing a lot of songs with her as it is the only way I can get any words of english out of her. The firm favourites are '3 Little ducks went out to play' at bathtime, and 'Rock-a-bye baby' at bedtime. She has not quite understood the words of the latter, and asks me to 'sing rot the baby!' Always gets a smile out of me.
I don't actually have any news, maybe I will do something interesting this weekend. I'll make sure I have charged my camera batt too!

Add your voice!

2007-03-14T09:31:00.000+13:00

On Thursday March 15th, the environment ministers from the G8, the world's biggest contributors to climate change, will be meeting in Germany. The outcome of this meeting will play a critical role in determining the world's response to global warming--and the fate of the planet. AVAAZ has been invited to attend this meeting to present our climate change petition. Help seize this opportunity to shape the G8's agenda by signing the petition here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_action_germany

ca change la vie

2007-03-14T08:52:00.001+13:00

This post is dedicated to my most demanding reader. Anna hopefully this should be online by the time you get to work! I'm just relaxing at home and watching ads on tv. Maybe I'm not used to watching tv but there seems to be about 5 minutes of program followed by 5 of ads. At least the French ones are fairly amusing, more amusing than the dubbed version of Bruce Almighty - they've got Jim Carrey's voice all wrong!
So, life continues in La Belle France. I did end up going to Salsa on Saturday night, it was great fun but we didn't know the area very well and finding the car afterwards was quite stressful. Caroline stayed over and the next morning we braved the traffic on the peripherique and headed to Fontainebleu. It was a really sweet little town, narrow winding streets, lovely little cafes and a cool castle to top it all off! Sadly my camera battery dies after I had taken two photos! Here they are, one of the castle entranceway, another of one of the lakes. The lakes were amazing, full of big fat carp that obviously get fed lots of scraps by tourists.
The sun was shining and we sat in the gorgeous gardens and read and ate chocolate. Drove home through the green countryside and the sun was setting behind the Eiffel tower as we entered Paris. It was so beautiful and we agreed that we were thrilled to be living in such a wonderful city.

musings and wanderings

2007-03-11T07:22:00.000+13:00

Blue was the sky over Paris today, and it was delightful.

I took a promenade this morning along the Canal St Martin, pausing a while on the bank to read and watch the world go by. The canal was very interesting in it's variety. I'm not sure if you can make them out in the photo but there are red tents lining the banks of the canal for about 150m on either side. These have been provided by the government as 'housing' for the homeless. Although as for who gets first dibs I'm not sure how it is controlled. People were cooking outside them and generally going about their lives, while just metres away on the other side of the street, well-heeled Parisians were lunching at pavement tables. It was quite surreal, like an orderly slum? I'm not really sure how to describe it. I saw one old man being lifted into an ambulance, it was really sad, he looked so alone and defeated.
It was too warm to be on the metro so I walked for a couple of hours to get back to the 1st arrondissement. Here I inadvertently stumbled into what was the absolute opposite of the morning's scene. It was a section of rue St Honoré which was dripping in fur and diamonds. Gucci, Chanel, Cartier, Dior; all perfectly gleaming spaces with cloned sales assistants and generally only one immaculate client being shown the latest in 24 carat beach towels. How ridiculous. There was so much wealth and no one looked in the least bit happy about it.

I'm back home resting up now before salsa. Although to be honest my eyes are drooping and I might continue the book instead.

Jolies Fleurs

2007-03-10T07:21:00.000+13:00

Yesterday was 'Fête des Femmes' in France...and possibly elsewhere in the world too. I was first alerted to this fact when a gentleman outside a big department store offered me a scented ribbon, wishing me a 'happy woman's day'. That's nice I thought, it's not everyday you get a smelly piece of fabric from a total stranger. In french class we discussed the fête and our teacher told us that these days the occasion is most often marked by 'manifestations' for women's rights etc.
I had a busy afternoon with the kids and was totally worn out by 8.30pm when it was time for dinner with guests. My fatigue soon evaporated however when the delightful guests arrived and the champagne was served. I met the first nanny that the twins had when they were born, a lovely Canadian woman who has since married a French man and settled in Paris with him. His parents also joined us.
Conversation was rapid and I tried to hold my own in a debate about the upcoming presidential elections, mostly I nodded and smiled.
The four courses were amazing and with desert the children's father gave all the women at the table a beautiful bouquet!
Canadian nanny met her husband at an Italian restaurant in Paris, I'm joining them there tonight for dinner with some of their friends.
Their parting words at the end of the evening were "we'll make sure we find Sophie a French husband too."

Chez Sophie

2007-03-08T09:47:00.000+13:00

My dear sister, this post is for you. Some petit pictures of my humble abode. It's not exactly very tidy at present but je m'en fiche. So as you can see, there is a couch where you can sleep when you come stay, and I can make you coffee in the morning with my classy yellow percolator. Which, of course, we can drink with fresh croissants while perched on animal-print stools.

All I have been doing so far this week is working. And on Monday I started advanced French classes in town (by town I mean central Paris, as I live outside the periphery). It's kind of like being back at school again, which is not cool, and I don't like the fact that I have to study for a test most Fridays! But I must remember that it is good for me to review my subjunctives, find synonyms and identify the direct object pronoun. Blah.

Okay here is a little idea I got from an email which a friend sent me...perhaps you got it too...
I'll call it Four things.

4 new things I have eaten this week:

1.a religieuse (two iced eclairs, filled with runny chocolate and joined with cream)
2.Endives. Like slightly bitter, white silverbeet.
3. A kind of creamy chestnut whip, can't remember the name but it is apparently very typical french food and very yummy!
4. Lays. well actually I have eaten these before but not by the same name. It's a brand of potato chip.

images

2007-03-05T20:10:00.000+13:00

Moulin Rouge, little birdies living in the window of a cafe, Still Life with Chair Caning at the Picasso museum.

Paris=so much art!

2007-03-03T08:36:00.001+13:00

Rodin Museum
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

Today I went to the Rodin Museum. It was so fantastic, housed in a gorgeous old mansion with lots of space to move around and not too many tourists. There were lovely big windows giving plenty of natural light to view the sculptures. It was really nice to be able to take lots of time over it, photograph every thing that I wanted to and sit in the gardens writing letters while the sun was shining.
Rodin produced some amazing stuff, and his life story - especially his relationship with the sculptress Camille Claudel - is fascinating. There is a great film called 'Camille Claudel' which I recommend you track down if you're interested in this kind of stuff. And especially if you think you might come to Paris one day and want to visit this museum you should see it as it will really bring Rodin and Claudel's works to life!

The Kiss

2007-03-03T08:24:00.001+13:00

The Kiss
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

The Waltz by Rodin

2007-03-03T08:22:00.001+13:00

The Waltz
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

water water everywhere...

2007-03-02T11:42:00.001+13:00

food wot I eat here.
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

Salut tout le monde!

The more I immerse in french the harder I find it to speak/write english well! But i'll try to keep focussed and give a petit summary of the last few days.

•Flooding from a blocked pipe in my kitchen, creates large puddle in main foyer and results in visit from very latino plumber (lots of loud exclamations and big arm movements). Verdict tomorrow - will my whole kitchen have to be ripped out?

•Take trip to Monoprix, where everything is not one price but good value nevertheless. Realise that it doesn't matter if I don't have a kitchen as will happily live on chocolate, fresh algerian dates and fromage blanc for the next few weeks. Decide that as a tourist attraction Monoprix is so up there with the Eiffel tower, visting local supermarkets great education for anyone in a foreign country.

•Have to pretend to have an american accent like previous au pairs so that children don't get confused by the instruction to 'go to bid' and 'get in the buth'.

•Spend an evening getting valuable lessons in 'real french' from 3 lightening-tounged french girls. They speak so fast and with so much 'verlan' that my head spins trying to keep up.
*verlan is where a word is inverted, like blog would be 'golb'.
So anyway, better leave the golb now and get some peels.

Queues, Custard and Cats

2007-02-28T20:44:00.000+13:00

An unfortunate but necessary aspect of wanting to stay in France for longer than 3 months is that one needs to obtain a residency permit. Yesterday I went to the Préfecture to start the process. Armed with all my possible papers I entered the large flashy building through several metal detectors and made my way to the back. Once I had found the appropriate queue - placed nicely by the side exit in a big cold draft - I took my place and waited, and waited. An hour and a half later I finally reached the front whereby my passport was checked and I was given my appointment time on a little slip of paper. It's not until May so hopefully the painful memory will have faded.
After marching home via the Grande Arche de la Defense - which was incredible! i'll take my camera there soon - I bought custard flan for lunch and ate my irritation away.
I spent the afternoon meeting the other two children and playing cat and mouse in the park. Going to the park is a funny thing because most of the kids are obviously there with a nanny. And the french nannys all know each other and sit there talking while their wards run around. So because I'm the only grownup grubbing around in the sandpit and playing cat and mouse we seem to attract a small crowd of toddlers who want to join in.

I didn't spot Quasimodo

2007-02-27T10:13:00.000+13:00

Had a brief peek into Notre Dame, the number of tourists was phenomenal as it is school holidays. I think this dude with the microphones was giving a press conference.

Sophie et le Tour Eiffel

2007-02-27T10:11:00.001+13:00

Sophie et le Tour Eiffel
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

I can hardly believe that it has not even been a week since I left! I think it is because there is so much to take in here that I feel as though I have been experiencing Paris for weeks and weeks already.
Sunday here was drizzly and cold, so I enjoyed a very brisk tour around the Latin Quarter with my neighbour and then we had lunch in a bright and cheery bistro. My first ever croque-madame and it was so delicious - while I was eating it I decided that any visitors I get will have to be taken out for a taste of this chewy cheesy goodness. So all fueled up on croque we visited 'Le Musée de l'Homme' (Museum of Man/Humanity). There we viewed a very vast and unusual collection including such oddities as the skeleton of the tallest man to have lived, a giant prehistoric molar, mummified bodies, a preserved head. Eep, it was bizarre in the extreme, the highlight was the fantastic view of Paris from the upper level.
That evening attended a french service at an anglican church. There were lots of young people of many different nationalities, had a great time. Lessons in French slang over a bowl of pasta with Léo (neighbour). Quick explanation of housing - it's a large appartment building but I share a foyer and toilet with two others, Léo who is a real sweetie and family friend of 'my' family and another woman who I have yet to meet but who does vacuuming and loud talking on the phone at 6 in the morning.

Que c'est belle!!!

2007-02-25T09:45:00.001+13:00

Town Hall of Neuilly (my suburb)
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

today was magnifique. Having slept from 4pm yesterday afternoon until the sun came up (I had planned on a short nap but my jet-lagged body had other ideas) I was ready to get out and do some serious sightseeing. I had a list of things to do - ethernet cable: check, so now I have internet. Buy a monthly metro pass: check. Find my language school: failed miserably.
I started with a walk into town, For those of you who know Paris, I live in Neuilly, which is between la Defense and the arc de triomphe. Takes about 30 min to walk to the arc and then I continued along Champs elysees until I reached the Louvre. There seemed a surprising number of tourists around, all wrapped up in their big coats - and it really wasn't that cold! Nothing on Dunedin in July. From the Louvre I ducked off and into the Marais district, a fantastic little network of narrow streets, cosy cafes, gorgeous architecture, galleries, vintage shops. I was eager to find the tiny shop where I bought my 'Paris dress' last visit. I did but it was literally too packed for me to get in the door, so after straining my neck in and gazing longingly at a pile of tweed caps and vintage shoes for a few moments, I decided to return another day.
Wandered past the Centre Georges Pompidou ( modern art museum) and checked out the outdoor sculpture and the street performers. Found the BHV, a little like mitre10 mega but instead of sprawling out it goes up, and it's ever so chic for a shop full of extension cords and power tools. Made purchase of necessary cable, marvelled at number of ailses selling lightbulbs alone. I may have then been distracted into H&M ( ladies, spring fashion this year is very 60s inspired, think Breakfast at Tiffany's, Twiggy, short shift-dresses, gold lame, purples, oranges.)
Gosh I am droning on rather...have spent a lovely evening with my new friend and neighbour, me pracitising my French and she her english.
9.47pm! My latest night yet.
bonne nuit

ooh la la!

2007-02-25T06:41:00.000+13:00

Yes, I kid you not, this is where I am!
Outside the Louvre
Arc de Triomphe - but sideways!
The Sophie has landed ‘sur seine’. The flight was fairly hideous due to my inability to sleep but watching 4 movies in a row was fun. The stop-over in Dubai was short but fascinating, looking down on the city as we took off I kind of wished I taken longer stopover.
I arrived in a blue-skied Paris at mid-day, customs was a breeze, a glance at the passport, a quick stamp and I was in (to those who prayed for me a big thanks!) The father of the children I’ll be caring for picked me up from the airport and we drove very fast through Paris and to their home. I had forgotten the smell of French cities, it’s not at all unpleasant just entirely different to home, I shall be walking around talking big sniffing gulps for days to come.
I have actually had to repress squeals of delight in order to maintain my air of cool, calm confidence. I’m not sure where to start but so far SO GOOD!!!!
Lets get some bullet point action happening so y’all don’t get bored,

Here goes: An overview of squeal-inducing moments.

* I now live one block from the Seine river on a tree-lined street.

* My apartment is wonderful, like a dolls house (cosy!) and very modern (white everywhere).

* Crusty baguette with butter, home-made chocolate mousse, 4 varieties of cheese (I actually have to rave about one called ‘lapoisse’, so soft you needed a spoon to attack it and the most amazing flavour, yum!) A beautiful red wine, whole baked sea bass.

* Across the street from me are some gorgeous examples of mansions built during Baron Haussman’s extensive renovations of the city in the mid 19th century. I am a bit of a geek when it comes to the history of Paris, and promise to torture readers with many more tidbits of this sort.

* Two of the children are away on school holidays, but the one I have met is adorable, cheeky and has heaps of character.
I should stop now, time to set out and do some exploring!

Au revoir NZ

2007-02-21T14:59:00.000+13:00

I'm going to the airport in half an hour. I'm looking forward to flying but have got some serious butterflies in my tum. Weehee! next post from Paris my friends!
Here's a quote from Al Gore I happened to see this morning:
"Airplane travel is nature's way of making us look like our passport photos."
Can't wait.

Ready, Set, Go.

2007-02-16T11:09:00.000+13:00

Finally! There has been some serious movement in the French direction over the past few days. First was the excruciating wait for my work permit,(for future reference, a courier from France to NZ takes at least 8 days!) and then the nerve wracking phone call from the embassy: "ah, I cannot find zee file with your passport - do you know where eet eez?", sure thing buddy, second drawer down on the left, red folder. It was finally unearthed and arrived back in my hands today - visa completed!
So I have a flight leaving Christchurch on the 21st, i've begun the sad goodbyes, and realised that even though i've given away armloads of clothes the left-overs are so not going to fit in my suitcase.
The long-range forecast is for 9 degrees on the day I arrive. Just like Dunedin today, so i'll be fine.

Twiddling Thumbs

2007-01-25T11:37:00.000+13:00

We had an invigorating swim at Doctors Point yesterday, dog included.

It seems it may be the end of February before I have my visa in hand and am able to leave the country. Not that I'm too concerned, as temperatures in Paris are glacial right now, and the glorious summer here in Dunedin will be hard to leave...once it finally arrives.
Tomorrow will be my last day of work, leaving me with several commitment-free weeks to be filled at my leisure. I have a stack of novels to start working my way through, several paintings to complete, and need to get as much salt water in my system as poss. Living inland is going to be a killer.
Between bouts of baking and surfing I might just become a manic blogger too. Wait and see...