Not just with Paris, but with my new family. I'm sure you all could tell that I was smitten with the children from day one. They are the sweetest, most loving and compassionate children and it took them all of .02 seconds to accept me as a part of their family. They get excited when I pick them up from school (Alice even gives me a running embrace), and they ask for me when I'm not there. Normally this level of comfort and security takes a few months to acquire in any previous position I have had, so it is a nice reassuring treat for it to happen so soon here, where I need it more than ever.
With the parents, however, it's always a different story. It's never comfortable going into someone's house and essentially taking over the "mommy role". Val and Nico have been super understanding and welcoming of me to try and make the transition as soon as possible, but there was still hesitation on my part. This is partly because the cultures are so different, I didn't want to come in and enforce things or punish them for things that are socially acceptable here. Val has been very good at explaining everything, twice in necessary, and being very understanding when things don't go quite as planned. Nico on the other hand, while I rarely see him, it's been a slower transition. It's interesting to me because once I was hired, he was the primary contact person for sorting out my visa, flight, etc, and any and all of my questions were directed towards him in emails. Upon arrival, their roles have swapped and now I have very little interaction with him. While I normally eat with the children because it just makes life easier, they have decided that every Tuesday night I will have dinner with them. (The kids eat around 6:30 and the parents don't eat till about 9:30). This "adult dinner" has been great for me because not only do I get to sample authentic French dishes (and superb wine), but I also get time to not just share with the parents about the kids, but share with them about myself and vice versa. Our dinner nights are the only time I really talk to Nico, other than a "good morning!", "how are you?" type thing. I think the reason why it is almost awkward the rest of the time is because you all--yes, YOU, the majority of the readers of this blog--have scared the crap out of me. You all warned me to "beware of the dad", "French men cheat on their wives with the au pairs", blah blah blah...so I have been SUPER cautious to be overly professional with him, which is the opposite of what they want, they want me to be a member of the family. I think either Nico could sense this (most likely), or he was also showing me that that whole affair thing isn't how he roles and that I have nothing to worry about. Either way, last night was finally my breaking point where I realized they both really do see me as a family member, not just hired help.
Therefore, as I'm sure you can gather by now, last night was an amazing night for me. They have wanted to take me out to dinner for a while now as my official "welcome to Paris dinner", and not just a home cooked French dinner. So they hired my friend Ally to babysit Alice and Lucien last night, and they took me to a wonderful art-deco style Brasserie in the 2nd, just the 3 of us. We had champagne and sampled many different wines and ate like kings. In France most restaurants have a regular menu, and then a "set menu" where you choose 1 of 5 appetizers, entrees, and desserts. They decided to go with the set menu, so for the appetizer I had foie gras, which is duck liver. It sounds absolutely awful, and I admit I was super nervous to try it, but they said it was the best in Paris at this place, and it was quite delicious. For the entree I had roasted beef with a sweet potato pudding, which I ordered medium, and it came out bright red, but it was still delicious. Then for dessert I ordered creme brulee, my first authentic creme brulee, and it was better than I ever imagined possible. We sat their for at least 2 hours talking about me, my family, the ranch, their kids, their jobs, their ages (43!!...I totally thought mid 30s!), and their good ole college days (Val did a year of PhD at Berkeley and she told us about some of the parties they hosted at their house there). It was amazing how we just get out of the house and it's like we are long lost friends! No talk about work, no awkward conversation, we were all just open and enjoying each others company. Then out of nowhere, Nico (who went to school in Valencia, Spain) says "I think we need to go to Valencia this year for Las Fallas. Las Fallas is THE biggest celebration in Spain, only second to Easter (duh). It occurs in the week prior to March 19, where people work for months creating huge 3 story wooden statues of characters and people, etc. During the week, they parade these statues through the narrow streets of Valencia, finally the night of the 18th in the Plaza Mayor. A HUGE party ensues that night with delicious food (Valencia is the birthplace of Paella) drinks, fireworks, etc. Then, all day on the 19th the party continues with more food and wine and contests, until sundown that night. At sundown on the 19th, they stuff the statues with fireworks and torch them, sending flames and fireworks way into the sky. I learned all about this when I lived in Spain, but the videos we watched in no way did it justice. Nico wants his kids to experience this for the first time, and after learning that the 19th falls on a Saturday this year (meaning they don't have to miss school), they decided they are going and are booking tickets this week. While I was interested in the conversation, I was super bummed on the inside because I was like aw shucks, I wanna go. BUT, once they were set that it was happening, they both at the same time looked and me and said "with you of course, if you'd like!" I kept it cool then, but I was screaming on the inside. I am included in their family vacation...hell yes!
So, after an unintentionally longgg blog, I will end by saying it's gonna be hard to get me out of here come July 2011. This family was made for me.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
"Uhhh...can I kiss you?"
Turns out even the proper looking Frenchman are creepers at heart...thus postponing my search for a Frenchie. Today I spent my entire morning at the office of immigration. There were multiple waiting rooms, doctors, and people who don't speak English, but after an eye test, weight/height check, chest x-ray (for which I had to get completely naked? only in France...), consultation, and Polio vaccination, I am finally I legal resident of France! What a hectic morning. But, on my way home I was meandering through this streets of this wonderful neighborhood, when a very (VERY) cute French guy, dressed very professionally in a suit and tie, approached me speaking French. I have learned my lesson the last few weeks to just say "no no no" repeatedly instead of saying "Je ne parle pas Francais (I don't speak French)" because the latter opens up a whole new door. But, after following me down the street repeating the same thing, he began to look urgent, so I said "Je ne parle pas Francais". His response?..."oh! uhhh...can I kiss you?"...WHAT?? He just lowered my respect for even the decent looking guys! Needless to say, I was glad I began with no no no instead of yes yes yes!
In other news, I have been lagging on my blog updates this week, sorry! So, I will backtrack, beginning with yesterday and going backwards. I had another wonderful afternoon with Stephane and Kate (family friends from Paris/Brussels). Stephane was back in town and his birthday was a couple days ago, so we went to brunch with two of their other friends. We went to Cafe Charbon in the 11th and it was a really cool cafe with such a wonderful atmosphere and delicious food! Not a typical American brunch, but nothing here is what I'm used to, so in French terms it was great! They brought out 3 heaping baskets of baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, raisin rolls, muffins, etc. Then for the main course I had yogurt, salad, a soft boiled egg (which you dip buttered bread in), grilled veggies, mozzarella cheese, salmon, and a fruit cup. It was a ton of food, but all delicious, and it brought my total to four consecutive meals involving fish, and I'm still not sick of it! Stephane also ordered a pitcher of margaritas to celebrate, but when they were brought out, we all raised an eyebrow. Not only were they white, but they were frothy. We determined that they must have been made with lemons instead of limes (they had huge chunks of lemon rind in them) and we think egg whites were added for the frothiness. They were quite interesting, but good nonetheless! A nice walk home along the canal ended the lunch date for me, as I wanted to get home and talk to my brother before his first day of college today!! Later that night I met up with my good friends Ally and Ellie (although she's British so it sounds like Ally and Ally). Ally was on mommy duty ALLL weekend (since Thursday morning) because the parents were in the south of France for a wedding, so we decided she needed to get out of the house for some "adult-time". We met up at our new favorite hangout, a 1920's English speakeasy cafe/bar in the 8th (in the same neighborhood as all the Embassies...talk about businessmen and security!) We decided three weeks was enough time to make us desperately crave an American burger, and this is the perfect place to enjoy one. We splurged, went for the double cheeseburger, all of us (with the convincing of our friend Lauren who is a waitress there) and it was so worth the weeks worth of calories I consumed. It was a little taste of home topped off with a wonderful night with friends. Oh and lucky me, not only are these two girls my closest friends here, but they also live right in the 10th by me, a nice 10 minute walk from my house :)
Saturday was quite the long day for me. I worked in the morning, babysitting Alice and her 5 year old "English speaking" cousin who really didn't speak nor understand any English whatsoever. It was an interesting morning, but not bad by any means. Later that afternoon was Alice's 5th birthday party...oh man. Surrounded by 10 French-speaking, screaming 5 year old girls, I just about ripped my hair out. Luckily I didn't HAVE to be there according to the parents, but I did have to be there in order to be a good nounou (nanny), so I went. Alice is very into playing dress up and just about half of her closet is full of princess outfits, etc. While she desperately wanted a Little Mermaid costume for her birthday, it is impossible to find in Paris, so I settled for a bedazzled pair of wings and matching wand, and lucky me, I won the best present award. Instead of opening it, taking a look, and tossing it aside to open the next present, I actually got an "OOOOHH mommy open!" and she put them on right then and there. GO ME! The day ended with me babysitting yet again, 7:45-midnight while the parents went to the theater...long day.
Friday night was what got me through the week, as we had our "au potluck" planned for that evening. We invited a few of our au pair friends over to Ally's house for a potluck in which everyone had to bring a specialty dish of their country, state, etc. We had girls from Canada, England, Germany, Finland, and Austria. Unfortunately, the food was not as representative as we had hoped. We had Mexican food (from California of course), garlic shrimp from Canada, Lemon cake from Germany, pears poached in red wine from England, and Flan from Austria (although it's technically French). Hopefully the next one will be a little more cultural in terms of food, but it's quite difficult to find many ingredients here (for example, I had to go to an American store to get black beans, which cost 3.50 euro per can!!) However, we did have plenty of wine so all was well.
I have been battling a cold all week, but my body finally succumbed, so I felt like crap for the latter part of the week. But, I am back to my normal self now and ready to begin a new week! I'll write back soon, or at least as soon as I do something exciting :)
Oh and I'm going to Poland for my birthday! wooooo!
In other news, I have been lagging on my blog updates this week, sorry! So, I will backtrack, beginning with yesterday and going backwards. I had another wonderful afternoon with Stephane and Kate (family friends from Paris/Brussels). Stephane was back in town and his birthday was a couple days ago, so we went to brunch with two of their other friends. We went to Cafe Charbon in the 11th and it was a really cool cafe with such a wonderful atmosphere and delicious food! Not a typical American brunch, but nothing here is what I'm used to, so in French terms it was great! They brought out 3 heaping baskets of baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, raisin rolls, muffins, etc. Then for the main course I had yogurt, salad, a soft boiled egg (which you dip buttered bread in), grilled veggies, mozzarella cheese, salmon, and a fruit cup. It was a ton of food, but all delicious, and it brought my total to four consecutive meals involving fish, and I'm still not sick of it! Stephane also ordered a pitcher of margaritas to celebrate, but when they were brought out, we all raised an eyebrow. Not only were they white, but they were frothy. We determined that they must have been made with lemons instead of limes (they had huge chunks of lemon rind in them) and we think egg whites were added for the frothiness. They were quite interesting, but good nonetheless! A nice walk home along the canal ended the lunch date for me, as I wanted to get home and talk to my brother before his first day of college today!! Later that night I met up with my good friends Ally and Ellie (although she's British so it sounds like Ally and Ally). Ally was on mommy duty ALLL weekend (since Thursday morning) because the parents were in the south of France for a wedding, so we decided she needed to get out of the house for some "adult-time". We met up at our new favorite hangout, a 1920's English speakeasy cafe/bar in the 8th (in the same neighborhood as all the Embassies...talk about businessmen and security!) We decided three weeks was enough time to make us desperately crave an American burger, and this is the perfect place to enjoy one. We splurged, went for the double cheeseburger, all of us (with the convincing of our friend Lauren who is a waitress there) and it was so worth the weeks worth of calories I consumed. It was a little taste of home topped off with a wonderful night with friends. Oh and lucky me, not only are these two girls my closest friends here, but they also live right in the 10th by me, a nice 10 minute walk from my house :)
Saturday was quite the long day for me. I worked in the morning, babysitting Alice and her 5 year old "English speaking" cousin who really didn't speak nor understand any English whatsoever. It was an interesting morning, but not bad by any means. Later that afternoon was Alice's 5th birthday party...oh man. Surrounded by 10 French-speaking, screaming 5 year old girls, I just about ripped my hair out. Luckily I didn't HAVE to be there according to the parents, but I did have to be there in order to be a good nounou (nanny), so I went. Alice is very into playing dress up and just about half of her closet is full of princess outfits, etc. While she desperately wanted a Little Mermaid costume for her birthday, it is impossible to find in Paris, so I settled for a bedazzled pair of wings and matching wand, and lucky me, I won the best present award. Instead of opening it, taking a look, and tossing it aside to open the next present, I actually got an "OOOOHH mommy open!" and she put them on right then and there. GO ME! The day ended with me babysitting yet again, 7:45-midnight while the parents went to the theater...long day.
Friday night was what got me through the week, as we had our "au potluck" planned for that evening. We invited a few of our au pair friends over to Ally's house for a potluck in which everyone had to bring a specialty dish of their country, state, etc. We had girls from Canada, England, Germany, Finland, and Austria. Unfortunately, the food was not as representative as we had hoped. We had Mexican food (from California of course), garlic shrimp from Canada, Lemon cake from Germany, pears poached in red wine from England, and Flan from Austria (although it's technically French). Hopefully the next one will be a little more cultural in terms of food, but it's quite difficult to find many ingredients here (for example, I had to go to an American store to get black beans, which cost 3.50 euro per can!!) However, we did have plenty of wine so all was well.
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| Au Pair Potluck, from left: Sarah (Germany), Katharina (Germany), Sara (Canada), Nadja (Finland), Lauren (England) |
I have been battling a cold all week, but my body finally succumbed, so I felt like crap for the latter part of the week. But, I am back to my normal self now and ready to begin a new week! I'll write back soon, or at least as soon as I do something exciting :)
Oh and I'm going to Poland for my birthday! wooooo!
Monday, September 13, 2010
It's a Small World...
I suppose this title takes on two meanings at this moment...
First of all, since I found out I was moving to Paris, my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jack have been telling me I need to meet up with their friends who live in Paris. After a few exchanged emails between all of us, we finally met up yesterday for a wonderful afternoon at an outdoor "farmer's market" and walk around Le Marais district. The reason why it really is a small world is because not only do Stephane and Kate live in my district, they live right up the street from me, about a block away. They took me to the marche and we walked around buying and sampling fruits and veggies (mom and dad, we are going here when you come, you would love it!). We met up with a friend/coworker of Kate and stopped into a nearby bar for some afternoon wine and from there walked toward the Jewish/guy/shopping district of Paris, Le Marais. Filled with designer shops galore, the online shopping we did was window shopping, but it was a very fun atmosphere and because it was a Sunday, many random parks were open in the middle of buildings with absolutely spectacular gardens. We then made the trek all the way home by foot, which really wasn't too bad (but considering I dressed for cold and rain and it was a good 75 degrees and sunny made it a little rough). I had a great time meeting them and a lovely afternoon, and I am looking forward to our next gathering!
The second meaning to this blog title is...there's a birthday coming up. Alice turned 3 weeks ago in Korea, so they are having her birthday party this coming weekend with all her friends. I have been asking her what she wants for her birthday and besides the usual markers and barbies, she wants more than anything a Little Mermaid Ariel costume. This girl LOVES to play dress up and already has half a closet full of dress up clothes (and she just received a new princess dress from Grandma on Saturday!). For her birthday, all her friends are arriving in dress up clothes and we are painting their faces, having cake, playing put the hat on the princess (pin the tail on the donkey), and more. So I am on the hunt for a costume store, toy store, any kind of store that would have an ariel costume...but I think I may have to just find a plan B :/ In other news, here is finally a pic of the camera-shy Lucien!
First of all, since I found out I was moving to Paris, my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jack have been telling me I need to meet up with their friends who live in Paris. After a few exchanged emails between all of us, we finally met up yesterday for a wonderful afternoon at an outdoor "farmer's market" and walk around Le Marais district. The reason why it really is a small world is because not only do Stephane and Kate live in my district, they live right up the street from me, about a block away. They took me to the marche and we walked around buying and sampling fruits and veggies (mom and dad, we are going here when you come, you would love it!). We met up with a friend/coworker of Kate and stopped into a nearby bar for some afternoon wine and from there walked toward the Jewish/guy/shopping district of Paris, Le Marais. Filled with designer shops galore, the online shopping we did was window shopping, but it was a very fun atmosphere and because it was a Sunday, many random parks were open in the middle of buildings with absolutely spectacular gardens. We then made the trek all the way home by foot, which really wasn't too bad (but considering I dressed for cold and rain and it was a good 75 degrees and sunny made it a little rough). I had a great time meeting them and a lovely afternoon, and I am looking forward to our next gathering!
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| Spectacular Gardens |
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| Stephane, Kate, and I |
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| LuLu trying to duck out of the pic and Alice embracing it (with her favorite Ariel shirt on!) |
Friday, September 10, 2010
Mr. Glaceau...
So I have this neighbor, Mr. Glaceau, whom I think is dying. No joke. He just recently arrived in Paris (he and his wife have a house in Brittany where they spend most of their time, and he came up to Paris for a week to take care of a few things). Supposedly he is returning to Brittany soon, but it sure isn't soon enough for me! I don't know if he's sick or literally dying, but he coughs (and coughs and coughs and coughs) allllll day and night. There are times when it sounds like he is struggling for breath, choking on something, or puking, but they are all absolutely awful. Every morning around 7 am I am awakened by this incessant coughing spell...the walls are so thin it sounds like he's coughing into my ear. I find myself holding my breath at times just by instinct thinking I'm going to catch SARS or something. So, needless to say, it's been a restless 3 nights sleep now that Mr. Glaceau is back in town. Brittany or bust!
However, because of this, I have turned to something other than reading to get my mind off of it..it just doesn't cancel out the noise like music does. So when Mr. Glaceau has a coughing spell, I turn up my music so I can't hear him, and begin surfing my new favorite website in the whole world. This website of recipes has the most amazing pictures to accompany each recipe, so instead of a mental picture, you can see the real deal. Plus now that I am a nanny and am required to cook for people, it makes it even more fun thinking of how I could change the recipe to make it kid-friendly. I spend hours on this site just browsing and losing track of time. So I encourage you to take a look and see how fantastic it is for yourself!
In other news, I went to yet another au pair meet and greet yesterday and met some really great girls from New Zealand, England, Finland, Germany, and Australia. I almost met another girl from the states (I can no longer say America cuz there are so many Canadians!) making me and her the only US au pairs so far! However, as excited as I was to meet a fellow USA-ian, after spending 2 minutes with her, I began cringing with every word that came out of her mouth. Now, this is absolutely awful of me, but this girl is one of those loud, obnoxious, horribly rude people who give Americans (as in USA-ians) a bad name. She was brash and every word that came out of her mouth was negative or insulting to other people. It really nearly ruined my experience there because I was just so turned off by her. The whole time I was thinking "I hope these other girls don't see ME as being an obnoxious, rude American!" Upon leaving with my new English friend, Ellie, before I could even open my mouth, she commented on the girl, saying how absolutely ridiculous she was to even think she could get away with saying some of the things she did. I was relieved to hear that it wasn't just me thinking this, and was even more relieved to have Ellie assure me that I am definitely NOT like that. So, after encountering that, I am even more aware of how the rest of the world views Americans--negatively--so I am striving (me, myself, and I) to change that view one person at a time!
And Mr. Glaceau is at it again...I'm out.
However, because of this, I have turned to something other than reading to get my mind off of it..it just doesn't cancel out the noise like music does. So when Mr. Glaceau has a coughing spell, I turn up my music so I can't hear him, and begin surfing my new favorite website in the whole world. This website of recipes has the most amazing pictures to accompany each recipe, so instead of a mental picture, you can see the real deal. Plus now that I am a nanny and am required to cook for people, it makes it even more fun thinking of how I could change the recipe to make it kid-friendly. I spend hours on this site just browsing and losing track of time. So I encourage you to take a look and see how fantastic it is for yourself!
In other news, I went to yet another au pair meet and greet yesterday and met some really great girls from New Zealand, England, Finland, Germany, and Australia. I almost met another girl from the states (I can no longer say America cuz there are so many Canadians!) making me and her the only US au pairs so far! However, as excited as I was to meet a fellow USA-ian, after spending 2 minutes with her, I began cringing with every word that came out of her mouth. Now, this is absolutely awful of me, but this girl is one of those loud, obnoxious, horribly rude people who give Americans (as in USA-ians) a bad name. She was brash and every word that came out of her mouth was negative or insulting to other people. It really nearly ruined my experience there because I was just so turned off by her. The whole time I was thinking "I hope these other girls don't see ME as being an obnoxious, rude American!" Upon leaving with my new English friend, Ellie, before I could even open my mouth, she commented on the girl, saying how absolutely ridiculous she was to even think she could get away with saying some of the things she did. I was relieved to hear that it wasn't just me thinking this, and was even more relieved to have Ellie assure me that I am definitely NOT like that. So, after encountering that, I am even more aware of how the rest of the world views Americans--negatively--so I am striving (me, myself, and I) to change that view one person at a time!
And Mr. Glaceau is at it again...I'm out.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
One Week Mark
I have made it to the one week mark! Which, to be honest, felt so far away last week. I literally feel like I have been here for nearly a month already. It has been quite the whirlwind so far (getting all my paperwork, citizenship, insurance, school, etc set up), but nonetheless, it's been great!
The main reason why it feels like I arrived FOREVER ago is because of the way my schedule works. While I work every weekday, I only work in the afternoons from 4:30-7:30, so my day is split in two. Between all of my appointments and paperwork last week, I was actually able to do a bit of touring around in my spare time. I now know my neighborhood quite well I think, and can honestly say that it is my favorite part of Paris so far. I live literally a block from the Saint Martin Canal (below)
Thursday I was able to walk around my neighborhood and learn the ins and outs of all the streets and nearby metro stops, and I even managed to fit in some reading time along the canal. I have never been one to just pick up a book and read for fun, but lucky me I bought a few books at home to bring with me in case I wanted to begin reading and can't find any in English. I'm currently working on Eat, Pray, Love (in honor of the new movie, but mainly inspired by Anna). It is so peaceful along here and it has become my new favorite place to just sit and be or do. In fact tomorrow I plan on sitting there and doing a little sewing...because I made the children aprons, Valerie has given me an old sweater of Luciens and one of Alice's dress up costumes to repair, so that is my activity for tomorrow.
Friday I made it up to one of my favorite areas, Montmartre to walk around and see it all in the daytime...last time I was in Paris, we stayed in Montmartre, but only made it up to the Sacre Coeur at nighttime. Montmartre is a very artsy district with cafe's and art shops strewn everywhere. It is the highest point in Paris and therefore has amazing views of the entire city. At the very top of the hill is the Sacre Coeur Basilica, and while it is absolutely stunning at all times a day, the church in particular was better at nighttime. The area was crawling with tourists (and therefore pickpockets) so I was a little turned off by that, but once I had my ham and cheese crepe in hand I was happy wondering around the side streets and exploring the area. Upon returning home, this was my first day to pick up the kids from school on my own. Luckily I remembered how to get to their school (although it is literally down the street). That night the family (and I) were invited to go to the kids' friends house for dinner, but I turned down the invite for a chance to meet some new friends!
Apparently on Wednesday when I was at the school registering for classes, another au pair saw me leave, got my name off of my paperwork, and facebooked me to see if I would be interested in meeting. So Friday night I met her and her roommate (both English girls) at the Irish pub on the canal behind my house. We went to a Brasserie for a drink and then walked around and found a nice little French cafe for dinner. It was a nice 2 course meal with a cheese quiche for appetizer (here it's called entree) and salmon and rice with veggies for the main course...with a bottle of wine to accompany it of course. These girls were super sweet and it was really great to actually talk to people my age and have fun for the first time in almost a week! As it turns out, she and I are registered for all the same classes at school, so it will be a nice treat actually knowing someone on the first day! And bonus, she lives right near me, about a 10 minute walk down the canal!
Saturday I had to work in the morning/afternoon while the parents and Lucien went golfing. Alice and I colored and watched Charlotte's Web (lucky me, they are ONLY allowed to watch movies in English!) and then I walked her around the corner to her friends' birthday party. From there, I went to the Centre Pompidou to meet up with some other au pairs I had met on facebook. There is a group for au pairs in Paris and a girl from Germany arranged a "little" meet and greet for all of us....turns out about 25 girls showed up to this thing, from all over the world. Surprisingly enough, I was the ONLY girl from the states. There were a few Canadians, a few English girls, a girl from Austria, a girl from Hungary, and pretty much the rest were from Germany. We sat there and talked for quite a bit, then walked over to the nearby McDonalds. In Europe, McDonalds sells beer, and these girls were so shocked by this that they just had to go try an infamous "McBeer". After this we decided to head to the Jardin du Luxembourg to hang out and talk some more. I ended up meeting a really cool girl from Canada who lives right near me and we seem to have so much in common. We instantly connected and I see us being great friends this year and beyond, so I was extremely excited about this! After the gardens, most girls parted ways and went home for dinner, but 3 of us decided we weren't ready to leave, so we hopped on the metro back to my neck of the woods. Right next to my house is a restaurant (kinda) called Doner Kabob (which was HUGE in Spain and soooo delicious) so we decided to jump in there to grab a kabob and head down to the canal to eat and talk. It was a great time getting to know them and I'm super excited about the friendships some of us have already created.
Today 4 of us decided to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. We each contributed items such as baguette, ham, gouda, wine, apples, pears, and chocolate and had ourselves a nice feast. As we were sitting there, a girl sitting nearby heard us speaking English and sparked conversation. We invited her to join us and had a great time getting to know her. She is from Detroit and is an au pair back there, but she has been saving for this trip for years and came to Europe to go backpacking for 6 weeks. Paris was only her second stop so far, but she has an amazing journey ahead of her and it was cool to hear about it so far. Then 2 other girls came up to us who were also au pairs and sat and joined us. Apparently they were supposed to be meeting a different group of au pairs there that we knew nothing about, but they "settled" for us when the others were nowhere to be found. So, our group of 4 turned into a group of 7 and we had so much fun enjoying the hot weather and delicious food. Then we decided to head back to my area yet again (I swear it's the best area in Paris) so that they could all see the canal and we could enjoy a nice ice cream by the canal. After walking about a mile down the canal, we settled for ice cream bars instead of soft serve and sat on the edge of the canal for hours just talking and getting to know each other. I can not tell you guys how different it is now to have friends. I have people to share kid stories with, talk to, text, and actually hang out with when I'm bored...and 3 of them live right near me! It's great.
Needless to say, I am enjoying my time here very much so far. While I do wish I was home this weekend for the Labor Day camping trip, I am keeping myself preoccupied pretty well, so it's not too bad.
Next weekend I am off to Versailles, so if you don't hear from me before then, you definitely will Sunday or Monday! Love you all!!
The main reason why it feels like I arrived FOREVER ago is because of the way my schedule works. While I work every weekday, I only work in the afternoons from 4:30-7:30, so my day is split in two. Between all of my appointments and paperwork last week, I was actually able to do a bit of touring around in my spare time. I now know my neighborhood quite well I think, and can honestly say that it is my favorite part of Paris so far. I live literally a block from the Saint Martin Canal (below)
Thursday I was able to walk around my neighborhood and learn the ins and outs of all the streets and nearby metro stops, and I even managed to fit in some reading time along the canal. I have never been one to just pick up a book and read for fun, but lucky me I bought a few books at home to bring with me in case I wanted to begin reading and can't find any in English. I'm currently working on Eat, Pray, Love (in honor of the new movie, but mainly inspired by Anna). It is so peaceful along here and it has become my new favorite place to just sit and be or do. In fact tomorrow I plan on sitting there and doing a little sewing...because I made the children aprons, Valerie has given me an old sweater of Luciens and one of Alice's dress up costumes to repair, so that is my activity for tomorrow.
Friday I made it up to one of my favorite areas, Montmartre to walk around and see it all in the daytime...last time I was in Paris, we stayed in Montmartre, but only made it up to the Sacre Coeur at nighttime. Montmartre is a very artsy district with cafe's and art shops strewn everywhere. It is the highest point in Paris and therefore has amazing views of the entire city. At the very top of the hill is the Sacre Coeur Basilica, and while it is absolutely stunning at all times a day, the church in particular was better at nighttime. The area was crawling with tourists (and therefore pickpockets) so I was a little turned off by that, but once I had my ham and cheese crepe in hand I was happy wondering around the side streets and exploring the area. Upon returning home, this was my first day to pick up the kids from school on my own. Luckily I remembered how to get to their school (although it is literally down the street). That night the family (and I) were invited to go to the kids' friends house for dinner, but I turned down the invite for a chance to meet some new friends!
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| Sacre Coeur Basilica |
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| View from Montmartre, in front of the Sacre Coeur |
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| Beautiful cobblestone streets of Montmartre |
Apparently on Wednesday when I was at the school registering for classes, another au pair saw me leave, got my name off of my paperwork, and facebooked me to see if I would be interested in meeting. So Friday night I met her and her roommate (both English girls) at the Irish pub on the canal behind my house. We went to a Brasserie for a drink and then walked around and found a nice little French cafe for dinner. It was a nice 2 course meal with a cheese quiche for appetizer (here it's called entree) and salmon and rice with veggies for the main course...with a bottle of wine to accompany it of course. These girls were super sweet and it was really great to actually talk to people my age and have fun for the first time in almost a week! As it turns out, she and I are registered for all the same classes at school, so it will be a nice treat actually knowing someone on the first day! And bonus, she lives right near me, about a 10 minute walk down the canal!
Saturday I had to work in the morning/afternoon while the parents and Lucien went golfing. Alice and I colored and watched Charlotte's Web (lucky me, they are ONLY allowed to watch movies in English!) and then I walked her around the corner to her friends' birthday party. From there, I went to the Centre Pompidou to meet up with some other au pairs I had met on facebook. There is a group for au pairs in Paris and a girl from Germany arranged a "little" meet and greet for all of us....turns out about 25 girls showed up to this thing, from all over the world. Surprisingly enough, I was the ONLY girl from the states. There were a few Canadians, a few English girls, a girl from Austria, a girl from Hungary, and pretty much the rest were from Germany. We sat there and talked for quite a bit, then walked over to the nearby McDonalds. In Europe, McDonalds sells beer, and these girls were so shocked by this that they just had to go try an infamous "McBeer". After this we decided to head to the Jardin du Luxembourg to hang out and talk some more. I ended up meeting a really cool girl from Canada who lives right near me and we seem to have so much in common. We instantly connected and I see us being great friends this year and beyond, so I was extremely excited about this! After the gardens, most girls parted ways and went home for dinner, but 3 of us decided we weren't ready to leave, so we hopped on the metro back to my neck of the woods. Right next to my house is a restaurant (kinda) called Doner Kabob (which was HUGE in Spain and soooo delicious) so we decided to jump in there to grab a kabob and head down to the canal to eat and talk. It was a great time getting to know them and I'm super excited about the friendships some of us have already created.
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| Some of us au pairs at the Jardin du Luxembourg |
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| Luxembourg Palace |
Today 4 of us decided to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. We each contributed items such as baguette, ham, gouda, wine, apples, pears, and chocolate and had ourselves a nice feast. As we were sitting there, a girl sitting nearby heard us speaking English and sparked conversation. We invited her to join us and had a great time getting to know her. She is from Detroit and is an au pair back there, but she has been saving for this trip for years and came to Europe to go backpacking for 6 weeks. Paris was only her second stop so far, but she has an amazing journey ahead of her and it was cool to hear about it so far. Then 2 other girls came up to us who were also au pairs and sat and joined us. Apparently they were supposed to be meeting a different group of au pairs there that we knew nothing about, but they "settled" for us when the others were nowhere to be found. So, our group of 4 turned into a group of 7 and we had so much fun enjoying the hot weather and delicious food. Then we decided to head back to my area yet again (I swear it's the best area in Paris) so that they could all see the canal and we could enjoy a nice ice cream by the canal. After walking about a mile down the canal, we settled for ice cream bars instead of soft serve and sat on the edge of the canal for hours just talking and getting to know each other. I can not tell you guys how different it is now to have friends. I have people to share kid stories with, talk to, text, and actually hang out with when I'm bored...and 3 of them live right near me! It's great.
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| Our massive spread of deliciousness |
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| After our picnic at the Eiffel Tower |
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| Enjoying our ice cream along the canal |
Needless to say, I am enjoying my time here very much so far. While I do wish I was home this weekend for the Labor Day camping trip, I am keeping myself preoccupied pretty well, so it's not too bad.
Next weekend I am off to Versailles, so if you don't hear from me before then, you definitely will Sunday or Monday! Love you all!!
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