Fashion, Flowers and Family

Photo credit to le-21eme.com

You would not believe how excited I was to see my brother and sister. After hanging out with my Dad on Wednesday, Thursday sans family seemed like a cruel interlude. I coped by going over board on table decor, buying a cheap-as-chips pot plant which I carried home from lectures. Accidentally happening upon Paris Fashion Week, I crossed the Tuileries counter-current to a shoal of colourful and bizarrely decked out creatures - namely models, bloggers and the paparazzi dressed up to the nines. Sequins glittered, bulbs flashed and photographers ducked to avoid me, my blue jeans, dunlop trainers and my plastic-bagged pot plant.

Photo credit to hipparis.com

 No matter - I engaged in my own private photo-shoot, over-excitedly snapping pictures of my tiny room transformed into Paris' smallest new pop-up restaurant, where the maître-d' has to sit on her own bed for lack of chairs. Rachel Khoo, eat your heart out.

          

 Finally, jittery with excitement, I went to get two of my favourite people from the local metro station. 

They oohed and aahed appreciatively at my shoddy guided-tour on the way home: "This is an important building, I don't know what it is". 

Brother and sister

Back at mine, it was chorizo rolls from Besniers the bakers, and pâtisseries followed by Madmen.

Chocolate maccaron, Tarte aux Grandmères, Frangipane

More adventures soon!
À Bientôt !
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Paris from my Phone

I can't wait to tell you about my weekend, but I'm holding back!

 I'm waiting for my sister to send me all the lovely photos she's taken...when I post about our little Parisian adventure I want show you only the creme-de-la-creme of photographic evidence! 

So until then, here are some more recently enjoyed things :)

À Bientôt !

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Sneak Peak!

 I've been having the best time with two of my favourite people - 

(My brother & sister came to visit me this weekend to celebrate my 21st birthday)!

Little decorations to make the place feel welcoming. 

A little weary after catching the evening Eurostar.

Stay tuned for lots of photos, escapades and news about their little Paris holiday, coming soon to a computer screen near you! 

À Bientôt !

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Visit from Home

Today I was spoilt with a lovely visit from my Dad who had been working in Paris for the day. He brought over some things I'd had to leave at home, like these posters from Clinton Cards & some kitchenware including a tray that my Mum snapped up in a charity shop to create more of a work surface in my tiny kitchen – savvy huh?

 

 
I particularly like the map poster because it's a cute way to help me to get a bearing on where things are, like Saint Sulpice (made famous by the Da Vinci code) which I stumbled across today after swimming (N.B. I discovered that swimming is not always free in Île-de-France despite my hopes – I think the till was broken before but at €1.70 I can't complain!)

The 7ième arrondissement

Another cute poster with vintage luggage labels

I also came across a rather lovely vintage Chanel boutique which I can in no way afford but would like to visit, and a Swedish shop selling the most adorable Christmas jumpers & granddad cardigans. Neville Longbottom, eat your heart out:

Dad & I went to this great restaurant called Pasco not too far from where I live. I had a steak cooked 'à point' or medium – which translated into French means still bloody. I wouldn't like to think what their 'saignant' or 'bleu' steaks look like! Here's a chart for anyone interested. It came with amazing 'riz sauvage' (wild rice) and a red wine sauce. Dad had a shepherd's pie made with duck meat.

The piece-de resistance as far as I'm concerned was the 'profiterole Pasco', crunchy choux pastry sandwiching scoops of ice-cream and a pot of chocolate sauce to drizzle. Dad was very excited about his dessert which was some kind of cheese.

So heavenly!!

The restaurant filled up nicely with locals so there was a nice laid-back atmosphere.

At €24 each, for a main and dessert, I felt this wasn't bad – pretty typical prices in my area of Paris. Considering the location of the restaurant and the service we were given, with a free bread basket and olives already on our table, we had a great meal and I would definitely return:

After a lovely time with my Dad, I can't wait until my brother & sister visit this week-end!

À Bientôt !

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New Lessons, New Goals

An update on things to achieve as I start lessons at The Sorbonne. Let's see how many I'll have crossed off in a few weeks' time! 

À Bientôt !

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Les Cours Commencent...

Lectures began today & I had an easy start with just one lecture at 12.00-13.00. After getting my Learning Agreement signed (Year Abroaders will feel my pain), I met two friends & passed on their share of the brownie we'd made at the weekend. 

Seriously good :)

It's cookie on the bottom, oreo in the middle & brownie on top. Recipe nicked from 'The Londoner' blog.

Left-hand photo nicked from co-chef from her amazing Tumblr - 'A Ford Abroad'.

Seriously good stuff & easy to make!

Brownies safely delivered, I headed to 'Malesherbes' for my first lecture! I wore a subtly British icon on my t-shirt (I jest!), so as to attract true Brits who might be anxiously waiting outside. I thought the French might not recognise Paddington Bear either - I didn't want my outfit to scream 'ERASMUS STUDENT!!".

                   First day of university outfit :)               Pleased with my first Paris buy

 

Paddington Bear top from Pull&Bear v.s. a patterned Promod jumper 

Enough of my face! It was finally sunny so I took myself to the local park & read in the sun. Glamour was only 80centimes - might have some words with England r.e. their R.R.P! 

 Met a friend on the way home – I know how he felt!

The best things in life are free :)

À Bientôt !

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Week Two Fun

I have now been in Paris for two weeks and three days, & thought it was high time for an update on the optimistic list of goals I set myself. Somehow without trying too much, I had managed to check off more than I had realised! It must be living in this amazing city where there are treasures to discover on the coin de chaque rue !

A Cultural Festival / Event - Check!

Last weekend, on the 14th and 15th September, Paris held a brilliant event called the 'Journee du Patrimoine'. Paris' offices, embassies, museums and government buildings are opened to the public, for free or a reduced rate. I eagerly sent off a list to my friends - including The Elysee Palace and the Observatoire. At 3pm, waiting outside a Metro station & engaged in a chat with a friendly policeman, he told me that the queue to see Monsieur Le President's office was 4 hours long & we should have begun queueing at 6.00am! Instead, we aimlessly wandered up the Champs-Elysees & joined the queue for The Lido, Paris' famous Cabaret. Not knowing what to expect, The Lido was slightly insalubrious, very glitzy & glamorous. A show with dinner is several hundred euros, so this was the only time I'd set foot inside.

It was not the most culturally inspiring moment I'll admit, and I would have rather gone to the Elysee Palace. But seeing the costumes was fun & it was very Moulin Rouge. An experience to be sure!

Church, cinema & swimming pool - check! 

If you are looking for a church, I can't recommend enough 'Paris-Nation' and 'Paris-Villiers'. I spoke lots of French & had the warmest welcome! I've already spoken about the swimming pool - check out my post 'Dipping my Toes'. The less said the better about 'Tirez la langue, mademoiselle', a thoroughly underwhelming film...nonetheless if you're interested, here's the trailer:

Still to achieve are the more profound goals like feeling right at home. Sadly I seem to be more often the brunt of jokes rather than cracking them myself! I still feel like this (all credit to the brilliant Humans of New York Blog):

New goals to set & achieve soon, classes start on Monday - lots to do!

À Bientôt !

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Paris from my Phone

À Bientôt !

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Le Bon Marché

Thursday was my chance to visit the Sorbonne's History of Art Department on the Rue Michelet. Whilst I didn't sign up for any lessons, I did enjoy taking a peak around the building which had old statues and sculptures tucked into every nook & cranny. If the timetabling wasn't such a nightmare, I would have loved to take their 20^th and 21^st Century Art Module!

L'Histoire de l'Art at the Sorbonne

I ambitiously decided to walk back via Le Bon Marche, having been tipped off that the store had some rather yummy macarons in their 'Grande Épicerie'.

Obviously this is not the whole way back to mine (even I am not that trusting) – but the whole walk was nearly 5km. Exhausted, I sat outside Les Invalides, contemplated my sore feet & tucked gladly into a chocolate macaron. For someone who claimed not to be a fan, this was pretty good & more reasonably priced than the outrageous day-light robbery that is a standard €3 a piece price tag in some stores. At €1.66 I still think this is a pretty luxurious snack - but you can't come to Paris & not try one!

                 

Le Bon Marche is perhaps lesser known than Les Galeries Lafayette & Printemps near Madeleine, but I think much nicer. The atmosphere is quieter & more refined, sort of hushed. I happily browsed the Papeterie department & a Sales Assistant came over to chat about Moleskine Diaries & my studies. I liked her a lot because she kindly told me my French was good! She also informed me that Le Bon Marche was celebrating 160 years this year, & that the amazing roof had been designed on advice from Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame. Pretty cool! 

I had never heard of the store – in fact I thought it was the same as the plus-size-women's-clothes-store Bonmarche in England! Well worth a visit if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Les Galeries Lafayette & Printemps :)

Le Bon Marche magazine can be found here: 

Cute carrousel outside

 

Papeterie Department - an absolute dream!

À Bientôt !

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Paris from my Phone

And here's what I'm listening to :)

La Mer by Charles Trenet

À Bientôt !

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Dipping my Toes...

Today I braved the drizzle, (forgot my towel, headed back to my chambre-de-bonne, collected my towel), & made it to the swimming pool.

I'd promised myself that I would get into some kind of regular exercise routine, and buying a new swimming costume (it's not quite as bright as this in real life!) was the guarantee that I would have to get my money's worth in the pool!

At a 15 or so minute walk away, I picked a municipal pool which promised it would only be a €3 swim at the full rate, and about €1.70 for a student in Paris - one just off the rather lovely street of Le Boulevard St. Germain in the hope that the pool might be a little nicer! 

In the grey rain, I walked past two famous cafes, Les Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore which I've seen already on postcards during my compulsive browsing of papeterie shops & newspaper stands for cards to send home! Wikipedia does a better job of detailing the historical importance of this boulevard, but after my philosophy studies I was happy to see a square named after Sartre and De Beauvoir (this Haussmannian street was the centre of left-bank life and Existentialist thought - De Beauvour, Sartre, Hemingway & other literary heavy-weights frequented these cafes).

 

The swimming pool was great! The water wasn't too cold, the staff not too bemused when I asked if it was obligatory to wear a swim cap & then blurted out: “this is completely new to me, I'm English!”. After a shortish swim, I exited & the increasingly bemused staff told me that the swim was free. As to whether it was free simply for me, or free in general, I am still none the wiser.

I wandered back after a brief browsing round some 'librairies', 'papeteries' and Gap. The road has some lovely shops, from Emporio Armani to children's toy shops - so check them out if you have the chance.

Delighted with my new discovery!

More about the Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots when I (hopefully) pay them a visit!

À Bientôt! 

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The Rentrée

"The Return". I read a newspaper article that rightly pointed out how ominous the same name sounds in English. "La Rentree" however, sums up that annual shifting back into gear come September which isn't quite captured in our phrase "Back To School" which conjures up images of patent leather shoes with frilly white ankle socks and sharpened pencils. 


"La Rentree" encompasses kids, office workers, and you got it - students! So today I dutifully navigated the Metro & was rewarded by my first venture inside the Sorbonne & a student card.


Getting on at the Musee d'Orsay station and off outside Notre-Dame is really quite amazing - two sites in one day without even trying :) 

We went into the most beautiful lecture hall I have ever seen, with statues of famous philosophers in the four corners and a giant fresco behind the lectern. I don't think my classes will be here but it's not a bad introduction to the university!

This picture doesn't convey it but it's the best I got!

I met loads of English students (so many from UCL!) and a group of us went for lunch at a local cafe where I finally ate something authentically French! Croque-Monsieurs are the best on a rainy day!

This picture doesn't convey it but it's the best I got!

Just hunkering down inside because the weather ain't pretty, and at 19.00 this evening is the Gatsby Party at the Shakespeare and Co Bookstore - let's hope the rain eases off!

À Bientôt!

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