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 !

x

Paris from my Phone

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

La Mer by Charles Trenet

À Bientôt !

x

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! 

x

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!

x

"Yes, I live in Paris...since today"

I can't believe I'm finally here. Months of anticipation, my Mum stalking the wrong street on Google Street View and listening to Franceinfo.fr - have all come to this! I now live in Paris. Or as I told the lady in the Metro station - "Yes, I live in Paris, since today". 

Coming to terms with the move via a handy visual aid

My neighbourhood and landlady are thankfully lovely - surrounded by A LOT of Italian bistros (traditional..) and government buildings with a reassuring number of official looking uniformed French people dotted outside impressive gates. We must have walked for miles and succeeded in doing none of our tasks such as getting a mobile phone contract or setting up a bank. French bureaucracy stands firm against aching legs, pitifully incorrect French and baleful looks as we were told to come back tomorrow with all the official documentation. We did however, discover some very lovely things:

The Sorbonne University

A free chalk wall by the Seine

Les Invalides - round the corner!

I'm exhausted but I'm happy & so thankful. The sun peeped through the clouds, I spoke French, I was spoken back to in French. And I'm excited to try lots of new things over the next few weeks - like this 'Gatsby Evening' at the Shakespeare and Company Bookshop by Notre-Dame!

Can't wait to get some sleep!

À bientôt !

x

Setting My Sights

Before I hop across la Manche to begin my adventure, I decided to write a list of goals to get me out of my little Paris garret in the first few weeks & into the heart of Paris. Some are easy - like swimming which is just to hopefully kick start some kind of exercise routine, some are longer term & more wishful like making lifelong friends or becoming a little bit more fluent in French.

The idea came from my Mum who wrote a list of "50 things to do" now that she is 50 *cough* 25 years old (sorry Mum!) as a way to keep excited about life, challenging herself and discovering new things.  

As I tick one of the list I plan to add another on to make the most of my time à Paris!

So here goes :)

When the temptation to hide out in my room is strongest, I'll remind myself I have "all" the sites to visit...with some words of wisdom from Le Petit Prince:

"J'ai des amis à découvrir et beaucoup de choses à connaître"
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

À bientôt !

x

Packing...

Why do all my clothes seem to be stripy, emblazoned with French slogans or plastered with French children's book characters? Evidence A - one of many striped tops and a Petit Prince t-shirt. Just a tad embarrassing when I wouldn't in a million years dream of stepping outside in any kind of Union Jack themed outfit!


I'm leaving on Friday - the day after tomorrow and it's finally beginning to feel real!

Wish me luck...

À Bientôt ! 

x