Forget the weather, the only acceptable topic of small-talk in Paris for about a fortnight now has been les grèves – aka the strikes. You don’t have to be living in France to have heard about them; it was via my family in England I first found out there’d been any kind of violence from... Continue Reading →
Oh La, La Police
At the time of beginning this post, I am sat in the "Commissariat de Police du 7e" - i.e. the police station. I specify at the time of beginning, because I'd bloody better not be here long enough to write a whole one of my novella-posts. It's pretty dingy; I can feel the slatted aluminium... Continue Reading →
Death By Tax Declaration
It’s May! Which means warmer days, greener trees, almost everyone in my phonebook’s birthday, and, if you live in France, annual tax declarations. Hurray! French forms! It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve been worrying about filing my tax declaration since I got here, 7 months ago. Actually, it’s a slight understatement, as I did my... Continue Reading →
There’s No Accounting For Taste (Airbnb No. 3)
Now, if you’ve read my earliest posts, I realise that it looks like I have completely abandoned the saga of my Quest For An Apartment and you would be forgiven for reaching that conclusion. Aha! Fooled you. Despite a two-and-a-bit-month-long digression, I have returned to my narrative to enlighten you further on the joys of... Continue Reading →
Paris vs London: Comparing Notes
Last week, I returned to England for the first time since Christmas. I got the Eurostar back, and as such, went directly from central Paris to central London within the space of a couple of hours. Inevitably, this prompted my brain to make comparisons galore between the two cities/countries and I thought I’d share a... Continue Reading →
Sunday: Day Of Rest & Uncertain Shopping Hours
I was going to continue immediately on from my previous post and I did start to write “Part 2” (which I will finish and post at some point), but it ended up featuring this massive digression in the middle (so unlike me, I know) and it got to the point where I decided that the... Continue Reading →
Tarred With The “Touristy” Brush
I want to talk about something that I’ve become particularly aware of – and thought a lot about – since moving to one of the most tourist-lauded cities in the world.* A couple of weekends ago I spent a very pleasant afternoon at the Louvre and on my day off earlier this week, I passed... Continue Reading →
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
Today I ventured out to see the great swollen beast that is the River Seine at present. I don’t know if you’ve heard about/seen it at all - it’s certainly been making the UK news judging by the number of smart remarks I’ve had from English friends and family about boats etc - but right... Continue Reading →
I Still Didn’t Want To Sleep Anyway. (Airbnb No. 1 cont.)
Having survived my first week on the new job, I found myself with a whole glorious two days of freedom stretching out in front of me, to spend at my leisure in Paris. I’d like to say I got up bright and early Saturday morning to profit from as much of the day as possible... Continue Reading →
Adventures of an Anglaise 