So, to pick up where I left off (Part 1 here) with regards to the previous weekend, Sunday last dawned bright and sunny, another beautifully-blue-skied-but-bitterly-cold sort of day. Our little party headed out with the intention of picking up breakfast as we went, but alas, the queue for ‘my’ boulangerie was the longest I’d seen... 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 →
A Matter Of Time
Well, it happened. It was always a matter of time really; one of those things that you hope will remain a feature of the anecdotes of others, but deep down, you know is coming for you sooner or later. It doesn’t matter what you do, or don’t do, and it certainly doesn’t matter who you... Continue Reading →
“Saturday Night Roast” Doesn’t Have The Same Ring To It (or My First Soirée)
Following my previous post about the Saturday just gone, I’m now going to jump back to the previous Saturday. You’ll have to forgive the appalling lack of chronology. So, on Saturday evening a week and a half ago, I hosted my first soirée. Admittedly, with a party of three (including myself and my “co-host”) it... Continue Reading →
Not Getting Rid Of Me That Easily, Paris
Today is a good day. Not only is it Friday, and a sunny Friday at that; today also marks four months since I started my job in Paris. This doesn’t sound like much of a milestone, I realise – but the significance of this four-month-anniversary is that it marks THE END OF JOB PROBATION. That’s... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras!
Happy Mardi Gras! And it’s certainly gotten off to a happy start – in honour of the date, my colleagues and I gathered this morning to enjoy a communal breakfast of light, sweet chouquettes and fresh brioche, one dotted with raisins, the other with chocolate chips, and both still deliciously warm from the boulangerie. Mardi... Continue Reading →
Let It Snow
Il neige!! Or at least, it did this morning: big, fluffy clumps of white flurrying past the window for a whole three hours or so. It was a beautiful sight from my sixth-floor apartment. I love the view from my windows anyway - the blue-grey rooftops and terracotta chimney pots are about as typically ‘Paris’... Continue Reading →
Not Another Paris Post (Genuinely)
I met up with my French friend earlier this week - incidentally, the sole Paris inhabitant I knew before I arrived. He’s not actually from Paris, rather he hails from Rennes in Brittany; an anchor tattooed onto his ankle represents his Breton roots. I’ve teased him more than once for being a walking cliché when... 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 →
Le Camembert
Fun fact of the day: this afternoon, I discovered that the French term for a pie chart is – wait for it – ‘un camembert’. I can’t say exactly why this amused me quite so much, but suffice to say I was suffering recurring fits of giggles for a good ten minutes or so following... Continue Reading →
