Dreaming of summer days

Wandering along the Seine wrapped up in a fur coat and mittens munching on a warm pain-au-chocolat should be romantic and beautifully elegant, as portrayed in films, however I find that winter brings runny noses, freezing fingers and horrific windswept hairstyles. Paris is beautiful in the winter but I have come to realise that it is much better to experience this from inside a warm roof-top apartment or huddled in a cafe repeatedly ordering chocolat chaud. I therefore have decided to remember warmer summer days whilst refusing to acknowledged the rain storm and blizzard going on behind me. It's all very well coming to Paris and viewing the Tour Eiffel and the Arch the Triomphe but as far as seeing the real Paris I find that it is by joining in French celebrations and exploring the city's traditions that I begin to feel like Paris has become my home. My first experience of this was La Nuit Blanche 2012, an annual, all-night art festival during which museums, galleries and cinemas open their doors all night and special exhibitions and instillations pop-up all over the city. My friends and I started outside the Hotel de Ville and wandered to the Centre Pompidou where there was an electro-band playing from the roof, turning the square below into a dance floor. Following the course of the Seine we came across street Jazz bands, huge screens projecting films and an outdoor cinema with deck chairs for seats. The most exciting things about La Nuit Blanche is feeling that for one night everywhere is Paris is open, areas that are usually dead become party squares and locked buildings allow you unprecedented access. At about 2am we found ourselves sitting in a basement of a building in the centre of Paris watching an artistic film on a gigantic screen. However,  the highlight of my night was finding a tiny little installation under the Pont Alexandre III by following some dubious looking arrows into a cave under the depths of the Seine. Wandering around this beautiful city, without bumping into map-checking tourists and seeing the buildings and streets come alive with music and activity really highlighted Paris at its most exciting and I feel very lucky to have been part of La Nuit Blanche 2012!

Mood- Cultured 

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Les fleurs les plus belles du monde (Edmond Rostard)

Despite this blog post being two months into my time in Paris, it is about a shop that I came across on my first day in the city. Moving house is a stressful experience, however moving cities is exciting. The blank slate is intriguing, ready to be decorated with alluring places and discoveries. I started this process  from the get go and like to think of it as my alternative map of Paris. Forget the metro map, tourist boards and guide books, I decided to view Paris as a print of my favourite places, beautiful views, exquisite shops and intriguing sites. Therefore, I consider "Julian" on Boulevard Le Tour Malbourg as the first illustration on my personal Parisian map. It sounds ridiculous but spotting this shop on my first walk around my new arrondissement was the first indication that I had that Paris would become my home, a place where I felt welcomed and settled. Its hard not to fall in love with such a beautiful place. Julian was opened four generations ago and has continued to be a thriving family business in the heart of Paris, a rare find in most cities that are overcome with department stores, chains and franchises. This city really cherishes it independent boutiques and it fills me with love that Parisians still support their local businesses by purchasing their food from artisan and specialist food shops, bread from patisseries, clothes from boutiques, perfume from parfumeries etc etc etc. In fact, in French there is a word for just about every type of trade and trader and the word "magasin," inferring one shop for all, is almost treated like a dirty word. Except of course when talking about Printemps and Galleries Lafayette, in which case you are excused. It is not difficult to embrace this love of the independent for the idea contains in itself a love for the special and unique, with each purchase warming your heart slightly.

Mood - in the mood to visit the patisserie!

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These are a few of my favourite things

So recently a wave of happiness has overcome me, not that i'm usually unhappy, but little moments have recently warmed my heart triggered a little smile. 

There really is nothing better than catching up with old, and new friends, over a steaming hot chocolate in a warm cafe with steaming windows while it is raining outside. I believe nothing could make me happier.....until we progressed onto wine. 

Buskers on the metro are a common sight in Paris, however what is not common is people appreciating the music and taking time out of their rushing and dashing to actually listen and not just hear the music. I smiled a little smile today when I rushed past a violinist coming off the metro and noticed a man sat on the steps watching and listening intently, enjoying and appreciating the music. I, in turn, appreciated how special this little moment of unusualness amongst the ordinary touched my heart and re-instilled my faith in art and humanity. 

The view from my window never fails to make me smile, bathed in a warm red light from the restaurant opposite and accompanied by the background blur of the street's evening noise there really is nothing pleasanter than throwing open the shutters and absorbing the pace of the city at night. 

Mood- Warmed

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A series of unfortunate events

1) Bank closes between 11-2.30, I have classes 11-2.30 so unable to collect my bank card. Have now worked out why getting a French bank account takes months...

2) Professors and course co-ordinators find it amusing and completely logical to write the wrong number of credits in the hand-book to mess up your timetable, planning and classes.

3) French ballet lessons are painful....but excellent (this could be a fortunate event, i'm still in too much pain to think objectively).

4) Paris is cold, rainy and windy in October, which would be terribly artistic and romantic apart from the fact that I only own ballet pumps and summer tops.

5) Croissants for breakfast are making me fat and poor.

6) In order to have a Metro card, one must prove their identity, not with one, nor two pieces of identification but three as well as having proof that they live in Paris (seriously France....just to use your trains?)

7) Being handed a leaflet by the French society of students commanding you to fight back over the increase in French university fees from €150 to €200 per year makes you remember your building student loan and overdraft. At the same time, ripping the leaflet up and laughing at the sheer audacity of the rise in front of a group of outraged french students doesn't help you make any friends.

However, despite this series of unfortunate events, Paris remains marvellous and my freshly baked and still warm baguette today was enough to dispel any animosity I was feeling......until the fun all starts again tomorrow! 

Mood- So ready this time, bring it on France! 

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Home sweet home

One of the best things about this fantastic city is that the surroundings become your home and your back garden. Even though I have down-sized on my living space I feel like I have gained a whole city. The boulevards have become my corridors, the pretty squares my bedroom and the cafes my kitchen. The city defines the well known saying "the world is my oyster", Paris has become my home, physically and metaphorically. So here are a few pictures of my back garden and my new home. 

Mood - settled

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Une, deux, trois

 There is something about ballet that makes it almost synonymous with Paris, buying ones first pair of ballet shoes is a right of passage here and every little girl is this city skips to their ballet class after école. Although buying my first pair of shoes is now a distant memory, it seems that it will be an equally important step in my Parisian journey. So I stepped out to buy my (almost) first pair of shoes, to where else but Repetto. Repetto is a Parisian brand that was founded in the same shop that it still can be found today, on Rue de la Paix and is infamous for its elegant and elaborate window displays. Row upon row of rose pink point shoes and tutus hanging from the ceiling are enough to make anybody's heart flutter, but the theatre-style velvet curtains and golden ballet bar transform this ballet shop into a little piece of dancers heaven. A far cry from the cupboard sized space, crammed full of leotards and smelling of feet that I have become accustomed to in England. Repetto is famed for its artisanship, not just of ballet shoes but also of beautiful leather pumps and boots, which make this boutique a haven for fashionistas as well as ballerinas. Impeccable customer service by poised, young professional dancers turn this shop into an experience and an adventure. I carefully selected my pair of ballet shoes that were then wrapped in pink tissue paper and put into a special little box with a ribbon; pure satisfaction. Shoes here are not cheap but are exquisitely made and possessing a pair is a bit like being given magic powers that suddenly make you dance beautifully, or so I hope. What is clear, however, is that each customer, however old or young, leaves this shop feeling slightly enchanted by the beauty of ballet and motivated by the love that goes into crafting each individual shoe. Needless to say, I cannot wait to start dancing. 

Mood- On my tippy-toes excited

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Comment on peut être une vraie parisienne?

Annick Goutal's beautiful perfume shop can be found tucked away on Rue de Bellechasse (7eme), in the same shop since its foundation in 1980. Each perfume is individually created to have its own character and personality that is in perfect harmony with that of its wearer. Annick Goutal secured its place as a luxury perfume house through a collaboration with Baccarat crystal, evident in the elaborate, pastel perfume bottles. Today the shop has been passed down to Goutal's daughter who continues to employ the original principles of decadence and impeccable quality in the production of each product. However, the real beauty of this boutique lies in the detail, rather than the perfume, as the intricate bottles, gold toppers and chiffon bows seduce every woman and little girl that passes by the window.

Mood - Charmed

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Paris Quirks

Today was a beautiful day in the city, all the Parisians were returning to work after a sunny and relaxing weekend and the streets were nicely empty to allow me to wander at my leisure. I managed to sort out my bank account after three trips to the bank and three hours. French bureaucracy leaves a lot to be desired at the best of times, but after being told that my housing contract was not sufficient proof that I lived in Paris I was about ready to cry, tear my hair out and run towards the nearest train station! However, a visit to my fantastically patient, good-natured and funny estate agent soon remedied this frustration. (Apparently in GB a pleasant estate agent is impossible to find, but in France the situation seems quite the opposite.) Jaques, the agent, has a fantastic sense of humour, and even through our linguistic barrier he manages to make me laugh. But nothing prepared me for today and the moment that he pulled out an ancient typewriter with which he used to write my letter to the bank. After realising that he was not joking, this time, I realised I had a silent appreciation for his refusal to accept modern advancements and for being a fantastically-pleasing French eccentric. It is moments like this that make me realise how truly lucky I am to be in one the the most beautiful and also quirky cities in the world.

Mood - Satisfied

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Live the language - Paris

Today I stumbled across this beautiful video. Enjoy 

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Quai Branly

The Musée du Quai Branly can only be compared to Central Park in NY, for the reason that a busy, bustling city is lost for a few moments as you wander through a calm and green garden that shields the infrastructure of the city from view. The museum garden also provides an interesting paradox between urban and rural, blending asian influences with modern, sleek design. In particular, the use of light tubes creates an explosion of colour on the underside of the metal bridge and the space-like pod surprisingly complements the uniqueness of this garden. I think I will return at night sometime. 

Paris looks increasingly beautiful as night falls, with dusk lingering long enough to reflect warm hues off the sandy coloured buildings and in many cases casts dramatic silhouettes and shadows surrounding the cities most prominent landmarks. 

Mood - Welcomed 

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You can take the girl out of Britain but you can't take the British out of the girl!

The countdown is on, the clock is ticking and the days are passing faster that I would hope. Everything is becoming real and today the first realisation of what is to unfold hit me. I am beginning to understand that Brits are born with a feeling, a sentiment, an understanding so strong and inherent that until it is called upon we are not even sure we possess it. This is called 'a stiff upper lip'. Of course, we feel emotions fully, but we are conditioned, not by nurture and training, but by genetics, to not fully explore and understand these sentiments but rather meekly acknowledge and brush over them, presenting a rigid outer layer. Much like the way us Brits politely shake a strangers hand instead of engaging in a more tactile European greeting, we touch upon our inner thoughts and emotions but never fully welcome them into ourselves fully. Perhaps I should welcome my 'stiff upper lip' and be thankful that I can part without tears, tantrums and over-exaggerated displays of feeling. However, maybe I should learn a lesson from our more accommodating and passionate Europeans, and engage and delight in a new found emotional reaction that is more real; more authentic.

Mood- Curious (with a wavering 'stiff upper lip')

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Reality/ Ordinary

Its not everyday that a person comes along who opens up the world to you in a new light, revealing the beauty of the mundane, the potential in the forgotten and the magic in the ordinary. When simple things become enchanting a new perspective is born and new possibilities are founded. It is in fact the unveiling of a new world, through fresh and untainted eyes.

Something so simple becomes deeply entrenched in unknown and exciting meanings, a familiar situation becomes enchanting and enticing and ordinary things become something to pay attention to, worth noticing and enjoying. Moments take on a greater meaning and life becomes significant.

This perspective is refreshing and illuminating and it is, I believe, a good perspective to have.

Mood - At peace

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Taking the plunge

I should probably make it clear that I am not yet in Paris. Rather, I am in the process of organising my year in Paris and part of this has been venturing, nervously, into the daunting world of blogging. In many senses blogging, for me, is infinitely more difficult and terrifying that actually venturing to Paris itself. However, I have decided to take the plunge by masquerading as a person with something vaguely interesting, unique and profound to say over the next year. I don't pretend however to be a writer, instead I am simply someone who has something to say. And so, with these intentions......I begin, 

I plan to outline my year in the unknown, in one of the most beautiful, historic, timeless, romantic and intriguing cities in the world. I hope to be sucked into a world of culture, art, music, good food, friendship and love. I have always envisaged myself as being instantaneously transformed in Paris into a sophisticated woman with good taste, intellect and knowledge. However, so far in life I have stumbled along and therefore I don't pretend that my experience in France will be any different. But, I do hope that during my brief spell in Paris I will become immersed in every aspect of Parisian life and culture and in some respects, if not all, become the girl in the films, springing along the Seine, enlightened by the amazing city around her. 

I plan to find the best restaurants, the prettiest shady spots in parks, the tastiest ice creams, the most unique boutiques, authentic markets, hidden alleys, fine wine, dingy jazz clubs, the friendliest locals, the quirky museums, the unknown historical locations and most importantly, I hope to find myself. 

It is with these desires that I commence my Parisian adventure. 

Mood- Optimistic

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