Surreal moment today in the Louvre; we were caught in a rainy windstorm at the Tuileries and had to go inside so made our way to the underground Carousel to have our picnic. We sat down on some steps and noticed there was a ‘Semaine de Mode’ (Week of Fashion) in one of the ‘Salles’ that many people were queuing up for, and the big screen outside showed a live fashion show. Of course I couldn’t stop people watching, the almost glamorous wannabe’s in the queue and then the beautiful models coming out of it the show was enough to keep me enthralled. As I sat there with the kids eating peanut butter and jam sandwiches I watched these people come and go, most of them unbearably trendy and impossibly cool. I pondered how different life is for some people. Some of them looked at me strangely, as if a mother sitting there with 2 children having an indoor picnic was akin to aliens landing on the Louvre, some looked at me with a hint of sympathy perhaps, whilst others looked at the children in wonderment, possibly at their blonde, blue-eyed beauty and innocence in such a glamorous, sophisticated adult environment. I imagined myself in this world for a moment, teetering on high heels, wearing the latest fashion trend complete with Chanel sunglasses on my head and matching bag, standing in the queue looking important, wondering if I’ll have the foie gras or moules for lunch at The Fashion Café, when Sam wakes me from my dream with, ‘Mommy, I can burp ‘au revoir’ in French…’ and proceeds to prove it to the delight of the onlookers.
Latest piscine episode – we finally found a decent pool at the bottom of the Montparnasse Tower. As I was waiting for Tom and the kids to come out, a man that worked there started chatting to me in French. We managed to have a half decent conversation, some of which I feigned comprehension. when he asks me, ‘Tu aime champagne?’ Oui, bien sur, I said, so out he comes with a cup of fizz, soon followed by Tom and the kids who were quite surprised to see me starting my weekend alcoholic binge so early, and at the swimming pool of all places! Again, only in Paris!
Our first trip to Bois de Bolougne with our bikes and rollerblades was eventful as every family outing in Paris seems to be! We punched in the name of a road near the Bolougne, and Fay (SatNav) took us the scenic route, which led us to one of the most dreaded roundabouts in the world. As Fay politely announced for us to ‘take the 10th exit’, Tom looked at me in horror and there loomed before us the glorious Arc, and about a thousand cars whizzing around it. At the point of no return, he went for it and somehow made the right exit and drove away unscathed. Sam now thinks his daddy is a true hero.
Celebrity spotting – well, not really, but I was told that Brad and Angelina had a flat in the 15th arrondissement, they’re pictures taken in OK magazine were taken at our local Square Lambert, my weekend running haunt! Also, Olivier Martinez apparently has a flat in the Left Bank, and with recently breaking up with Kylie I may have to hunt him down and do some proper stalking….watch this space!
We’ve survived our first 6 months in Paris. Thank you to everyone for putting up with my whinging, my stories, and my basketcase rants. Things can only get better and easier from now on in, so hopefully the rants will become less and more cultured, sophisticated diary entries will follow, such as our weekly family museum visits, Ruby and Sam’s French elocution lessons, and Sunday lunches with the Pitt Family.
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