May is a crazy month in Paris. With over 5 bank holidays scattered throughout, not much is accomplished at school or work. With the crowning of the new president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, Paris has been buzzing with political fever and excitement mixed with a little bit of unrest. Admittedly, I was very naive of the politics in France, but it’s hard to escape living in Paris as everyone seems to be talking about it. A few weeks ago as I was sipping my usual café crème on Rue Cler, an older gentleman walked by and stopped to say ‘Bonjour Madame’ and shake my hand. Very friendly, I thought. Then another gentleman walks by a few minutes later, again shakes my hand and charmingly says, ‘Bonjour Madame’. No idea who these men were I thought I must be prime prey for older gents seeking mistresses that day. Then I noticed many photographers and press people about and asked the ladies next to me who he was,. ‘Bayrou, third in line for presidency!!’ they replied. Oh la la, even old politicians are sexy and tres charming in France, let’s hope Sarkozy is also, though there remains to be many undecided about him.
The Cannes Film Festival is currently on and there is a fab exhibit in Le Bon Marche of black and white photographs from the previous years. Set in a mock up theatre, there is a large photo of the winner from each year atop a red velvet cinema chair. It is the 60th anniversary of Cannes this year so I’m sure it’s a cracker. Sadly, we are unable to join the celebs down south as we are not heading there until mid-July. Prochaine annee peut-etre?
We are also preparing for Sam’s first school trip away from home. The first week of June Sam will be at Pony Camp for 5 days (4 nights!!) The French encourage independence from a very young age, and we were very wary of it at first. But after a school meeting and numerous chats with other parents, we’ve given Sam the choice and he wants to go. He has to look after his own special pony for a week, water, walk, brush and feed it, plus numerous other activities in what looks like a fantastic camp. My greatest fear is my little boy coming back all grown up, or wanting a pony as a pet instead of a dog. It’s time to loosen the apron strings and let him go, his little sister will be in mourning for his absence.
Alors, our French adventures continue and we are definitely enjoying it more. The French live and breathe the Pleasure Principle more than any other nation, and we are getting a bit too used to it!
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Gnomes at the Louvre
Taking a midnight stroll through the Louvre is truly spectacular. Everything in Paris should be seen during the day and at night, both perspectives offer so much in different ways, and there is something even more romantic about the city at night (if that’s possible). However, it’s not just romantic for us dreamy eyed married lovers walking amongst the maze of hedges leading on to the Tuilieries, it’s also the playground for gay garden gnomes apparently, who seemed to be popping out of the bushes at every turn as we walked by, no doubt excited about the loud British male voices they were hearing. UK’s version of Hampstead Heath, the gardens facing the pyramid at night are full of ‘cottagers’ looking for ‘lurve’ at the Louvre. We dared our male companions to go in but they only provided a wee bit of mincing for their Louvre lovers who obviously missed out on a quality bit of English Roast beef (with a condom to avoid mad cow disease bien sur).
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Lovin' The Loire
The pleasant chirps of birds singing, soft wind blowing through the leaves, the gentle whirr of the pool’s motor with the odd, distant grunt of a tractor nearby…….We have traded the constant din of car horns honking, blaring ambulance sirens, and foreign French chatter for the blissful quiet of the Loire countryside. How much more you appreciate the simple things in life when you’re surrounded by chaos most of the time. Staying in a freshly decorated small farmhouse near Descartes (where the famous philosopher lived), we have adopted the local Labrador Tiggy, are picking fresh strawberries every morning from the garden, and are poolside every glimpse of sunshine we get (which sadly, is not often). A much needed escape from city life, we are visiting chateaux and drinking copious amounts of local wine to get us through the week, such a trial! Although the children are more excited about the dog than the castles, they are also enjoying having a house with a garden and a pool, even if they don’t get to swim in it.
Another castle visit to Chateau Chenonceau, the most famous of the Loire Valley. A ‘floating castle’, it is built as a bridge over the water, with beautiful gardens on either side. One can only imagine the types of parties that went on here. Built in the 16th century much of its original décor remains, and it is decadence beyond extravagant. The French King Henri II owned the chateau and gave it to his mistress. When he was killed his widow ordered the mistress to give it back to her, though she very graciously offered her another chateau down the road, how very diplomatic of her! Could you ever imagine Posh offering Madame Loos Beckinghim Palace following Becks demise after doing too many lines in LA.???
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Not Brave Enough For Bikes.....yet
A Chanel model mom, a famous Belgian singer, a former covergirl model, these are the women I encounter on the school run. Correction, I rarely encounter them personally, but usually see their children with the foreign nanny getting dropped off or picked up, but when these women do appear they cannot be missed. With other moms either driving Jaguars to school, getting dropped off while their drivers wait for them, or arriving on the most amazing display of bikes ranging from full chariots to triple seaters, I feel quite humble as I get off the No. 80 bus. You can see why I get a little bit of satisfaction driving the car to school once in a while, just to prove I’m not a complete peasant.
Back to bikes - I do have great admiration for these women, driving their children around on these grand apparatuses in the dangerous streets, something you wouldn’t catch me doing, more for my lack of balance in coordinating such units. The looks my girlfriend receives as she bikes down Rue Cler with her amazing chariot are priceless, everything from wonderment to disgust to laughter. It truly does resemble a modern chariot with a 3 wheeled wagon compartment complete with pink detail. She can fit up to three children in there and pedal them around like a modern Mary Poppins, across the Champ de Mars, back to her beautiful ground floor flat (with garden!) virtually underneath the Eiffel Tower.
The French, however, generally don’t like ground floor flats. More for personal taste and status rather than security (they are obviously the easiest ones to break into), they see it as the higher up you live, the higher class you are. And obviously if you’re at the highest level you can have a rooftop garden (can you see a theme running here of child unfriendly places in this city???)
As we drive past the Eiffel Tower every day on the way to school, the view never gets tired. The children are always excited to see it whether half visible in the morning fog or in all its glittering glory at night, it is always impressive, magnificently tall and proud with hordes of people underneath at any time of day. Not something to ever take for granted, it is one of the finest landmarks in the world, and best of all, when we see it looming up, we know we’re close to home. The park in Champ de Mars has become our after school hangout, where they usually have a ride on the carrousel with the crazy Frenchman who insists I ride one of the tiny chevals, not a chance monsieur!
Back to bikes - I do have great admiration for these women, driving their children around on these grand apparatuses in the dangerous streets, something you wouldn’t catch me doing, more for my lack of balance in coordinating such units. The looks my girlfriend receives as she bikes down Rue Cler with her amazing chariot are priceless, everything from wonderment to disgust to laughter. It truly does resemble a modern chariot with a 3 wheeled wagon compartment complete with pink detail. She can fit up to three children in there and pedal them around like a modern Mary Poppins, across the Champ de Mars, back to her beautiful ground floor flat (with garden!) virtually underneath the Eiffel Tower.
The French, however, generally don’t like ground floor flats. More for personal taste and status rather than security (they are obviously the easiest ones to break into), they see it as the higher up you live, the higher class you are. And obviously if you’re at the highest level you can have a rooftop garden (can you see a theme running here of child unfriendly places in this city???)
As we drive past the Eiffel Tower every day on the way to school, the view never gets tired. The children are always excited to see it whether half visible in the morning fog or in all its glittering glory at night, it is always impressive, magnificently tall and proud with hordes of people underneath at any time of day. Not something to ever take for granted, it is one of the finest landmarks in the world, and best of all, when we see it looming up, we know we’re close to home. The park in Champ de Mars has become our after school hangout, where they usually have a ride on the carrousel with the crazy Frenchman who insists I ride one of the tiny chevals, not a chance monsieur!
Sunday, 25 March 2007
More French Progress
French progress - Finally having some daily chit chat with the Parisians is very satisfying. I don’t always understand everything, but catch just enough to respond with a ‘Pour quoi?’ or ‘Bien sur!’ Although customer service in most shops is appalling (usually from the women), the male ‘vendeurs’ are more friendly and forgiving of your bad French, a real treat to chat with. They may be fromagers, bouchers, or poissonniers, but they all have a passion and respect for food and take great care in helping you choose your product with helpful advice on how to store it and cook it. I love this banter with them, get a thrill of understanding a few words and being able to reply simply but correctly. They seem to appreciate the effort being made, and the ‘Bonjournee Madame’ makes my day.
Loving Ruby’s interpretation of the language at the moment. A lot of ‘Mommy, know what so-and-so is in French? It’s…..basically the English word with a long ‘aaaah’ on the end, for example chocolate is ‘choclaaaa’. Then when she comes out with her ‘oh la la’s, and ‘voila’s’ I can’t help but crack up. The other day she lost a ticket for the carousel as we were messing about on the bed, then a few minutes later I hear her say, ‘Ah, voila!’ as she pulled the ticket out of her knickers. A right little madame she’s turning into, or ‘mademoiselle’ should I say.
Sam’s accent has surpassed both Tom and mine’s in accuracy, he can spit out his French ‘r’s’ with more authenticity than we’ll ever have, and often corrects us when we don’t do it properly.
Loving Ruby’s interpretation of the language at the moment. A lot of ‘Mommy, know what so-and-so is in French? It’s…..basically the English word with a long ‘aaaah’ on the end, for example chocolate is ‘choclaaaa’. Then when she comes out with her ‘oh la la’s, and ‘voila’s’ I can’t help but crack up. The other day she lost a ticket for the carousel as we were messing about on the bed, then a few minutes later I hear her say, ‘Ah, voila!’ as she pulled the ticket out of her knickers. A right little madame she’s turning into, or ‘mademoiselle’ should I say.
Sam’s accent has surpassed both Tom and mine’s in accuracy, he can spit out his French ‘r’s’ with more authenticity than we’ll ever have, and often corrects us when we don’t do it properly.
Friday, 23 March 2007
The Charm of The Champs Elysee
Tom and I have decided to make a concerted effort to get a babysitter every Saturday night and go out. What’s the point of living in Paris if you stay in your flat watching Jack Bauer every night (much as we love him)? Our latest escapade was to the Champs Elysee area for dinner and drinks.
The Champs Elysee is always entertaining. As touristy as the street is, I love everything about it. You have designer shops such as Louis Vitton’s empire with the most amazing window displays, massive Virgin Megastore to spend hours in, a huge Renault dealership with racing cars in the window. The choice of cafes and restaurants are endless, all at a ridiculous price. It is, of course, the ultimate street to people watch, so paying up to 7.50 euros for a coffee almost makes it worth it, to savour the coffee and watch the array of bouffant hair and huge sunglasses walk by, usually accompanied by a lot of fur either on themselves or walking beside them. There’s also quite a lot of filming going on, I walked right into what looked like a filming of a commercial, with a cheesy looking French couple singing a song and twirling around a lamppost. I tried very hard to stay in the background maybe appear as an ‘extra’ but was told almost politely to ‘get lost’ in French. Sadly, still no Olivier to be seen L.
One very cool place right at the end of Champs Elysee near the Arc de Triomphe is called ‘Drugstore Republic’. It’s open 24 hours and is a very trendy food/epicerie shop combined with funky gifts, jewellery, books, magazines, boulangerie, pharmacy (of course). Also inside is a brasserie which turns into a late night hotspot. I’ve been there for coffee in the morning in the conservatory with an Arc view, and around the bar at night sipping cocktails, always fun place to be.
A waitress told us there is a restaurant in Paris called 'Dans le Noir' where you eat completely in the dark and are served by the blind. You choose your meal before you go inside, then are seated in complete blackness and served delicious food and wine, left to savour the true taste of the food without all the other distractions. Sounds like quite the experience.
The Champs Elysee is always entertaining. As touristy as the street is, I love everything about it. You have designer shops such as Louis Vitton’s empire with the most amazing window displays, massive Virgin Megastore to spend hours in, a huge Renault dealership with racing cars in the window. The choice of cafes and restaurants are endless, all at a ridiculous price. It is, of course, the ultimate street to people watch, so paying up to 7.50 euros for a coffee almost makes it worth it, to savour the coffee and watch the array of bouffant hair and huge sunglasses walk by, usually accompanied by a lot of fur either on themselves or walking beside them. There’s also quite a lot of filming going on, I walked right into what looked like a filming of a commercial, with a cheesy looking French couple singing a song and twirling around a lamppost. I tried very hard to stay in the background maybe appear as an ‘extra’ but was told almost politely to ‘get lost’ in French. Sadly, still no Olivier to be seen L.
One very cool place right at the end of Champs Elysee near the Arc de Triomphe is called ‘Drugstore Republic’. It’s open 24 hours and is a very trendy food/epicerie shop combined with funky gifts, jewellery, books, magazines, boulangerie, pharmacy (of course). Also inside is a brasserie which turns into a late night hotspot. I’ve been there for coffee in the morning in the conservatory with an Arc view, and around the bar at night sipping cocktails, always fun place to be.
A waitress told us there is a restaurant in Paris called 'Dans le Noir' where you eat completely in the dark and are served by the blind. You choose your meal before you go inside, then are seated in complete blackness and served delicious food and wine, left to savour the true taste of the food without all the other distractions. Sounds like quite the experience.
Saturday, 10 March 2007
Fashion, Celebrities, and Champagne by the Pool...
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.
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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