Somehow another week has gone flying by and it's time for the latest blog post. Sometimes it feels like I've just arrived here, yet when I think back to the day I pulled into the Gare du Nord, with nowhere to live, no phone, no bank account and very little familiarity of Paris - it seems like a lifetime ago!
So this week has lived up to its predecessors with lots of excitement and parties through the night! I'm already worrying about how I'm ever going to be able to leave at the end of the year...
A quiet start to the week meant that Monday centred around lunch with Zuzanna. With no plans for the morning and another gorgeous, sunny, September sky I decided to walk all the way to the 15th. It's all very well hopping onto the metro and resurfacing 15minutes later on the other side of the city, but that's not what living here is about. I want to 'know' the city, and walking all the way through it is a fantastic way of doing this. I walked past beautiful fruit markets, old men playing boules, a solitary artist capturing a moment and even witnessed a typical ridiculous Parisian car-crash, just in case the scene was getting a little too halcyon! In the afternoon I took advantage of the new 'free museums for under 26s' and got hopelessly lost in the infinite corridors and rooms of the Louvre. I tried my hardest to be artistic and intellectual turning my head in all directions to admire the 16th Century paintings, but like the sheep I try my hardest not to be, I ended up heading straight for Mona like everyone else! Perhaps due to my complete lack of artistic genes, I still fail to fully comprehend why this painting is SO much better than all the others... (In my humble opinion, it is not!)
Coming to Paris I knew nothing about the music scene and nightlife so took it upon myself to do some research. After a while looking at clubs and venues on the internet, I stumbled across a singer/songwriter called Josh Weller (www.myspace.com/joshweller if you're interested). He was playing a gig in one of the most talked about clubs in Paris (Le Baron), so killing 2 birds with 1 fairly small stone, I emailed him and got on the guestlist for Tuesday's gig. Failing miserably at the 'fashionably late' entrance we had planned, Helena and I arrived before the doors had even opened and got sent to a local bar to have a glass of wine! Nothing happens very early over here...
At midnight, Josh came onto the small stage right in front of us and performed a really great set. The combination of self-proclaimed pop music with musicals influence and a natural performing talent (plus a crazy hairstyle!) meant that it was an excellent gig and spurred us on for an evening of chatting and networking! There was no doubt that the club had an air of exclusivity about it, and the drink of choice was certainly champagne, or the infamous Baron cocktail which tasted like Woolworths to me!! (I think it's from some childhood pick 'n' mix taste!!)
Being new in the city, it's only normal that Helena and I have only a few friends each here! So ever keen to meet new people, we spent the rest of the night talking to Josh and co. (including a man we affectionately named Mr Guantanamo, who I later discovered to be one of Paris' premier music promoters...oops, now I kind of wish I didn't spend all evening talking to him about pop music, like I knew what I was rambling on about!)
The next day Helena and I met Josh and Simon for drinks in a cute but extortionate little square only 10minutes from my flat on the Rue de Rivoli. Josh even partook in a bit of meditation with a hialrious loon all for the sake of entertainment! The guys left laden down with guitars and cases to catch the Eurostar home. Half an hour later, a phone call informed me that their train had been cancelled and they were on their way back into town! Eager not to turn down a Parisian social occasion I joined them and Josh's manager for dinner in a local American diner.
It was really cool to meet them and has had 2 positive outcomes... We now have some lovely new friends who are going to keep us up to date with the Parisian music scene and the meeting has also produced a soundtrack for the week!! Josh's girlfriend Paloma Faith released her single 'New York' this week and it has (slightly irritatingly) become engrained in my brain from the first hearing and consequently has become synonymous with my Parisian partying! After the playing it's had in this flat this week it's become positively anthemic!!
The highlight of Thursday was the Sony 'after-work' party. Marie who works at Sony invited us (erasmus lot!)to go along to the event. It's a popular concept these days in Paris. The party starts at 7, and there is free flowing champagne until 9 (battle of the elbows wins the most number of free glasses - gold medal here undoubtedly is rewarded to Henri!) and then the dance floor gets going. After a seemingly full night out, lots of champagne and socialising I was home and tucked up in bed by 11pm!
Living with a club in the basement it seemed almost rude not to investigate, so on Saturday night Helena, Henri and I popped down there in the lift (after several hours of warming up with some French wine, music and chat)! Excellent news, seeing as we were already in the building, we didn't have to pay the entrance fee! Good start... However, things turned somewhat surreal when we arrived. Apparently we didn't realise that it was a gay night to celebrate the start of Paris fashion week and frankly I feel slightly traumatised by the experience and making me re-live it is slightly terrifying. Especially the bit with the completely topless, big woman walking agressively around the club who subsequently crashed out on the bench behind us. Surreal doesn't describe it...
I know that this lifestyle probably can't feasibly continue for a whole year, but I'm not in a rush to give up the parties and champagne just yet! The city seems to throw up opportunities around every corner and I'm going to make the very most of it so I can never look back at my year and regret things I didn't do. :)
Monday, 28 September 2009
Sunday, 20 September 2009
A Brush With The Lebanese Pop Elite
This week's escapades include: a chance meeting with pop's premier Lebanese star; Renault babies (for the record my favourite is Kangoo!); A cocktail-fuelled 4.30am walk through central Paris; an over-zealous attempt at gripping the German language and playing cache-cache (hide and seek) in the walk in wardrobe of an Oscar nominated actor.
Due, either to concern for my failing health, or else just getting peed off with my constant coughing, my landlady kindly left some medication for me on the table one morning. Within 36hours of taking it, my horrible cold was almost a mere memory! So, malady out of the way, it was time for a bit more exploring and consequential hilarity. On Friday, I innocently popped out to the shops and ended up strolling aimlessly down the Champs Elysées. I decided to indulge in a perousal of the CDs and DVDs in Virgin Megastore and then things went a bit mad/random. There I was looking for 'Bienvenue chez les ch'tis' (in order to prepare for the imminent trip to Bergues to consolidate the Wright-Docherty amitié) when I became aware of a lot of security beefcakes in the building. Intrigued as ever, I thought I'd enquire and they told me that Mika was coming in to do a signing. I could've nodded, smiled and then left, but with no plans for the rest of the afternoon it suddenly seemed of paramount importance that I meet him! So I bought the CD and joined the throng of Froggy Mika fans. After far too long standing in a hot, sweating mob, I had my moment with Mika himself. "What intelligent conversation did I instigate?" I hear you cry. Well, obviously I panicked and talked tea. But it was a lovely conversation about the merits of English tea nonetheless, and then he signed my CD, shook my hand and I toddled off feeling strangely satisfied by my afternoon's accomplishment! To top it off, on Sunday night he did an interview on the TF1 national news, and there was some footage from the signing in which I was visible! Yesss, my French TV debut after only a fortnight in the country!!
Keen to share my latest pop story, I met Helena and Henri on Friday night at Place Monge in the 5th arrondissement. We started off having a really sophisticated drink in a lovely square but things quickly went downhill. I think the pivotal moment was when the week's most pressing question appeared to be
"would you rather kiss someone really gorgeous with swine flu or someone really ugly without?!"
However, the real downfall was our relocation to a rowdy Irish bar - as full of character as it was full of characters....
Now there are family members reading so let's just say that over the course of the next 5 hours or so, firstly in the Irish pub and then in a basement club, a couple of beverages were consumed! Bumping into my flatmate Misha, we became a group of 4 and, in the words of HH, we "ripped up the dancefloor and showed the French how it's done!".
Talking to a pair of German guys in the club it was inevitable that I insisted on demonstrating my German prowess and hit them with my favourite line
"Ich habe meine hausaufgaben gegessen". (I have eaten my homework).
Sadly, I was quite proud of this at the time, but I don't think the Germans were!
Having no idea whatsoever how the night buses work around here we all decided to walk home. I have to admit that this part of the night (OK morning it was 4.30am) is fairly sketchy. But I do remember getting particularly excited at the sight of Notre Dame and thus bursting into song (Garou of course!) And I do believe that we all sang for most of the walk home!
Lastly, on Sunday morning I crossed the Seine to do my first stint of babysitting of the year. All I can say is that the children's father is fairly well know in France (not so much internationally!) and it was , therefore, another slightly surreal experience. An open film script on the coffee table, and a walk-in wardrobe brimming with designer labels. Alas my role for the day was to play hide and seek and star wars lego (incidently, the 6 year old told me I was "une championne du lego" maybe I can use that in future!) The boys were actually fairly sweet (as far as children go) and very well behaved so I wasn't too scared when the dad came home and asked me if I'd give them some English lessons some time!
So there we go, another week in my Parisian life gone by, and not without its fair share of laughter and the ubiquitous level of the surreal that I seem unable to shun! Unfortunately work starts on Friday and so I fear things may become less exciting soon, but hell that leaves me 4 days to find myself in more ridiculous situations... Bring it on!
Due, either to concern for my failing health, or else just getting peed off with my constant coughing, my landlady kindly left some medication for me on the table one morning. Within 36hours of taking it, my horrible cold was almost a mere memory! So, malady out of the way, it was time for a bit more exploring and consequential hilarity. On Friday, I innocently popped out to the shops and ended up strolling aimlessly down the Champs Elysées. I decided to indulge in a perousal of the CDs and DVDs in Virgin Megastore and then things went a bit mad/random. There I was looking for 'Bienvenue chez les ch'tis' (in order to prepare for the imminent trip to Bergues to consolidate the Wright-Docherty amitié) when I became aware of a lot of security beefcakes in the building. Intrigued as ever, I thought I'd enquire and they told me that Mika was coming in to do a signing. I could've nodded, smiled and then left, but with no plans for the rest of the afternoon it suddenly seemed of paramount importance that I meet him! So I bought the CD and joined the throng of Froggy Mika fans. After far too long standing in a hot, sweating mob, I had my moment with Mika himself. "What intelligent conversation did I instigate?" I hear you cry. Well, obviously I panicked and talked tea. But it was a lovely conversation about the merits of English tea nonetheless, and then he signed my CD, shook my hand and I toddled off feeling strangely satisfied by my afternoon's accomplishment! To top it off, on Sunday night he did an interview on the TF1 national news, and there was some footage from the signing in which I was visible! Yesss, my French TV debut after only a fortnight in the country!!
Keen to share my latest pop story, I met Helena and Henri on Friday night at Place Monge in the 5th arrondissement. We started off having a really sophisticated drink in a lovely square but things quickly went downhill. I think the pivotal moment was when the week's most pressing question appeared to be
"would you rather kiss someone really gorgeous with swine flu or someone really ugly without?!"
However, the real downfall was our relocation to a rowdy Irish bar - as full of character as it was full of characters....
Now there are family members reading so let's just say that over the course of the next 5 hours or so, firstly in the Irish pub and then in a basement club, a couple of beverages were consumed! Bumping into my flatmate Misha, we became a group of 4 and, in the words of HH, we "ripped up the dancefloor and showed the French how it's done!".
Talking to a pair of German guys in the club it was inevitable that I insisted on demonstrating my German prowess and hit them with my favourite line
"Ich habe meine hausaufgaben gegessen". (I have eaten my homework).
Sadly, I was quite proud of this at the time, but I don't think the Germans were!
Having no idea whatsoever how the night buses work around here we all decided to walk home. I have to admit that this part of the night (OK morning it was 4.30am) is fairly sketchy. But I do remember getting particularly excited at the sight of Notre Dame and thus bursting into song (Garou of course!) And I do believe that we all sang for most of the walk home!
Lastly, on Sunday morning I crossed the Seine to do my first stint of babysitting of the year. All I can say is that the children's father is fairly well know in France (not so much internationally!) and it was , therefore, another slightly surreal experience. An open film script on the coffee table, and a walk-in wardrobe brimming with designer labels. Alas my role for the day was to play hide and seek and star wars lego (incidently, the 6 year old told me I was "une championne du lego" maybe I can use that in future!) The boys were actually fairly sweet (as far as children go) and very well behaved so I wasn't too scared when the dad came home and asked me if I'd give them some English lessons some time!
So there we go, another week in my Parisian life gone by, and not without its fair share of laughter and the ubiquitous level of the surreal that I seem unable to shun! Unfortunately work starts on Friday and so I fear things may become less exciting soon, but hell that leaves me 4 days to find myself in more ridiculous situations... Bring it on!
Saturday, 12 September 2009
First Fortnight
Hello one and all and welcome to my new blog! I aim to use this a forum to write about my experiences over the following year in Paris, vent my agressions and passions and I'm also doing it because Natalie David said I should "write a blog and get it turned into a million pound book deal". This scheme based, not on the merit of my writing skills, but on the likelihood of my getting into ridiculous situations resulting in equally ridiculous stories to tell!!!
So thus far, my Parisian life has predominantly revolved around looking around horrible flats and sleepless hostel nights. The room I was staying in, in the hostel in Montmartre seemed to attract some strange characters (maybe that's why I was placed there?!). My favourite room-mates had to be 'Jen and Jen' the two blonder than blonde Californians who proudly announced to me one night that they intended to visit "Shar-tray" the following day where apparently there's "like a big church or something". Having never heard of this place I took it upon myself to look on the map. Scrutinising the area around Paris, I realised that actually they had been talking about Chartres! Another Jen and Jen highlight was a conversation we had on their final night in Paris. It went something along the lines of:
"Hey Natalie you speak French right? So, like everyone keeps saying Bonjour all the time. What is that, like hello or something?"
"Yes, it means hello"
"Oh wow. That is so coooool."
If anyone ever says that flat-hunting in Paris is anything less than a hellish, soul destroying experience then I'm a tee-total vegetarian. It's legacy is the most horrendous cold I've had in years (and no it's not, as everyone keeps enquiring, swine flu.) I'm so run down and battered by the whole thing. On my final full day of searching I turned up at Helena's in the evening, as had become habitual, to perouse the internet for the following day's appointments. She was totally horrified by the state I was in (I don't really remember!). I was horribly ill, coughing, almost no voice and practially falling asleep standing up! (well it wouldn't be the first time!)
Now I have found myself possibly the most beautiful room in Paris, at a bargain price, it almost seems worth the: fleeing from the gender defying Algerian; the finding myself in the middle of a film set and consequently being shouted at by an important looking man with a walkie-talkie; the 12 hours or more I spent on the metro crossing Paris; the "you don't mind me sleeping in my jocks do you?" septuagenarian Aussie room-mate; and of course the highly attractive snot and coughing fits.
On the social side of life, it has been really great to see some of the old Erasmus lot again. Zuzanna, Julie and Henri have provided several evenings of wining and dining, so thank you guys for that and a specific thank you to Zuzanna for saving me a lot of stress and hassle by helping me open a bank account.
So today, my first truly free day I went to the supermarket to stock up on the important things in an English girl in Paris' life: teabags; crisps; Uncle Ben's curry sauce and sliced bread. I think I'll probably go to some sort of French hell for the heinous crime but hey after the week I've had, no patriotic glares of disgust are going to stop me getting at my home comforts! And this afternoon, in what may seem like a strange choice of locations for celebrating my newfound freedom from the grasps of Parisian flat-hunting, Helena and I hit the Père Lachaise cemetery to do a bit of celeb-spotting. Unfortunately we were rubbish and only found Colette, Rossini, Felix Faure and Oscar Wilde but we will definitely return and hunt down Jim and co.
Somewhat bizarrely, and certainly unexpectedly it was a really relaxing and pleasant place to spend a beautiful autumnal afternoon in Paris. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the light made the city look beautiful. Things got a little fantastical and dark as Helena and I indulged in some plots for short stories and got horrendously lost in the labrynthine city of tombs but we eventually made it out before the gates were locked for the night...!
Now I look forward to 2 weeks of freedom to explore the city before work begins on the 28th. It's been a stressful first 10days or so, but as my father always reassures me "It's all character-building stuff girl"! And it most definitely makes me appreciate the flat that I am now in. I have no idea what the coming year has in store, but I can certainly expect an element of the ridiculous (it follows me wherever I go) and lots of Parisian fun! Finally, I have to say thanks to Helena, who despite only knowing me for just over a week has looked after me well in my hour of desperation, be it through the use of her apartment as an escape hide-out or just pouring me a glass of wine when things were really bad! I think it's time for the adventure to really start!!! :)
So thus far, my Parisian life has predominantly revolved around looking around horrible flats and sleepless hostel nights. The room I was staying in, in the hostel in Montmartre seemed to attract some strange characters (maybe that's why I was placed there?!). My favourite room-mates had to be 'Jen and Jen' the two blonder than blonde Californians who proudly announced to me one night that they intended to visit "Shar-tray" the following day where apparently there's "like a big church or something". Having never heard of this place I took it upon myself to look on the map. Scrutinising the area around Paris, I realised that actually they had been talking about Chartres! Another Jen and Jen highlight was a conversation we had on their final night in Paris. It went something along the lines of:
"Hey Natalie you speak French right? So, like everyone keeps saying Bonjour all the time. What is that, like hello or something?"
"Yes, it means hello"
"Oh wow. That is so coooool."
If anyone ever says that flat-hunting in Paris is anything less than a hellish, soul destroying experience then I'm a tee-total vegetarian. It's legacy is the most horrendous cold I've had in years (and no it's not, as everyone keeps enquiring, swine flu.) I'm so run down and battered by the whole thing. On my final full day of searching I turned up at Helena's in the evening, as had become habitual, to perouse the internet for the following day's appointments. She was totally horrified by the state I was in (I don't really remember!). I was horribly ill, coughing, almost no voice and practially falling asleep standing up! (well it wouldn't be the first time!)
Now I have found myself possibly the most beautiful room in Paris, at a bargain price, it almost seems worth the: fleeing from the gender defying Algerian; the finding myself in the middle of a film set and consequently being shouted at by an important looking man with a walkie-talkie; the 12 hours or more I spent on the metro crossing Paris; the "you don't mind me sleeping in my jocks do you?" septuagenarian Aussie room-mate; and of course the highly attractive snot and coughing fits.
On the social side of life, it has been really great to see some of the old Erasmus lot again. Zuzanna, Julie and Henri have provided several evenings of wining and dining, so thank you guys for that and a specific thank you to Zuzanna for saving me a lot of stress and hassle by helping me open a bank account.
So today, my first truly free day I went to the supermarket to stock up on the important things in an English girl in Paris' life: teabags; crisps; Uncle Ben's curry sauce and sliced bread. I think I'll probably go to some sort of French hell for the heinous crime but hey after the week I've had, no patriotic glares of disgust are going to stop me getting at my home comforts! And this afternoon, in what may seem like a strange choice of locations for celebrating my newfound freedom from the grasps of Parisian flat-hunting, Helena and I hit the Père Lachaise cemetery to do a bit of celeb-spotting. Unfortunately we were rubbish and only found Colette, Rossini, Felix Faure and Oscar Wilde but we will definitely return and hunt down Jim and co.
Somewhat bizarrely, and certainly unexpectedly it was a really relaxing and pleasant place to spend a beautiful autumnal afternoon in Paris. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the light made the city look beautiful. Things got a little fantastical and dark as Helena and I indulged in some plots for short stories and got horrendously lost in the labrynthine city of tombs but we eventually made it out before the gates were locked for the night...!
Now I look forward to 2 weeks of freedom to explore the city before work begins on the 28th. It's been a stressful first 10days or so, but as my father always reassures me "It's all character-building stuff girl"! And it most definitely makes me appreciate the flat that I am now in. I have no idea what the coming year has in store, but I can certainly expect an element of the ridiculous (it follows me wherever I go) and lots of Parisian fun! Finally, I have to say thanks to Helena, who despite only knowing me for just over a week has looked after me well in my hour of desperation, be it through the use of her apartment as an escape hide-out or just pouring me a glass of wine when things were really bad! I think it's time for the adventure to really start!!! :)
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