Now that I am two weeks into life in Paris I have settled into a routine which I happen to find very pleasant indeed. There is nothing, in fact, to complain about 'working' only 4 hours per day - even if those 4 hours are fairly full on and confusing. And, I do complain about the 9am start....I know I shouldn't...I don't exactly have it hard.
The hours following those long hours of morning study seem to meld into a Parisian life of sorts...visiting the supermarket for supplies...meeting friends for coffee (ok...wine....ok....cocktails)... and maybe popping into a museum here or going for a long walk somewhere new there.
I have a little group of friends from my class that I am getting to know. They are from all over the world and are all here for different reasons- but we are all in the same boat and on Friday, to celebrate the arrival of the weekend like every other Parisian, we decided to meet in the late afternoon and go for a few drinks. Technically the most local since I live closest to the school I suggested we meet at metro Odean, where I am, quite literally, a regular at a funky cocktail bar called 'Etage St Germain'...yes, they know my name and greet me by it when I arrive. and yes...they know my drink order - a large margarita. There is nothing that makes me feel more local.
The weekend bought the arrival of the friend who has...somehow....put up with me the longest of any of my friends - Alex. We have known eachother our whole lives.... Sharing a slightly obsessive adoration of paris I visited her when she lived here for a month several years ago and now it was time for the hospitality to be reversed. Meeting Aussie friends of hers who also happened to be in town for the weekend, the four of us started in a very civilised fashion with cake and coffee at a patisserie in St Germain before moving on to 'my' bar. (it's clearly not surpristing that they know me!) Margaritas were followed by moules and frites at a seafood restaurant nearby where the maitre-d' took great joy in making us practise our french (and correcting it sternly) before we completed the evening with fromage and wine at another bar I rather like - Le Pub St Germain. A little bit posh, a little bit fancy and with a Frenchly-flirty and handsome waiter...it was definitely an amazing place to finish off our evening.
Seedy Sunday was spent relatively quitetly. Amazingly there were two fairly touristy activities in paris which neither Alex or I had ever done. The first was a wonder around the Cimetere Pere Lachaise...the cemetetry which guards the bodies of such celebs as Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. Both of whom had graves quite badly defaced by fans. With Wilde's tomb covered in lipsticked kisses and Morrison's the inevitable graffiti, the tombs tell of men adored by fans even in death.
A quick cross back over the river took us to Musee d'Orsay...the magnificent museum/ex-train-station on the left bank boasting masterpieces including significant work by Van Gogh and Renoir and their followers (more men adored by fans in death...) We spend a speedy hour racing around the breathtaking building before closing time - taking in as much as possible - before heading to the Marais district for drinks and dinner.
Another of my favourite districts of paris (if I wasn't staying in St Germain I would be staying here), the Marais is hip and trendy, filled with bars, nightclubs, restaurants and boutiques - many of them aimed at the district's large gay community. Our mohitos were strong and our meals mouthwatering so we stayed in the one bar for hours before heading home in giggly moods via roadside nutella crepes.
It was lucky that we had an amazing night out that night since our exciting plans for my birthday had to be cancelled the next day...Poor Alex woke up feeling like she would die...with a (thankfully only...) 24 hour gastro bug ruining the day. While I raced off to the pharmacy for supplies (thank God the French are such hypercondriacs with a pharmacy on every corner...) poor alex stayed in bed for the day...Cancelling our amazing dinner plans I drank a small bottle of champagne instead in sorrow and celebration....
There will be other birthdays....
till next time...
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