Joie de Vivre

French Puppies

2010-07-23T18:24:00.010-04:00

Help! Have you seen this stuffed animal?? Let the international search begin for this poor child's best friend...

My last two weeks in Paris were jam packed with every-moment fun. On Saturday several of us decided to take a tour of Montmartre, the "Mount of Martyrs" overlooking Paris from the North. For 10 euros we got a fabulous 2 hour tour and a free glass of wine from the same company that gives free tours of Paris (on a tip basis), New Europe Tours. I would definitely recommend both of these tours--a must for tourists! They do tours in most other large European cities too.
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Here we are in front of the only wine vineyard in Paris. It is incredibly small but still produces about 700 bottles of wine a year. Unfortunately, the plants (like any) soak up their surroundings, so the grapes are more a novelty because they aren't necessarily the greatest. In the far left corner of the pictures, you can see "Le Lapin Agile." Back in the day a starving artist came into that restaurant every day asking to draw a portrait of the waitress in exchange for meal. After a while the owner caught on and seeing how good the sketches were, he asked for more substantial paintings. In the end, it was a good investment, because that man was Picasso!

"La Mere Catherine" is the oldest bistro in Paris--since 1814! When the Russians entered Paris during the Napoleonic Wars, they would sit in cafes and demand fast service, and "fast" in Russian is "bistro"!

For those of you who have seen the movie Amelie, this is the grocery store! Apparently the man who works there is incredibly nice, and if you go inside, he will take your picture to put on the wall. He left the small maroon sign from the movie on the store for good ole times.

Charisse and I with the notorious steps that are on every corner in Montmartre.

These stairs are a continuation of the stairs from the previous picture. Wowie! Here Charisse conquers them with style! We always make fun of Parisians for putting their arm out like she is--they never carry purses on their shoulder or in their hand, always in the crook of their arm. Class.

Early on Monday morning, Victoria and I travelled over to Fountainbleau, a chateau about 45 minutes outside of Paris where Napoleon lived.

With a fellow British friend's idenity piece in hand, this palace was a total of FREE!

Here's the only throne room left in tack in France. I'm not sure why revolutionaries didn't get to this one, but here it is preserved in all it's glory!

Talking about being preserved for the ages... way to be an adult, Napoleon, you conqueror of Europe...

And we did all this in time to pick up the children from school by 4:30! I've seen many a' palace over the past year, but this one was definitely worth it. Huge, but not overwhelming. Do-able in an afternoon without being rushed. It's the Musee d'Orsay to the Louvre.

Well, even though my time in Paris is over, there are still a few more posts to come. I feel kind of silly writing them in the US, but after keeping this up over the past year, I can't let it slide now! I will finish!

We're French!

2010-07-05T10:33:00.008-04:00

As many of you know, I am back in the US of A now! But, that won't stop me from finishing my last few blog posts. I did a lot the last few weeks in Paris, meaning that there wasn't a lot of time for blog writing. This post is especially dedicated to a beautiful afternoon, doing what French people normally do: wearing striped shirts, berets, and red neck scarves, holding as many baguettes, cheeses, and wine bottles as possible, and lounging under the Eiffel Tower.
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NOT!
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In any case, here are Laura, Katrin, Victoria, John, Charisse, and I doing just that (with Tony hiding behind the camera).

The great bike-scapade in front of Ecole Militaire.

Vive la France!

The British include a string of garlic (or John's string of onions) in the French stereotype because back in the day, French farmers in England would go around selling their goods house to house, and what easier way to carry garlic than around your neck?!

Fleeing after robbing the boulangerie of all their baguettes...

We had a bunch of tourists take pictures of us, and even a few who asked to pose with us! Could I have found a new calling in life?

After 11 months in France, we finally caught on--THIS is how to be French.

Minus the fact that French people would never be seen wearing a beret, never go near the Eiffel Tower, never drink cheap wine, and never let their precious baguettes get exposed to that much dirt on the street, let alone eat them in such a careless manner--other that that, Charisse is practically French!

You too can find out which French stereotype you are... I am The Onion Johnny!

"You are a greasy-moustached, baguette-carrying, onion-selling bicyclist who wears a blue striped shirt with a red scarf. A beret sits upon your head at a daringly jaunty angle as you lazily puff on a smelly cigarette."

Well, before this gets too out of hand, let's just say that the only reason we could actually do this photo shoot was because everyone has stereotypes and as long as we can laugh about our own, we can laugh about theirs too. I found this article that nicely sums up how the French stereotype Americans. The Ugly American.

Even my French family had a good laugh looking at these pictures! Too bad that back in August I didn't get off the plane in a Hawaiian t-shirt, overalls, cowboy hat, and flip flops--now that would have been a good laugh!

Re-Visiting Childhood

2010-06-26T16:07:00.006-04:00

With only days left in Paris, I have been taking pictures of the ordinary again... Things that I do every week that are part of the routine, such as taking the kids to the library! It took a while for Ethan to understand that we can't actually keep the books, but they love coming and picking them out to take home.

Last week I helped as a chaperone for Ethan's class field trip to a local park. I was in charge of these four kids, but in all we made up a line of about fifty 4 year olds walking down the street!

One of his favorite things to do for pictures now, le grimace. In the school-packed lunches made for the kids, there was a personal packet of fois gras. Nothing like fatty duck liver to make a French child happy--just look at Maya's satisfied face!

Amir is Ethan's favorite little friend. With the mere mention of Amir's name, Ethan screams in joy like the time I told him that Spiderman lives in a mysterious hole in a house near ours. These two spend every afternoon rolling down the park hillside giggling and squealing in 4 year old glory.

I'm not sure how special you have to be to come here when you're sick, but believe it or not, this is Hotel Dieu, the oldest hospital in Paris! It's right beside Notre Dame, but hardly any tourists venture inside--a hidden treasure!

This past Monday was Fête de la Musique to celebrate the first day of summer, meaning that there was music on every single corner of Paris all night long! I was with a few friends and we found a drum circle-type band walking around the city with a huge gathering of people dancing, jumping, and singing behind them. We joined in the crowd and followed them all over the city. A friend took an awesome video which I'll try to post later.
This statue looked a lot cooler at night, but here is a picture of Henri IV and his lightsaber! Check out this MUST watch video of the techno-crazed inauguration of the statue. Skip to 1'50" if you don't want to watch the speech.

Another extraordinary ordinary street!

Last Saturday a gaggle of friends headed over to Monet's house and gardens in Giverny, about 30 minutes outside of Paris. Although it was still chilly outside, the garden was absoultely incredible! I was worried that it would be too touristy, but minus the gift shop (which even Notre Dame has), it was so natural and gorgeous.

Here are Charisse and I on one of the many bridges over the lilypad pond.

A view of the pond... it's a shame I couldn't capture the weeping willow branches moving in the wind--it was so pretty!

Another bridge covered in tourists (aka us!), but pretty nonetheless.

Mystery solved! Monet's no-faced woman in his poppy field painting is... ME!

Check out how beautiful this random road is leading to the direction of Monet's house...

While spending a passing moment in the bookshop, Charisse and I found a book that we'd read as children! Our mom used to read us this Mike Venezia series of children's books about painters.

And now we will all bow our heads for a moment of silence in honor of the US soccer/football team's valiant effort against Ghana...

Well, much more to be posted, and so very little time-only one week and one day left in Paris! Tomorrow I'm off to see the airport that Charles Lindbergh flew into back in 1927... My hero! Be ready for the next uber-epic blog post... hint: think 8 friends dressing up as stereotypical French people by the Eiffel Tower.

Hats, Horses, and Whipped Cream

2010-06-20T07:44:00.008-04:00

Welcome to blog post number 60!! Wowie! I must say, I'm rather proud of myself for keeping this up over the past year even if I have been a little lax lately. :) Last weekend Katrin, Charisse, and I went to a big horse race at Chantilly, a small town outside of Paris, which also means "whipped cream" in French! This was definitely French high class at its finest with gigantic hats, white picnic cloths, and the "OOOooo!" as the horses raced by.

Here are Charisse and I with the grand stands and racing course in the background.

This family was just too cute and too picture perfect (minus the dad's deadly stare)... The French in color! Hip hip horray!

And here they go, folks! There were about 10 races throughout the day with one of them being the big, international, best-of-the-best race, Le Prix de Diane.

Katrin's friend Kris won the whole thing! Here he is larger than life on the screen after the big victory--as the jockey, he isn't much taller than 5'4"!

Although this pictures doesn't show anything spectacular about the race, sometimes it's nice just to take a picture of something that is so ordinary in the public transport life here. You can see "Chantilly" written on the station:

Life with the kids has had its ups and downs lately, but here was one of those exciting marshmallow ups. There was a big dinner party at the house, and one of the guests gave the kids fun shaped marshmallows on a stick. Ethan didn't dare take his eyes off of his for a moment...

Every Monday and Wednesday when Margaux has her ballet class, Ethan and I go to the park. Usually we kick the ball back and forth for one hour straight, but last week he wasn't feeling well, so we sat on the grass and curled up together. This was one of the first warm days in the last month. While it's almost 100 degrees F in South Carolina, I have been wearing 4 layers here!

This is the famous tongue sticking out... The moment he gets excited about something, his tongue comes out: when running after a soccer ball, hitting a balloon back and forth, and upon seeing peas on his plate...

The kids started off being really good these past few weeks, but lately things have gone down the drain. I think it's just a end-of-school/almost-summer fever. Another part of the job that I hadn't considered before coming was how involved in family affairs I would be. I am basically a fly on the wall at the house, so I see everything that goes on. Nothing major, but it will be nice to get out of other people's family problems. :)

Something else that I haven't mentioned is the French take on marriage. I have be given the special inside-info on about every family's idea about marriage because, as most of you know, I'm getting married at the end of August. As Charisse's French mom (who is actually Algerian) put it, "The French don't marry." There are two types of couples. The first have houses and children together, but say that marriage just isn't for them. The other type get married between the ages of 35 and 45 (usually after having a child or two with other people), and when they get married, fidelity is not in the vocabulary. I am sure there are a few families out there in Paris who have had a long, loving, and prosperous married relationship, but I haven't met any yet.

Needless to say, when I say that I will be getting married at almost 23 years old and haven't been closely surveying Dan's every move for the past year of separation... well, it doesn't go over too well. I don't think they understand that none of their lifestyle choices appeal to me. Whole dinner tables of 10 people have gone silent in shock at the thought that I could possibly think that my fiancee is not cheating on me. Their reasoning is to have total "individual independence" in the world, which I find quite hypocritical. Be irresponsible and party for as long as possible, have a career for 15 years while living with many men/women, have some children with them, get married at 35, possibly be too old to have children, pay a nanny to raise them for the next 15 years............That doesn't sound like a great definition of independence to me. I dun't geet it.

Well, in other news, the World Cup is going on but not so strong over here. France was eliminated yesterday... the same day that the US beat Algeria in the last few seconds of the game. Not a good day for Charisse living in a half-Algerian home! But hip hip horray for the USA! I wonder what the atmosphere is like back home--is anyone watching the games or know what is happening? Because here it is a football madhouse!

I have done a ton of other things lately, so I will try to post again in the next few days. Today marks my 10 month anniversary with Paris, and in exactly two weeks I will be landing in Atlanta! Get prepared, America!

Caution: Nice Dog Behind the Door

2010-06-12T14:31:00.010-04:00

For one of the three days of sunshine this past week, Victoria, Charisse, and I rented a boat in the Bois de Boulogne for only 10 euros! Using our massive kid-picking-up muscles, we rowed circles around the other boats... literally.

Kicking back while Charisse does all the hard work:

You see some pretty crazy sights in Paris, this being among them:

On Saturday night about 15 of us au pairs went to the Château de Vincennes in the southeast of Paris to watch an outdoor 60's French gangster comedy! To watch the trailer, click here.

I've recently been struck with the fact that I have 4 weeks left in Paris!?!?! So I decided to begin taking pictures of the little things in my life that I wouldn't consider photographical material, because those are the things I will miss the most. I've taken a picture of my street/apartment before, but here is another one. I'm in the building with the red stone highlights.

Right when you get in the door, there is a neighbor who has this awesome doormat: Caution, nice dog behind the door.

Thanks to Charisse, I have this picture of my sunny day activity, reading in Parc Pereire. The park is only as wide as you see here, but it goes on for over a mile with each block being a different section: little kids, big kids, dogs, roses, skating/biking, etc. I love the tons of roses in blossom over the arbor. I also taught Ethan how to eat the "honey" from a honeysuckle plant here.

Although I had always been blind to this in the US, the Coup du Monde (World Cup) is about as big as Christmas in the rest of the world. Maybe I have just missed out, but I've never really felt like this was a huge thing in the US. Needless to say, everyone here is A'CRAZE! No one speaks of anything but the last game and the one coming up. Here are the kids proudly showing their unfinished collectible sticker book of every single player from every single country.

After school everyday I take the kids to a local church park where all their school friends go to play. With the goûter, or afternoon snack, of apple sauce in a juice box container (called Compote) and a few little cookies, they climb up this hill that runs along the sidewalk. In the background you can see the steeple of the church park we are headed to.

While it does feel strange to count the remaining weeks on one hand, I feel like I am growing ready to come back. I can't complain one bit about my experience here, but I am looking forward to not being a foreigner. In the US I can talk to someone and understand their gestures and voice--read them, in other words. I can speak English and laugh as loudly as I please without getting shocked stares. But it is quite a laugh to be speaking French on the metro with a bunch of non-native French speakers--just trying to give Parisians a morning chuckle!

And then there are the creepers. The amount of males who call at girls in Paris is astronomical. This can range from simple screaming from a park bench, "Salut girls!" to "Oh, wow, you have an accent. What are you doing and can I go with you?" to in-your-face, surround you, tell you that you are going with them to their party tonight encounters... Solution: speaking loudly and obnoxiously in gibberish! "Shnigip dimanis tabaluca!" Note: never, ever, EVER tell someone that you are American, unless you are 450% positive that they are stupid enough to not say, "Oh, I voud like to lern Eenglish, you coold teech me! 'ow about now?" and do not have the stereotype impression that American girls are easy. It's so much easier to say you're from Moldova. Works each time.

Needless to say, if I come back to the US and am paranoid to speak with you, just understand that I haven't been able to look any strangers in the face, smile in public, or speak at a normal tone in any language for the past year. Did I mention that an ambulance driver cat-called at me?

Charisse and I have decided to prepare a 4th of July feast for our two French families since we will both be far from the mother land. Hamburgers, potato/pasta salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, and American flag cake are on the list so far--any other suggustions? Because they don't know our traditions for the 4th, we can make them do whatever we want! How does painting an American flag on your face and running around the block 3 times screaming, "U-S-A!" sound for starters? :)

New Heights

2010-06-02T18:04:00.007-04:00

Wowie! That's all you can say to these cakes!

This week started off cold and rainy as usual, and now it is finally--the first of June--time to take off the winter coat--it's summertime! Charisse and I visited Shakespeare and Company, the English bookstore, and Charisse fell in love. Who couldn't, in it's cute, warm, coziness?

On Sunday we played volleyball with the meetup.com group that I have been playing with for the past few weeks. This is a picture I stole off the group website, but we play in the Bois de Boulogne in sight of the Eiffel Tour. If anyone is in Paris reading this, here is the link to more information for meeting up to play.

After 10 months, I've had enough of the metro's blackness and stinkiness, so the bus has become my new best friend. Especially now that it is warm outside, the metro has gotten even less appetizing in it's stuffiness. Recently I found the best website ever, Bus 38 which goes from North to South Paris has a website made by the drivers! Let's here it for the bus!

On Saturday we crowded on the Champs de Mars to watch a man break a world record! By jumping off the Eiffel Tower! On roller skates! With a baguette under his arm! Nah, just kidding about that part. There also happened to also be a French-style rugby tailgate going on in the same area. Do I need to stay that I saw snail shells on the grills?

Here is our French Taig Khris on the screen about to make his 12 meter jump. Watch this fab video of the fall!

Sunday was Fête des Mères, Mother's Day! To celebrate, the kids called me "maman" and didn't want to be with their real mom--oops! The family drove me to a huge art studio festival that they were going to as well. In Belleville, the multi-ethnic neighborhood, 300 artists opened their studios to the public. Charisse and I found a small street that led to another more hidden and another, until we found a few studios in this graffiti paradise!

Another au pair night out after a dinner of tabouli and feta cheese dinner at Martina's apartment:

The Fête du Printemps, or spring party, at the kid's school was this past week. For the international food buffet I made sugar cookies! I handmade the blue and pink sugar sprinkles with sugar and food coloring... fun!

Well, it's down to exactly one month until I leave on July 8th... Crazy! It has been an emotional rollercoaster these past few weeks, as it will continue to be. The kids are always asking me when I will be coming back and if I've already bought my house in Paris (pretty sure they made that one up). My mindset this whole year has been, "Don't really think about going back to the US yet because it's too many months away." But now it isn't far away at all. What is it going to be like to be in my own culture again and speak a language that isn't frowned upon? And speak as loudly as I want, at that! I'm so interested to see something so familiar through unfamiliar eyes!

Dancing in the Sun

2010-05-28T05:50:00.007-04:00

The Parisian dromedary from the Jardin des Plantes zoo welcomes you to this next blog post! Last week Charisse was volunteered to go on a field trip from hell with her little boy's class where she was the tour guide for four 5 year olds. Talk about breaking her in quickly!

With the beautiful weather, all of Paris has come out of hibernation. Laura, Katrin, Charisse, and I headed down to the Seine a few nights last week to enjoy the warm weather... along with about 200 Parisian youths. While we just went for a relaxing evening in the moonlight, those other 200 came in high heels, drunk to the max, and running back and forth on that little cobblestone ledge. Was that man really kissing the tree? If you want to meet the French police, just fall into the Seine, supposedly they will come within 10 seconds! But you will also die a slow, nasty death from the disgusting water...

Last Wednesday I had a fabulous day with the kids in Parc Monceau down the street from where we live. Luckfully we got there early-ish and found a spot of green. Later in the afternoon there was hardly a blade of grass to be found--the whole city was passed out enjoying the sun. Can you tell where the family went last week? (hint: Ethan's t-shirt, which he insists is a picture of an elevator)

If you couldn't tell by now, basically all I do is have picnics. :) Here are Natalie, Charisse, and Victoria on our picnic by the canal St. Martin, an under-rated, Napoleon-made leg of the Seine.

If the family isn't in town on Saturday afternoon, I take Margaux to a make-up tennis class on Wednesday afternoon. Here she is ready to hit the winning shot:

While wandering, Charisse took this award winning photo of spring/graffiti in Paris.

On Saturday, several of us girls went to Parc Belleville for a huge salsa dance! The park overlooks the city from the East with several parks

Salsa, now featuring random smoking French woman in red dress:

We had a lovely frozen fruit, wheel of bread, hummus picnic while watching the mad dancing mob.

Here are Charisse and An amidst the spinning salsa-ness.

Thanks to An, we have this picture of our stroll around Belleville with our new-found friend Charlie who has been volunteering on farms around France for the past few months in order to learn French. Charisse just happened to dance with the one other American in the salsa crowd!

Who is the Charisse paparazzi? Me! And in the blue shirt and red stripes you can see our Brazilian friends! Maybe I have a new career? On Sunday we spent 30 minutes to get out of the metro in order to see the the Champs Elysee covered in greenery. Unfortnately, it was most disappointing with 4000 other people crowding to see a few plants too. Oh well, at least there was sunshine!

You never know what you'll find when you turn the corner in Paris. In this pink painted phone booth, several artists posed oddly (see picture). Believe it or not, this was to symbolize the Paris train wreck in 1895 (click fore more info on the wreck). And somehow it worked out that they gave everyone walking by 20 centimes... no idea why, but I'm not complaining!

Anyone want a macaroon/berry cake??

I recently found a fabulous song that is in English, but this is his French version. So for all the world to listen and enjoy, here is Mika singing "Grace Kelly" in French.

With only six weeks left in Paris, the wheels have started turning... did I accomplish what I came here to do? Have I not taken one moment for granted? Will this once-in-a-lifetime experience be something that I can say, "Yes, I had the most successful year I could have imagined"? But before I answer those questions, I must rememeber--six weeks isn't something to scoff at! Let's go out an have some fun!

Here Comes the Sun (King)

2010-05-20T16:21:00.013-04:00

Bienvenue SPRING! Just when the dark spirits of winter were beginning to oppress Paris again, spring decided to do away with any sadness last Tuesday. But before the happiness of sunshine came, a gaggle of us au pairs went on a trip to Le Château de Versailles where there was another sun. The Sun King!

We had a picnic in Marie Antoinette's garden before it started to rain and we took shelter under this gazebo:

For all of us in the US who love the Stephen Colbert Report, here is proof that he lives right beside the king (or maybe he IS the king?):

Here is little, tiny Charisse surrounded by gold-a-licious Versailles:

There is something ironic about ice skating on the spot where Marie Antoinette was beheaded, and then taking pictures of our reflection in the mirror in her bedroom...

I wonder what Louis the 14th would have thought of thousands of tourists, aka, peasants, wandering around his palace. In any case, here is Charisse violating the king's wishes in the Hall of Mirrors:

One afternoon we went to Le Petit Palais with Katrin to avoid yet another thunderstorm. And in case you were wondering, it isn't at all small but instead is a fabulous museum!

There was a Yves St. Laurent exposition going on, but as it wasn't free, we didn't go. Looks like we'll just have to settle for looking at this awesome ceiling. :)

After our rained-out day to Versailles, the weather got much better and I frolicked in the park with the my sister and then the kids every day. It's so nice to have a running/laze in the park partner, not to mention, another fridge to raid!

I have so many more pictures and adventures to write about, but for now, I will finally post this blog which has been sitting on my computer for over a week... I'll catch up on the weeks... next week.

To take everyone back to childhood once more, I'll leave you with one of my favorite French versions of the classic Disney songs. Here Cinderella, or Cenrillon, sings "Tendre Rêve."

Le rêve de ma vie, c'est l'amour- The dream of my life is love.

Winter is... gone?

2010-05-13T18:20:00.009-04:00

Take a few moments to squeal over this cuuutie!! This picture of Ethan is before I ever knew him. What a great way to start off a post!

Well, it has been terribly long since I last posted--I know everyone was on the edge of their seats for the past few weeks! ;) Finally my sister Charisse made it to Paris!! Yipee! Here we are at a cafe with a gaggle of people for her 20th birthday. I made a cake and served it secretly because the cafe happened to be snob city and wasn't too happy about us being VERY loud. haha.

Charisse is living in the south of the city with a family who is friends with my French family. She watches their two half-Algerian/half-French kids. Here is two/almost three year old, Hilana:

And 4/almost 5 year old Edan who we like to call "le tigre" (the tiger):

Because these past few weeks have been... phew... a journey, I am going to post some pictures that other people of passed along from this past winter. Here is a picture inside Shakespeare & Company, an English bookshop near Notre Dame. I seemed to spend a lot of time inside there over the winter seeing as how it was warm and free. :)

One dreary, grey afternoon, Victoria and I decide to brighten up the day by going to the cemetery, Pere Lachaise that is! I think that I've mentioned Haussman before, the man who rebuilt Paris. Here I am in front of his tomb (note my regal military pose), which is right beside his arch political enemy, ironically.

What could be better than alligator bread?!

Over the vacation, I went to the farm with the kids (mentioned in the last post). Here we are with their snazzy sunglasses in front of the "Porcherie." I think they were giggly because they realized that they had just eaten ham sandwiches for lunch.

This lovely photo was taken at Parc de la Villette, where we had a big picnic and went to a kid's hands-on museum. Afterwards, the kids seemed to still have energy, so we played soccer in the mud. You can't really tell, but we each fell at least once--fun! Here I am with Victoria and her two kids and John who decided to help us out.

To say that the kids would live off bananas if they could would be an understatement. So when John showed up with a whole bunch of bananas, the kids went craaaaazy. Here is the aftermath. They were already covered in mud, a little banana in their hair wasn't going to change much. Not to mention that Ethan had just eaten a bag of chips, licked the bag, and then worn the ripped bag as a hat in victory.

Victoria and I stumbled upon the Musée National du Moyen Âge, the Middle Ages Museum. We spied on a medieval-esque concert and toured the old stone building which was as intesting as the museum expo in it. Then we found an empty coffin that Victoria dared me to lie in for a good picture but decided that this picture would have to do.

In the dead of winter we had about one sunny day, and this was it. Taking full advantage of the sunshine, Victoria, Tony, and I played frisbee in the soggy grass of the Bois de Boulogne, the giant forest that borders Paris on the West.

I do have several pictures from the lovely first few days with Charisse, but I'm going to have to get them from her and put them in the next post.

The past week has been like winter again--freezing and grey. But over the weekend it brightened up, and overnight spring decided to miss 2010 and summer came! Hip hip horray! I've been for a few runs then a few naps in the park, and the incessant street wandering has begun again.

Before this gets delayed anymore, I am going to post this and vow to keep up my committed once-a-week blog posting. :) See you all in the US of A in less than TWO months!!!

Arrrggg, Let's Picnic, Matey!

2010-04-24T14:36:00.007-04:00

This past week has been filled with adventures on the high seas, picnics galore, and a tragic love triangle.
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Piece one of the triangle starts with this picture. The kids had a spring festival at school right before the vacation began, and here is Ethan with his line partner--and also girlfriend--Manon. He always gets giggly and hides behind me whenever we pass her after school. Yes, they are holding hands. Awww...

Here Margaux waves to her adoring public in her rad costume!

Emmanuelle, Philippe, and I ran to be on the first row for the choral where I caught this classic video. During this song about umbrullas in the rain, Margaux is centered on the back row (look at the head right above the front row girl in white).

For Ethan's birthday, I bought us tickets to go see a little kid's pirate musical! He watched enthralled the whole time--a front page review right there! Here he is with a special "I'm on cloud nine" glow on his face after the show. I didn't tell him what show we were going to see until we got off the metro stop, and when I told him it was a pirate show, he screamed, "We're going to see PIRATES?!!!!!!" at the top of his lungs. Not to mention that I brought popcorn for the afternoon snack (his favorite), AND it was just the two of us--the beginning of the third angle of the love triangle...

Monday started the big 60 hour week with the kids, and we headed to the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a huge kids park not far from the house. In honor of a Russian troup that is in Paris now, there was a special concert at the park for the kids. Can you guess which two are Ethan and Margaux?

At the entrance to the park there are a bunch of fun warped mirrors. Can you guess who is a reflection and who is real? :)

The puppet show or, guignol, after the witty main character in French puppet shows, has been going on since the park opened in 1860 by Napoleon III. In this video the witch is trying to turn the Russian prince into a frog because she is mad at him for marrying the princess and not her, the witch.

Beside having carnival rides, several themed playgrounds, a farm, aviary, gardens, and puppet show, there are lots of big birds wandering around freely! We stumbled upon the peacock who was, not surprisingly, puffed up scared of the thousands of children running around. During the seige of Paris in 1870, most of the animals were cooked and served in one of the city's finest restaurants. Eek!

On Thursday, Victoria kindly sacrificed one of her days off to go to the Farm of Paris with us. We had our 5th picnic of the week and even got to see goats getting milked! Thanks to Victoria I got these precious memories on camera:

(note: his kisses always have ulterier motives [aka licks] so that's why I'm making a face)

This cute lil' dumpling proposed to me this week! The final twist in the love drama. Ethan loves Manon, but he secretly proposed to me, but I'm already engaged--oh my. I expertly videoed most of our conversation about what our lives together would be like (eating pasta and coloring all the time, basically). I'll write out a translated dialogue of the conversation for an upcoming blog post.

Katie, the next au-pair for the family, spent all day Friday with us. We had a blast running from park to park and picnicing again! It made the last two days go by so quickly to have someone else there. I am so glad that she will be with them next year--it calms my heart to know that these kids I'm so attached to will be in good hands. And hopefully because the kids have seen us together, it will be a smooth transition for them too.
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Well, after 5 long days of English inundation for the kids, hopefully they improved some! My parents read me "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" in French when I was little, and now I'm in Paris--imagine what having an American au pair will do for them! Here's to hoping that English speaking French people will bring their cheese and wine making skills to America!

A Little Italia in Par-ee

2010-04-16T16:53:00.008-04:00

Just a mere two months after the famous carnival in Venice, Paris hosted its annual carnival. My opinion is that all those with costumes just wanted to dress up again. But in any case, on the sunny walk beside the Seine, over 200 people dressed up and strolled in between thousands of viewers. Check out these incredible costumes!

They were all professionals at striking interesting poses and holding them for the thousands of cameras.

This one scares me! She was looking right at me!

Those with masks didn't have to smile all day like these girls... But these are also less creepy!

After the carnival, Laura and I headed to the Bateaubus, a boat in the very south of the city that is part of the public transport system--aka free with a metro pass!

On Sunday a gaggle of us au pairs went on another RER roadtrip to Marly-le-Roi (Marly the King) an ancient royal get-away of the Sun King, Louis the 14th. Here we are on the train that we caught as the buzzer rang for the closing of the train doors... Phew!

This street is the historical center and was full of lovely closed shops.

The town is known for its huge garden where the palace stood before the French Revolution.

We decided to have our picnic on a giant tree stump!

Here are Katrin, Laura, Jonna, Vanessa, Natalie, and me. And believe it or not, Laura brought the same lunch as I did: hard-boiled egg, kiwi with spoon, and hummus!

This past week at the park I had a nice little French dispute with one of the other nanny's who isn't so terribly nice. We were talking about why everyone in this area of Paris has a nanny, and she was arguing that letting a 1 year old go to the creche (daycare, basically) from 8am-5pm is a good idea because otherwise the child wouldn't learn how to socialize with other children. And I argued that a child that young needs to have a constant roll model, not the social influence of other 1 year olds, and that person should be one of the parents. She said that Europeans are more advanced and modern than Americans, and they aren't stuck in the traditional roles. Needless to say, I had something to say about that. Do I need to say that she wasn't even of French origin herself?

It's always a good surprise when the kids are excited to eat the plate of veggies that I put in front of them. And this past week I set a bowl of peas and rice in front of Ethan, and he started quivering and trembling, then screamed out, "VANESSA! You are beaUUtiful! I LOVE YOU! Thank you SO much! I LOVE PEAS!!!" Sometimes those 4 year olds surprise ya!

There was a movie that was filmed on my street this past week! I wouldn't have really known that it was a movie because I never saw anything except trucks and blocked-off sidewalks. Except I did see a lady with a huge microphone at the park trying to capture French park sounds. Too bad I was playing with Ethan--in English--right in front of her...

Next week is another 12 hours a day, 5 days straight "vacation." And to kick it off, tomorrow I'm taking Ethan to see a kiddy pirate show for his birthday! Argg!

I'm sure a lot of you have already seen this, but it's always worth a good laugh. Enjoy the fun of the French accent from the best. See how the Pink Panther learns English right here! Until the next time--Vive la France!

Easter Holiday Special

2010-04-07T09:18:00.010-04:00

Welcome to another beautiful Parisian rainbow! As you all know, a lot of rain must happen before the rainbow, and boy has it rained a lot. But from what I hear about the pollen condition in South Carolina, all of you back home would give anything to have the rain we've got here. I took this picture on a random stroll along the Seine:

This past Wednesday the kids and I got into the festive spirit and colored some hard-boiled eggs with a "Pals Dye Kit" sent all the way from the US!

Warning: don't let kids read the next sentence.

The Easter Bunny doesn't exist in France, but you will never guess what they have instead. A giant bell, yes, a BELL that flies in and gives the kids chocolate. Despite it being Easter time, I couldn't find a single plastic egg to put candy in for a classic Easter egg hunt. But nonetheless, we have 2 grocery bags FULL of chocolate, so I guess having an Easter Bell can't be too bad. :)

This weekend I had a three day holiday because in France they celebrate "Easter Monday" instead of "Good Friday." I think it is just a day to recover from the festivities of Sunday. In any case, my French family was gone so I was on vacation too.

For Easter I headed to church in the morning, and hit up a dee-lish meal afterwards that some people whipped up in the kitchen. We munched on a huge salad of every veggie you could imagine, lamb, potatoes, peas, then cheese and bread, then chocolate cake shaped like an Easter egg! Easter night I had some girls over to my house for a sleep over and in the morning we headed out on an RER road trip (the RER is the train in Paris).

Katrin, Laura and I went to the awesome medieval town of Provins about an hour and half south west of Paris. We almost fell down the hillside a few times for this picture:

We had a fabulous picnic of fresh bread, hummus, avocado, eggplant, mushroom, and mandarines! Mmmm! How did I ever find friends who like the same wacky foods that I do?? The boulanger (person who works at the boulangerie: bakery) was sooo nice and pointed us in the direction of the town center and some fun festivities.

Because it was Easter weekend, the town was putting on an Easter Egg Treasure Hunt! We asked if we could do it, but apparently we don't look under the age of 12... The guys giving out the treasure maps were dressed in medieval soldier costumes too!

We came upon the castle/fortress/prison, La Tour César, from the 1100s. Not only was it a place of security because it sits on the top of the city and it also had a wicked dungeon, but it is also the only octagonal building that has a circular base!

Here is a view of the church from one of the arrow holes in the tower:

Apparently the view of the top portion of the city hasn't changed much at all since its medieval days.

We strolled in and out of little shops selling dozens of different rose-themed products--because Provins had a huge ancient rose garden. I bought some delicious "Ancient Rose Tea" with Provins rose petals in it. Mmmm... We also climbed up the well-preserved city wall. From here we could see the country side, something that lifts the spirits after being in crowded Paris all winter, as you can see from this picture:

After such a refreshing trip out of the city, the three of us spent Tuesday afternoon in the sunshine in a little-known park behind the Sacre Coeur Basilica.

We fell asleep on the grass, and woke up to see a cat... on a leash!!! Unbelievable! I snuck a picture to keep as proof:

Because everyone walks everywhere in the city, and everyone also smokes, I have gotten used to the smell of cigarettes everywhere. But something I saw this past week takes the cake. I was walking to pick up the kids from school, and I passed a McDonalds. A girl was riding her bike away with their to-go bag dangling from the handlebars, a cigarette in her mouth, and a cell phone on her ear. She could have been in a Hummer doing all that and she still shouldn't trust French drivers. My French professor (whose every word I believe) told the class that after America, France is the second biggest consumer of McDonalds.

This past week I made it past the 8 month mark! Only about 13 weeks until I come home--officially July 8th at 7pm in Atlanta! Maybe I'll win a prize for being the "furthest traveled" for Megan and Craig's wedding on the 10th...

I'm about half way through my first big-kid book that isn't from the "juvenile" section of the library: George Orwell's 1984. And in case you were wondering, "Big Brother" is still called "Big Brother" in the French version. Except, when the French say the two words, it sounds "Beeg Bhro-sehr" :) I'm going to have to find a French book store back in the US to keep up reading.

The past few weeks, I have been to the Polyglot Cafe quite a few times (click to see official website with a video that my friend Natalie from Brazil is in). Last Saturday I met some really interesting people, and we had a great time laughing until 1am. Most everyone comes to learn English, but usually we don't get around to speaking English but a little bit here and there--which is great for us wanting to practice le français!

Well, I think I hear Emmanuelle calling for me to help her pick out one of the fancy dresses that she's borrowed for a "gala" at the Paris Opera next week. Here's to Americans giving fashion advice to French people! Hip Hip Horray!

A Few French Cuts

2010-03-29T15:52:00.009-04:00

After a flood of emails and messages about the haircut that I hinted at, here are a few photos of my free Parisian haircut!

So short in the back!! Ah!

In fact, not a lot has happened this week, but a freak hail storm and a beautiful rainbow is nothing to sniff at! The kids and I were caught in the storm while we were trying to leave the park in a flood of other nannies and children. I grabbed Ethan in my arms with his scarf over his head, and Margaux rode her scooter. Everyone on the streets, including us, was soaking wet--so I said it was like everyone was taking a shower at the same time, and we laughed our heads off all the way home.

As it is Bella's last week in Paris before she goes back to Austria on Thursday, I tried to help her finish her three page "To Do" list. The hidden Saint Chapelle was step number one. The most amazing thing happend as I tried to get my free ticket. The ticket lady was pretty rude, saying that there was no way that I, as an American, could get a free ticket. I explained how I have a "carte de sejour" and that allows me all the rights of an EU citizen. She wouldn't listen to me, so I kept fighting for it. She finally gave in and looked into what I was saying. After looking at my carte through a magnifying glass, she looked at her coworker and said, "In fact, I think she is right. She might be American, but she speaks French very well." AHHHH!!! My day, week, LIFE was made right there! Bonus points for the USA!

Each of these huge stained glass windows tells the story of one book of the Bible. Incredible! Back in the day, a king bought what was supposedly Jesus' crown of thorns and pieces of the cross--at a higher price than the cost of the whole chapel that housed them!

Next we went to visit the Conciergerie, the famous prison that became known as the "antechamber to the guillotine." Both Marie Antoinette and Robespierre spent their last days here... Let's here it for Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!

We've walked past these places probably hundreds of times, but we finally joined the ranks of tourists and got a "phew" from all the ticket sellers when we said that they could speak French to us.

Here is the room where prisoners spent their last hours: coat hung up, collar ripped off, nape of neck shaved... ready for the famous French cut. EEK!

We took a stroll through the Île Saint-Louis, stopping in some adorable little stores, including the world famous Glace Bertillon, the best ice cream in Paris. Another check off of Bella's list. Along the way, we saw this plaque:

"In the memory of the student's from this school who were deported from 1942 to 1944 because they were born Jewish, innocent victims of the barbaric Nazis with the active compliance of the Vichy government. They were exterminated in death camps. We will never forget them."

Just another beautiful semi-winter, semi-spring evening:

We took a few random buses as a little nighttime adventure, and ended up at the Polyglot Cafe for yet another fabulous French speaking evening.

This past week was my last week in school. I decided that with the semester coming to a close, I would look for other options for using what I have learned. At this point I feel like I know the grammar and vocabulary, but I need some other opportunities for practice. So I am currently searching for nice French people (females, preferably) to have a French/English language exhange. I have already received a dozen emails from fun Frenchies!

(s'il y quelqu'un qui veut faire une echange des langues, disez-moi, svp!)

Under threatening skies, this past Sunday was another extraordinary volleyball afternoon! Sometimes it's fun to trudge around Paris in my mud-splattered attire after the game--take that you "WHAT is that perspiration doing mixing with the scent of my Chanel perfume?!" rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré Parisians.

I'm still looking for something to do next Saturday through Monday because my French family will be gone for the Easter break... anyone up for a little vacation? Well, off to brainstorm while tuning out the storm outside the window!

Spring has SPRUNG!

2010-03-22T09:34:00.009-04:00

SPRING is coming, and Vanessa has been out and about galloping in the sunshine and not writing a blog the past 2 weeks. In all that galloping, a lot of general soaking in the sunshine happened--even if I still had on 3 layers, that's better than the usual 5! I even managed to weasel my way into the Musée de l'Orangerie for free under the guise that I have a "carte de sejour" which makes me a Parisian citizen for one year. This means that now I can go to any museum (including Versailles) for FREE! Awesome! Along with some modern art videos, such as waves washing over a woman's body on the surf for 10 minutes, Victoria, Bella, and I saw the gigantic 360 degree Monet paintings!

We also found a snazzy passageway, one of the many re-discovered old Parisian street fronts.

Bella and I did some more wandering--as we do best--and stumbled upon a book store having a 20 cent book sale! I found Le Lion, a book I read a few months ago, along with "Politically Correct Fairy Tales" in French! Check out this awesome chocolaterie store front. Everything is chocolate!

On Saturday night Jonna, Laura, Martina, Bella, and I went to a cafe in the Marais that serves FREE couscous to anyone at the cafe around 9pm. Not only was the cafe a great mix of jazz and rustic-ness, but for the cost of my 2euro50 drink, I got a HUGE plate of couscous (see below picture).

Yes, that's right... zucchini, carrots, potatoes, chick peas, meat, and couscous... absolutely unbelievable. And they do this two days a week for about 60 people each time. For those of you in the city (or who might have just been persuaded to come), this is at La Cordonnerie.

Every night for the past few weeks, Ethan has been asking me he turn will 4 years old... and finally it came on Friday the 19th! After having a birthday party at school, we had a family party on Friday night with his favorite: pasta and sausage (aka hot dogs) and ketchup. Yum... :/ But at least he was happy. I was in charge of cake decorating, and with the creative help of Emmanuelle, here is the final project:

Seven 4 year olds came over on Saturday afternoon for Ethan's birthday with friends. It was most of these kids first birthday party at someone's house, but they weren't all that timid considering that they spend the afternoon sword fighting and toy car crashing. Emmanuelle and I put on a successful puppet show of "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge," aka "Little Red Riding Hood" too!

Even though Ethan was dressed up like a pirate for the party, it was Spiderman themed--even the cool cake that Emmanuelle made!

Put aside free museums, free couscous, candy and chocolate galore... the best part of this weekend was a little visiter we had at the house, David's kitten Garfield! David (Philippe's son who is 19) was going to London for the weekend, and I offered to keep his kitten company over the weekend. Little did I know that the family would bring him to stay with US for the weekend as a little surprise for me!! AHH!! He is SO CUTE and just what I needed too... kitty withdrawls are the worst!

He's only 6 months old, and he doesn't quite know how to control his claws yet, so he sticks to eeeeverything. It's cute--unless it's my hand, which happend quite a few times. But it was worth all the pain to have a cute chaton follow me from room to room and curl up behind my neck while I slept...

The family was clueless how to play with him though. They were throwing balls and random objects to get him to come out from under the table, but I just cut a piece of string and he came right out. I got several, "You're a genius! How did you do that?!" comments--seriously, who doesn't know that cats like string!? He even made friends with Ralph!

(disclaimer: minutes after this picture was taken, I found him gnawing on Ralph's leg)

On Sunday afternoon in the Bois de Boulogne, Natalie (a Brazilian au pair from my class) and I met up with a volleyball team that I found online. I don't like playing volleyball with guys because usually their serves and spikes are deadly, but the 6 guys (and 1 girl) seemed to be at the same level--competitive but playful. We ended up playing for 2 1/2 hours! After several mud-splattering dives, great set-ups, and rusty serves, our team came out 1-5... but we had a blast! It was a nice whirlwind course on French volleyball terms: good serve/set/pass/hit, good game, "I got it!" etc. Even though I can hardly move today, I am definitely going back next week!

This morning I reached the summit of my "take on Paris for free" hike. I booked an appointment as a hair model with the professional stylists "Toni & Guy Academy" in Paris. This was no ordinary trip to the hair cutters. I dressed completely in black (as they told me), bartered and bantered with 5 different stylists about what I wanted (with my newly learned hair cutting vocabulary), sang "American Girl" with about 3 different people when asked where my accent was from, got makeup put on me, changed into these crazy semi-leather pants and very Parisian shirt, and finally sat in front of a panel of 20 people. The guy who cut my hair was really nice and kept telling me not to be scared. I sat in front of the panel with 2 other girls and their stylists. While there was no mirror, the cutters were continually explaining what they were doing to the panel. It really was like they were making a work of art. My hair is actually not that bad, and I will post pictures when I get them uploaded... so be on your toes!

A few weeks ago I wrote about going to a fellow American's house in the South of Paris... well, to make a long story short, she (Katie) is going to be the next au pair for my lovely French family! I am so happy to find someone who I know and trust. When she came to meet the family, we both sang the kids to bed as I usually do when I babysit--now the kids won't stop talking about her! I just know this is going to be a great fit!

Last news: I applied to be a tour guide for New Europe Tours in Paris. These hip tours are free, but the guides get tipped according to how good the tour was. I have been on a N.E. tour in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Paris and they have seriously been the highlight of each trip. Hopefully I will find out soon if they want me or not--then all that is left is for YOU to come to Paris and take my tour!

I hope it is as lovely weather for everyone else as it is here--goodbye longest winter ever, SPRING is on it's way!

Ich bin ein Berliner

2010-03-10T15:53:00.014-05:00

I have been putting off writing this post as though it were a daunting essay from college, but I have decided to bite the bit and get crackin'! So... I arrived in Berlin on Wednesday night to see Sabrina waiting for me at the airport. Her mom drove us back to her house--and the language whirlwind began! Sabrina's German family/friends spoke German with her, some English to me, and when they didn't know the English words, Sabrina would translate the German into French for me. Phew!
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Her home in the Southeast of the city was hospitality heaven. They had set up everything I could possibly need--including peanutbutter, honey, bananas, and her grandma's cell phone for the week! Sabrina had to work the first day for a bit; so, I wandered around on my own. I found the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and a clothing store called Christ before it started to snow. Note: telling someone in Berlin that you only speak French is a good way to get them to go away, including Scientologists and people taking surveys on the metro at 3am.
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Here we are in front of the most intact portion of the wall:

We headed over to the Jüdisches Museum Berlin, one of the things I was looking for to seeing the most. In the shape of a lightning bolt/broken star of David, it uses the hands-on approach to experiencing Jewish history including: carrying a pack like Jewish traders, writing your name in Hebrew, and an 80 foot Holocaust tower/silo (so eerie!).
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Here is the school bus yellow metro above the river Spree:

On day two, we went to the Fernsehturm Berlin, a giant 1200 feet tall tv tower. Sabrina's grandma paid for us to go up into the observation deck and then to the rotating restaurant on the next level. In this picture you can see Museumsinsel (Museum Island) with the Berlin Cathedral (green dome), and behind the black square is the Reichstag (Parliament) along with the Tiergarten beyond that.

Here we are on the top of Berlin eating delicious apfel strudel while slowly rotating 360 degrees around the restaurant! Click to learn how to make this incredible German dessert.

By day two we had seen all of that plus: the Berliner Dom (cathedral from second picture above), Checkpoint Charlie (between Russian and American sections of Berlin), the KaDeWe (biggest store with delicious raspberry/passionfruit/pineapple juice!), area where Hitler's underground bunker once was, many a' platz, and more snow! This lovely green man is an Ampelmännchen, or the little red/green traffic light man! We went to several stores dedicated just to these! If you want Ampelmann pasta, flip-flops, stickers, gummies, doormats, or sunglasses this is the place to go!

Because the city was about 90% destroyed in WWII, almost everything was rebuilt by the Russians, within the last few years, or not at all. The tv tower where we ate was built to become the symbol of Berlin, and here it is on their fancy manhole covers!

This cobblestone line winds in and out of the center of the city marking where the wall used to be. We took a tour of Berlin, and our tour guide explained that getting to the other side wasn't a matter of hopping over the wall. To get to the other side, one had to use ingenuity, then he told us a fabulous escape story. When the wall went up overnight, the two lovers of the story were separated, we'll call them Niklas and Lena. Niklas lived in the East and by law he was allowed into the West once a year for one day, but at a very high price ($400-ish). He was in a restaurant one day when he noticed a girl who looked exactly like Lena. In a nutshell, he started a relationship with her and after a few weeks, he told her that they would be going on vacation--to West Germany (what fun!). They successfully crossed the checkpoint, but while the woman was unpacking her bags, Niklas drugged her tea. Slinking out of the hotel, he ran to meet Lena who thought that Niklas was only coming to visit for the day. Lena was surprised and clueless when Niklas seemed to magically get past the checkpoint into the East (by using the other woman's stolen papers). Sly, yet clever man. Thankfully the poor woman's father had connections with the government, and she got out of the West within the week--only to sentence Niklas to prison for 20 years for stealing her identification information--not to mention abandoning her in the Communist West. But he was released after two years, and he and Lena lived happily ever after. The end!

Here I am making a quick escape:

We wandered past the Reichstag (Parliament building), apparently the only place in Berlin where German flags fly--according to Sabrina. It was crazy to finally be in the spot that's in so many historic pictures and films (even though it has been rebuilt).

On our free tour, we went into the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a 4.7 acre site covered with 2711 concrete slabs. The slabs are covered with anti-graffiti coating which seems awesome at first, until a huge controvesy came up when it was discovered that the company that made the coating also made Zyklon-B gas during the war... in the end it was decided that if every company that aided Nazi efforts was left out of Germany today then not much would be left.

Over this trip I did eat some tasty food! One night we had 18 fresh-made sushi rolls for 4 euros ($6), and others included döner kebap (lamb and veggies stuffed in fluffy pita-esque bread) and this currywurst: (also, traditionally every candidate for mayor of Berlin has a picture made by a currywurst stand--their version of "kissing babies"?)

Sabrina and I spent some time with her grandma who lives down the street and her grandma's boyfriend. Being far from my own grandparents (hi, grandparents!!), I treasure the special attention that only a grandparent can give--and they helped filled those lonely shoes. They are taking, what they called, "English Classes for Old People," and what they could say was so cute. For instance, at the firework display that we are watching in the photo below, the "grandpa" kept saying, "Look! It's fire! My nose is cold... veeeery cold!" The firework display was a celebration of the fourth anniversary of a local shopping center--except that the fireworks were shot off ON TOP of the building along with a GIANT burning "4"...

On Sunday, we headed over in Sabrina's dad's car to the 1937 Olympic Stadium right outside the city. Like the rest of the city, the stadium is full of World War II history, including almost every country saluting Hitler as they paraded, Germans allowing only Aryan competetors, and Hitler waving at Jesse Owens after not having acknowledged a single German athlete. Here I am cheering for Jesse Owens myself:

After the stadium, we headed over to her fitness center on the top of a building overlooking the city. Not only did I come home with about 500 pictures, but also a few sore muscles...

Well, I think I have written plenty about this glorious trip, but if you are interested in seeing more pictures, I uploaded the favorites to my long-forgotten photo site: Vanessa's Photo Site!

Now, so that you know I am safe, I am back in familiar Paris where people sit around in cafes disputing the differences between the nearly identical words: croyant (a faith believer) and a croissant (a bread).

Project English Immersion

2010-02-28T11:07:00.013-05:00

One successful--and FINISHED--week watching the kids from 8:30am to 8:30pm everyday! As I sit here applauding myself, I must say that these extended times with the kids are never as bad as the anticipation. Last weekend I spent every free moment getting the most from being able to spend time alone or with people my age. I hopped into Musée Carnavalet with friends to see an expo on Paris old-school prison photos. But as it wasn't as free as we had thought, we wandered around the rest of the museum--one dedicated to the history of Paris!

General shenanigans...

I went to an 80s themed dance/club with these awesome girls where we danced to French 80s music! I left at 1:30am to catch the last metro home... except that I only made it half way across Paris when the metro stopped for the night. If anyone wants to know what a 3am walk down the Champs Elysee is like, I'll let you know.

For a video of crazy French people singing and dancing to French 80s, check out this (not yet) award-winning video I took:

Victoria and I spent Sunday afternoon wandering through Père Lachaise Cemetary in East Paris. I'd been here before with Wally, but it's about 120 acres--big enough to see something new every visit! After long searching, we found Haussmann's tomb, the controversial rebuilder of Paris who, ironically, wanted to have the cemetary destroyed as part of his renovations. Here is a fun overview of part of the cemetary:

On Monday, we met up with Victoria, her two kids, and Tony at Hotel de Ville to start off the big week with a bang--ice skating! Poor Ethan couldn't stand up for more than half a second, and as the ice was melting, he was soaking wet after a few minutes. Fortunately the kids area had walkers/chairs for kids like Ethan. This was Margaux's second time skating, and she did great! I have a feeling that most of her confidence came from trying to show off for Victoria's little 6 year old boy...

Enjoy this cute video of us ice skating--not to mention Margaux's cute little French voice. :)

After going to see "Planet 51," ballet class, and the library, we went to Cité des Enfants, a hands-on kids haven, with Victoria+her gang, and John (a friend from church). In the designated pique-nique cafeteria area, we ate lunch then headed to the 5-12 year old section because they kids have been to the 3-6 year old side many times. We got wet in a water tornado, measured how fast they could run, flew on Aladdin's magic carpet (via a greenscreen video), and here we see Margaux playing in a rock band!

For her great debut in karaoke/lip synching:

After the museum we went into the park and kicked around the soccer ball that John brought. Times like this are really good for my kids because Victoria and John ask them, "What is ___ in English?" and the kids are excited to show off their vocabulary. After just one week of immersion in English, Margaux understands SO much better! Not to mention that we had a blast running around/falling in the mud!

Finally the week came to an end... Right now Emmanuelle and kids are in the North of Paris somewhere skiing. Margaux spent part of Friday teaching Ethan "how to ski" by making him walk across the room on two toy cars to give the slippery effect of snow. :) I spent this weekend with Katie, a friend of a friend from Greenville, who is an au pair for her sister's children in the southern suburbs of Paris. I had forgotten that children who speak English exist in the world! It was refreshing to be in a rural-ish area with someone so nice!

Some other interesting this that happened this week...

Sabrina came into Paris for the day on Thursday, and all of us au pairs had a great cafe rendez-vous to see her. I'll be going to see her in Berlin from Wednesday until Monday morning!

Quote and embarassment of the week: I am in the cinema lobby with the kids waiting with dozens of other families to be let into the theater. Margaux and Ethan are acting up terribly while I'm trying to get them to calm down. From across the semi-quiet lobby, Margaux yells over to me, "Vanessa! Vanessa! Did you know that I've seen papa's zizi!?" You only have to guess... and let you imagine how I just wanted melted into the wall as everyone's eyes were on me...

Also, during one of the previews, a character said, "We can do it. We can do anything. We're AMERICANS!" And instantly the entire theater erupted with laughter. It's movies like that that reinforce stereotypes, but it's still funny :)
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Another conversation to go down in the books:

(dressing room at the ballet class)

Ethan: Vanessa, I love you. You are my looove, do you know that?

Margaux: But Ethan, I don't think Daniel is going to like that.

Me: Well, maybe we can adopter you, Ethan! Do you know what that is?

Margaux: Yeah, that's when you take him away!

Me: No, not really, Ethan would come to live with us and be our son.

Ethan: Oh... I don't think maman et papa would be very happy about that though...

I read the other day that if you speak English, you already know somewhere near 10,000 French words because of all the Latin based words in both languages. They aren't all exactly the same words in French, but if in doubt, just say the English word with a French accent. For example: "table" in English came from French, but it's pronounced "tah-bleh" in French. Or "family" in English is "la famille" in French. Try your hand at these three French phrases that use some words that have been shamefully taken directly from English:

1. C'est un appartement de grand standing, avec parking.

2. Quel était le score au match?

3. Le leader du parti souffre de stress.

Answer: 1) It's a very nice apartment with a parking lot. 2) What is the score of the match? 3) The leader of the party suffers from stree.

What about these French verbs: conquérir, s'amuser, préparer, tourner, voyager? While we would probably not say in English that we are going to amuse ourselves or that we are going to voyage somewhere, they are words that are nontheless familiar.

Well, here is to one week of vacation after a week of being Mama Vanessa! See you all after Germany!

p.s. Keep your chin up, USA, there is always the 2014 Winter Olympic hockey gold...

Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler

2010-02-19T18:02:00.005-05:00

Most people are pulled over to France mouth first... this photo from Bella's birthday last week is a good 5 euro reason why:

The full weekend of watching the kids was---well, it's over! Between Ethan's incessant cold and Margaux's friend coming to pick her up part way through the day, we had to stay inside almost the entire weekend. By the time the kids went to bed, I ran to Skype hoping to talk to someone--anyone--who could understand the words coming out of my mouth. Watching the kids wasn't that bad, but receiving nothing but, "Huh?" all weekend is enough to push anyone over the edge... but a little extra pocket cash and a glass pen with indigo ink from Venice do help a bit. :)

How sweet is this: two huge blue birds are building a GIGANTIC nest outside our front window in the dead of winter.

For our Tuesday night dinner, Emmanuelle made a raclette. I don't think it's specifically French, but it's one of my favorite dinners we have had so far! The raclette is a mini-grill where we melted the special raclette cheese to pour on our potatoes and meats. She said this is something that they would eat in a mountain restaurant after a cold day of skiing.

On Sunday afternoon while the kids were at a 2 hour birthday party, I jumped at the opportunity to get out. Victoria and I wandered around until finding ourselves at the Middle Ages Museum. It might not sound that interesting, but I was on an excited high from getting free entrance when generally it's not free--so suddenly everything became really interesting. :) Not to mention the rush of getting stopped by guards 2 or 3 times for being a little too interested in the displays...

Here are Victoria and I having a blast ice skating in front of Hotel de Ville on Monday afternoon:

Maybe those birds are forcasting an early spring (fingers crossed!) because for the past week, apart from a few snow flurries, we've had a some beautiful, sunny afternoons. I convinced Steffi (an Austrian from my class) and Jim (a British guy from my class) to have a pique-nique by the Canal Saint-Martin near our school. Usually I do stuff like this by myself after class, so it was great to have friends to laugh and enjoy the sunshine with--even if it was just above freezing.

Making every last minute count before watching the kids sixty hours next week during their mid-term "vacation," Steffi, Jim, and I went to Parc des Buttes Chaumont, one of the most unusual parks in a very flat Paris. Originally a quarry site for the rocks used in the reconstruction of Paris around the 1860s, it now has a stunning waterfall, many cliffs, and a lake. But its pride is a gazebo-type structure called the Temple de Sybil that stands high on an island in the middle of the lake. Here it is in the distance:

p.s. Wally, this is the exact hillside where we sat for lunch when you came to visit!

The Goddess Steffi demands to be worshiped...

The suspension bridge, also known as "suicide bridge" (see next picture to understand why):

Somethings that particularly touched me this week were, first of all, an older man giving up his seat for me in the metro--so sweet! (but when I got off the metro I saw a huge fight break out--oh, the good and the bad...) And another touching thing (literally)--lice! Oh FUN! I'm sure most people wouldn't broadcast this to the world, but I read that they like clean hair better than dirty hair, so I have nothing to be ashamed of. I only found a few unidentified objects, but after doing every possible treatment in the book, those few precious babies are long gone. The adventures of working with kids...

On Tuesday GRANOLA arrived with the groceries! Apparently when Emmanuelle and Philippe were in Venice over the weekend, their hotel served granola, and Emmanuelle immediately thought that it would be something I would like. She couldn't have been more right--or more kind!

I've started hawking a few of the family's French recipes from their homemade-over-the-years recipe book. Some winners included in my recipe book are an eggplant/tomato delight, a beef bourguignon/mushroom specialty, some cheesy quiches, and excellent desserts!

As it's 2:30am and I'm not tired yet, I will leave you all with two great songs/videos. The first is a French classic and is sung daily. The video for "Sympathique" by Pink Martini offers some helpful beginner lessons in French too!

Je ne veux pas travailler (I don't want to work)

Je ne veux pas déjeuner (I don't want to have lunch)

Je veux seulement l'oublier (I only want to forget)

Et puis je fume (And then I smoke)

This second video, "J'traîne des pieds" by Olivia Ruiz, has it all: beat boxing, clarinet, accordion, ukulele, and French. She sings about her adventures walking around town as she skips out on school. This perfomance is incredible... not to mention her outfit!

Merci beaucoup to everyone's encouraging words about spending the whole weekend with the kids. It meant so much to me! Here's to next week's 12 hours a day, 5 days a week with the kiddies! Then off to Berlin to see Sabrina!

For the love of Victor and Peanutbutter

2010-02-12T16:26:00.019-05:00

As my weekend alone with the kids begins, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Sometimes the most stressful part about watching the kids is not being top dog in the house--but guess who is now! :)
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And now looking back on a weekend free from kids... and just FREE in general! Sunday was the first Sunday of the month, aka, every museum/monument is free! Bella and I headed over to Centre Georges Pompidou, the modern art museum. I went here with Sabrina my first week in Paris. Check here for my blog post on that first trip to Pompidou. Enjoy the great view from the top of the museum.

These next few pictures are just to give everyone a taste for the sensory craze that is Pompidou. Here is a picture of a 3 minutes video of a soldier crawling on the ground with a cello on his back accompanied by dramatic music.

The main floor is dedicated to art work by women, saying that a woman's place in art is not to be just a nude model--and yet all the artwork was still of nude women. This piece of art made me chuckle:

Here is Bella decifering some delicious circle paintings:

Even though the temperature has been at freezing level for a long while, French men never give up an afternoon of pétanque, a bocci ball-esque game. (I was hidden behind/in a bush while taking this picture)

Paris is littered with churches like this one (Saint Eustache). Notre Dame is the one everyone talks about, but I'd venture to say that there are at least 20 other churches just as amazing within walking distance. Here Bella is looking for a hidden triangle below the pond from a movie she watched. :)

We skipped over to the Pantheon, also skipping the regular 11 euro fee! Yipee! My main reason for going here was to see my beloved Victor Hugo's grave (click for info on another great VH in the world. hehe). Not only did he write some of the most inspiring literature of all time but he was an avid player in French politics and fought for the rights of the people! In 1885 more than 2 million people came to his funeral procession--stretching over 3 miles across Paris! I signed the guest book, "Vanessa & Victor Hugo forever."

As well as seeing Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Voltaire's graves, there was a "Carlos, cardinal ERSKINE of Kellie" buried there! For those of you who don't know, my college is called Erskine too!

At 2 in the morning, I skyped with the Superbowl party at Davey and Marissa's house in Greenville. What a beautiful group this is! Philippe, the French dad, told me that Obama moved a big national speech because it was scheduled at the same time as the game. He was shocked, until I compared it to the French president giving a speech during the World Cup--then he understood. :)

I must say that I am proud of myself for toughing out what Paris is calling one of their coldest winters. On Wednesday we had two snowstorms--they sounded like torrential rain storms, but with snow! This picture can not capture the snow blowing in every direction, shooting down, blowing side to side, and being tossed back up again. As we walked to Margaux's dance class, the kids and I were caught in the first blast, which turned from cries of delight into cries of being swept away by the wind.

Living proof that Margaux LOOOOVES peanutbutter!!! I was reflecting on the life skills that I have taught the kids (beside the few English words that they remember: bottom, burp, etc), including: giving a High Five! (I think they just like slapping me and getting away with it), drinking water from the faucet (an ever-useful skill for the glass-less or lazy), skipping (most efficient way to travel), and eating peanutbutter with a spoon!

p.s. Note Ethan happily gnawing away on his horse...

In other news, I went to see the Sherlock Holmes movie one evening last week. I'm a huge fan of the stories, and I thought the movie did a good job of portraying the characters and the sleuthing, but I just felt like the way the action was played out was a little more theatrical than the books. But I guess that's to be expected for a movie.

I chose to make our Tuesday night family dinner this week--fajitas! Chicken, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheese, salsa, chips, wraps, MMMMM!! I even got a, "This is better than a restaurant!" comment!

Bella's 19th birthday was on Thursday! Several of us au pairs went to a Dominican cafe/bar to make up for her French family's lack of kindness--not even wishing her happy birthday when she even heard them talking about it. Some people's nerve... But nonetheless, we had a nice night laughing and keeping away from the blistering cold.

I decided that speaking with the kids in English is like speaking to myself. When I ask questions, they don't say anything. When I say something funny, no one laughs. When I explain where we are going or why we are doing something, just blank stares. The responses, if I'm lucky, are "Comment?" (like "what?") or "Ça veut dire quoi?" (What's that mean?) In that case, I do try to translate for them. Needless to say, when the parents come home at night, I feel relief because then I can speak French again, and someone will respond to me.

Another thing that I have mentioned briefly is the Polyglot Cafe. It is a normal cafe with flags on every table, and the people at the table speak the language of that country. Generally everyone speaks French and wants to speak English, so I'm in luck! I have had people search me out just because they hear that I am a native English speaker (apparently a rarity at the cafe). What a fabulous way to speak with French people and feel like a hero when speaking English!

Well, considering the kids will wake up at who-knows-how-early tomorrow morning, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll leave you all with this fabulous old French song that we sing in French class at least once a week. Click for an awesome video of Michel Sardou singing it.

La vie est plus marrant, (Life is funnier)

C'est moins désespérant (And less discouraging)

En chantant. (while singing)

Here's to staying energetic, patient, attentive, warm and lice-free!

Kanga and Roo Bounced By

2010-02-03T07:37:00.014-05:00

To start off on a happy note, I saw this bumper sticker on a motorcycle this week: "I love nothing, I'm Parisian."

Despite being mid-January when the sun shows its face for exactly 2 minutes each day, the sun must have forgotten it was winter, and we got one beautiful sunshiney Saturday! Everyone I knew was either sick, babysitting, or doing something relatively expensive--so I headed out to take some kid-friendly pictures with Kanga and Roo! I just threw the puzzle piece in my purse to spice up places that I've already taken a million pictures of. Here are the happy two bouncing over the Seine.

Intricate lamposts blend into everyday life now, but this one beside Notre Dame happened to catch my eye. While Paris looks good in black and white, I prefer the photo kind of black and white to the real-life monochrome sky...

Plaques--like this one--are all over the city. It says "Here fell for the liberation, Jean Montauron, policeman, August 24, 1944." This one mounted on the middle of a wall of what I think is part of the police station. I have no idea who he is, nor does the internet, but that makes the plaques even that much more interesting. France memorializes its history, the well-known and the unknown. I like that! There are a hundred plaques in the Marais honoring Jewish students/families who were deported straight from their school or killed in that exact place.

I have a set of 50 cards each with a different Paris walking tour, and the card I picked took me to some small streets I'd actually never ventured down! This hidden treat is five steps away from a street with millions of tourists shops. Take the road less travelled!

Here the mischievous duo play in the park behind Notre Dame!
On the tip of Île de la Cité, the largest of Paris's two natural islands, is the Memorial to the Deportation. Like a lot of WWII memorials, it uses more than candles and art to transform viewers into experiencers. Because it is below the sky line, visitors feel a bit of the isolation and fear that deportees felt. And I must admit, being alone didn't help some scaredness creep into my heart...

This is a picture I found on the internet, but it gives a good view looking out of the tall, VERY skinny entrance into the courtyard. It was meant to give visitors a claustraphobic feeling. Just behind the photographer is a candle-lit cave/room with Jewish quotes about life and death. But I can't describe it; it must be experienced.

Reflections of Paris...

I spent Sunday with Bella and Martina (another Austrian) in Shakespeare and Company, a famous English bookstore by Notre Dame. Here they are in the kids section--I put down "Calvin and Hobbes" for a moment to take this picture. :) I even found an old Beanie Baby catalogue that brought back great childhood memories. (Em, LED, and sis, just so you know, Quackers without a wing is still worth $1000! Yay!)

This afternoon, I went with the kids to see "La Princesse et la Grenouille" ! (Click for the trailer in French) This was the first time at the movies that Ethan didn't fall asleep in the theater--a front page review right there! Even though it was definitely scary at some points, Disney didn't disappoint and created a "princess" with more depth and character than I was expecting. To top off the exciting afternoon, Ethan decided to go to the bathroom in a bush on the side of the Champs Elysee. Not many people (beside homeless) can say they've done that. Well done, Ethan.

The next weekend I will be watching the kids 24/7 while the parents go on Philippe's birthday present trip to Venice for the festival. Hoping for the big bucks! hmmm...

I'm now starting my third Narnia book, Le Cheval et son Écuyer, and fifth French book over all! I'm not in the dark metro tunnels anymore--I'm in Narnia!

Last, but most importantly, this past Tuesday was La Chandeleur, the day Jesus was presented at the temple--but guess how the French celebrate?! Does the name Fête des Crêpes give anything away? MMM!!! As usual, David, Philippe's 19 year old son, came over for the weekly family dinner, and Emmanuelle made fabulous ham, egg, cheese crepes for dinner and then our choice of Nutella or jelly crepes for dessert! For an easy dessert crepe recipe, click here!

Well, after a long 12 hour day with two kids who struggled to understand anything I said, I'm going to have sweet dreams about someone out there understanding, "Are your shoes under your bed?" without me having to do an aerobic act of gestures.

Bon Anniversaire, Margaux! (part 2)

2010-01-26T15:17:00.007-05:00

I've almost survived a full January of a northern French winter! It snowed a bit as I was walking into class--maybe a bonhomme de neige is in the future?? Not only have I survived the first half (fourth?) of winter, but I also survived a crazy birthday party with 9 candy-crazed kids!
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First of all, enjoy this picture of the Jardin des Tuileries where I find myself a lot. There was a beautiful winter day last week without much wind, so I spent the whole day purposefully getting lost. After taking this picture, I sat down to read my book when two creepy men tried to talk to me. As much as I would love to just have a lovely French conversation with some strangers, I've learned from experience--not a good idea! So after saying (badly, on purpose) that I couldn't speak French OR English, when they asked where I was from, I said simply, "Moldovie, kwahna iksm pareela?" Total gibberish, but after stupified looks (and discretely putting my French book away), they left me alone. Unfortunately, it happened 10 minutes later with some other people, and that time I just left. haha.

Margaux's birthday was Hello Kitty themed with everything pink. The boys got lucky with some pirate and Cars paraphernalia. Here they are having a drawing competition! Another little Ethan, who is holding up his drawing, ended up winning because of his creative addition--car exhaust! haha.

After pictionary, face painting, presents, cake, and crown decorating (my idea!), they played a red/green light type game with music.

Margaux got some really exciting presents like a candle making kit, a kids wood burning kit, water coloring stuff, and a giant pen. With each gift I was about as excited as she was--because I'll be doing it all with her, they are as much my presents as they are hers.

Pauvre Ethan was sick in bed for all of the party. I had been home with him for three days, and everything possible was wrong with him. But in better news, he ate two meals today for the first time in almost a week and walked up all 4 flights by himself :)

Here are two of the little boys dancing with the pirate crowns that they made.

(note: They are also 2 of Margaux's 3 boyfriends--apparently--but I'm not sure if they know.)

On Sunday night I went to a free benefit concert at Le Zenith, the Bi-lo Center type place in Paris. It was a fundraiser for Haiti sponsored by one of the big French channels--my French family was at home watching it on tv! SO many famous names in French music sang! I had heard some of the songs before, and it was cool to hear the entire crowd singing along.

(two pictures thanks to Laura!)

Here is a picture of Indochine and Béatrice (aka Coeur de Pirate, no joke) singing "J'ai demandé à la lune." Click to watch a youtube clip of them singing it at a different concert. But in our concert she played the piano while singing!

I was recently tagged in pictures on Facebook, so I'll add them as blasts from 2009. Here is the group of us caroling--we miss you Madeline and William!!!

Here's a picture from the Oxford Bop back in December. Because the theme was "international," here we have a winning French costume along with a cow (?) and Iceland costume. What a fabulous night!

In other news, this past Sunday I passed my 5 month anniversary in Paris! It really feels like years... but I have a feeling the next 5 months will go by quickly because not everything is completely new, and there is less stress in communicating. I've felt a burst of French OOMPH lately. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's a feeling like I could just babble on and on...as my vocabulary is strengthening and verb tenses are catching up. I know I make a lot of errors when I speak, but that's never stopped me from trying to say some of the most ridiculous things. My family is ever-encouraging, my French class is smaller than usual (always better), and the kids at the birthday party could understand almost everything I said--they are the most honest critics! haha.

Keep praying that the kiddos are receptive to English. They are understanding a little more, but it's still really difficult--for me. It's cute how they will randomly throw in English words when they are talking. For example, "Où est mes shoes?" (where are my shoes), "On va acheter du bread?" (are we going to buy bread?), and their favorite--somewhat wrong--phrase, "C'est Ethan le bathtime!" "Non! C'est Margaux le bathtime!" (it's Ethan/Margaux first for the bath). For as hard as French mouth-twisting "r's" are to say, they have just as much trouble with our "r" too. Interesting. The word "bread" usually comes out "bled." Cute. But wrong :) "Thirty" and "forty" sound almost exactly the same when Margaux says them, but at least she's trying.

Well, time to head off to bed before a full 12 hour Wednesday tomorrow. Pray I don't catch what Ethan is getting over--and that Margaux doesn't get it too! As the French are still saying this late in January, "Bonne année et , surtout, bonne santé!" Happy New Year and, above all, good health!

Bon Anniversaire, Margaux! (part 1)

2010-01-20T08:13:00.014-05:00

Meet Etha--I mean ZORRO! Check out this snazzy Christmas present he got! This is what he looks like every afternoon about 5 minutes after we come home from school. :)

Over the past week I had a few days of vacation and also some quality moments with the kiddos. Margaux got a hold of my camera and took this video of her room. Be prepared for some quick filmage, but the cute voice is Margaux saying that she is filming so that when I am not there I can remember her room. Aww.
p.s. I don't think these videos worked. I will try to upload them again tomorrow, so check back later. :)

Margaux turned 6 years old on January 15th, but the family went to Spain for her birthday. The day before they left, I let the kiddos go to the boulangerie and choose something for the afternoon snack as a birthday treat. I told them they could choose aaanything they wanted--elaborate pasteries, cakes, anything... but all they wanted was a croissant and a pain au chocolat. Oh well, as long as they are happy. I set up 6 tea lights as candles!

Look how much joy some tea lights an a piece of buttery bread can bring! :D

Caught red-handed stealing my apple tart!

On Saturday I met with a group called the "Paris Photography Group" that I found on meetup.com. This weeks adventures were discovering the old covered passages of Paris! These existed before the reconstruction period (1870s) as chic stores and have recently been found and restored. Voila!

I met some nice people and hopefully will be introduced to other exciting picture-taking places!

Here is a cute video to leave everyone with... We listen to the music from the musical The Sword and the Stone alll time time because Margaux saw it a few weeks ago when the show came through Paris.

In other news, and not too minor, I have completed my life's mission! Not only does Margaux like peanutbutter, but she requested to eat it straight out of the jar! Sometimes for the afternoon snack, I'll have an apple with peanutbutter, and after trying it a few times, it won her heart!

Also, Les Miserables and Fiddler on the Roof are coming to Paris this coming spring! Hip hip Horrray! Maybe I can find nose-bleed student tickets for 5 euro??

I successfully got a library card to the local library! And I already checked out two books. Can you believe that my family here has never been to their own library?

As for another movie recommendation, I watched Les Choristes the other day. It's like a French version of "Freedom Writers" but with music instead of writing. They even used a real soloist from a boys choir to be the lead boy. I bet it could be found with English subtitles, so go find it! :D

Well, I'm going to go brainstorm what games to play at Margaux's birthday party this coming Saturday. Any suggustions? Vite! More about the party after the celebration--if we survive all the cake, candy, and princessness!

Queen for a Day

2010-01-16T15:43:00.009-05:00

In France, the fun doesn't end with Christmas or New Years--they celebrate La Fête des Rois, the day when the wisemen (les rois) came to visit baby Jesus. So from January 6th-8th, the boulangeries are full of specialty galette des rois, cake of the wismen. This might be my favorite French tradition so far!
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On January 6th, I went to the boulangerie with the kids and let them pick out a cake. To prevent any disputing, the lady gave us two crowns (more about that later). This is what ours looked like:

The tradition is that there is une fève--originally a bean for fertility, and now a small trinket--hidden inside the cake. Whoever gets the prize in their piece gets to wear the crown and become queen/king. But to prevent cheating by looking at the cake, the smallest child (or Margaux) goes under the table and calls out who gets the next piece.

Here are the kids looking for la fève.

But ut-oh! Look who got the little horse figurine! ME!

Margaux was so disappointed that I would be queen and Ethan would be king; so I told her that she could be princess, and I let her wear the crown. Cool fact about the galette: because the French have a fear of kings, the galette served to the French president never has une fève inside--so he can never be king! Leave it to the French!

For a very easy recipe, and a chance at being king/queen, click here for an easy, traditional recipe.

On Sunday, Victoria, Tony, and I prepared the dinner for the 18-30s group at church. We made a Mexican-style meal with beans, rice, chicken, onions, tortillas, and good ole apple pie!

The apple pie--or apple tart, as the French call it--was SO delicious and simple! Here is Tony hard at work (or hardly working?)

Here I am representing my giant pot of rice (that whole thing is FULL), beans, and chicken galore.

We danced and sang to music and finally served it to everyone--it was a hit! Go us!

In other news, a few days ago I went to a goodbye party for William, a friend who is going to New Caledonia for study abroad (???). I came at the end of the party, and they decided to watch Slumdog Millionaire because William grew up in India. Shameless plug: WATCH IT NOW! I know, I know, I'm behind the times, and I seriously can't believe that I haven't seen it until now. As someone very critical of movies, I can say confidently that this movie rocks my socks! Watch the trailer here!

The most exciting news of all: I passed my French exam and have officially moved to the next level! Yipee!! Aaaaand, I was 2nd in my class! Hip hip horray!

Other French language news: I finished my 3rd French book over 150 pages! I read two Narnia books, and I just finished Le Lion by Joseph Kessel--250 pages! I like having something to do in my commuting time, so I always read on the metro. Le Lion is such a classic that I constantly had random people telling me how much they loved the book! On Monday I am going to the local library to check out their collection.

Cute kid news: The family is in Spain for Margaux's birthday this weekend. After school Ethan told me he was so exciting that we were going to Spain, and when I said that I wasn't going, he just looked devistated. I asked him is he would rather stay here and play with me all day, and he said YES! Awwww...

Well, I'm off to look up ideas for Margaux's birthday party next Saturday! I'll be posting again mid-week because a lot has happened over my 3 1/2 day vacation! Happy mid-January all!

Dan and Vanessa take on the City of Love

2010-01-07T18:20:00.008-05:00

1, 2, 3, skip a few, 131, 132 days--The day is finally here! After 132 days--4 months--Dan finally made his pilgrimage to the City of Lights... and Love. I hadn't planned on seeing him for a whole year, but his dad had free sky miles that he was willing to donate to our cause! Because we packed so much adventure into one week, I decided to make a short, whirl wind video of all the pictures we took. Be prepared!

p.s. Props to Charles Aznavour for one of the most fabulous French/English songs ever "For me... Formidable"!

What says welcome to Paris at Christmas-time better than a baguette tree??

We ate a lot of bread--to say the least! Here we are in a little park that I discovered a while back--great for watching little kids riding bikes and eating awesome cheese bread!

We frequented the Marais--the old area North of the river--thanks to these lovely bites! (note the falafel sauce on nose) Once when we were there, an old lady asked us if we would help carry her groceries to her house. On our "it's just around this corner" 20 minute walk, we had a great conversation while Dan just smiled :) She told me about every possible connection she had to the US (including seeing a picture of Chicago once), that this was the food for the Sabbath dinner she was baking, that she lost her husband in the war, that she prefers peace (I taught her "peace" in English), and that Carla Bruni has had 4 husbands--and she's not even French!

It was so much fun taking him to all the little digs I'd been to around the city! Here we are in a 4-table cafe getting our hot choclate fill for the year:

I enjoyed seeing his awe at the things that I've seen countless times--I gained a renewed appreciation too! He loved Sacre Coeur!

Dan found a new love---boulangeries! Bakeries that specialize in breads and pastries! MMMM!!

A lot of the things we tried to do were either closed due to it being the week of New Years or had a really long line. So after leaving what would have been a 2 hour line for the Catacombs, we skipped (literally) over to the Jardin de Luxembourg so happy to be free from line waiting in freezing windy cold!

This is what I have missed so much... just relaxing and enjoying sharing moments together. Being in Paris for those moments isn't too bad either! :)

Dan did a 3D puzzle of Notre Dame once, so when he saw the cathedral in real life, he was in awe of how BIG it actually is! He got to experience the super-old organ at the free organ concert too!

We brought in 2010 with style... and Bella! After dancing with a loud group of Indians (the country) in the middle of Place de la Concorde, eating their New Year's cookies, and braving mad crowds on the Champs Elysee, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower. Thanks to my crafty knowledge of the city, we went to a grassy hillside where I knew there wouldn't be many crowds, and we could avoid the rush to the metro.

For Christmas, his parents gave us tickets to the Musee d'Orsay, famous for being an old railway station and for its impressionist paintings including Monet, Renoir, and Cezanne. We pondered many a'painting and decided to dedicate our lives to the art... or at least learn how to use a paint brush:)

The week came to an end too quickly, but beside being somewhat traumatized by everyone speaking French, I think this first Europe experience was a hit! But we did bring some America to the family by making them pancakes and homemade popcorn for breakfast! Margaux couldn't stop making googly eyes at him, and Ethan asks me everyday when he is coming back. Maybe it had something to do with his mom's cookies that he brought? :)

Saying goodbye is always difficult, but I am so glad that we had this unexpected chance to spend seven precious days together. He moved back with his family in Pennsylvania after graduation a few weeks ago; so while it is hard to be apart, I'm glad that he will be close to those he loves and, most importantly, two cute cats!! Pray for my side of things... the first while after being apart is always the hardest...

But for anyone else who wants to visit---COME! That's all I have to say... COME COME COME!! The boulangeries await!

Joyeux Noël!

2009-12-26T13:29:00.010-05:00

Joyeux Noël, tout le monde! What an incredible Christmas in Paris I had :)
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Starting off on an exciting note: We're going to be RICH next year! Growing wheat on a plate is a tradition from the Provence area in the South of France. If your wheat is still alive and kickin' by Christmas, wealth is headed your way! If you're interested in doing this next year (or hoping for some magical way to get money), here's how. Note: anything underlined/red in this post is a link to more information.
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Blé de la Sainte Barbe- start on December 4

1. Cover a medium sized saucer with face washing-type cotton pads and wet it

2. Pile on about an inch thick wheat (or lentil) seeds

3. Water it carefully each day, making sure to drain the excess water- warning: if watered too much it will drown

4. Hope for the best!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with 7 of Philippe's family at our house. To spread some American Christmas traditions, I decided to make ginger bread men for everyone! Even though I had to go to 4 grocery stores, 3 specialty food stores, and 2 foreign stores to find molassas, they were a blast to make with the kids.

Emmanuelle prepared a huge Christmas dinner, including peppered fois gras (mmm!), morel mushroom soup, special French chicken delight, lots of cheese, and cannéles! Philippe had asked me to play some Christmas songs on the flute, so we had a sing along! And they all sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in English for me because I was far from home! (Emmanuelle has printed out the words) Talk about tugging on my heart strings! Awww!!!

After drinking some of Bordeaux's finest and most expensive wine (at least $500 per bottle!) aptly named Château Margaux (click for info), celebratory champagne, and dessert wine, we put the kids to bed while Santa passed by. It was already midnight by that point!

Amid the hussle of setting 13 people's Christmas presents out, I saw Margaux's little face peek around the corner trying to catch a glimpse of le Père Noël. I must say, it was my first Christmas with children, and it was magical. Here is Ethan with the pirate hat I gave him--and he hasn't taken it off since!

Margaux got a bike! Here are Philippe's nieces, dad (on chair), two sisters and nephew (on couch). Note the puppy that will be haunting Ethan's nightmares for weeks to come...

My parents sent some presents for the kids, but they opened them on Christmas morning so that they were more special. Ethan got an small American nerf football which he immediately began to throw and some pirate Playmobil, and Margaux got a Barbie with a change of clothes.

Although the flash is pretty bright here, you can still see her little mouth open in joy as she realizes that not only does she have a Barbie but also an incredibly sparkly dress for her!

For Christmas lunch, we went over to Philippe's family's house. Philippe told me that Avenue Foch--where they live--is the "Boardwalk" of French Monopoly! Wow! Here are the two traditional Christmas cakes that we ate! So cute!

Later that night I got to be a part of Christmas in SC! My dad just finished tearing down the wall between our family room and living room. Because the house is still recovering, we have Christmas ladder with lights instead of a tree... I guess as long as Santa can still find it, a ladder works!

In other exciting news, my French family gave me a truly incredible Christmas present. They know that I eat, sleep, and breathe tea, so why give anything less than the best... Mariage Frères!!! Mariage Frères is a Paris-based fine French tea company. I always stare dreamily into the windows of the store but had to be satisfied to leave it at that... until now! They gave me a personal porcelain tea pot with built-in loose leaf strainer and a tin of their special Espirit de Noël blend that smells like cinnamon! WOOOW!!! Pictures definitely to come!

And the best Christmas present of all: Margaux asked me if Santa could find me in Paris, and when I said yes, I asked her if she wanted me to stay in Paris with her for the rest of her life... and she said, "Oui! And even after I die... for a long, long, long time!" And then she hugged me...

(maybe worth mentioning all the times that I threatened to take away her Christmas presents if she wasn't nice)

Well, I hope everyone had an equally incredible and magical Christmas time! Feel free to share your Christmas memories!

Merry Christmas, and a Happy Happy New Year! Bienvenue 2010!

Dinosaurs+Ferris Wheels+Swimming=Christmas

2009-12-23T17:39:00.005-05:00

Well, here I am, all day thinking that tomorrow (Thursday) is Christmas when really it is Friday :( The kids just thought that maybe Santa comes a day early in America, so they didn't tell me any better. Alas, I have to wait day longer, but I can't rush Santa, now can I?
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Last weekend was a loverly dress-up party with people from church! Included you will see reindeer, angels, Mr. and Mrs. Frosty, shepherds, and trees--but to spice up the magic, you'll also spy: Christmas pudding, the original creation of Captain Christmas, a lobster, and a kid on Christmas Eve. I went as the little doll off the Island of Misfit Toys from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Even though this happened before my last post, I thought this was worthy of mentioning... I went swimming with the kids, and it was a sensational hit! Such excitement that Ethan ran off to the bathroom 4 times in 2 hours! At least he didn't just go in the pool...

On the snowy days, we bundled up inside (it's even cold inside!). Margaux took this picture of Ethan with one of his favorite books: Gus is Gone! A great "Where's Wally"-esque book, and it's great for teaching vocab to the kiddos.

Who doesn't like to dress up in their au pair's clothes?? She tried to act out my life, including: calling Sabrina and then meeting up with her and then picking the kids up from school! (p.s. I miss you, Sabrina!)

Here they are reading one of Davey's present to the kids! It's the book he illustrated "Bats in the Air, Bats in my Hair"! They were pretty excited that it features bats, as in BATman :)

We went to a live-action dinosaur expo one day! This picture captures the afternoon: Ethan completely fascinated and Margaux looking at me every few seconds telling me she is scared and wanting to be reassured that they aren't real. But they were pretty scary and HUGE, if I do say so myself!

On Tuesday, we went to a carnival-type park at the Grand Palais. It featured a giant ferris wheel that the kids just had to do. They were both really scared but wanted to do it anyway. As Ethan and I were about to get in, it shot off with Margaux by herself! Luckfully there were two other people with her, and when she finally came around she wasn't as traumatized as I thought--but only after I reassured her that she had been very brave to go by herself.

Meet Marie. Margaux and Ethan love her equally, and she was Emmanuelle's childhood doll too. Not to mention her hair grows and retracts!

Nothing finishes a day better than a Nutella crepe. Can I get an AMEN?

Enjoy an exciting video of the kids in the toy area of the carnival.

As this will probably be my last post before Christmas, JOYEUX NOEL to all!!! And to all a good night!

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

2009-12-20T18:11:00.005-05:00

Twas the week Before Christmas, and all through Paree,

No true Christmas spirit was stiring, not even a tree.
But we Anglophones were crying for something jolly to do

So we strapped on our caps (to ward off the flu)

And headed to the Seine with many songs to be sung,

Belting out loud each and every one.

Sir Christmas Spirit must have heard our prayers grow,
For in the morning we awoke to see SNOW!

At the au pair cafe we celebrated the holiday with cheer,

Then we sent off Madeline back to Australia with a tear. (far left)

Snowball fights and snowman building ensued after school
And can I say it was a little more than cool. (in a lot of ways)

p.s. This is not our snowbear creation. haha.

Yuletide by the Fireside

2009-12-15T18:31:00.006-05:00

Bienvenue to winter in Paris! It has been a while since I posted last because soooo much has happened. Which means many things, but for you, it means more posts! Yay! As I mentioned earlier, last week was Sabrina's last week in Paris before she goes back to Berlin. So Jonna, Sabrina, and I went ice skating!

Enjoy this quality video (with a sad lack of Christmas music)

Saturday night we put up le sapin de Noël--my first real Christmas tree! Several times a day for the past week Ethan told me, "Do you know that on Saturday we are going to decorate the Christmas tree?" "We're going to decorate the tree on Saturday!" "I can't wait for Saturday!"

They let me help put up the tree, but it ended up being just me and Emmanuelle because Ethan was busy figuring out which bulb was his favorite, and Margaux was making her own ornaments out of paper with her friend Manu.

Joyeux Noël! Merry Christmas everyone! Margaux can semi-successfully sing the first two lines of "Jingle Bells" in English, and she quite happily says "Merry Christmas" every few minutes.

For some extra French Christmas spirit check out this song that my kids sing eeeveryday on the way home from school. Click here: Petit Papa Noel

Chorus translation:

Little Santa Claus

When you come down from the sky

With toys by the millions,

Don't forget my little shoe/stocking.

3 Cafes in 2 Days

2009-12-13T05:20:00.003-05:00

This past week was Sabrina's final week in Paris, so each afternoon and evening we squeezed as much fun out of Paris as we could.
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Jonna (pronounced "Yoon-ah"), a friend from Norrköping, Sweden, took a group of us from school to the Swedish cafe in Paris. It was SO cute! Yes, those are porcelain plates made into clocks on the wall!

And here is our Swedish representative herself with her classic Swedish open-faced sandwich: pumpernickle flat bread with small meatballs, cucumbers, tomato, and lettuce. MMmm! The little pastry is apparently a Swedish Christmas treat!

I've mentioned this before, but every Thursday afternoon I go to the "International Au Pair Cafe." Usually anywhere between 6 and 15 girls show up. It really is like a support group!

In making the rounds to all the Christmas markets, Sabrina, Jonna, and I headed to the market by the Eiffel Tower on Friday afternoon. More pictures and VIDEOS are to come because we went ice skating! All afternoon Sabrina practiced balancing the tower on her head, just for this picture:

Later that night we met at Starbucks as a final "au revoir" to Sabrina. She left early Saturday morning and is now back in Germany with her family. Someone told me this recently, and I couldn't agree more: while it's hard to leave home to go abroad, it is just as hard to leave and come home...

We said some sad farewells in the metro as we parted. But she will be coming back in February for a weekend, and I'm planning on going to Berlin in early March!

As you've seen from past posts, we spent every Saturday, Sunday, and some weekday afternoons and evenings together for the past 3 months. I miss her so much, but pass along a congratulations to her because this past week she found out that she got accepted into a physiotherapy internship/school for the next 3 years!

I must admit, it has been hard to be away from home during the holiday season. I feel like I can say with confidence that nothing beats Christmas in America. I would love to hear what is happening for Christmas back home. Feel free to leave a little comment--even if it's just something like, "The Roper Mountain Lights are great this year, " or "Jingle Bell Rock came on the radio 10 million times today." I miss things like that!

All my friends except two will be going home next week for the holidays, but my French family has been making sure that I get to be a part of the family holiday events. I am so thankful for them! Next post: ice skating at the Eiffel Tower and decorating the Christmas tree with the kids!

Beast of All Museums--the Louvre

2009-12-11T17:44:00.005-05:00

Last weekend Vanessa and Sabrina braved the Louvre on "Free Sunday." On the first Sunday of every month, pretty much every museum in Paris is free. So being as cheap (and poor) as I am, I waited until a rainy first Sunday came along to explore the art wonder of the world.

Because the museum is HUGE, we didn't encounter any crowds--and we only waited 10 minutes to get in because we used a secret entrance! All museums are free every day for Sabrina because she lives in the European Union (not fair!) and she is under 26 years old... but she was so nice to go with me on an infamously crazy Sunday.

I'm not much for taking pictures of paintings that we've all seen before, but in the Egyptian section, we saw mummified EVERYTHING, including tons of cats! Now talk about a society who knew royalty when they saw it... Dodger, these are your ancestors!

Christmas trees for sale beside the Seine! Take a mental note that the sky DOES exist in Paris, because it's about to hibernate for a very very long time :(

We met up with Bella for the free organ concert at Notre Dame. This picture isn't fantastic, but you get the idea that there is a HUGE Christmas tree out front!

Afterwards we did some Christmas gift shopping for family and friends. I happened to look at a bookmark because there was a Victor Hugo quote on the back, but when I read the English translation I just HAD to buy it. Read for yourself:

Maybe the position of proof-reader is open now?

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For as interested in creative things as I am, I'm just not an "art museum" person. I am too overwhelmed by how it's so talented, and I don't have much knowledge about different styles. But overall I did enjoy the massive amount of art in one place and seeing the inside of a palace that I pass all the time. I have a feeling on the cold winter weekends, I will be making the rounds to the 50+ art museums in the city.

Dancin' All Night Long

2009-12-07T17:42:00.003-05:00

Another cutie shot to start off with:

Because Sabrina is leaving Paris for good next week, we decided to have an all-night farewell fling. The metro stops at 2am and starts again at 5am, so we danced ALL night long. And I made it until 4am before the first yawn eeked out!

There were three different rooms: one with random techno beats that was PACKED with people, one with rap/hiphop, and one with a random mix of everything from 80s, the Grease soundtrack, Indian music, the YMCA, some techno remixes, pretty much anything you can imagine. I'll let you guess where we stayed all night...

Everyone looks a little haggered here, but it was only 1am at this point. These faces are the realization that only a half hour had passed--with 4 hours to go!

When we left at 5am, it was pouring down rain. We ran completely around the Arc de Triomphe and finally reached the open metro--only to sit for 40 minutes, soaking wet waiting for the metro to arrive.

Here is a really dark, blurry picture of the metro sign saying "5:06" in the morning.

Well, it was definitely a night to remember, once I finally woke up on Saturday :)

Sabrina doesn't actually leave until next Saturday morning, so lots of fun will be had in the next week too, but I will miss her so much. We've passed many a great Parisian day together, but I am planning on going to see her in Berlin (and the city too) in March when I have a vacation!

Happy Au Revoir/Auf Wiedersehen Night, Sabrina!!

Christmas Market Extravaganza

2009-12-05T19:42:00.004-05:00

Last weekend Sabrina and I decided to check out the 2 biggest Christmas markets in Paris at La Defense and Champs Elysee! It was a pretty rough weekend--ya know, tons of cute Christmas doodads, Christmas music, chocolate galore, roasted chestnuts, spiced wine... what can I say, life is really tough :)

My first roasted chestnut experience! Absolutely DEE-LISH!

Later that evening Sabrina wanted to go to a certain Starbucks near the Opera, but I didn't understand why it had to be THAT one until we walked in:

The next day Bella met up with us for the market on Champs Elysee. It rained on and off, but with some French breads in our tummies, we were nice and happy!

I saw these earrings at the La Defense market but didn't get them because I like to be in love with something before I buy it--but all night I couldn't stop thinking about them. It was love.

(little Russian dolls!!!)

And what says Joyeux Noel better than a yak? Since yaks were, most definitely, at the manger :)

In case anyone is interested, Santa did make an appearance. His sleigh and reindeer were strung on a telephone wire high above the street! From the looks of it, he could fly back and forth between poles too.

Be ready for a new post on last night/this morning's adventures--until 6:30am! Until then, happy 3 weeks until Christmas!!!

A Parisian Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T16:53:00.005-05:00

Who doesn't love a beautiful sunrise? It's not often that I actually see the sun at this point in the morning, but for some reason I was up--and it was worth it!

Well, welcome to a week full of Thanksgiving cooking and culture creating! I spend all my free time from Tuesday to Friday night doing something for the big night. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner by myself for 10 people is a big enough task, but considering that the essence of America can be found in this one celebration--I had a huge cultural teaching task on my hands!

The menu consisted of:
Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake for breakfast
Green Bean Casserole with bacon and walnuts
Mashed Potatoes with sour cream and chives
Salad with cranberries, apple, pear, cashews, and a nice sugary lemon dressing
Brioche- bread that French people love, but I just bought it
Turkey with some brown sugar, but only breasts because I don't have the money, time, or skills for a full turkey
And two pumpkin pies

Voila, the first of two pumpkin pies:

The green bean casserole and mashed potatoes made at midnight:

The kitchen looked like this every night:

On Thursday night I talked to the party gathered at my house in SC. Here is my sister, g'pa, and g'ma! It was SOOOOO nice to talk and SEE them! Horray for technology!

As part of the cultural transfer, Ethan dressed up like an Indian (you know, the Gap t-shirt wearing Indian tribe), and Margaux and I dressed like Pilgrims. They both ran around the house saying "How" and making Indian "wa-wa-wa" noises.

On each chair was a drawing that Margaux and I colored, and the drawings told the story of the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. So before dinner, I attempted to tell the story of Thanksgiving in French. It went pretty well, and the kids were happy to have their artwork displayed. Here is everyone wondering what those crazy American's eat.

I really like this picture. Everyone in the hub of being served and Philippe just smiling at the camera.

My plate, minus salad and pumpkin pie.

Earlier in the week I asked the kids what they were thankful for, and I made a mini Thanksgiving essay that they could give to their parents. Margaux was thankful for princesses and fairies, and Ethan was thankful for boats and pirates. But they both were thankful for coloring, Kinder (a type of chocolate), toy stores, Santa, and when mama reads them stories!

In conclusion, the night was an incredible success! Everyone raved about how good the food was and really appreciated the hard work I put into it. The only leftovers were two pieces of pie! While it was great fun to share American culture, it's nice to know that I'll never have to make Thanksgiving dinner by myself again. :)

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving too!

Oxford, the sequel

2009-11-28T15:07:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I took a lovely journey to Jolly Ole England! But first, why not start off a blog with this squealable face!

When I left Oxford last year, I was in shock for quite a while--culturally, emotionally, and just because I didn't think I'd ever get to go back to a place that had become a temporary home. But Howard, a fellow Erskinator, is studying there now, so I decided to pay him and Oxford a visit. It was so unreal to find myself in the exact same place I was one year ago.

This is for you, Grandpa! Howard and I went into the Ashmolean Museum and found the Stradivarius violin!

That night was a New College Bop! A bop is a dance where everyone dresses up to a theme. This week's theme was "Nationalities"! A lot of Howard's study abroad friends went, and we had a blast! It was soooo bizarre to be back, but so grand at the same time!

That night/early morning I got really sick, so my next day got a late start, but I walked around the Jericho area and just soaked in happiness and joy!

In front of my old flat!

One block away from my flat is the canal that I used to walk beside all the time. Love it!

I came upon a really creepy cemetery through this old brick gate and decided to go in! Usually cemetaries don't scare me, but I had just finished one of the Narnia books where trees are alive, and the big fir trees in the cemetary were literally wrapping around me. And I was in a somewhat sickly daze, alone, and there were a TON of "whoo" type noises in the bushes! Eek!

A view to dream on forever...

No Oxford trip is complete without a ridiculously early morning bus. How about a 4:30am bus? But the bus drivers are always happy as a lark in those early morning hours and watching the sun rise across the English landscape was worth it.

I must say though, I was rather traumatized that EVERYONE spoke English! I'm not scared to speak French with people here, but there I could say whatever I wanted! My brain is used to always working really hard to understand and formulate what to say--and it went into shock at how lazy it could be! :) Needless to say, I was actually happy to come back to French.

Thank you, everyone, for waiting for this late post, but I have been busy cooking for the Thanksgiving feast that we had last night. So on that note, be on the lookout for a food-filled post within the next day or so! Au revoir!

Bells, Bells, Bells

2009-11-17T14:58:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was filled with so many yummy goodies! On Saturday I went vintage shopping with Madeline and Lisa (two Australians). This one is my favorite because there is a bin of clothes for 1 euro! Check out the shirt of the guy who works there:

You can't go to the Marais without oogling in at least a few windows.

This is what Madeline was drooling over: MMM!!

We stopped by the Red Cross's free photo exhibit on war photos throughout the ages. And after some deep conversations about the plight of the world, we decided to lighten everything up with some chocolate! I was the only one who actually orded hot chocolate, but it was the RICHEST mose DELICIOUS ever! At least 5 melted dark chocolate bars were used...

The place was decorated with homemade rustic/antique/vintage goodies. Every inch was covered with something interesting.

On Sunday I went swimming in the local indoor pool! Their "sanitary" standards are so strict: they have to watch you shower off before you get in the pool, you have to wear a swim cap, and trunks are forbidden for men--speedos only!

This afternoon after my class, I met Nancee Lee (the lady I knew from highschool and church in Greenville), and we went up the towers of Notre Dame! It was just about as magical as I ever dreamed it would be. The bells rung while we were right beside them too! To hear the bells ringing, watch this video! (that I didn't take)

Here I am with the famous big bell in the tower that they can no longer use because it shakes the towers so much. But I think they use it for verrrry special occasions...

The famous rooftops of Pareee!

Don't forget to check my photo site for some updates too (click here!)

The next post will probably come after my trip to Oxford, so hang tight and get ready for an update on some fun English adventures!

A Turtle Taller than Sarkozy

2009-11-13T17:07:00.006-05:00

Two posts in two days! Man, you guys are lucky! :D Don't forget to read the blog that was posted yesterday.

The week after vacation, I watched the kids for three full days in a row, and one day we went to see Franklin (a little kids show) live on stage in a HUGE auditorium! The kids chanted "Franklin! Franklin!" at the beginning and at intermission about 50 kids played tag... so cute!

At Centre Pompidou, Sabrina and I came across a man painting in front of a big crowd, so we stopped to have a look. This is the final product, but he actually painted it upside down and in less than 10 minutes! But I guessed that it was Obama when it was still just an inverted blob.

Bella, Sabrina, and I making the most of a cold, windy Saturday:

I know this picture is blurry, but later that night we went to a tiiiiny Dominican cafe/bar. This street near the Bastille is packed at night--we were lucky to not wait for a place like so many other people.

On Wednesday, November 11th I didn't have to watch the children because the mom didn't work, so I went to watch the festivities on the Champs Elysee. At 11am French President Sarkozy put a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe. It was an unusual ceremony because it was the first time that the German head (Chancellor Angela Merkel) celebrated Remembrance Day in France. Here they are in the best picture I could get... of the projection screen. haha. Nice fact: Sarkozy is infamous for wearing really tall shoes because he is so short married to a super model.

BFF?

I spent Wednesday afternoon with the Yearicks, connections from highschool and church in Greenville, who were in Paris for the week. We took a few pictures together, but not with my camera, so they will be posted when I get them. The family was staying at Place de Vosges--where the beloved Victor Hugo lived! Here is a view of the nearby classic Parisian rooftops from their window.

I caught a Jewish wedding photoshoot in the Place too!

It has been pretty cold all week, so Sabrina and I ducked into Starbucks because we had a few hours before the night festivities began. I know, I know, why go to Starbucks in Paris? But who could resist this great Christmas-esque sign on the door: (meaning: see you later)

Thankfully the past few days have been warmer, allowing my South Carolina blood to thicken before it gets cold again. Now that I've been here a few months, a lot of people have been asking me if I am still liking being here... here is a video to answer what can only be answered with a song.

In other news, I bought a ticket to Oxford, England for next weekend!!! I am so excited to be going back. It was really difficult for me to re-adjut once I came back to the US after being in England last year because I had left that whole world behind not knowing if I could ever go back. So I am incredibly happy to be going back!!

Thank you all for reading, and if anyone has any suggustions on how I can improve my posts, please let me know. Should I keep posting one big picture blog once a week or should I add smaller (a few sentences) non-picture blogs throughout the week as interesting things happen?

Last bit of good news to share: next week I think I will finally buy my return ticket back to the US of A! See you all soon! (or raincheck for 9 months)

All in a Day's Work

2009-11-12T18:34:00.007-05:00

Welcome to some snapshots of Vanessa's daily life! (as taken by Lucy--thanks!)
Some of these events I've talked about already, but here are some pictures to go along.

Here is my grand French class! My professor is the one in the white jacket and black shirt on the right-ish side. There's even a girl on the far right who is smashing her face on the glass just to pretend she's in our class. We're that much of a riot.

Each Wednesday night I've gone to a free dinner and dance that Lucy (far left) found on the internet. The dinner is always the same thing, but after a few weeks practice, Lucy and I have figured out where to stand in line to get the most chocolate mousse possible--you know, important things like that :) Here we are with Victoria (blue shirt) and some of her friends.

This is the start of a love affair with falafel pitas and the Jewish quarter. Here are Maddie and I at the world famous falafel take-out. Their sign "Always Copied, Never Equaled" is a tall order, but I'd support it any day.

Eating those oh-so-famous pitas (with just a liiiittle sunshine)

At the Holocaust Memorial Museum there are rows of walls like this with names of French Jews and others who died in the Holocaust. To date, I've been back to the museum three times. I could practically work there.

This isn't the usual meeting place, but here are a few girls from the "Au Pair Cafe" that I go to on Thursday afternoons. Usually we sit at little tables and drink tea/hot chocolate/coffee, eat baked good, and talk about the latest happenings with our kids. Fun!

Here's a classic snapshot of the young people's dinner after church on Sunday nights.

It's been a while since I've posted last, so I will post again tomorrow the happenings of the past week. Until then, I'm off to ponder whether or not my kids called me "la plus belle" (the most beautiful) or "la poubelle" (the trashcan), two phrases which unfortunately sound almost exactly the same.

Vacation

2009-11-02T04:06:00.005-05:00

Salut! This past week was an exciting and relaxing vacation full of exploring Paris, new friends, and delicious food! The family was in the South of France, so after my class, I was free to do whatever I liked (including some fun night time stuff like free swing dance lesson and dance)

Even though I live in the Northwest of Paris, I hadn't visited La Defense yet. As you can tell from the next three pictures, Paris decided to concentrate all skyscraper-type buildings in one area, La Defence. This is the Grande Arche which aligns with both the Arch de Triomphe and the arch at the Louvre. Cool! While it was an interesting area, I prefer the old, quaint streets of the city better. :)

I spent a lot of time enjoying the last of the fall weather by reading my French Prince Caspian book in different parks. Here is one excursion in the Tuileries:

I woke up one morning to the mailman giving me a HUGE box from my friends Davey and Marissa in South Carolina! And when I opened it... behold! The essence of America sprang from the box! Natural peanutbutter, oatmeal, tootsie rolls, candy corn, the book Davey illustrated, and some fabulous notes!! I know the kids are going to love the goodies too!

This is Noémie, a French girl who I met at the Scottish dance a while ago! She wanted to practice English, so we spent all day Friday together. And next time--French practice for me! :)

On Saturday I went on a hike in Orly, a small town outside of Paris. It was so nice to spend some time in beautiful fall nature!

Here is just a token picture of the bagel that I bought in the Jewish quarter yesterday. SO DE-LISH!

Saturday was Halloween, and I spent part of the evening in a Canadian pub with the only 2 Americans I know here. :) The pub was playing an American football game, but on the screen right beside the football game was an England vs. Australia RUGBY game. I'm sorry, America, but I think I might like rugby better. What do you think? Here is the best of rubgy and the best of American football. You tell me.

Be on the lookout for the next post with some French recipes!

Vacation Begins

2009-10-26T14:46:00.008-04:00

Because my French class is from 11-1 and I don't have to pick up the kids until 4:30, each day I try to find something exciting to do for the afternoon... which usually isn't very hard!

One of the excursions was to the American grocery store. More like, grocery room. :) Before I went, I was certain that pretty much all American things are in Paris. But once I stepped into the store I found myself breathing familiar air. Pumkin pie mix, Jell-o powder, JetPuff marshmallows, and Lucky Charms (for a mere $20 per box!!)... Alas, I might do better to have some goods shipped over and hawk them on the street! :)

This weekend, Sabrina and I were wandering when we came upon Printemps, one of the biggest department stores in Paris... 7 floors! Right when you walk in, there is a perfume deparment--I felt like I walked into Haywood mall. But, the reason we went inside was because from the road, Sabrina saw people on the roof! We went up up up and BEHOLD, PARIS! We stayed as the sun set and the lights all over the city began to turn on... fab-u-lous.

Saturday night was Madeline's birthday (from Australia and in the red dress), so we had a celebration--French style! Chocolate bars, cheese, wine, laughter... and not to mention, catching the last metro home. Phew!

Sunday afternoon, the same group went to see the movie that is all the rave right now. It is based off of a famous old children's book series. Here is the trailer, and even though it's in French, hopefully you'll still find it funny! Le Petit Nicolas trailer

After the movie, several of us meandered around town enjoying the last bits of the beautiful weather. (I have no idea why I am so contorted in this picture. :) This is Parker, from Alabama, with Sabrina and me.

I found a skipping partner!! Victoria and I realized at 2 am after Madeline's birthday party that the other likes to skip! Many a skipping date will be happening now. Yay!

Because Emmanuelle and the kids are gone this week, I am free every day after 1pm. I went to a used bookstore and bought Prince Caspian (from Narnia) in French! This is where I sat and read all afternoon.

Oh, the beautiful sunset at Place de la Concorde where many a'beheading happened back in the day.

(less like a sunset and more like a sun explosion. haha)

As with most people who write blogs and want people to read them, sometimes I don't feel like people read if they don't comment... but THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for at least reading and for those of you who have commented--Merci beaucoup!!! Au revoir for now!

It's English Time!

2009-10-25T07:50:00.006-04:00

This blog is dedicated to my English speaking friends here! And thanks to them, I stole all these pictures (except the last one) from their cameras. :) Whenever I hang out with friends from school, we speak French, but occasionally I'm with English speaking people and voila! Here they are!

Here are me and my British friends from the English speaking church going to the wine and cheese festival in Montmartre. We stopped by Amelie's cafe for a photo.

On Tuesday night Liz, one of the girls from the church, had a birthday party at her place. I couldn't arrive until much later because I had to put the chillin's in bed, but here's a view of the group from the loft!

Liz and her birthday cake on fire!

There were also birthday cupcakes which were nicely rearranged from "Happy Birthday Liz" to "Hi Happy Lard Bits" :)

Liz lives in the suburbs of Paris, and apparently the town is twin cities with a British town called "Bognor Regis." But all the British people told me that that's definitely not a compliment because if you went on a really boring vacation, you would say, "Oh, yeah, I went to Bognor Regis." Hmmm. Well, the town was REALLY cute anyway and on the river. Here are some of my British friends laughing at the sign.

On Saturday night I went to a hockey game with my Canadian friend Erin whose husband plays for a Parisian team. She told me that in French hockey, if you fight, you have to sit out for THREE games! There was one tussle, but since their gloves didn't come off, they didn't get in trouble.

After the hockey game I went to Maddie's birthday (an Australian friend) on the far opposite side of the city. I'm sure there will be more pictures to come from that. If you want to know what we happens at English parties in France, click here and check out this video for our general conversation topic. The video makes fun of how French is supposed to be a sexy language. Funny stuff! Welcome to the life of French nerds. :)

Well, I have many more pictures to share, so don't forget my photo site, and I'll be posting another blog shortly.

Au revoir!

A Yiddish Kiddish Week!

2009-10-22T08:38:00.005-04:00

I am pleased to introduce you to Monsieur Herve Diebolt, the Frenchman entered in a recent international mustache competition! What a great way to start a post!

Moving on, this past weekend I soaked in all that is the Marais quarter. It's one of the only remaining areas that weren't destroyed during the 1860s reconstruction period in Paris. (click here for more info about that really interesting time in Paris's history!)

Not only is it one of the oldest areas with tons of small winding streets, it's also home to incredible thrift stores and Jewish bakeries/pita/kabab galoozas!

I went, along with the rest of Paris, on a Sunday because everywhere else is closed... except the Jewish quarter! Here at the green building you can see the most famous (and most delicious, as noted by the NY Times) falafal pita restaurant! I went the next day with Lucy and Madeline (a friend from Australia)... MMMMMMM to the max! :)

I stopped in a Jewish jewelers because I saw some fun postcards in Hebrew, but I ended up getting a dinky, yet exciting bracelet! Wahoo! If you couldn't tell, between the uber-cheap vintage shops and Jewish foods filling my senses, it was an incredible weekend.

Who knows why there was a bed in the middle of the pond, but it wasn't attached to anything so it was daintily floating around the pond... It reminded me of Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott" in some way. (read it here!)

Margaux found a ridiculous dress that I bought this weekend (yes, those are sparkles cost me 2 euro!), and Ethan found my tennis shoes! Recently we've been doing piano/flute duets with Margaux on the piano. She loves helping me clean my flute even if I just slightly blow on it! :D

I originally wanted to take a picture of the sunflowers that I bought for Emmanuelle for her birthday, but Margaux jumped in the picture. :) So here's part of the living area with all the laundry in the middle because some painters are painting the hallway where the laundry usually is. :)

I don't think I've taken a picture of this yet, but this is the stairwell leading up to my room! Philippe loves the magizine "Paris Match" (like "Times"), and he has a ton of the old covers.

Some other interesting happenings of the week:

1. Margaux said her first full English sentence! "I am going to bring the bread home." WOW! I don't think I've ever said that, but at least she's learning to piece words together!

2. I visited the "Memorial to Shoah" museum (the Holocaust) this week, and I'm going again tomorrow because it was so big. There are these huge walls with names of all the French Jews/gypsies/others who were killed. And this month there is an exhibit featuring the life of one Parisian Jewish artisan who was killed at Auschwitz.

3. Tomorrow (Friday) is my last day of work for one whole week! Next week is a school holiday, so the family will be going to the South of France! I still have class in the morning, but it'll be great to have a vacation too!

Well, I have no doubt that a lot of fun will be had over the next week, which means... a lot of blog posts! Have a great weekend, all! Au revoir for now!

p.s. Make sure to check my photo site for all the new photos I posted this past week! Click here for the site.

Give me an "E" for Paree!

2009-10-17T15:13:00.004-04:00

Because it's the weekend, and I have a lot of pictures to share, here is another post! Sabrina, Yunna (from Sweden), and I wandered around the city with no real destination or plan... This is what I call, the perfect day!

Give me an "E" for PAREE! This is what the day looked like today... grey. So I thought making it black and white made it look more classy and less dreary. haha.

Every weekend there's a different couple taking pictures on this bridge. It's the most beautiful and has a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

We stumbled upon a huge art exhibition beside the Seine. The pictures showed all different cultures around the world, featuring non-European photographers.

I really like this one.

Here we are with a classic tourist pose.

Just another boulangerie. MMMMmm!!

I really liked this curved gate thing. And it looks awesome in black and white!

A hair cutters that we passed, called "Rock Hair." haha.

Right now I'm waiting for Philippe's sister and daughters to arrive so we can have another grand dinner party! We're eating the duck that was plucked the other day... :( I'll let you know how tasty it is!

Joyeux Anniversaire, Emmanuelle!

2009-10-16T18:30:00.006-04:00

Last night was a grand dinner party at our house for Emmanuelle, and I was invited! I didn't take any pictures, but Vivianne, Emmanuelle's mom, took some. Emmanuelle's mom Vivianne and her husband Robert came on Wednesday for the celebration. They have been cooking for two days in advance! Phew!

We chilled in the living room for an hour sipping some champagne and munching on cashews and cherry tomatoes . This is me, Philippe, and David, the son of Philippe who doesn't live with us. He was really sick, so he didn't stay much past this picture. Also, here is the exciting arching flower thing that Vivianne (the grandma) bought for Emm!

Philippe's dad came from North France. He's the one who paints all the amazing abstract paintings around the house! He's so cute because he always asks me if he speaks great English, but all he ever says is, very slowly, "How-are-you-doing-Vanessa?" and some really random words. haha. Also, this is one of the Emm's friends, and Emm's sister who lives in the South.

Awww, Robert and Vivianne (the g'ma and her husband) with Ethan. This is the man who looked up SC on the map and couldn't find it because it actually isn't called "Caroline du Sud."
Me with awesome Vivianne! I had a nice heart-to-heart with her in the kitchen for about a half hour the night she came. And this afternoon we baked cookies together! She's soooo sweet! I feel like she looks at me as this girl who is so far away from home and so far away from everyone she knows and she needs to be my fill-in grandma who dotes on me. haha.

(Grandma, if you're reading this: I wish you were here to bake cookies with!!!)
She even asked me to help her squeeze into her jeans because they wouldn't zip. hahaha. Oh womanhood.

And the kids got to stay up late!

They LOVE Francis!

After a big meal of duck, zucchini, potatoes and lots of cheese and bread, it's time for brownie cake! And home made tiramisu!

I love this picture for some reason. So much action going on. Ethan trying to eat the candles, Margaux giving her present, Emmanuelle laughing...

We spent all one afternoon tracing our hands and cutting the edges of paper. One of them ended up being Margaux's present for her mom. Margaux asked me to write in French, "The imprint of my hand," on the paper... but they are laughing in the photo because apparently I spelled it wrong. haha

Philippe, Vivianne, Francis, and the TIRAMISU!

I was really looking forward to talking with everyone because I had met these people the first week I was in France, and I was curious if I could understand better than at the beginning. And WOOOOW!! From the beginning of the dinner at about 8 until about 11:30, I understood pretty much everything that they said! And this is when they are talking to each other, which means... FAST! I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. Sometimes they said things that might have been risque or whatnot, and then looked at me because they thought I couldn't understand... but I'm not going to French classes for nothing! I knew what they said... mwahaha.

I was happy not only because I could understand so well, but simply because I was invited! They only had room for 12 around the table, and they chose not to invite some of their friends--but me instead!! Awwwwwww!

Well, I have many other pictures to put up, so be looking for a blog on FOOD and my exciting Wednesday with the kids!

Lights, Camera, Action!

2009-10-02T11:38:00.005-04:00

Salut all!
Welcome to the week that rocked the weather channel! Tank tops one day, winter coats the next... ah! To kick off the post, here are a few pictures from the past week:

Bella, Sabrina, and I had a picnic beside a random church/grassy area we found.

Last Saturday night was "Nuit Blanche" (white night), and EVERYONE was out! A good time for a crepe! MMMmm!

The night was a lot like this: random light blocks on bridges and eerie abstract sounds being blasted in cathedrals...

In trying to find the metro, we ran across THE JEWISH MUSEUM!! And not only is there a museum, but also France's own version of Israel's "Righteous Among Nations" idea: Le Mur des Justes. It lists the names of people who saved Jews during the war and the city/place they were. So cool!

My family was gone for the weekend, so Bella and I spent the night at Sabrina's house and in the morning came to my house to bake cranberry bread for Philippe's birthday! Unfortunetly we/I put in too much baking soda =gross... But it was fun baking together, and trying to convert cups to grams, F to C, French to English... I guess we can just be glad we didn't burn the house down :)

I just thought I'd take a nice picture of the cheese selection in our fridge. Bon appetit!

This is my only picture from this weekend, because I was really sick (as was all of Paris, thanks weather). But isn't this kitty SO CUTE?!?!

This weekend I hung out with Britons, Australians, Germans, Austrians, and an Argentine! Phew! Not to mention the festival celebrating the wine of France in Montmartre this weekend!

Well, I am about to pick up the kids from school and then go to ballet, but I'm going to post a little more later about actual events, not just pictures.

A bientot!

Hello Autumn!

2009-10-02T11:38:00.004-04:00

Salut everyone!
What a grand week it has been! Here are a few pictures from Wednesday with the kids. I was making dinner, and I turned around to see this cute face:
(note: this is NOT the American flag...)

I baked chocolate chip cookies on Wednesday for the family, and even though they were flat and really buttery, the family ate about 2 dozen in two nights! haha

This is Margaux's "ENCORE!!!" (MORE!) face. :)

On Saturday, Sabrina and I went to an arts festival right beside the national library. Each white tent represents a different theater/opera/dance/museum in Paris! I ended up with a HUGE bag of cool looking pamphlets.

Right beside the festival, over the Seine.

Saturday is Philippe's 50th birthday, and Emmanuelle is making him a collection of "Paris Match" covers (like "Time") with pictures of his friends and family. She took the picture of the kids on my camera, so I've got this cute picture to keep!

At the same arts festival, but on Sunday, Sabrina, her Swedish friend, Yuna, and I went to a free INDIAN dance on a BOAT! It was crazy! The dancers were jumping around the whole time, the music was blaaasting, the boat was shaking a little... and Monday after class I came back to my room and danced to Indian music all afternoon. :)

Just down the river was a circus-type show! The music that went along with this act was the type of music you'd expect to hear when Europeans are floating down the Amazon watching for the natives but not seeing the canoe sneaking up behind them... yeah... eerie.

Amelie, anyone? "La Fête au Bois," the carnival at the Bois de Boulogne (Central Park of Paris), has all types of campy carnival rides, but this one reminded me of Amelie, so I had to take a pic.

I wandered into the bois (forest) not realizing actually how big it is. In trying to get un-lost, I ran across a horse competition. One of the horses not in the enclosed area started bucking and running around... everyone needs to get their blood flowing every now and then, right?

I walked in the park about half the distance of Paris, and finally stumbled upon this view of La Defence. Which, when I looked at my map, was absolutely no where near where I had begun. But it was a lovely stroll, and out of the park I met a few kindly people who asked me if they could help me find my way :)

Aside from things I've taken pictures of, I went to an American church on Sunday evening and had a dinner with the 18-30 group. Not only was it fantastic homemade food, but the people were really nice, and I'm going to a Scottish Ceilidh tonight with the people I met! I know I'm in Paris going to a Scottish event :)

The church hosts an "Au Pair Cafe" on Thursday afternoon, and I went this week. We talked about our families and lives in Paris, and, I must say, I am very grateful to be with this family! They are so kind to me, and the kids aren't just cute, they are pretty good after all :)

I have begun "Operation Film my Life in Paris" so be looking on my photo site within the next day for some priceless videos and pics!

Au revoir for now!

Journées du Patrimoine

2009-09-24T17:17:00.004-04:00

Bonjour tout le monde! (everyone)
After 3 calls to Pierre the internet fixer, I'm back just in time to post a late update! This weekend was the "Journées du Patrimoine" (Heritage Days), which means that pretty much every monument/awesome place was FREE!! As awesome as that is, everyone else thinks it's awesome too... so there were A LOT of people milling out. But if I can't appreciate that, then why am I living in Paris? :)

On Saturday, Sabrina, Bella (an Austrian au pair in my class), and I wandered around looking for free places that not everyone would know about. We found Musée du Quai Branly near the Eiffel Tower, where we danced to Indian music (or maybe that was just me) and toured the exhibit about the history of Tarzan!! In October an exhibit is opening on 165 years of photography in Iran! Cool!
p.s. That's the Eiffel Tower in the background...

We stumbled upon a tinnny entrance to the famous Paris SEWER system! Two types of people will read that sentence: those who are freaking out because they know Les Mis, and those who haven't... When I finally figured out that "Égouts" meant "sewer," I started jumping up and down and telling the others that this was a must. :) According to wikipedia, which we all believe, no other city has a sewer network like Paris--over 1300 miles. It's kind of hard to explain the awesomeness if you haven't read Les Mis... so go read... now :)

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful and hot day!

On Sunday, we visited the Opera Garnier--Phantom's opera! Sadly, we weren't allowed to go down past -2 stories, but I'm sure that the Phantom is glad. :)

Later in the day, we met up with Lucy (another au pair in my class) and went to the Palais de l'Élysée--President Sarkozy's hang out! My French family was jealous that I went. Because, unlike the White House, the Palais is hidden by shrubbery, and few have actually seen it. But with all the riots in Paris, that's probably best :)

Can anyone else find the type-o? (in the English version) Tisk tisk, Sarkozy...

Sarkozy's desk!

A romantic Parisian sunset with Lucy... haha

Beside the weekend, I've still been going to class in the morning and watching the kids in the evening. I've been playing a lot of hide-and-go-seek with the kids lately, and a fondness is growing in their hearts for that girl who they can't understand :) I'm getting to that point in French where I'm seeing how much more I have to learn... but it's only been one month. Take courage, Vanessa! And until today, I hadn't had an English conversation in almost a week, so I think I'm learning more than I realize.

Last night I went with Lucy to a free dinner/dance right by the good ole Champs Elysee! It was hosted by a school (not mine) and was free for the first 200 people who signed up! We met some nice Estonian and Slavian girls and a few French people. And did I mention awesome European techno remixes of oldies songs???

In other news, today I got a library card to the national French library and bought a frisbee! I'm not sure which is more exciting!

Be sure to check out my photo site in a few hours to see more fun pictures of the weekend. Bonne week end!

Top 5

2009-09-18T18:22:00.002-04:00

Top 5 Things that happend this week, in no order:

5. French class started! My professor is hilarious, and we laugh so hard we cry... for 2 hours straight. I am the only American in the class, along with Germans, Brazilians, Africans, Chinese, Vietnameze, Chileans (?), and Colombians! And I think I'm learning a lot too! Here's an exciting French phrase that I learned today: if you sing terribly, you would say, "je chante comme une casserole." [zha shohnt com un kas-er-ol] Yup, "I sing like a casserole." If you think that all French phrases have to do with food... you're right. :)

4. I came up with "L'ecole d'Anglais" for the kids! English school! What kids don't like playing house, school, etc? I made some flashcard-type pictures to help them learn words like: hi, bye, lunch, school, dance, where, what, and numbers 1-20. And then we played "cache-cache" or "hide-and-go-seek" which was great for learning "WHERE is Margaux" and counting! Pray that their brains are soaking in more information than it might seem like. :)

3. I've made some more friends! There are a lot of nice au pairs in my class, and I met another German au pair in the park yesterday! Because we work at the same times, we're going to have some fun together while the kids are away!

2. On Thursday I went on my first run here! I ran around Park Periere at 9pm--FUN! And don't worry, there were tons of people bussling about--quite safe. And invigorating!

1. Margaux's first loose tooth fell out today at the park! And I was there! Awww... Instead of a "tooth fairy," the French have a "petite souris," a little mouse, who puts money under the pillow of the lucky gap-toothed kid. I think every kid in the park saw Margaux's tooth and the gap... it was quite the big happenings!

Tomorrow I am going with Sabrina to SARKOZY'S PALACE!!! One day per year it is free to go inside for a tour... and tomorrow is the day! I can't wait! Be looking for another update after the weekend with pictures!

À bientôt!

Wally and Vanessa Beast Paris!

2009-09-13T15:50:00.006-04:00

What a wonderful week! Wally arrived on Tuesday, and each day we had great adventures! We talked, skipped, laughed, filled out bodies with baguettes, and brought some SC fun to Paris!

This is a map I created for Wally of all the places we went and roads we meandered. As you can see, we pretty much destroyed Paris in 6 days. I dare you to say that you can walk more in one week!

We discovered a lot of fun parks... such as Parc des Buttes Chaumont! There were some intense cliffs and a great grassy hill perfect for a picnic. The park is close to my school; so, next week I'm going to go for a run here after class. During our picnic, I got a call that Margaux was sick and needed someone to pick her up... Nanny Vanessa to the rescue!

We visited Père Lachaise Cemetery, the biggest and most famous cemetery in Paris! Chopin, Edith Pilaf, Haussman (the famous reconstructor of Paris), Jim Morrison, and many other famous people are buried here. This is the awesome grave of Georges Rodenbach, a Belgian poet/novelist who has revolutionized my idea of a cool grave. :)

We met up with Sabrina and took this pic in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Who wouldn't stick their pinkie out for a petit cup of coffee??

In an awesome gazebo in the middle of Jardin des Plantes! It was so tranquil--a great place for relaxing.

In memory of Wally having just come from Egypt...

And just like that, Wally's first crepe... is gone.

Of course, time for a typical French photo shoot. With the baguette, we had cheese and foie gras... oh lovely goose liver... yum!

It was fantastic to have such a fun friend here! The timing was perfect... I definitely enjoyed time with someone from home.

I finally created a photo site, too! So for more pictures of adventures with Wally, Sabrina, and the kids, check it out! I will add a few pictures tonight, but more to come from the past blogs posts.

http://www.joiedevivreparis.shutterfly.com/

Goodbye, Wally!!!

Through their eyes

2009-09-11T15:24:00.005-04:00

Another busy and exciting week before my school starts!

Margaux, Ethan, and I have been sick the last few days--it's cold season! But hopefully it will go away soon. We've been playing indoor games, like coloring (a lot), looking through books, playing with balloons, and dressing up in my clothes.

A few days ago I let Margaux and Ethan use my cameras around my room. Here are some of their creations. At Margaux's request we listened to songs from The Little Mermaid. I took the last two pictures, and the final picture is how Margaux dressed me... as a gypsy!

Over the last week, I've been spending the day exploring with Wally (a friend from Erskine who is visiting this week). He will be here until Sunday; so, on Monday or Tuesday be on the lookout for an update on how Wally and Vanessa beast Paris in one week!

Weekend Adventures

2009-09-07T17:32:00.005-04:00

What a full weekend of adventure and French fun! Sabrina and I spent at least 8 hours each day wandering around the city and speaking in French only! :D It was so nice to enjoy my first free weekend WITH someone! Someone my age who is nice, is in the same situation (au pair) as me, doesn't know French incredibly (so there's no pressure. haha), likes to wear lots of colors, pulls apples out of her purse for a snack (my soul mate??), and hugs me when we greet and leave each other! Even though the French biseau is fine, I've missed the specialness of a hug!

On Saturday, we got into the Pompidou Arts Center for a great view of Paris! (check out last pics). Most centers and museums are free for Sabrina because she lives in the European Union, but the ticket man at Pompidou let me go in for free too! And we found a great table on bike wheels! What a fabulous idea! We wandered a lot, ate some crepes, drank some tea, and had too much fun to spend time taking many pictures. :)

On Sunday, we went up the Arc de Triomphe for another great view. Because it was free for Sabrina, she offered to pay half of my fee. How nice! The picture below with two streets in a "V" shows the direction that I live... a 10/15 minute walk!

In Montmartre we stumbled upon a huge wall with "I love you" in every language! While in that district, we went into Les Deux Moulins, the cafe where Amelie "worked"!

In the Montmartre cemetary there were tons of cute kitties!!! I wish I could take one home with me... Meow!

At the Sacre Coeur, there was a free concert with songs like the Beatles! While we were sitting on the steps singing along to Let It Be, a crazy street show man started doing some tricks with a soccer ball on the wall above a huuuuge cliff/hill above the city. And as you can see from the picture, the climax of the show was when he climbed the lamp post... get this... balancing the twirling soccer ball on a pencil on his nose!!!! WHILE CLIMBING!! Incredible!

To finish off two incredible days of Paris and speaking French, we ate lunch beside the canal that was also used in Amelie (when she crosses the bridge). My school is also on this canal.

Today, Monday, was also a very successful day. I successfully registered for classes at the school, and I met with the French police to get some stamp for some paper... I really don't know what the paper or stamp says, but Emmanuelle told me to go. All on my own... AND all in French! Success!

But probably the most exciting news is that today, as I was unloading the groceries (the family goes shopping on Sunday and the groceries are delivered (??) on Monday), I found... are you ready... PEANUTBUTTER!!!!! Emmanuelle bought me peanutbutter!!!! The jar is probably no bigger than my palm, but it's heart-warming, delicious, and amazing with a touch of honey! So thoughtful!!

Tomorrow Wally comes to visit! It'll be great to have a friend from home to share a few adventures with!

Thank you all again for your comments and lovely messages! They mean so much to me! Make sure to keep me in touch with how everything is going in the US of A! When I have peanutbutter on my tongue, South Carolina doesn't seem so far away after all...

First Cultural Impressions

2009-09-04T17:31:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Vanessa's thoughts on French culture (so far)!!!

I feel like I've met a huge variety of people so far, from all corners of France, so while this isn't going to be true for everyone, it's definitely not put together from a tourist perspective. Enjoy!

-Maybe not people you see on the street, but the French do smile and laugh a lot!
-They don't always sit up properly
-they shave (for those of you who might think otherwise)
-they wear deoderant
-People over 35 generally don't speak more than a few sentences of English, but younger people know more. But those over 35 who know a few sentences are very proud of those few and want to be told they speak great English.
-their houses are really laid back--but clean! And the decor in each house stays true to the regional tradition.
-every meal is 4 or 5 courses: veggies, meat (A LOT OF MEAT, especially for me) and pasta, a choice of at least 3 cheeses with a baguette, fruit (kiwi, nectarine, melon), and dessert (flan, yogurt, or strange concoctions that I don't recognize--but are delicious!)
-You eat everything on your plate, always.
-wine is like water
-how are the people so small?
-They keep both hands on the table at all times. The kids are always reprimanded for not having their hands on the table. It was a bit awkward for me at first, but now it's no problem.
-Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE wears black... all the time. Occasionally grey to break the monotony. So... Little Miss Color here definitely stands out on the subway. haha. My pink flower skirt today... hmmm. Paris needs some color. But I did see someone who had a yellow umbrulla... that looked like a duck, nonetheless!
-Every street corner is a cafe, and no matter the time of day, they are always filled with people drinking tiny cups of expresso or eating.
-Gouter (gootay) is like an afternoon snack, and it is a national phenomenon. It's like a second and a half meal. Not that it is huge, but it is pretty much obligatory. Every day after school, all the kids sit outside the school and eat something like Compote (apple/pear sauce in a juice box) and bread with Nutella.
-Besides being obsessed with Obama, they hate Sarkozy and grumble whenever he is brought up.
-They hardly ever have vegetables raw--always cooked somehow or mixed with something.
-Their friends consist of every possible family member and a only few people outside of family. Families call and talk with each other all the time.
-Kids are always told to speak softly. Maybe this is because there isn't an awful lot of privacy living in a city; so loud children are scorned.
-Yes, women being topless at the beach requires no double glance. The "monokini" is acceptable, but definitely only a few (only at the beach I went to) were topless.
-Peanutbutter is no where to be found. : ( Alas, tomorrow I resume my search.
-Modern art and decor is definitely "in" in Paris.
-"La Rentreé" or, back to school, is one of the most anticipated times of the year.
-Kids find out their teacher and classmates on the first day of class
-No backpacks full of supplies are lugged to class the first day. Empty-handed... yup! I mean, even in kindergarten in the US kids have a full backpack of goodies. But, no, nothing. Not even the second day. I still don't know how that works yet.

Ok, I think that is enough for now. I'm sure there is more, but I'll add more later.

Over the past few days, I've let a 5 year old guide me around the city to parks, movie theaters, and school. Even when I got lost, Margaux got us home with no problem. Incredible!

One last bit of good news: I HAVE A FRIEND!!!! Her name is Sabrina, and I met her when I tried to register for French classes. She's a German au pair here, so the only language we can communicate in is French! Perfect. :) Tomorrow we are meeting up and little streets exploring, crepe eating, tea drinking, and flea market shopping! A big day for my first day off! I'm excited!

Here are some pictures from the delightful birthday celebration the family had for me tonight! The kids kept twittering about cake and presents to each other, and the mom kept shushing them. I just pretended like I couldn't understand. :) The kids drew me pictures, and the family gave me a HUGE bouquet of roses (you can see them a bit in the pictures), a fun purse from their trip to Brazil, and an awesome flower address book from Provence (where we were in the South of France). Not to mention, chocolate cake! Of course Ethan never took his eyes off the cake, and they both helped me blow out the candles. What a nice little celebration! And papa Philippe was ready with the camera to take these classy pics.

Enjoy, and more updates to come as the adventures keep coming.

A voyage to the South... of France!

2009-09-01T10:44:00.009-04:00

Hi all my lovely friends and family!!!

Even though I just arrived in Paris, it felt like home when I got back from a grand tour of the South of France. Emmanuelle (the mom of my French family) and I flew to Marseille on Thursday and met Margaux and Ethan at the airport! They were really shy at first--until I said that I had a "cadeau," a present, for them. Then aallllll the way to Cassis, about 20 minutes away, they kept chanting, "Les cadeaux! les cadeaux!" haha Kids are the same everywhere...

The order of pictures actually starts from the botttom. So as you read, you'll have to scroll down to see what I'm talking about.

On Thursday and Friday we stayed at Emmanuelle's mom and her husband's apartment in Cassis. The view from their deck where we ate all our meals is incredible! A huge mountain rising from the Med. sea! We strolled around the cute port, and then Ethan and I made sandcastles out of the pebble/sand shore. And, yes, there were topless women at the beach... but not many from my "I'm trying to be discrete" curious looks. The whole family was so nice to me. But I liked Robert (the step-father) the best. Before dinner on Thursday, he made sure that I sent my family an email and looked up Greenville on Google Earth! He couldn't find "Caroline du Sud," but then I showed him that it is actually "South Carolina." haha. How nice!

On Friday night we went to the wedding of Emmanuelle's niece (or maybe she is from Nice... I just heard a word that sounded like that). And WOOOWW! We got to a huge Catholic cathedral at 6 or so, and ate and ate and danced and ate some more at a wine vineyard until 3 in the morning! And when we left, a ton of people were still there! This was Margaux's first wedding, and she thought that the bride was a princess so she followed her around all night! Cute! I met a really nice girl who wanted to practice her English, so we talked most of the night. I was sooooo glad to have someone to talk to. A godsend!

On Saturday we went to Emmanuelle's dad's house (and his wife and Em's half sister) in a very tiny town near Lourmain (or something like that). They live in a HUUUGE house with a pool and orchard of peaches, figs, grapes (which are "raisin" in French!), and other goodies. We ate breakfast (and most meals) under huuge trees at a picnic table with a yellow table cloth! So beautiful! We just lazed around the pool most of the day, and then we went to Lourmain because Emmanuelle wanted to show the town to me.

On Sunday, there was a once-a-year parade in the town! The townspeople dressed up in traditional Provence (the area of France) outfits and had horses and oxen! And I even saw Jean Valjean!!! (see picture below)

Yesterday (Monday) I watched the kids for the first time. They had fun with the coloring books I brought for them... and enjoyed trying on ALL my clothes. :D We went to Parc Monceau, the one I mentioned in my last post. Today we went to the movies and saw Up! Thankfully they are taking a nap right now! :)

Before they wake up, I'm going to post this, but I will try to make a post soon with just some cultural thoughts. And maybe some interesting French meals that I can pass along!! Yummy quiches, tomato/eggplant meals, avacado salads, and more meat than I've ever eaten in my life. haha. Time to go for a run!

Thank you, everyone, SO MUCH for your comments and facebook posts. I appreciate them more than you could ever know. Those are what are going to get me through the first few weeks of settling in and dealing with seperation. Be on the lookout for a post with some cultural notes and my thoughts about being here so far!

A journey in pictures

2009-08-26T12:48:00.009-04:00

Bonjour all!! Well, I successfully survived my first two days in France!! I don't know how to write in between the pictures yet because this computer is different, but here is a journey in photos of the last few days!! Here are some words to go along with the pictures:

beautiful weather, amazing elephant table in my room, free milk at the park with a million kids at it!, awesome windy stairs (3 stories) to our apartment, a million HUGE parks EVERYWHERE!!!, and a bunch really really close to my apartment!, no footballs in the park but a million soccer balls (except a dad/son who were throwing it underhand. haha), A LOT of walking, stalking French people secretly to take pictures of them, AMAZING view from my 4th floor window, walking down random streets because I've got all year to see everything (not just a week or so), only nearly got run over once (stop lights are optional as long as pedestrians and cars aren't in view), AND not to mention talking to Emmanuelle and Philippe all the time!! She called me today at lunch when she was at work to make sure I was ok! How sweet! I couldn't have wished for a better French family!

Tonight I went to a dinner party with their best friends. We sat on a rooftop terrace of their artist friend's apartmentfor 4 hours and had FANTASTIC FOOOOD!!! Soooo many courses--- and yes, it's true, the wine flows freely, the bread is in plenty, as well as, the cheese. I haven't had a meal yet without fresh bread and CHEEEEESE!

Okie dokie, more later! I'm off to Cassis in the south of France tomorrow until Sunday to bring the CHILDREN back to Paris!!!! EEEE!!!

One quick note about the children: I talked to them on the phone today and yesterday and each time when I say, "Bonjour!" they giggle non-stop!! And then Ethan said (in French), "Sing to me! You are my love! I love you! I love you! I love you!" And then fits of giggles. haha. I can't wait to meet them!!

Well, au revoir for now! More when I get back next week!

Ah Pareee..

2009-08-25T17:48:00.003-04:00

Hi all! I just wanted to write quickly that I have arrived and could not have dreamed of a better situation. The parents are SOOOO kind and patient with me. I can't wait to meet the children on Thursday! More pictures to come when I've gotten more sleep. :) Thank you, everyone, for your prayers!

Cute kid quote for the day:
"Tu est mon amour. Je t'aime! Je t'aime! Je t'aime!" (You are my love. I love you!)- Ethan over the phone to me (eeeEEE!!!!)