Bookworm in Paris #1

Bonjour tours! Ça va?

Hi all my wonderful bookworms!

How are you all?

You know I said at the beginning of the month that I was heading to Paris for six months.

Well … I’m finally here!

I’m in Paris.

The city of light.

The city of love.

Paris!!!!!!!!!!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Can you here my squeal half way round the world?

Today is my first full day here. My flight landed about half eleven yesterday morning and between passport control, luggage collection and lugging two suitcases (one very heavy and the other a lot lighter) half way across Paris on the RER it took me two hours to get to my apartment. Around the airport to was easy because there was elevators to get between the many levels but in the metro station that I arrived at there weren’t. There were escalators.

Can you imagine trying to lug a 22kg suitcase, hand luggage, and my handbag around on a escalator when people are trying to hurry past you?

Not easy.

Yesterday the temperature was about 1 degrees C outside and by the time I had gone the few hundred metres from the metro to the front door of my apartment I had worked up a real sweat. ( I think in reality it was getting it up those last few steps to street level that really did it). I couldn’t wait to get my coat and jumper and hat and gloves off and strip down to the basics.

T-shirt and jeans, people, keep it clean!

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking then a much needed nap and finally meeting that family in the evening. I’ve met them before. I worked for this family two years ago and it was amazing to see them all again.

I got a big hug off all the kids as soon as they had walked in through the door and they couldn’t wait to tell me everything that I had missed in the last two years. And they all individually scolded for not finishing my story which I will be working on as soon as I have finished talking to you lovely people.

But on to today.

This morning I slept in because of just how tired I was from yesterday and then I went out for a walk to get a feel for Paris again. It’s not changed.

I live not far from Notre Dame and I’m sure you all know what happened there a while back. Somehow I found myself wandering down toward that direction. I wasn’t going there deliberately and I only walked a little past it so I didn’t see much of it but it wasn’t as horrific as I was excepting it to be. The roof is all open and there are cranes everywhere but from the front you can’t see much of the damage and the towers are still standing tall.

While I was in the area I wandered into Shakespeare and Co. You know that bookshop that I’m always talking about? It was amazing to be back in there, but the books are so expensive! I picked several up that if not for the price (and my return luggage allowance) I would have bought them there and then. I think I am just going to have to be content with the books that I bought with me from home and my audible subscription.

On the way back the apartment I treated myself to a panini. I know it’s not typically french, that I should have had a crepe, but I wanted a panini. Is that alright with all of you?

I hope you are enjoying hearing about my time in Paris. I would like to make this a regular thing. Talk to you about all my goings on in Paris … as well as all my usual bookish things. I don’t know if it would be a weekly thing but I hope you all want to hear about my adventures over here.

If I should make this a regular thing let me know in the comments.

Until next time!