Settled

Good news - I now have both an apartment and a job, and will thus be staying in Paris until Christmas!

The Apt: One of my cousins lives in Paris and works as a journalist. Last week he was offered a gig that would have him traveling for the next few months, and he took it... leaving his room wide open for a subleaser!

My favorite thing about the apt is the little market right next door that sells everything - smelly (but delicious) French cheese, fruit and veggies, fish, different types of pate, and meat. The meat stalls are interesting... a few specialize in sausages and hams, but the others specialize in fresh meat like rabbit (they actually have the unskinned hares hanging down from hooks on the ceiling), duck, and just about everything. It’s a bit unsettling seeing it, and I made the comment that I’d have no idea where to even begin cooking something like that. But at the same time, it’s awesome. We also have four boulangeries within 2 blocks that sell the most amazing baquettes and croissants, and there are cafes and brasseries on the corner just steps from the apartment.

The Job: There’s an American family who moved to Paris about six months ago. They hired a fulltime, live in nanny, but after two weeks had to fire her after she gave the 1 year old a hot red pepper to play with. Not shockingly, the baby ate it and became extremely sick - so it was peace out to the nanny. I had put an ad on craigslist and a few days ago the family contacted me. I met with them yesterday, and it was a perfect fit. The mom and I bonded over shoes (we had on the same Tory Burches), and then she bribed me with her American magazines (People, Cosmo, InStyle!) and her cabinet of American food she had shipped over... Including boxes of funfetti cake!

It’s a perfect fit - they’re in desperate need of someone to watch their girls (ages 1 and 4), and I’m in desperate need of work. They said they’ll take me as much or as little as I want to work, which is perfect. I told them I had a few trips planned so wouldn’t be able to work certain dates, which wasn’t a problem. And to top that off, the girls are adorable and really sweet, so will be fun to sit for.

What I’ve been up to: It’s a huge weight off my shoulders having an apartment and a job, and I’ve finally been able to really relax and enjoy the city. I’ve been doing all of the normal touristy stuff - I’ve done it all before, but it’s still fun to do again. I’ve been museum hopping through the Louvre, Musee D’Orsay, and Centre Pompidou. Visited multiple churches including Notre Dame, Saint Sulpice, and two other smaller ones I’d never heard of. Of course I’ve shopped down the Champs Elysee, hung out in the Jardin des Tuileries, seen the Arch de Triumph, and so much more.

Picnicing under the tower

Earlier in week, my two new Australian friends had the brilliant idea of being super cliche, and picnicing under the Eiffel Tower and watching as the sun went down and the tower light up. We ended up having a group of 5 - 2 Aussies, 2 Americans (the guy went to Florida), and 1 French girl. We had multiple baguettes, a few different types of cheese, salami and proscuito, and multiple bottles of wine. We spent about three hours eating and watched as the tower sparkled each hour. Around 10:00, we went up the tower and saw Paris at night - it was gorgeous.

Night View of Paris from The Eiffel Tower

We decided to make a habit out of being cliche, so the next day packed another picnic and brought it to Jardin Luxembourg. Once more we ate baguettes, cheese and salami, drank a bit of wine, and then fed the ducks before heading out to see more sights of Paris.

Picnic #2 at Jardin Luxembourg

 And then it was off to do some sightseeing:

Storm rolling in over Jardin Luxembourg

Pantheon

St. Sulpice

Notre Dame

My Aussie friends and I have decided to be touristy once more, and we're embarking on walking tour of Paris this afternoon. We've also been hearing rumors of underground catacomb tours that run (as well as illegal catacomb parties?) so are trying to find a guide to take us.

A J.O.B.

There’s a guy that hangs out by Notre Dame wearing a werewolf mask. He creeps up behind unsuspecting tourists, taps them on the shoulder, and then yells “ahh!” into their faces when they turn around. Most people either jump about a foot into the air or scream. Some do both. The onlookers find it hilarious and laugh, and then tip the werewolf for entertaining them while they wait in line to see the interior of the church. I’m still waiting for one of his victims to punch him out of pure instinct.

If you leave Notre Dame and head towards Ile Sainte Louis, there’s almost always a band of sorts playing on the bridge crossing the Seine. Today there was a guitar player, a cello player, and a trumpet player playing Louis Armstrong songs - I listened to them play “What I Wonderful World,” and watched as the street performer next to him blew bubbles the size of VW bugs, and little kids ran around high on nutella crepes and popped them. I stood there for about 5 minutes listening to him play, and thought about how happy I am to be in Paris. And how I better get a job quickly, or else I’ll be leaving in less than a month. 

Unfortunately, my work permit status is that of “illegal immigrant,” so I’m having to look at unconventional, under the table jobs. The werewolf guy seemed to get a lot of tips, but as I said, I’m still confident he’s going to get punched in the face one of these days. I can’t really play any instrument. I can’t sing either, so basically any type of musical career on a bridge or down in the metro stations is off the list. I applied for a job in the Alps at a ski resort as a children’s ski instructor, but seeing as I don’t know how to ski, I’m not really confident that I’ll get the job. My most marketable “under the table” job skill over here seems to be the simple fact that I’m an EMT - “English Mother Tongue” - so I’m hoping that has some pull. I’ve spoken with a few people about tutoring their kids in English, so am hoping that works out. If not, it looks as though I’ll be seeing you Atlanta people for Thanksgiving.

Paris and the Great Apt Hunt

The internet has been sporadic throughout the past few weeks. I've been blogging, just not actually uploading anything. So basically, there's a lot more to come, and everything will be out of order. Since I last updated, I've been through Greece, London, Germany, Austria, London again,The South of France, and now, finally, Paris... I've been asked by everyone which city has been my favorite, and I really can't answer. I'd say Malaysia (in August?) was my least favorite, but aside from that, it's all be great.

I tried to go to the Louvre today, but apparently it's closed on Tuesdays. So rather than look at priceless pieces of art, I’m sitting outside the museum at a little cafe, sampling different types of rosé. It’s only 2:00, but in Paris it seems to always be happy hour. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday.

I’ve been in Paris about a week now, jumping from couch to couch while searching for my own apartment. To say the search has not gone well would be an understatement... To give you all an idea of just how “not well” this hunt is going, take the pros and cons I made of the places from yesterday’s visits:

Apartment 1:
Pros: It’s in the Latin Quarter, just next to the Shakespeare Bookstore, above tons of adorable restaurants and shops. The building is over 400 years old - the wood floors slant, as do the door frames. The place is adorable, and the location is exactly what I’m looking for. And it’s cheap! As the landlord (my potential future roommate) told me, the apt sits along lay lines, beams of energy running through the earth emitting vibes of positive energy. He told me that it’s impossible to be unhappy at this location.

Cons:  The hippie who told me about the energy lines would be my roommate... He’s about 65, American (from Chicago), and before moving into this place he lived in a youth hostel for 2 years. He was the oldest person that lived there, and I think he was proud of this. Oh, and he’d be sleeping on a cot in the kitchen while I slept in the bedroom.

Apartment 2:
Pros: Apartment was big. That's it.

Cons: Rather than located among cute little shops and cafes, it’s above a sex shop. The pain was peeling off the walls, and there was mold on the ceiling in the bathroom. A homeless guy sold roasted chestnuts outside the front door (possibly a pro if you like roasted chestnuts?). The apt was advertised by a girl, but I learned I’d be living with her brother, a 20 something Muslim guy with a really bad lazy eye - the kind where you don’t really know where to look when talking to him. He also told me three times that our bedrooms would be right next to one another. And if that wasn’t enough, the apartment was way overpriced.

Apartment 3:
Pro: Cheap. View of the Eiffel Tower.
Con: I was excited about this place to begin with, as the building was absolutely beautiful. It was a bit far out, in a quiet area, but I figured it would be a beautiful apartment, so would make up for the fact that it was far. I was wrong... When the guy came down to let me in, he took me around to the servants entrance, not through the main, beautiful one. We walked up back stairs, which were covered with a rubber type padding, and when my steps were a little too loud for his liking, he asked me if I’d tip-toe. We walked up 2 flights, then got into an elevator that barely fit two people. And then we made it to the apartment... It was a studio, with a double bed and a small, dirty kitchen. And then he told me we’d be sharing the apartment... and the bed!! And I’d be paying him to share the bed!

In addition to the above, I’ve had three people try and scam me, and had one person stand me up. The last, where I was stood up, was in Le Marais, where I’d been hoping to find something. I stood outside the door for about 30 minutes waiting for the guy to show up, but he never did. And then I began calling him like a psycho girlfriend. I think at the end of the day he had about 8 missed calls and text messages from me, most of which were along the lines of “Please call me, I really want to talk to you! I really want this apartment! If you’ve found someone else to rent it, just let me know - just please call me back!” He never called back though - not shocking though, because I’m sure I really did sound like a psycho. But after so many terrible apartments, I was desperate for this one!

While the apartment hunt is incredibly frustrating, I’m in Paris. And so happy to be here. I have a few friends living here, as well as my cousin, and they’ve all been amazingly generous, putting me up while I hunt for my own place. So things are good.