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.