Days 27-32

Wooow...I'm slipping on this daily blogging thing, but as I'm settling in, there's not as much to notice that's new & different.

Another list of things that have happened since my last post:

• I've met with fellow knitters at a tiny little tea house (quite a wonderful morning)
• I went to Pizza Night Bible Study at the American Church in Paris
• I went to see my first movie in a French cinema (Despicable Me), even if it was in English
• I had raclette for the first time, and it was delicious
• I was invited to a wonderful dinner at the home of someone I met at the American Church in Paris
• I survived another week of French classes
• I met the 3 university students staying in the apartment across the hallway from the one I'm in
• I had a bagel sandwich for lunch with a friend (it totally hit the spot!)
• I found a recipe I want to try, especially since the weather's getting cooler...
• I finally made it to the Eiffel Tower
• I finally had my first crepe in Paris
• Eldest told me that he loved me, which just about melted my heart...he's adorable when he's in a good mood :] (it did catch me a little off guard, but I think that's a good sign, don't you?)
  

Things I'm excited about:

• My dad arrives for a visit this coming Friday!
• The kids go on break, which means I get time off
• The host parents are going on vacation, which means a calm, quiet apartment :]
  
• After my dad leaves, it's only another 2 weeks until my mom comes to visit!
• Thanksgiving!
• Christmas break
  

Things I'm not excited about:

• The cold
• The wind
• The rain
• The lack of sunshine that apparently comes with wintertime in Paris
• Missing Halloween
• Missing fall football
  

Day 26

What a wonderful day! Everything came together beautifully, and I had an unforgettable adventure, courtesy of gift tickets from the Canadian to Disneyland Paris!

It's so beautiful...pictures don't to this justice!

So, the Canadian won tickets to Disneyland at her work (she works for a very well-known yogurt company), but she couldn't use the tickets, so she was kind enough to give them to me! I didn't want to go by myself, so I got in touch with Nadine, and we spent a perfect day in a perfect place.

We didn't miss each other at the train station like last time, so it was absolutely wonderful to be able to catch up with someone I haven't seen in two years! The reunion was kind of funny & kind of fitting, since the last time we saw each other was here in Paris two years ago. But, we met, got her RER ticket, and boarded the train to Disneyland!

We started our day of Disney adventure in Disneyland Park. I didn't know this before, but Nadine wasn't a huge roller coaster fan, which threw a wrench into my plan a little bit (French vocab moment: roller coaster --> montagnes russes). However, she was a very good sport & rode her very first roller coaster, Space Mountain: Mission 2! I don't know why she didn't like coasters before, but after that one, she was so excited that she called her mom back home to tell her! After Space Mountain, she wanted to recover a bit, so we moved on from Discoveryland to Fantasyland. In Fantasyland, we rode It's a Small World & the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups. After the Tea Cups, we moved on to Adventureland, where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean, and then we decided to take a lunch break.

It's so...steampunk!

Welcome to Fantasyland :]

There's so much going on in this picture, I don't know where to start...

Yargh! Ahoy! Avast! ... That's all I've got.

We ate at the Hakuna Matata Cafe, both ordering a formula menu of a kebab sandwich (think gyro), Hakuna fries, a drink, and ice cream. After lunch, Nadine decided that she wanted to try the Indiana Jones & the Temple of Peril ride, so we got fast passes and wandered through the house from "The Swiss Family Robinson," letting our lunch settle. By the time we finished with the tree house, we used our fast passes & rode the Indiana Jones coaster, which was a really short ride, actually. Nadine asked me when it finished if that was all for that ride (which was funny, given that she didn't like roller coasters earlier that day!).

Oooh...the Temple of Peril!

After Indiana Jones, we switched parks, going to Walt Disney Studios Park, which is much smaller than the main park, but also less crowded, which was nice. The only two coasters that we wanted to ride in Walt Disney Studios were the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster & Crush's Coaster, which I think is a new ride based on the character (of the same name) from Finding Nemo. Hindsight being what it is, we should've gotten fast passes for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and gone to do Crush's Coaster, but hindsight is always 20-20.

Welcome to Walt Disney Studios!

It's the same statue as the one in Florida!

Easily one of the best coasters in the park.

So, without hindsight to aid us, we went with Rock 'n' Roller Coaster first, and it was really a great coaster. After we finished that one, we went to find Crush's Coaster, but the wait was 65 minutes! We didn't have enough time to wait for that ride, sadly, but we did find Mickey Mouse nearby and got our pictures with him, so it worked out well in the end, and it was an absolutely perfect day with a wonderful friend.

Who doesn't love Mickey Mouse?

Day 25

In one Saturday I saw some amazingly beautiful cars, & also celebrated my first Canadian Thanksgiving!

I woke up at a normal time (for me) of about 9:30, had breakfast & tea, then went back to my room to check my Faceboook/Twitter/Gmail & get ready to go to the Mondiale Auto, aka the Paris Motor Show!

I don't know what to expect, going on a weekend, to a car convention, in a HUGE European city, but it surely wasn't what looked, smelled, and felt like 5 million people. Somehow, though, I managed to wedge myself through the crowds, and got some decent shots, so without further ado, the autos! :]

Rolls Royce, anyone?

Smexy new Peugeot SR1

Jaguar's new electric concept...Want.

Yup...still want.

Still want. Love the green stripe on the tires!

Ferrari California, anyone?

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Maserati Gran Cabrio

Maserati Gran Turismo S

I can hear Joe Walsh now...

Maserati Gran Turismo MC Stradale. Translated: Want it. Now.

And again, from the other side. Still want it.

Too many people!

Everyone's favorite Honda robot, Asimo!

Bentley's "New Continental GT"

Audi R8 GT

One more shot for the road (I know it's cringe-worthy, but I had to say it sometime!)

After a long day of battling smelly, sweaty guys with cameras, I decided to head back towards the apartment. The Canadian needed some shortening she left here because she was making a pumpkin pie for Canadian Thanksgiving, which is evidently a month before American Thanksgiving. I grabbed the shortening & headed to her apartment. She had a friend from Canada who was visiting, so we chatted for a bit, and then I was invited to stay for dinner, which was a wonderful meal.

Canadian Thanksgiving isn't much different from American Thanksgiving as far as food is concerned. The big difference was that there wasn't a turkey, but that's because there were only 4 kids & 3 adults eating, and a turkey would've been overkill. Instead, we had two delicious roasted chickens, stuffing, gravy, a casserole of layered potatoes & sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, green beans in browned butter, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. The cooking was divided between the three adults (the Canadian, her friend, & me); the Canadian handled the chicken & stuffing, and the potatoes, her friend handled the pumpkin pie & the carrots, and I was in charge of the green beans and the apple pie. And surprise of all surprises, nothing went drastically wrong! Not one thing was burned or undercooked, the pies came out picture-perfect, and the company that evening was fantastic. And we also saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up & twinkly, which just topped the evening off wonderfully.

This was all that was left over...

I told you they were picture-perfect!

Twinkle, twinkle :]

Days 21-24

So, there's a lot I need to catch you up on!

Since my last post, I:
- got up early enough to see the sunrise
- survived my long day of language classes (9-11, 11:15-1:15, no breaks!)
- finished my first week at the language school
- finally bought some school supplies (I still need to find a few small things)
- met a fellow Maconite studying in Paris
- made pizza for Pizza Friday night with the kids
- was invited to (& attended!) an excellent dinner at the apartment of a friend's friend
- have been enjoying the 72° & sunny weather (I've soaked up quite a bit of sunshine
as of late)
- think I'm allergic to something in the park
- have been given tickets to Disneyland Paris (can't wait to finally catch up with Nadine!)
- got my Navigo card (no more single tickets! The host father said I'm becoming a local)
- discovered a website where I can watch the latest episodes of American tv shows (Hello, Glee & Big Bang Theory!)
- found out that there's going to be a public transportation strike on Tuesday the 12th
- discovered that the kids here in France have just discovered Silly Bands
- plan on going to the Paris Auto Show tomorrow (watch for pictures of pretty, schmancy cars!)

A brief message

Hi there! I'm still alive, but I think I've gotten a case of the lazy & haven't felt like writing this week. It's not for a lack of events, just a lack of motivation. I've been keeping track of events, but actually writing them is a different story. Normal blogging should resume soon!
:]

Day 20

Oh what a day! I started my language courses today, so I woke up a bit early, allowing myself plenty of time for (a) waking up, (b) getting ready, and (c) transportation.

Now, the first two parts were fully in my control, and I was doing fine, sticking to my schedule. Enter the French public transportation system. Usually very efficient, a metro train will come to a platform every 2-4 minutes, transporting a vast number of people on a daily basis. Today was not one of its more efficient days. I had hopped off of one line, and was waiting for another train to come, but after about 7 minutes of waiting on a crowded platform, I changed my route a bit, and was lucky enough to find another train that got me to the station I needed. All this changing of metro plans was cutting into my time budget, so I walked rather quickly to the class, and finally found where I needed to be, though I was late (only by 2-3 minutes, but enough to be noticeable), and I really don't like being late. It's not respectful to the teachers/professors or my classmates.

Thankfully, the teacher was very courteous, and recognized me as a new student, and I think saw that I was a bit flustered. Now, almost everything is closed on Sundays in Paris, so I didn't have the opportunity yesterday to go out & browse for a notebook, pens, pencils, etc., which I regretted today. Somehow, I had the forethought to put a small notepad in my purse, so I adapted for today, taking notes on a notepad, & looking on to my neighbor's worksheets so that I too could participate in the class. I think that these classes started last week, so I'm already playing catch-up, which is another thing I don't like. From the sound of it, a two-hour-long class sounds like a drag, but it really didn't feel very long at all, which surprised me. Thursday should be interesting...I've got a "civilization class" for two hours, a 15 minute break, and then a normal language class for another two hours. That's looking like another reason to add to my list of reasons I don't like Thursdays.

After class was dismissed, I found a grocery store, got something to drink & a mediocre chicken sandwich with gummy bread, then came back to the apartment to decompress from my strange morning. After some much-needed quiet time, I went to pick up Youngest from school, and then we went to the park because Eldest has chess on Mondays, and finishes much later. After picking up Eldest, we returned to the apartment, and before I had time to finish putting up the park toys, he had already pulled out a Monopoly board. I knew at this point that resistance would be futile, so I played for a bit, but said that at a certain time, he had to take a shower, which put a cap on our playing time (thank goodness!). We hadn't even been playing for 10 minutes when he almost had a monopoly already, though I held the other property that he needed, and I wasn't about to let that one go. It definitely made things interesting, though I don't know if he realizes that I've played this game before...

While the kids were getting cleaned up, I made dinner, which tonight was leftover soup followed by barley & steamed veggies, made in a rice cooker! I didn't think it would be that simple/easy to do. It was pretty simple, but the kids seemed to like it, and I figured they probably wanted a break from pasta, haha. :]

Days 18 & 19

So, I'm doing a combo-post, but it's been a long weekend, & I wanted a break!

Saturday I attended a program at the American Church called "Bloom Where You're Planted." This program, hosted by the Women of the American Church, celebrated it's 40th year with this
workshop, and I'm really glad I went. I think I was the youngest one attending (apart from the children), but I still got a lot out of the program. In the morning, there were several guest speakers that the entire group attended, and then there were several breakout groups after lunch. One of the morning guest speakers talked about the difference of communication styles between the French & Americans, and I was actually intrigued, because she was talking about theories & information that I've studied in the classroom. I actually got a little excited about it, which took me by surprise.

Lunch for the group was a quiche with broccoli, tomatoes, & cheese, served with a side salad of quinoa, tomatoes & spinach. During lunch, I wound up sitting across from a couple from New York (city). The wife was taking a sabbatical while she was here, and her husband (from the Netherlands) works for Unilever, and is in charge of the Lipton tea branch of the company. Now, normally this would be boring, but my family uses Lipton whenever we make sweet tea, so I was actually intrigued when he was talking about his job, because how often do you meet someone in charge of something you drink on a daily basis?

The breakout groups were great, and I learned about: how to survive in Paris on a budget, how the French interact socially, and how to survive a Parisian grocery store/open market. That doesn't sound like much, but I really took a lot of notes, and am glad I chose the ones I did!

The last event of the program was a guided wine tasting, which I found quite interesting, & I feel like I actually know a tiny, minuscule amount about how to figure out if a wine is good or not. The guy leading the workshop owns a wine shop just outside of the Paris city limits had a good saying about wine tasting: he said that it's a real sport; you get better with practice. How very French, but also, how very true. Sadly, I had to leave before his demonstration was over, but I still have all the paperwork, so I'm definitely going to look over it.

I had to come back to the apartment to babysit with the Canadian because the mother & her sister were going to a party, and the sister's kids were here as well. After the kids had eaten, they watched a movie on a laptop while the Canadian & I finally ate dinner. The father came back from working on a wedding, ate a quick dinner, and then left to go & meet up with his wife & sister-in-law. It was a pretty calm evening once the kids were asleep, and I went to bed b/c I knew I was going to go to church today.

I had breakfast with the family this morning, which included (for me) cereal, an English muffin w/ strawberry jam, & hot tea. I made it to church on time, and enjoyed the World Communion Sunday service. I did get a little teary-eyed, this being the first time I've really done communion on my own (normally, I'm with friends or family), but I knew that my family would be celebrating in the same way, so my sad moment was short-lived.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Paris, and the weather was wonderful...it felt like springtime! The sun was out, the sky was blue, and I think it got up to 75 today, which felt wonderful, given the cold/rainy/cloudy weather recently. After church was over, I wandered around a bit, and played tourist, taking photos while the sunlight was favorable.

After I did enough damage to my camera's memory card, I returned to the apartment, had a quick lunch (pasta w/pesto & olives, bread & goat cheese w/ honey), grabbed my Sherlock Holmes, and went to go read in Luxembourg Gardens for a few hours, before the weather could make its inevitable turn.

I returned, did some laundry, read for a bit, then hung my laundry up to dry in my bathroom (I already know I'm going to miss my clothes dryer, but maybe it won't be too bad). Dinner with the family tonight was soup & a savory clafoutis (Google it) with what I've determined to be the French equivalent of lima beans. It was very good, although the mother had doubts about how it would turn out, as it was her first time making it. Dessert was a fruit yogurt, and then I headed to my room to write, read, knit, & relax.

I start my French language courses tomorrow!

Day 17

An easy riddle: What starts out sunny, but ends in rain? My day in Paris, that's what.

I woke up this morning to sunshine streaming in my window, which is something I haven't experienced much since I've been here. I had my now normal breakfast (bread, jam, hot tea), checked my e-mail, and then headed out to pay for my first term of language courses! I went ahead and paid in full, which allowed me to receive a letter saying that I am meeting the number of hours required for my green card! Basically, this means that my "vacation" time in Paris is ending, and I'll officially be a "legal alien" in this country. What a wonderful start to the day. After receiving my letter, I wandered around the outside of the Palais Garnier (a beautiful venue for operas/plays/ballets) in search of the Galleries Lafayette. The Galleries Lafayette is a huge, sprawling mass of buildings (it takes up 3 Paris blocks!), full of every imaginable thing. One building is specifically for homewares, one building is specifically for men's fashion, and one building is completely devoted to women's fashion. The building devoted to women's fashion has an absolutely stunning stained-glass dome that makes an atrium spanning 5 floors. Talk about grandeur.

After drooling over the Tiffany & Co. counter, I wandered amongst the handbags, looking longingly at all of the very nice, extremely expensive brands. After a while, I was a bit overwhelmed with the sheer excess of the store, so I left, but with all intentions of returning, since I had yet to see the entire floor devoted to shoes & boots. I hopped off the Metro a few stops before I normally do, and wandered around the very touristy, but bustling, Latin quarter, where I grabbed lunch to go. Today, it was a Greek "extra" pita (the extra means that they put fries on it), for a whopping 4.50 Euro. Out of habit, I ordered it from the same place that I did on my study abroad two years ago, and I only realized that after I had paid & wandered off towards the apartment.

Evidently, I took the long way back to the apartment, so by the time I finally returned, I put my feet up & read a little bit before picking up the kids. Somewhere between my arrival at the apartment & my departure an hour later, it began raining, & I wasn't about to sit in the cool, rainy weather at the park, so the kids played a Pokemon battle while I watched from the kitchen, enjoying a cup of hot tea.

Dinner for the kids tonight was pizza! I used a dough mix, rolled it out, topped it with tomato sauce, oregano, tomato slices, fresh mozzarella, & black olives. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, but I didn't eat b/c I was told by the Canadian (you remember, the former au pair for this family?) that staying in on a Friday night wasn't an option, so we went & had dinner. She had a blue steak (blue falls between raw & rare on the doneness scale) & mashed potatoes for dinner, & followed it with a chocolate mousse. I had duck breast w/ fingerling potatoes & a salad, & had a crème brûlée for dessert. And for all that deliciousness, I'm only out by 17 euro, which I think was a pretty good deal, given what I ordered.

Day 16

Today was a surprisingly productive day, though I really didn't intend for it to be that way!

I woke up, had a simple breakfast of fresh baguette with more of that delicious homemade strawberry jam & hot tea. I brushed my teeth before heading to my room to pick out my outfit for today, which included my new H&M sweater that I got yesterday. After I finished getting ready, I set out to find the big bank of the arrondissement, where I've (almost fully) opened an account. I forgot to take my passport with me, so I'll have to take that back for the final validation.

It was rainy this morning, but the sun decided to show its face today, so I came back for a quick lunch of gnocchi w/ pesto, followed by a baguette slice with goat cheese & honey for dessert. I pulled up my e-mail, and found a message from the French language school I had tested at last week; one of the students had dropped her reservation! I was going to go to a different school & take a placement test, but this e-mail gave me a better outlook on the afternoon. I have to pay tomorrow, and then I can start on Monday!

After my happy discovery, I grabbed my camera & headed back towards the bank. I had passed a huge, beautiful fountain on my way earlier, and the light hitting the water proved irresistible to photograph!

Too pretty!

The bank was located on a street with some very well-known brands, and so I went a little camera-happy & started photographing store-front signs. (To see all of them, check here. The store-front pictures start about 3/4 of the way into the album, but do take your time to enjoy all of my photos thus far!) Before I knew it, I had to turn around & get back to the apartment to put together a snack for the kids.

Today was relatively calm, and the kids behaved well. I think it was the sunshine that helped. They played at the park without a problem, and no old ladies tried to take the kid's scooters, which probably won't happen again, but I won't ever forget that event. At the park, I met up with an au pair girl I'd been introduced to the first weekend I was here, so we chatted while the kids played. Dinner was nothing remarkable, though I need to start finding something other than pasta to feed to the kids...I think they're getting tired of it. (Personally, I really enjoy pasta, so it's not a problem, but I don't want the kids to get bored). The mother of the family arrived first tonight, and she paid me a great compliment by saying that she enjoyed the fact that she walks in to a calm environment with the kids every night; she says it's a sign that I'm good for & good with the kids. What a great way to end a night.

Day 15

This morning, there was no fire alarm alarm clock, which was quite pleasant. Also a pleasant surprise was some home-baked bread in the kitchen, and a jar of strawberry jam that the mother's mother made. Talk about a delicious breakfast!

After my late, light breakfast, the Canadian came by the apartment b/c she left some coats here before she moved out, and afterward, we went to have lunch at a cafe around the corner. Now, the Canadian is gluten intolerant, so she wound up ordering a good looking salad, while I ordered roasted lamb with a mix of roasted tomatoes & eggplant that was wonderful. I've got to find more adjectives to use to describe what I'm eating...there's only so many ways to say something tastes really good, though.

After lunch, the Canadian & I wandered towards my favorite Parisian gelato shop, Amorino. I first discovered this place on my study abroad two years ago, and today it was warm enough to merit a stop so that I could pick up my favorite flavor combination- raspberry, chocolate, & coffee. My gelato disappeared quickly, and soon, this is all that was left:

Mmm...so delicious.

After our ice cream stop, the Canadian & I wandered into the nearby H & M, which just happens to be one of my favorite stores in Atlanta, and it's no different here. Somehow, my shopping buddy walked out without buying anything, though I bought a shawl-necked long sleeve sweater that ties at the waist. My words can't do justice to how cute it is.

The Canadian had to head back to her place, so I wandered back to the apartment, when I noticed this detail on a building I pass every time I head to the metro:

It's hard to tell, but I think it's a man riding either the wind or a wave. I still don't know.

Also along the way, I've passed by a plaque on the outside of a building several times, so I finally took the time to read it, and was pleasantly surprised.

Basically, it says that Gertrude Stein lived there with her brother, Leo Stein, and hosted other writers & artists from 1903-1938.

I got back to the apartment with enough time to actually take a nap, so I seized the opportunity, since there are few times when this apartment is really, truly quiet. I woke up, received the kids from their father, and then we went to the Garden.

I had seated myself, and the kids had gone off to play. Not five minutes after we had gotten there, an old French lady with her granddaughters walked by, and tried to say that the scooter that Eldest had brought with him actually belonged to her granddaughter. Now, my spoken French is still not good, but at that moment, Eldest happened to walk up, and answered the old lady's question about how he got the scooter (as it turns out, it was a birthday present). Up until he answered that question, she was not about to let me keep the scooter that I was in charge of keeping track of. It was all very weird, and confrontation just isn't my thing, so I was a little unsettled, but I was fine after 5 minutes of being weirded out by the situation.

After returning to the apartment, the kids & I played a few rounds of hide & seek (though they call it cache cache), and then I set about making dinner. Tonight, it was sauteed zucchini & tomato with 4 cheese ravioli. There was a small incident when I put Eldest's plate in the microwave & started it before he was out of his seat. He cried, then just stared at his plate for a good 10 minutes, letting everything get cold again. Finally, he started eating, and then the rest of the evening went smoothly. It's funny what makes kids tick, isn't it?

Just for the road, here's one more shot, on the unintentional theme of this post: looking upwards. The stairs going up to the apartment door have this amazing plant life going on...take a look!

Cool, isn't it?

Day 14

When your alarm clock one morning is a fire alarm test, that doesn't really make for a good start to the day. The father of the family came by the apartment as soon as it started to let me know what was going on, so that calmed my fears. I was just glad that the building wasn't burning down, or something like that.

After I had collected myself & had breakfast, the former au pair for the family (the Canadian) invited me to have lunch at her place since our first attempt at lunch didn't work out very well. I took the approximately 20 minute walk to her apartment, and she prepared a nice lunch of sauteed carrots & zucchini, fish, and a wild rice pilaf. After the meal, there was cheese & crackers, then an apple, and then coffee. I wish we could've talked longer, but she had to go to work, so I came back to the apartment & took a nap, which I hardly ever do.

I woke up in time to have a cup of tea before I picked up the kids from school. There's another au pair girl who picks up her kids from the same school as mine, and she's from Louisiana. As usual, I got Youngest first, we waited for Eldest, came by the apartment, dropped off his lunchbag & bookbag, and then headed to the park. Cue meltdown.

I've mentioned that Eldest is into Pokemon cards. We were already on our way to the park, when he decided that it was a huge deal that he bring his cards with him. I said no, because we were already out of the apartment, and at first he just pouted. Then, when he realized that I had said no, he returned inside, though just in the entryway of the building. He kept asking, I kept saying no (deciding to stick to my guns). His father was passing through on church business, & Eldest tried to convince his father to let him go get his cards. Thankfully, the father asked me what I had said, and again, he backed me up, agreeing with how I responded. The father went back upstairs, and then soon, Eldest went upstairs as well, and sat crying at the doorstep. He finally came downstairs with me (the kind secretary offered to keep an eye on Youngest while I went to sort things out w/ Eldest), and we all went to the park, though he was crying all the way.

Once we got to the park, he was still angry, but did get up & move around. Several times, he tried to snatch a snack from the bag I take to the park, but I wasn't about to let that happen. Manners always come first. That's how I was raised, and I'm not about to let up on that. The third time he approached, I think he realized why he didn't get a snack before, and asked politely, though still mad. After that, his evening got much better, and everything went pretty smoothly.

Dinner for the kids was ham tortellini, salad, tomato slices, & yogurt. I just had a salad, but that was because I attended the young adult pizza night that the American Church hosts every other Tuesday. I'm glad I went, because I met two students (one from Illinois, one from Hong Kong/London) who were in the small group I joined, and who happen to live nearby. I got to pizza night late, but it was still a pleasant time, and I'm looking forward to the next one in two weeks.

After pizza night was finished, my two new friends & I walked to the nearby metro stop. Before we parted ways, the one from Illinois mentioned something about the "nuit blanche," which is evidently an all-night art/museum crawl around Paris the first Saturday of October. We all agreed to meet at Les Invalides, and then see what the night has in store. So the Illinoisian (?) hopped on the metro, and Asian/British girl & I walked on, and we eventually both wound up back in our respective apartments.

Day 13

I guess I've got to get used to this whole colder weather thing. It's not easy, coming from the South, where it's still really warm (and sunshiney too, but I'm not going there), to here, where the high today was 59. I'm a mild weather person; not cold (I'm terrible at layering), not hot (though my thin-blooded Southern-ness has allowed me to adapt to the heat).

Language school #1 was full for my French level, so I spent today researching other options here in the city. I've got a short list of about 4 schools, though they're all pretty far out from the apartment. Is that a price I have to pay? Well, yes. Do I want to pay that price? If I want to stay in Paris, I sure do; otherwise, not really. On the bright side, the reduced-hour au pair programs run a lot cheaper per term than their normal x-hours-per-week courses, and the hours are in the morning, which leaves afternoons/evenings free for au pair duties.

Eldest has joined what I've gathered is some sort of chess club at his school, so I picked up Youngest from her class, and we went to the Gardens, even though it was pretty chilly, so that she could play for a bit before we went to pick up her brother. Eldest was slightly sad that he didn't have time to play in the park, but this chess thing is just once a week, so he'll get plenty of playtime the rest of the week.

I mentioned earlier that Eldest is into collecting Pokemon cards. Today, he gave me two more: Ponyta & Dark Raichu. So now, I've got those two, and a Kingler. He's given these to me because they're in English- problem is, I can't decide if he's trying to maintain the purity of his French card collection, or if he's just being genuinely sweet. I find myself hoping that it's the second, though part of me knows that in reality, it's probably the first.

Dinner tonight for the kids was left0ver pasta (w/ ketchup & cheese for Eldest, just cheese for Youngest), more blanched zucchini (still can't figure that one out), & tomato slices, and I had ham tortellini & tomato slices since there wasn't enough leftover pasta for me too. Dessert was vanilla applesauce, and then the kids had cheese as a final course.

Day 12

Another Sunday, another church. Today, it was the American Church in Paris.

I woke up to a quiet apartment, which was, in a way, relaxing. I had breakfast (more pain d'epices & tea), then got ready to head to church. The church is right along the Seine river, which made for a pleasant walk from the metro stop nearby. I got off the metro, and this is what I saw:

Les Invalides: Famous for containing Dead Napoleon Bonaparte, among other things

Now, the weather's not helping this picture any, but this is Les Invalides, a home for war veterans, the French military museum, and a burial ground for some old, dead dudes, one of which happens to be Napoleon Bonaparte.

Before the bottom really dropped out, I scurried on to the church. I walked in, and was welcomed in both French and English, separately. Now, being a preacher's kid (& grandkid, for that matter), churches are no new thing to me, but usually I'm attending with family. Walking into the ACP, I felt a little nervous, but once worship started, I began to feel more comfortable. There was one moment of hesitation (for me) when the pastor asked all the first time visitors to stand up, but I gathered myself and joined the few that were standing.

The service was quite nice, with a familiar feel, and with songs that I actually recognized (which meant more to me than I expected it to!). Also, the interior of the church is beautiful, which never hurts (though it's not a requirement):

They were setting up for a contemporary service, thus the screen

After worship, there was a social time with coffee, so I ventured into the crowd and picked up a cup. I sipped it, soaking in the environment & the people around me, and then got a refill. I was almost done with it when a group of 3 girls came up to me & introduced themselves. One lived in California a while back, came here as an au pair, then got married & has lived outside of Paris for 3 years now (don't worry...I'm not getting any ideas). The other two were Austrailian; one was an au pair, like me, and the other was assisting a man in a wheelchair. We conversed for a while, but breakfast didn't hold me very long, and everyone already had plans, though we agreed to meet next week after the service, so I returned home & had the yummy pizza leftovers.

After lunch, I went to my room and tried to nap but the coffee didn't do me any favors, so I settled on reading some more Sherlock Holmes. The ACP hosts a free concert every Sunday at 5, so I headed out to hear some music after my reading time. The program was good, and included two of my favorite composers, Vivaldi & Handel. When I returned from the concert, the family had all returned, and dinner was in progress, so I greeted everyone, changed out of my Sunday clothes, and joined them for dinner. Tonight, it was veggie soup (carrots, tomatoes, and zucchini) & pasta (with pesto, for me). Dessert was a pear, along with some real brie (the mother brought it back from her visit with the kids to her mom's house), which was absolutely delicious.

Fall is coming, in all its glorious colors :]