Bonjour Paris
I can't believe I am actually here in Paris. It is so so beautiful, everything is amazing. I just LOVE it.
I was a bit overwhelmed when I first arrived. Everyone was speaking french and I could hardly understand a word! I got a bit lost on the metro while trying to get to my hostel. The hostel is in a terrible area - it is very ugly, dirty and poor. It is on boulevarde de Chapell near Gard du Nord for those that know Paris. So I was a bit freaked out by it all and feeling a bit nervous about being here on my own. I spent the rest of that day walking around Montmartre (which is gorgeous - like all of Paris except where my hostel is) and by the afternoon I was feeling much better about everything.
Since then I have just been wandering the streets of Paris and checking the place out and now I absolutely love it! Everything is so beautiful. Everywhere you look is an amazing old building, a beautiful park, a lovely little tree lined street filled with cafés and shops. I have already done a little shopping (which is even better than I imagined) but I am trying to hold off on buying too much stuff until I get a job.
The food here is amazing. I haven't eaten in a proper restaurant yet but I have found a boulangerie near my hostel which has the best bread I have ever tasted and amazing almond croissants. The cheese is fabulous (of course) and I am on a mission to try every single type while I am here. The patisseries have the most delicious little cakes and pastries and things. The coffee is great and the wine is good and cheap. I found a beautiful little market this morning full of all kinds of fabulous looking stuff and I can't wait to try everything!
So far everyone has been extremely nice and helpful and I haven't come across any rude, arrogant, parisiens yet. Most people switch to english as soon as they hear my accent and those that don't have been quite patient and I have found I can actually make myself understood quite well and can understand OK when they speak slowly.
My first priority is to find a flat so I can get out of my hostel. The hostel is actually quite nice, and I have met heaps of cool people but I am not really in the mood for the whole backpacker thing. I just want to settle in and try to live like a local!
Well that is enough for now, although I could write a book about all the cool things I have seen and done already!
posted by bec @ 5:10 pm
5 Comments:
huzzah!
ok, the first thing you need to do is really settle in with the french culture. i suggest you get a black beret and a stripey shirt. it also helps if you can carry around a some baguettes and maybe smoke a cigarette.
if you need any more advice, just let me know. im here to help.
hey bec.................oh my God.... I just knew it would be wonderful.I Love all your details....keep sharing them. I am living my Parisienne life through you!! Sue xx
Great to hear you have found the place of your dreams (with the exception of the hostel area..)!
You might just have to stay for another 2.5 years so that I can have a local to visit and show me around on my way to Iceland!
Will be great to hear how quickly your French improves, I'm sure you'll be talking like a local a month or two from now.
Hopefully you won't have the Parisian attitude to go with it :)
How's the apartment search going?
Hmmm Shaun talking about attitude. Not sure how that works.
Picking on Shaun hopefully makes you feel like you were home Bec.
Lots of love.
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