19.04.2012
My birthday this year was honestly, wonderful. I didn't do a lot and I didn't drink perhaps as much as I would have liked but it had been a mixed few weeks for me and my main aim was to spend some quality time with my closest friends. My colleagues gave me a great card and two gorgeous bracelets, one set of pearl bracelets and one small silver four leafed clover bracelet (which I have not yet taken off since that day). They all signed a card for me and we had 'Gateau Anglaise' (Fruit cake) and a cup of tea. I'd already received my gifts from my parents, sister and family who visited a week before...which included Dr Dre Beats headphones, new clothes, earrings, a velib pass, a Ted baker make up case and much more. I am a truly lucky girl! After work I spent the late afternoon with my friend Elina who bought me a very funny little book which I absolutely adore, it makes me laugh whenever I read it. American au pair bought me a gorgeous pair of turquoise earrings and necklace to match (as it's my favourite colour) and Fin made me a photograph of a rowing boat with my name on, something he saw in Ireland...it's truly gorgeous I will have to post a photo later - I'm still trying to decide where to hang it in my apartment. We then all went for dinner at Vins & Terroirs, one of my most recent discoveries but by far one of my favourite restaurants. The food is great and such good value. I had snails followed by honey duck breast with sautee potatoes....oh and a chocolate fondant with 'creme anglaise' to finish (with happy birthday ringing in my ears...thanks everyone...!) We finished the evening with a few drinks...and a truly happy birthday girl.20.04.12
My day off was spent with the original American au pair and to this day my closest friend here in Paris. She told me about a photo exposition near the Louvre and I decided for once to do something cultural rather than spending the day lazing about in my apartment, however desirable that sounded. So I dragged myself out of bed and off to Paris I went in search of 'Jeu de Pomme.' American au pair finally corrected me when I couldn't find me on google that the correct spelling was 'Jeu de Paume' which apparently means 'tennis court' and nothing to do with apples at all. The exposition was from a woman called Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) and focused on her photographs of New York and the different States of America. I'm not one to be interested in art if i'm honest....which is blasphemous to say when you have the unbelievable Louvre Museum just five minutes from my work but paintings just don't speak to me. Sometimes yes...especially with Claude Monet but I just prefer photographs and particularly statues (especially anything done by Rodin). However, this expostion was just amazing and Berenice Abbott seemed like a truly inspiring woman. When she was taking photos in the 20s it was really difficult for her to find sponsorship or any form of financial support because, frankly, she was a woman and women (even with the vote) still weren't considered equal to men, particularly in the working world. But...in her words, she was not 'a nice girl', she fought and fought for her exposition and finally was granted permission to document the ever changing city of New York. My favourite picture had to be the Flatiron Building on Broadway in 1938 but there were at least 20 others I could mention as she also took pictures of people, including James Joyce. If you want to know more about her check out her official site http://www.commercegraphics.com/ba.html and if you would like to go to the exposition (which I would highly recommend) it finishes tomorrow and the details can be found here http://www.jeudepaume.org/index.php?idArt=1499&lieu=1&page=article27.04.12
Last night was probably the most fun I've had in a long time. My friend Dave and I decided to have a few beers after work, first we checked out a bar called O'neil which is a micro-brewery (finally decent beer in Paris) and which Dave had been to before but wanted to re-visit. I'd heard of it but never actually gone inside but finally went and honestly loved it. The atmosphere is really American even though the staff are all French, everyone was really chatty and polite and we sat at the bar drinking and eating french fries. The food looked great, especially a burger that a man was eating next to us that both Dave and I were drooling over. Next time....That's one thing I love about Paris, even after nearly two years here you can find a small road full of the quirkiest, most interesting little bars. There was even a pub called 'The Bedford Arms'...I felt like I had accidentally walked through some kind of transportation device and found myself smack in the middle of England...Later on I finally activated my velib card and managed to convince Dave to ride on it with me. This was the stupidest but funniest idea I've ever had. We were wobbling all over the place as Dave had already had a few more beers than me and I nearly fell off because of my lack of balance multiple times. However we did go zooming down some hills around St Germain Des Pres and discovered again some more ways to enjoy Paris. We finally finished at Le Cafe Petit Pont just opposite the Seine and Notre Dame with cheese, beer and wine...you have to love Paris, no place like it.
So quoi neuf?!? What's new basically...
Well, next week after finally making a decision I AM GOING TO LONDON. I realised that there had been so many reasons I wasn't making a decision...money, situations, work etc.. and I finally just woke up and bought my tickets. I organised a change in my schedule with my colleague, THANK YOU PAUL I am going to bring you back tonnes of herbal tea from London and can now go to London from Friday night to Tuesday evening. I am so so excited to see the girls, all my old friends at the party on Saturday and to finally see a bit of London too as I have some time to at least do one or two touristy things! And it will be my first time on the Eurostar so I will definitely have something to blog about next week...I might even have to take my notebook so I don't forget anything!
Just remember bloggers, "Today is going to be a good day."
Ciao
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