Nannies and Football

Party til 6 AM, breakfast at 4 PM, so passes the weekend in Paris. Friday night was highlighted by a party at Fred’s apartment, which unexpectedly turned into a uniting of Americans auparising their first year out of college. I had no idea there was such a high demand for nannies in the area, but it seems a suitable job for most American women.

Saturday night, we took advantage of the remaining pleasant outdoor weather with an evening picnic on the Champ de Mars. Surrounded by underage Parisians who found an occasion to sing happy birthday every 5 minutes, we enjoyed our wine, cheese, and sausage as any gourmand would do.

Noticeably calm has seemed a September weekend in Paris, without the stresses of football drama. As for me, score checking at 1 AM will have to become the new normal. And French beware that I will pounce on the opportunity to bark at anyone who scoffs at my UGA Gameday apparel.

The prospective agenda for the week ahead remains unscripted. Free hug donations at the Louvre and a big fat bike tour of Paris are among our most well received suggestions from weekend brainstorming.

I’m still unsure of plans for my move to Thouars. It seems Thursday will be a good day for me to travel, but my roommates do not arrive until Saturday so I’ll have to decide if I want to spend my first couple of nights as a long-nester.

Running on coke

When staying with someone who works for a food or beverage company, I tend to joke about how they'll have a fridge or pantry full of complementary products. Thus, I was amused when Fred (who works for Coca-Cola Enterprises) came home from work with about a bag full of cokes and a case of Vitamin Water. It doesn't look like I'll go thirsty in Paris.

Paris Arrival and Chill Time

When I told my family the night before my departure that I was “winging it”, I wasn’t kidding. Literally, I was in Chicago about to board my flight to Paris before knowing where I would be staying once I arrived. But, after a few minor bumps in the road (a self-aware iPad that blasted music in the terminal untouched and nearly missing my flight out of Atlanta thanks to a misjudgment on the location of my gate), I arrived to my friend Fred’s apartment with all my belongings and a even few of his, about 20 magazines on the American politics and one loaf of mashed pumpkin bread.

Upon getting “settled in”, I was greeted with a magnificent high that took me on a stroll through the city. It appears Paris hasn’t changed much, still everyone smokes, still no one looks at you on the street unless they want your money. Walking through my old neighborhood, I noticed the same madame working the boulangerie, the same monsieur at the grocery store. A few noticeable differences, a flower shop in place of an old Italian restaurant, a new sandwicherie in town. But as Fred confirmed, little changes around here and people like it that way. Suits me just fine. But the energy spike did reach its end, and I cruised to the end of the afternoon on a 3 hour couch nap.

I am still living on a wing, with no idea of when I’ll arrive in Thouars for work. My boss keeps telling me to enjoy Paris as long as I can. Whether this should concern me I don’t know, but I think I’ll at least consider this a reason to spend the better part of next week here. I have a feeling that big times await in the City of Lights…

Good day and welcome to my blog. This is designed to be a way for close friends and family to follow me on my journey's to Europe and beyond but expect to some posts to just include generic pictures and other nonsense from my life.

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