Et…voila!

September 9, 2015October 12, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

Coming back to Paris post my WOOFing stint was a little bitter sweet. In one sense my dreamy countryside working holiday was over, but I had the imminent visit of Mum! This would mark the end of my time in Paris, and also the end of her Euro trip, having spent 10 days on a river boat cruise around Germany with her mum and sister. Her arrival coincided with what seemed to be the early onset of Autumn, so we rugged up and took to the streets, doing what we do best – eat, drink, chat, meander and a spot of shopping. Of course, she didn’t want to miss out on anything Dad might have seen earlier in the year, so we went again to the Picasso museum, wandered along the Seine, went to the Sacre-coeur and re-caffeinated at all my favourite spots. On that note, since literally 90% of Parisian restaurants (except the tourist traps) are closed during August, we had a real mission on our hands to find decent restaurants. The ones we did taste certainly delivered however. And a particular highlight was La VerreVolle, conveniently a hop skip and a jump away from our Hotel. My tuna with anchovies, pureed carrot and roasted vegetables was hands down the best dish of my time in Paris. We also enjoyed a very memorable herb risotto at Rose Bakery, as well as our tapas style dinner at Au Passage, accompanied by the most delicious Chardonnay. On our final day together we had the surprise early arrival of Amy’s new little bubba 'George Frederick’ back in NZ, so a cherry on top of our lovely time together. That night, my final night in Paris, we dined with my two great new friends and raised our glasses to the baby, new friends, and the end of my amazing 4 months in Paris. Santé! — Coming back to Paris post my WOOFing stint was a little bitter sweet. In one sense my dreamy countryside working holiday was over, but I had the imminent visit of Mum! This would mark the end of my time in Paris, and also the end of her Euro trip, having spent 10 days on a river boat cruise around Germany with her mum and sister.
Her arrival coincided with what seemed to be the early onset of Autumn, so we rugged up and took to the streets, doing what we do best – eat, drink, chat, meander and a spot of shopping.
Of course, she didn’t want to miss out on anything Dad might have seen earlier in the year, so we went again to the Picasso museum, wandered along the Seine, went to the Sacre-coeur and re-caffeinated at all my favourite spots. On that note, since literally 90% of Parisian restaurants (except the tourist traps) are closed during August, we had a real mission on our hands to find decent restaurants. The ones we did taste certainly delivered however. And a particular highlight was La VerreVolle, conveniently a hop skip and a jump away from our Hotel. My tuna with anchovies, pureed carrot and roasted vegetables was hands down the best dish of my time in Paris. We also enjoyed a very memorable herb risotto at Rose Bakery, as well as our tapas style dinner at Au Passage, accompanied by the most delicious Chardonnay.
On our final day together we had the surprise early arrival of Amy’s new little bubba ‘George Frederick’ back in NZ, so a cherry on top of our lovely time together. That night, my final night in Paris, we dined with my two great new friends and raised our glasses to the baby, new friends, and the end of my amazing 4 months in Paris. Santé!

My WWOOFing days

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

Contrary to some belief (ahem, Cam), I haven’t spent the last few weeks in a rosé-induced summer haze. Far from it! In actual fact, I have fallen off the blogging grid due to working hard manual labour. OK, there was a glass or two of rosé involved at times! But for the most part, it was work. WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a cultural exchange of sorts. The website enables would-be ‘WWOOFers’ like me to find a host family whom welcome you onto their organic farms, orchards or in my case – vineyards, to work and live for any time between a week and three months. The expectation is that the WWOOFer work 5 hours a day, and in exchange the host family provide food, board and a true ‘local’ experience. Many young people do WWOOFING as a means of travelling cheap, but others like me do it to work on their language skills. With no ‘reviews’ of host families on the website, it’s a lucky dip to see who and what you end up with, but a few photos of a beautiful looking vineyard and Chambres d’hôtes (Bn’B) in the South of France, near Carcassonne sold me on my chosen location. Leading up to my WOOFIng, I was a tad nervous as didn’t know what to expect from the work – was I actually just going to be slave labour?! And I also had concerns about the family, as hadn’t felt much warmth in the email correspondence beforehand. How wrong I could have been. The family went out of their way to make me feel completely welcome. Even though they were able to speak a little English, not a word of English passed their lips even if they were trying to explain something convoluted in French…and I looked very blank! They also made ensured that I got to know the area, and would take me to the local river, beaches, Carcassonne (with it's stunning medieval castle) and the beautiful river-side village of Lagrasse when work was finished for the day. Work would start at 7.30am (to avoid the intense heat of the day), and then a typically French lunch would follow – of which would always include cooked meats of some variety, veges from the garden and chased with cheese platter and fruits. Nothing was store bought - and even pesto and mayonnaise were whipped up on the spot when required. Sitting at lunch on my first day, exhausted but happy, gazing out to the hectares of vines and mountains I thought to myself, ‘phew' – I was one of the lucky ones! I even really enjoyed the work. And to clarify – when I say I was gardening, I was spending 5 hours a day on my hands and knees pulling out weeds (or in French - ‘mauvais herbes’ …..bad grass!). It’s fair to say my gardening career will probably stop there, but it was suprisingly fulfilling being outside, and ‘at one’ with nature. Even if I sometimes got a complete soaking when the sprinkler suddenly turned, or the fact that I was scratched by rose thorns head to toe by the end, I adored every moment of the experience. — Contrary to some belief (ahem, Cam), I haven’t spent the last few weeks in a rosé-induced summer haze. Far from it! In actual fact, I have fallen off the blogging grid due to working hard manual labour. OK, there was a glass or two of rosé involved at times! But for the most part, it was work. WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a cultural exchange of sorts. The website enables would-be ‘WWOOFers’ like me to find a host family whom welcome you onto their organic farms, orchards or in my case – vineyards, to work and live for any time between a week and three months. The expectation is that the WWOOFer work 5 hours a day, and in exchange the host family provide food, board and a true ‘local’ experience. Many young people do WWOOFING as a means of travelling cheap, but others like me do it to work on their language skills. With no ‘reviews’ of host families on the website, it’s a lucky dip to see who and what you end up with, but a few photos of a beautiful looking vineyard and Chambres d’hôtes (Bn’B) in the South of France, near Carcassonne sold me on my chosen location. Leading up to departure day, I was a tad nervous as didn’t know what to expect from the work – was I just going to be glorified slave labour?! And I also had concerns about the family, as hadn’t felt much warmth in the email correspondence beforehand. How wrong I could have been. The family went out of their way to make me feel completely welcome. Even though they were able to speak a little English, not a word of English passed their lips even if they were trying to explain something convoluted in French…and I looked very blank! They also made ensured that I got to know the area, and would take me to the local river, beaches, Carcassonne (with it’s stunning medieval castle) and the beautiful river-side village of Lagrasse when work was finished for the day. Work would start at 7.30am (to avoid the intense heat of the day), and then a typically French lunch would follow – of which would always include cooked meats of some variety, vegetables from the garden and chased with cheese platter and fruits. Nothing was store bought – and even pesto and mayonnaise were whipped up on the spot when required. Sitting at lunch on my first day, exhausted but happy, gazing out to the hectares of vines and mountains I thought to myself, ‘phew’ – I was one of the lucky ones! I even really enjoyed the work. And to clarify – when I say I was gardening, I was spending 5 hours a day on my hands and knees pulling out weeds (or in French – ‘mauvais herbes’ …..bad grass!). It’s fair to say my gardening career will probably stop there, but it was surprisingly fulfilling being outside, and ‘at one’ with nature. Even if I sometimes got a complete soaking when the sprinkler suddenly turned, or the fact that I was scratched by rose thorns head to toe by the end, I adored every moment of the experience.

Week 11: Highs and Lows

July 15, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

HIGHS: My recent mini-break in the French countryside. Dad’s great old friend from his days in Curacao (in the Dutch Marines) lives in a tiny little village called Charente in the Angoulême region. Him and his wife live a quaint life there, and have spent the last 7 years slowly renovating the old farm house and working on the gardens. They even have a couple of chickens and a goose – called Frans (after my Father?)! There is strictly no fois gras production going on here though… The first night I got there, I was told we were off to a casual restaurant situated on a pond in the middle of the countryside. Of course, staying with two Dutchies the only logical way to get there was to cycle the 30minutes there are back! This proved to be such a treat as we cycled along in mild evening past sunflower fields, melon fields and corn crops. The restaurant was family run and completely charming. It was countryside at its finest – and absolutely packed. The chef works 7 days, lunch and dinner for 7 months of the year to keep all his customers (from local villages) happy and well fed. The 4 course set menu was 16Euros (Paris take note!!!) and was the most memorable meal of my time here, without a doubt. We started with a whole half rock melon / Cantaloupe complete with port in the well. Great start. Then went on to duck confit with roasted herbed potatoes. Now we’re talking. Then the cheese plate – whereby a huge quantity landed on our table of which we were to take as much as we liked, before the waiter would deliver it to the next table. Finally, Cassis sorbet cleansed the palate very nicely thank you. And then it was back on yer bike – and a sunset ride home to burn off the over indulgence. Although not before the Chef and owner made his rounds around the tables to chat to all of the diners and greet them (mostly all) by name – including Dad’s friend who he called ‘Monsieur Bob’! As my language school is closed for July (much like the rest of Paris!) I have taken to private lessons which is about the same price, but means more one-on-one conversation practice and hence highly effective. I still feel like I’m improving which is obviously a high – but still have some frustrations with particular tenses which always prove difficult to roll off the tongue! I have also given ‘conversation exchange’ another try. This is the website exchange system whereby you find like minded people to practice your respective languages in the flesh. In my case, I find a French girl who wants to improve her English and nice versa. I mentioned earlier in the piece I was doing this, but after meeting a few ‘odd balls’, and realising it was frustrating as most of the French people had such a higher level of English than my French – I stopped. Last Tuesday I even had 2 dates in one day and both were a success! I met 2 lovely French girls who were good fun and patient, and will definitely be meeting up with them again. My friend Zoe hosted a lovely Saturday afternoon soiree at her apartment in Pigalle (photo above). Zoe lucked up hugely and scored an apartment early on with a much envied wide balcony and beautiful opening living. The food, company (half French/half English), SUNSHINE and beats were all perfect. Bastille day Eve in the Marais with Sophie, Sam and Natalie. The whole city puts on free concerts around different neighbourhoods and we took our bottle of vino and plastic cups and parked up at a particularly fantastic one. Two hours dancing to great hits (generally all in English!) in the street was a great end to a 4 week Euro trip for Sophie, my school friend who was back to NZ the next day. LOWS: 1. Nothing to report this week! — **HIGHS:**
1. My recent mini-break in the French countryside. Dad’s old friend from his days in the Dutch Marines lives in a tiny little village called Charente in the Angoulême region. Him and his wife have spent the last 7 years slowly renovating the old farm house and working on the gardens and luckily for me, love to have visitors. They even have a couple of chickens and a goose – called Frans (after my Father?)! There is strictly no fois gras production going on here though… The first night I got there, I was told we were off to a casual restaurant situated on a pond in the middle of the countryside. Of course, staying with two Dutchies the only logical way to get there was to cycle the 30minutes there are back! This proved to be such a treat as we cycled along in the mild evening sun past sunflower fields, melon fields and corn crops. The restaurant was family run, completely charming, remote – and absolutely packed. The chef works 7 days, lunch and dinner for 7 months of the year to keep all his customers (from local villages) happy and well fed. The 4 course set menu was 16Euros (Paris take note!!!) and was without a doubt the most memorable meal of my time here. We started with a whole half rock melon / Cantaloupe complete with port in the well. Then went on to duck confit with roasted herbed potatoes. The cheese plate was next – whereby a huge selection landed on our table of which we were to take as much as we liked, before the waiter would deliver it to the next table. Finally, Cassis sorbet cleansed the palate very nicely thank you. And then it was back on our bikes – and a sunset ride home to burn off the over indulgence. Although not before the Chef and owner made his rounds around the tables to chat to all of the diners and greet them (mostly all) by name – including Dad’s friend who he called ‘Monsieur Bob’!
2. As my language school is closed for July (much like the rest of Paris!) I have taken to private lessons which is about the same price, but means more one-on-one conversation practice and hence highly effective. I still feel like I’m improving which is obviously a high – but still have some frustrations with particular tenses which always prove difficult to roll off the tongue!
3. I have given ‘conversation exchange’ another try with great success. This is the website language exchange system whereby you find like minded people to practice your respective languages in the flesh. In my case, I find a French girl who wants to improve her English and vice versa. I mentioned earlier in the piece I was doing this, but after meeting a few ‘odd balls’, and realising it was frustrating as most of the French people I met had such a higher level of English than my French – I stopped. Last Tuesday I even had 2 dates in one day and both were a success! I met 2 lovely French girls who were good fun and patient, and we agreed to ‘exchange’ on a regular basis.
4. My good new friend Zoe hosted a lovely Saturday afternoon soiree at her apartment in Pigalle (photo above). Zoe lucked up hugely and scored a rare Parisian apartment with a much envied wide balcony and beautiful opening living. The food, company (half French/half English), SUNSHINE and beats were all perfect.
5. Bastille day Eve in the Marais with Sophie, Sam and Natalie. The whole city puts on free concerts around different neighbourhoods and we took our bottle of vino and plastic cups and parked up at a particularly fantastic one. Two hours dancing to great hits (generally all in English!) in the street was a great end to a 4 week Euro trip for Sophie, my school friend who was back to NZ the next day.
**LOWS:**
1. Nothing to report this week!

Bob and Marjolyn's lovely farm house — Bob and Marjolyn’s lovely farm house

The even more brilliant open barn lounge where we sat and read, had dinner and escaped from the sun — The even more brilliant open barn lounge where we read, dined and escaped from the sun

Sophie the tourist outside a great new cafe find

Week 10: Highs and Lows

July 6, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

HIGHS:

1. It was decided that we needed a good old day trip out of Paris. So off we set on Sunday morning (thankfully devoid of a hangover) to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet. After a nearly fatal ticket machine debacle, we got on the right train and 40 minutes later arrived in Normandy. Despite being only 78km out of Paris, it truly felt like 700 kilometres. The landscape was dizzyingly beautiful and the town was sleepy and subdued. We went against the grain and decided to walk the 7km road from the station to the Giverny township. Mad? Yes. The sweltering heat nearly got the better of us and at one point I subtly suggested the option of hitchhiking the rest of the journey. But we got there in the end. And admittedly it is a tourist destination, but not on a large scale. The gardens exceeded expectations, and in fact they are run entirely by a nonprofit organisation whom preserve both the gardens and the house (which we didn’t venture into for fear of fainting). The gardens are sectioned into two parts – the one in-front of Monet’s home, with thousands of varieties of flowers forming straight patterns, and then the waterlilly garden over the road. The water lillies symbolise Monet’s most famous series of paintings ‘Nympheas’. The garden also exhibits his fascination for the orient, with a distinctly Japanese feel – from the oriental plants to the green bridge.

2. Knowing that my days in Paris are now numbered, I am consciously trying to explore new areas and get through my rigorous check list. The Montparnasse area was high on my list, and so I booked a lunch in a bistro which I had read good things about, ‘Bistrotters’ and went down for a vist. Cute name aside, this was the best meal I’ve had in Paris so far. Totally off the beaten track, down In the 14th arrondissement (barely still inside Paris), this handsome neighbourhood dime solidly delivered. I’m not usually a 2 course meal at lunch kind of a girl but my only options consisted of 2 courses – or 3 courses. My starter of tempura prawns on a bed of wilted spinach and not-too-rich seafood bisque kicked things off nicely. Then my pork belly with artichoke and jerusalem artichokes (my all time favourite veg), sealed the deal.
3. French dinner party vibes at Roseanna and Alexandre’s house. Roseanna is a Kiwi girl I have hit it off with here, who had recently moved in with her Parisian boyfriend Alexandre. I suppose you could say it’s a bit of a love story and to make it even funnier, they met on Valentines day!. Informal weeknight dinner parties at their house mean a casual salad, tonnes of cheese and bread and of course – chocolate and caramel beurre ECLAIRS for dessert. Last week when he invited 3 of his French buddies it was a lively evening of French speaking (me trying to keep up with the pace of conversation!) and over-indulgence of French food.

LOWS:

1. LA CANICULE (the heat wave). Last week was certainly not my finest hour – or week for that matter. Gripped by a heat wave, Paris averaged 39 degrees during the day, and sometimes 24 degrees at night which might sound nice to those of you in the Southern Hemipshere, but was actually HORRID. I ended up with awful headaches and dizzy spells (and of course, drenched in sweat) and even spent half of my weekend in bed just trying to escape from the heat. To say I am happy to send the end of it is an understatement!

2. The huge gap between the photos below. it’s driving me MAD and I have already started this post again and to no avail… the gap is still there!

Rue Thermopyles- easily one of the quaintest little streets in Paris

Paying homage to Henri Cartier Bresson, the French godfather of 'candid' photography — Paying homage to Henri Cartier Bresson, the French godfather of ‘candid’ photography

Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson (one of the most well known photographers today)

Week 8 + 9: Highs and Lows

June 27, 2015June 27, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

HIGHS:
1. The weekend with my old school friends in Paris. Although new friends are brilliant fun, you just can’t beat seeing old familiar faces and reminiscing about the ‘good old times’. I had forgotten just how many laughs we have together
2. Discovering my new favourite Parisian bar, where I can sense that I will be spending a fair bit of time this summer. Hellooo ‘Paname Brewing Company’, the brand-new brewery that’s opened on the Canal de l’Ourcq (the continuation of the Canal Saint-Martin). In its pre-brewery days, this building was a flour granary, then later became a recovery space for drowning victims! Now, it’s a micro-brewery with a big, floating, glass-ceilinged room and one of the best views in town. Cheers to that. I ambled along on a Saturday afternoon toute seule, and enjoyed a wine, a read and some people watching in the summery surroundings.
3. My weekend in London and seeing Cam’s new pad. The power tools are out, and the work is already underway. These boys (Cam + his dad Peter) – mean business!
4. Weeknight evening sunset picnics on the Canal with cheese so stinky that your neighbours comment, and every second passerby coming to borrow your corkscrew. And of course the drunken revellers jumping in it – a wildly funny, but slightly disturbing (when you think about the water quality) sight to see
LOWS:
1. It was quite a hard week settling back into Parisian life after my London visit. With no job (more on that another time), feeling frustrated with my French – and more than a tad lonely, it was not my finest week at all. But onwards and upwards, right?
2. As much as I love my camera and learning how to use it (still a long way to go!) it doesn’t make for light carrying..so apologies for the lack of photos of late.
3. Next week’s 37 degree celsius forecast – yikes! I can already feel the sweaty sleepless nights ahead…

Puces de Vanves (or in other words - the Vanves flea market) on a Saturday morning — Puces de Vanves flea market on a Saturday morning

Who you looking' at? — Who you lookin’ at?

Tiny mangoes at the best ever Chinese supermarket down in Place D'italie — Tiny mangoes at the best ever Chinese supermarket down in Place D’Italie

The queue at El Nopal on a Saturday at 2pm — El Nopal – the famed Mexican hole in the wall (quite literally) which is known for its epic burritos and even more epic queues!

Annoyingly, burritos are an impossible food to make look good in photos! But believe me when I say it was the stuff of dreams... — Annoyingly, burritos are an impossible food to make look good in photos! But believe me when I say it was the stuff of dreams…

Paname Brewing Company, the brand-new brewery that’s opened on the Canal de l’Ourcq, just left of the Pavillon des Canaux

A truly terrible way to spend a Saturday afternoon... — A truly terrible way to spend a Saturday afternoon…

Un bon weekend avec mes amies

June 16, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

The ladies reunited in Paris - oh lala! — The ladies reunited in Paris – oh lala! I will give you the full update on all the goings on in my ‘ups and downs’ post later this week, but for now I wanted to share some pics from what was my best Parisian weekend yet

Looking sultry and soaking up the atmosphere in the Jardin des Tuileries - a hard days work! — Looking sultry and soaking up the atmosphere in the Jardin des Tuileries – a hard days work!

Et enfin, the best steak-frites of a lifetime!

And the happy tourists tout à fait drunk on steak — The happy tourists tout à fait drunk on steak

Week 7: Highs and Lows

June 11, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

: Highs:
1. Still riding on a high following my Parisian weekend with Dad. Everything was perfect – the weather, food, activities.. The daily routine would follow a rather pleasing pattern of 1. Wake up 2. Walk 3. Coffee on a terrace somewhere 4. Breakfast on another terrace 5. Magazine reading in a garden or park 6. Visit to a museum or gallery 7. More walking 8. Lunch (including vino) 9. Walking to another attraction 10. Post lunch coffee 11. Siesta and/or tennis watching on TV 12. Walk to dinner 13. And finally – a well deserved (!?) sleep. As you can see, a rather pleasing and easy going four days it was!
2. The food. Our belts certainly had to be loosened by the end of the weekend. And although I have to say that I am yet to find the ‘ultimate’ Parisian restaurant which I would go back to in a heart beat, we ate pretty damn well. Highlights include all four meals and the perfect service at ‘Semilla’ in St Germaine-des-Pres, the charming evening at my local ‘Les Enfants Perdus’ on the St Martin Canal, and the traditional Britanic crepes at the very hard to book ‘Breizh’ in the Marais. Shout outs also to ‘Fish La Boissonerie’ (by the same owners of Semilla) and our last lunch in the quaint leafy courtyard at ‘Hotel Amour’, where I had my first proper (and excellent) beef tartare
3. Our visit to the Picasso Museum in the Marais. Not just because it was a cool respite from the 33 degree heat-wave outside, but because of the stunningly renovated space (which reopened 6 months ago after a FIVE year renovation!) where one could happily spend an afternoon, or just an hour as we did, perusing the beautifully displayed works. As Jenny Roberts also crucially pointed out, it is the last time that this many Picasso works will be exhibited in one space, before they go back to their various homes around the globe. So get in fast if you can
4. Finding restaurant ‘Le Foquets’ on the Champs-Elysees was still in the very same place, after my Grandmother recently told me that her and Grandpa ate there back in 1960! A little slice of history preserved, where so much has changed on the Champs-Elysees
Lows:
1. Seeing what the Champs-Elysees has become – which sadly, is now a dumping ground for big ugly global chain stores (and tourists for that matter!). Gone is the once elegant and grand avenue full of charm and character and symbolic of the nations’ victories…
2. The embarrassing moment when my Father ate a sugar cube (in a completely non-ironic fashion) and got told off by our dinner companions. Mum – you still have some work to do!
3. Parisian visitor departure blues

Cafe Breizh in the Marais, complete with male model Frans

And then this arrived! Champignons and fromage for Frans, and anchoies, tomate et jambon for moi

'La Foqeuets' - where Grand and Grandpa dined 55 years ago — ‘La Foquets’ – where Gran and Grandpa dined 55 years ago

Lunch at 'Hotel Amour' including my first beef tartare — Lunch at ‘Hotel Amour’ including my first beef tartare

And THAT courtyard... — And THAT courtyard…

A coffee break from all the hard work, with my little friend in the background

Family reunion with Dad's cousin's daughter and French husband, plus their two petites filles — Family reunion with Dad’s cousin’s daughter (Henriette) and French husband, plus their two petites filles

My fish with capers and coli at 'Fish La Boissonerie' — My fish with capers and coli at ‘Fish La Boissonerie’

Les Enfants Perdus, my neighbourhood local

Dad just admiring a Picasso, oblivious of the great colour scheme

Week 6: Highs and Lows

June 3, 2015June 16, 2015 ~ jessicadecourt ~ Leave a comment

HIGHS:
1. Attending the Opera at the Palais de Versailles with Pip and Jenny Roberts (Pip’s mum). Admittedly, I went along thinking Versailles was going to be ‘just another European Palace’ but was in fact completely gobsmacked by its beauty. We only had a short amount of time to wander the gardens before the 8pm Opera started, but I was instantly enchanted by the elaborate statues, lakes and plants. Jenny did point out however that one hedge was looking ‘a bit dry’ – but we assured her that it was not to worry, as the team of hundreds of gardeners would surely soon see to that!
2. Tuesday night Korean with the newly appointed ‘Dinner club’. The members are Zoe, Sam and I and the rules are to try a new restaurant every month which no one has tried before. And obviously, to have a good time! Sam chose first, and very conveniently went for a brand spanking new Korean restaurant on his very road. Even more conveniently, called ‘SAAM’. I got there early, and took some quick snaps of the very cool shabby chic décor (think exposed concrete, splattered deliberately with paint) before the rest of the ‘club’ joined me. Sam took it for the team and ordered as the most (or should I say only) fluent Frenchie, and we were soon munching on some pretty tasty Hirata buns filled with succulent hoisin duck, fish and also a ‘make your own’ beef one. For those of you not in the know, Hirata buns are fluffy morsels of pure foodie bliss! They are essentially steamed buns, stuffed with delicious savoury fillings. I have been middy obsessed with them for some time (and always ate them at my favourite London food market), so it is good to know that they are available just 5 minutes from my new home. Watch this space for dinner club round two
3. As I was ranting last week, Bon Marche is the delectable high-end department store in the 7th Arrondissement (near St-Germaine-des-Pres). It was founded in 1852 and was the first modern department store in Paris. Just when you thought things couldn’t get more lust-worthy in the main store, you hop over the road to the adjacent building (there’s more!??) to the food section, called ‘The Grand Epicerie’. Aisles of beautiful food products literally sing out to you to buy them, and you almost want to cry tears of food induced joy. Highly recommend this to anyone coming to Paris to visit
4. A heat wave is hitting over the weekend, with a high of 33 degrees on Friday
5. Dad arrives tomorrow for 4 days & nights!
LOWS:
1. Parisian flats having no washing machines. And by that I mean that I am now officially without one. Since I am not sure that the laundromat kind of a girl, I have come up with a ‘cultural exchange’ programme meaning once I week I will be taking my washing to my friends’ and in exchange, I cook her a delicious meal. As long as the meal is up to her standards, this seems to work out pretty well for all parties involved and means I can avoid the dreaded laundromat for the rest of my time here time!
2. The juice bar getting robbed by scheming gypsies (and sadly this is not uncommon in Paris)