Let's see where to start? Hmm....work has been good. I really love the people I work with they are soooo sweet and funny! Sometimes I feel like I'm on a sitcom with the way we all interact. After work one day, I went to the market with David and we both got some things to bring home. Some guy tried to trick him by saying he dropped some money, but David knew better than to fall for it. He warned me that this happens a lot and to be careful because they could end up pick pocketing me!
I went to work sick one day and David and Veronique told me to take some medicine, but I hadn't had breakfast yet so they sent me to Starbucks to get a muffin and some fresh squeezed OJ.
They were so sweet! They even got Vitamin C tablets for me to chew on. Everyone is so nice and helpful with everything! Veronique is even trying to get me and Miina a job at her ex-husband's restaurant in Paris. He said that there would probably be an opening in the Fall, so hopefully I can move back to Paris to live and work! I'd be soooo happy if I could stay in Paris!
Miina and I get to go to lunch together sometimes when it's slow. We'll go to sit by the Louvre on the lawn and have a picnic or we'll go to a cafe around the area and Japan town for some noodles or sushi!
Last Thursday, I moved to my new apartment in Trocadero. It's small, but has everything I need and it's right by the Eiffel Tower at a reallllly great location. I think it's so cozy and cute!
Last Friday after work, I met up with Christine and Will who came to visit. Met them by the Eiffel Tower and we went to have dinner to celebrate their engagement, my birthday, and my graduation! Then we went to Champs Elysees to walk around and got some dessert at La Duree. Since their hotel is around the corner from my place, they stopped by my apartment to check it out. Wish I had more time to hang with them while they were here, but my family came the next day too.
Last Saturday, family came to see me. I had to rush to work and they went to explore Paris. They came by at the end of the day and got to meet my friends at work. I was really excited for them to see what I was doing here in Paris and to meet everyone! Then we went to meet up with Michel at his place and ran into Alex again. He met my family and talked to them for a bit and it's funny Michel and Alex finally met for the first time and they both lived in that building for years within 1 floor of each other and never met! After, we went to dinner in China/Viet town and had some pho. We had to wake up really early the next day, so just went straight back to my apartment to rest.
Last Sunday, we took the TGV to Avignon. I haven't taken the TGV in sooo long so it brought back a lot of memories of when I lived in Italy and took the train all over Europe..lots of fun adventures! As soon as we arrived in Avignon, we picked up our rental car and went to Pont du Gard which is this famous old bridge that is the biggest in France. It was funny, we kept seeing the parking attendant every where we stopped..I think he found us to be a bit comical with the way we kept trying to take jumping pictures...he even let us park there for free, when it was supposed to be 15 euros!
Having the rental car was definitely awesome! We got to see soooo much and had the flexibility to just stop wherever we wanted! We would stop at lavender fields, sunflower fields and even cherry fields!!! I don't think we were supposed to pick the cherries, but they were soooo yummy! So we picked a bag full for our trip hehe We also went to Gordes, which is this really beautiful village and then to Rousillon, which is another village area. We got to see the Abbaye too with all the lavender fields surrounding it.
At night we drove to Cassis to our hostel. It was the most beautiful hostel I stayed at and they were soooooo nice! The hospitality is AMAZING! I highly recommend staying at Hostel Cassis if you are ever there. Sophie who is the owner goes above and beyond to help out her guests and recommends great places even checking out all the places she sends her guests! I wasn't supposed to stay an extra night, but I found a cheaper ticket if I left bright and early the next day. We asked if there was an extra bed, but the hostel was pretty full. I told her I could just sleep in the car since it was really just a few hours, but she said no she didn't want me to do that and that she would find a solution and she let me stay in this bed in her room. Oh they even serve free breakfast and there was an infiniti pool too!
Last Monday, we woke up early to go sailing in Cassis. Sophie sent us to Francois who is also amazing! He was sooo nice and cool and a jack of all trades! His company is called Kayakaiank Port Miou Les Voiles Libres and his number is 06 50 21 46 96. Tell him I sent you if you ever call him. He has some great sailing or kayaking tours. Elisa and my sister got to jump in the freezing water and I was so tempted, but I didn't want to risk catching pneumonia. Knowing my luck I would since I was still pretty sick. Oh well next time! :( We had asked him for recommendations on where to eat and he called us later in the day for a place and invited us out to hang with him and his friends! He even offered me a job at his company! haha maybe one day I will take him up on his offer, but I don't really know how to sail or kayak by myself, but I could learn! We didn't have a late night since I had to get up at 4am to get ready to head back to Paris to go to work. My family was lucky they got to stay in the South for a few more days. They ended up going to Sarlat to go canoeing in the caves and to check out the foie gras region.
Last Tuesday, was my birthday! I went to work and was going to go to Ana Quasoar's fashion presentation, but my stupid phone ran out of credit and I had to get in touch with my friends for dinner so I went back to the apartment to try to add more. Going to the show and then to dinner would be cutting it close, but oh well. I was late to my birthday dinner, but I was so happy to see my friends there! Simona and Carol got me beautiful flowers and champagne! We went to eat at Lao Lane Xang, where they have the yummy duck I love. I wanted them to try it too and they loved the restaurant! The staff there is really nice too! They remembered me and gave us great service! I felt so happy and lucky to have met such wonderful friends here and to be celebrating with them in Paris! I really am a very lucky girl! I did miss my family and friends at home. It was my first time celebrating my birthday and the 4th of July away from home and I have to admit, it did make me feel a little homesick especially since I was still sick with a cold and had a few issues to deal with that came up, but again I am soooo thankful to the friends I met here and even my work friends! They are allll sooo sweet and helpful with everything and in making my birthday special!
On Wednesday, while at work I heard a bunch of loud airplanes flying in the sky. I looked up and there were a bunch of military jets and planes and people on the terrace running out to see. Miina and I both had the same thought...that something was wrong like a terrorist attack or something, but it wasn't. It was just them preparing for Bastille Day on the 14th! haha
Thursday after work, I took my family to Lao Lane Xang and got them to try the duck too and they also loved it! Then we went to Notre Dame and got some yummy crepes. I was still sick so I didn't want to bite into the crepe they got, so Elisa ripped a piece and tried stuffing it in my mouth, but she got it all over my face! lol
Friday, just went to work and Miina and I got to go to lunch together and got some beef tartar that was sooo delicious. We just sat outside at a cafe on Rue St. Honore.
After work, I took my family and Michel to Lintillac, where Michel and I went a few weeks ago. I wanted them to try some yummy South Western French cuisine. They also loved that restaurant! Afterwards, we went to see the Eiffel Tower at night. We waited til it got dark and when the Eiffel tower would light up. It was so beautiful! It was the last night my family was here so I was sad to see them go. My mom cried of course! She always hates when I leave and worries about me all the time, but I tell her, "Don't worry! I'll be fine!" She hates when I say that though! haha
Saturday was a sad day for me, my family left in the morning and I went off to work. I always hate when people visit and then leave! But after work, Miina tried to cheer me up and we had planned to go to St. Germain des Pres to have dinner. We decided to just get some crepes and a bottle of wine to drink by the Seine River. It was soooo nice! I've been wanting to do that for awhile, so I'm glad we did! We stayed there til the sun went down and met some very interesting people under the bridge. These 2 guys wanted to mooch wine off us even the nutella coconut crepe I was eating!!! He tried to tell me that girls shouldn't eat crepes cuz we'll get fat, but I said too bad you can't have my crepe...get your own! haha We sat near the love bridge with all the locks clung to it. A random young guy sat next to me and started telling me he wanted to find love...I'm like join the club! lol Then he's like can I kiss you? I was shocked because he literally just sat there a few seconds ago and then asked that! I'm like I don't even know you! So he's like so I have no chance huh? I'm like yeah uh no haha Sebastien and Miina's other friends met up with us there too. Afterwards, we went to a club in the area and danced til 4am! The club was a bit annoying at first cuz it was expensive and they wouldn't let us carry our big pocketbooks in so we had to check them in. It was quite a production, but eventually we went in and got a few drinks and danced to some random American old music! It was lots of fun though! Europeans LOVE American music and of course I get excited to hear it too!
Sunday, I woke up and was feeling a bit lazy and tired from the night before. But Miina and I didn't want to waste our day off, so we decided to go to Marais to walk around. As I was heading there, these French tourists were asking me for directions! And I was so proud of myself that I was able to help them and show them the way! I understood everything they asked too! Miina and I went to eat at a cafe and got some French onion soup! Veronique had told us the day before that if you ever have a hangover, the French like to have that after a night of drinking! It didn't really help me, but it was yummy!!!! I had to go to a tabac to buy a voucher for more credit for my phone. Miina and the guy behind the counter kept laughing at me because I kept looking for this thing in my bag to show him to make sure I got the right voucher, but I guess I didn't need to and he's like stop digging in your bag! haha But he was really nice and helped me even call to put the voucher in. I think the people that work at tabacs are super nice! The past few times whenever I go to a tabac, they have been soooo helpful! Afterwards, we tried to do some shopping, but didn't find anything. So we walked back to the St. Germain des Pres area that we were at the night before. We decided to walk and not take the metro because it was fun to explore and wander into different alley ways and streets that are filled with cute lil' cafes and boutiques! We went to Grom and got some reallllllllly yummy ice cream! Miina had told me she wanted to take me to the best ice cream place so of course I said sure! And when she showed me, I was soooo surprised to see that it was Grom!!!! I used to live by a Grom in the UWS in NYC..I had no idea they had one in France!!! Sebastien met up with us and we all sat outside to have our ice cream...we barely talked because we were soooo caught up in enjoying every bite of it! We were all pretty tired from the night before, so after ice cream we all headed home to rest and skyped with my family. :)
Today, I just went to work and had lunch by the Jardin de Tuilleries again. I was tempted to get udon noodles again, but I finally went to check out this popular brasserie on Rue St. Honore. It wasn't too busy of a day today, but we had a client come from New York to look at wedding dresses and she said it was the best first experience she had! She was in awe of all the wonderful dresses in our salon! I would think it would be cheaper and obviously much easier for her to get the Vera Wang Fawn dress that I love so much in the States, but who wouldn't want to say they got their wedding dress in Paris!
I quickly showed David at the end of the day my CV. I have a lot of work to do to translate it into French, but hopefully I can get it done and start applying for some jobs here! As I was showing him my CV and letters of recommendation, he saw that I interned with Nathan Jenden and he said they had sold some of his dresses at Metal Flaque last year! I was so shocked! What a coincidence!!! They were selling stuff that I helped work on for that season too!!! It made me really think how everything you do in life can be so connected and how one thing leads to another. I wonder what will be next for me after this experience! I'd be sooooo happy if I could find a job and stay in Paris even longer!
After work, I went to Michel's place to use his phone and do some errands. We then went to eat dinner at this Thai restaurant that was pretty good, but the service was soooo slow!
I'm working on changing my ticket so I can stay a week longer, but have to check with the embassy tomorrow morning to make sure it's possible. I would have already stayed the maximum time here without having a Visa, but I will be going to London and Ireland and other parts of Europe so I'm hoping my temporary stay will re-kick and I can stay a little bit longer. I am basically traveling the whole month of August so I won't have much time to enjoy Paris before I head back to Boston, so I reallllllllly hope they will approve me staying just 1 more week!!!!!
Wish me luck!!!!! Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous! oxox :)
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