just another day

This summer when I am back in the US I wonder if my life will stay as semi-interesting as it has been here. I don't recall ever having so many twists and turns in my life in Tx but here in Paris life always seems to be tossing me a curved ball.

What's on the menu for today?

Well, you see, when I first moved here I opened a bank account at a bank called La Poste which is the the bank within the post office. If you ask anyone here they'll most likely tell you its the worst bank to open an account with but I had no choice at the time. I had just moved to the Paris area, was living in a little suburb that seemed like I was in the middle of nowhere, it was August aka all the banks were barely functioning and I had no idea how to choose a bank so the family I was living with made the executive decision for me and scheduled an appointment with La Poste for me to open my first French bank account. It was no easy feat, let me tell you. But that story has already been told I'm sure if you just like to go back in time about 2 years. Fast forward to last fall when I started working for the "less than pleasant" family as I like to refer to them as and I decided it was time for a few changes in my life and one of them being a new bank. I wanted a better bank, one that I could get checks with, and to find a bank that was not charging me 7 euros a month to hold next to no money since I never had any. I mean, when you are making 120 euros a week and living in the most expensive city in the world, you aren't exactly saving for the future if you know what I mean. Anyways, I opened a new bank account and voila, my life was all better. So then of course I needed to close my existing account with La Poste so I was no longer paying 7 euros a month for an account I didn't need nor was I using. I went one day to inquire about how to do this and they told me all I needed to was to write a letter and return it to them. Simple, right? Well, lazy me never did that. Fast forward about 9 months and here I am about to leave for the summer and figured what better time than the present to take care of business? So I went to the bank today and asked them about my account to which the teller tells me, "but your account has already been closed." and I said to him, "so who closed it? I didnt!" and he says, "well, I don't know, I am only the middle man between the bank and the post office so you will have to call the bank personally." (so typical france, no one ever knows anything about anything) so I leave a bit confused but ok. I later called a friend and explained the situation and she said that she would call the number for me and find out if it was all taken care of just because I do not want to risk being black listed for leaving the country and not paying off my debts. (mind you, at this point the only reason the account was in a negative was because the bank kept charging me for an account that had been inactive for quite some time). I sent my friend my details and I received a text for her later explaining exactly what the teller had already told me, the account is closed. Dumbfounded I sit here writing this blog. But yay for me as I had put aside 50 euros thinking I needed to go take care of business and in fact the French took care of business for me and closed a very inactive account and reconciled it as well. It's possible and more than likely that they wrote me letters but as I was not very quick (basically I didn't at all) at changing my mailing address, I never received anything informing me so I have no clue what ever happened. All I know is that for once in France someone took an initiative and read my mind. Wow! What a good moment that was! haha. maybe I can infact buy those pair of black jeans I've been eyeing! haha.

In other news, I have worked more than 40 hours since last Friday for another family that has been renting out a flat in my building. That is 40 hours on top of the hours I already work for my family that I am employed by. Basically I have been busy! I'm not at all complaining, especially since I work nothing compared to a real person, but let me tell you, its been exhausting! But definitely rewarding as I was paid hourly for all of those more than 40 hours. Yipee! But the point of that is to tell you that today I was at home with the 9 month old while the parents took their 2 older boys out to an amusement park about 40 minutes away by car. They said they'd be back by 2 knowing I work for my normal family at 3. They called me in a panic at 2 saying they didn't know if they'd even be home by 3. Oh la la. Cutting it as close as I've ever been before, they arrived home at 3:15 which is when the little girl I watch gets out of school. I high tailed it out of that stressful environment, grabbed a bike and sped over to pick up Alix. I made it just on time and in the knick of time as it had just down poured and another one was about to come on. Today was a crazy day. CRAZY. the weather was stupid hot, then poured for 15 minutes almost drowning you, then stupid hot, then major down pour again. What is up? (sorry that this is a less than interesting story, I don't know how to explain into words the extreme stress of not knowing when one family would come home and if i'd be on time to my next job. but it all worked out)

So tonight is FAMILY DINNER. I have not seen the "family" for quite some time as we have all been busy and on the menu for dinner is "vomit" a so-called Brazilian meal but I am not sure if it is really Brazilian. I named it vomit as it looks a bit odd, but don't let the name fool ya, it tastes divine! I always request this but for more reasons than 1, the boys are the ones that cook this meal which means more time for the girls to gossip! :-) And Diana is the one in charge of dessert always, thats her specialty and our request for the dessert was "a sexy cake" so we'll see what she shows up with tonight. :-)

As its my last week and a few days in Paris before I leave I have the busiest schedule ever. Working, lunches, boat rides, picnics, biking, and making lots of memories with my British accented friends, doing all the things I will miss so dearly in the coming weeks. But I am so looking forward to being in Michigan and reuniting with my soul sista and coming back to Texas to sew and bake and live in a house so big that I get lost (compared to Paris apartments its giant). Not so sure about driving a car everywhere or the heat/humidity but I am learning to take the good with the bad and see my grass as green, not the other sides.

Hope you all are enjoying some sun where ever in the world you are! Bonne ....everything!

Love, moi

When Meredith meets Mickey

Disney rates on my 5 favorite things to do ever in Paris and so when Meredith decided she wanted to go to ParisDisney I did not argue one bit. I have been 4 times in the 2 years I've been here and I would go more often if I could. It's magical! I never thought of myself to be one that would be obsessed with Disney because I'm not but I do love DisneyParis. And what's even better is that this year is Disney Paris' 20th anniversary so at closing every night this year they do a special 30 minute long fireworks, water works show thing and it just makes the whole day ten times better, as if that could've happened. Seriously, this was my favorite day of my sister's whole trip!

Meredith does Paris:

And Kara rents a car.

And thats exactly what happened. Meredith asked to take a day trip and not knowing what she was getting herself into, I booked a car for the day and invited a friend along for entertainment and we ditched town for a few hours. I chose to go to the beaches at Normandy because I'd been a few years before and was really interested in going again. It is a very sobering experience and I highly recommend it for all who are American visiting Paris or the northern region of France, have any interest in WWII or like the movie Saving Private Ryan, where part of the movie was filmed and what is based off of. It is very beautiful now but if you knew what all happened June 6 specifically but before and after, its frightening. Frightening to think about the brave men that gave their lives for people they didn't know to fight in a war for the world. There is a very moving American museum next to the American cemetery and its a must for everyone, again. It is all free and its paid for by the American government and its very informative about our past and our nation and the hearts of the soldiers that fought during that time. Now I know more than just Americans gave up their lives during that time but this museum is specifically for American knowledge as its next to the American cemetery. We were able to see bomb craters that are now covered in grass, German bunks and the beach where the men fought to make their way to shore. It's pretty incredible.

On a different note, if anyone is in the market for a CUTE but small car, I highly recommend the FIAT 500. I don't know if you can get this car in the USA but if you can and you are going against the norm for car size then pick one up at your local FIAT dealer. haha. This is the car that we rented and it was fabulous! It was small but normal for me now. It was just so cute and definitely made the trip that much more fun as I definitely felt stylish in my brand new (rented) car. I was a bit nervous after I chose to rent this car because it was a manual and while I know how to drive a manual I am always afraid before I actually do that I will have forgotten. You cannot forget how to drive an automatic, it takes no effort whatsoever, but a manual, you can stall out, and many other things. But I have come to realize that one you know how to drive you don't forget, its like riding a bike...you may not ride a bike for a few years but once you get on one its like you never missed that time.

And the end of the trip was delightful as well as I was able to partially check another thing off my imaginary "bucket list". I requested that we drive around the Arc de Triumph before returning the car. And we did. We didn't drive around 7 times like my friend Christina and I did the year before, but I successfully drove around this crazy circle with crazy drivers and in a manual and 2 precious cargo's next to me and we safely arrived at our destination of choice.

What an incredible day! Thanks to Meredith for giving me an excuse to rent a car and get out of the city for a bit! It was fun and I'm glad we could do this together!!

#excited

First of all, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!

And happy belated Birthday to my wonderful parents whose birthday are only 2 days apart. And happy anniversary to my wonderful parents as well. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful example of what a good, happy, healthy marriage looks like! I can't wait to spend 8 crazy weeks together driving each other crazy but enjoying each moment!!!! I love you both so much!!!!!

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The idea of ever moving back to the US has always scared me. It has never seemed as "cool" to me as Europe. In Europe you have so many different cultures and countries at your fingertips. Train, really cheap planes, so many different modes of transportation that are so exciting. Being from Texas, cars are really the only mode of transportation. I'm sure you could find a greyhound bus to travel but I've been told that is a less than pleasant experience. But in Texas, public transportation is not very big... there is a city bus system but its not very good and no one I know really uses its unless you are going directly downtown. There is a metro but its one line and again, it really only benefits you if you are traveling on its one line in the downtown area. Point being, traveling is not as easy and fun (as I understood it) as it has been in Europe for the past 2 years. I never really even thought much about going outside of the south. Yes, I have traveled some in the US but nothing compared to my traveling in Europe and for good reason. When I finally had any money to travel I fell in love with Paris and would save all my money to travel to Paris and then I moved here and spent all my money traveling around Europe or back to Houston to see family. But now that I am going back to Texas for the summer I decided I was going to go outside of my box and take a side trip to Michigan to see a really good friend. In making these travel plans to Michigan, it has opened my eyes to how cool the US really is. All this preface to say, I am slightly excited about one day being able to travel the US. Did you know there are trains that travel all over? From NY to Seattle? Through the trains and wilderness of the northern US. How cool!!! I am so planning this trip in the near future, who's in???

Check out this link if you're interested too!!!!!!!!

Have a great Sunday!!!

Meredith does Paris part 2

The middle of Meredith's trip included 3 day trips which I was so excited about. We spent one day going to Monet's Garden's in Giverny which is about a 45 minute train ride from Paris, just north. We went with my one of my closest Parisian friends, Caroline (although she is British, not French). Meredith had very few requests about her trip to Paris but one of them was to take a train ride so this day took care of that. 

After we returned from our trip we decided to go to the Louvre so Meredith could see the Mona Lisa and the other random famous things. We were both rather tired so we ran through the place, barely staying upright, seeing everything we wanted to. Meredith was a bit delirious to be honest and so the fact that there were random objects throughout Napoleon's apartment (ie the pigs 2 pictures up) she just could not understand, but it is rather common now for there to be art exhibits among famous museums now. I wish you all could have been there to understand the comedy to this situation.

once in a (life time) happenance

I have been sick now for 8 days. I never get sick. ever. And thats a good things considering doctors are the devil in my opinion and I disapprove of medicine in any form, even for cramps. But after 8 days of coughing and much less pleasant things I decided a trip the american pharmacist would be an ok idea. The pharmacist told me to head over to a doctor just down the street. ugh. but luckily the visit would only cost 23 euros. Doctors visits are the weirdest thing here. You walk into a room that is the doctors private office with his desk and papers but also his examining room as well. He pulls out a fresh piece of printer paper and starts to write all your details down, name, birthdate, address. Then your symptoms followed by his plan of attack. Not formal whatsoever. He looks like he could the guy you sat next to the metro, no white coat or stethoscope around his neck. He checks my ears, my throat and then my lungs and then replies with "I don't know" as to what his conclusion is for my illness. As simple as that he's prescribed me a few different pills I am to take at different hours of the day for way too many days in my opinion. Then he asks if I have insurance to which I reply no, he says ok, for you its 20 euros (instead of his 23). I then get nervous and remember that in France, too often only cash is accepted and that I do not have on me. I pull out my wallet and show him that in fact I only have 10 euros total and he says, "ok, you come back with 10 more". What?! First of all, I somehow just negotiated the price of my doctors appointment and now he's trusting me to come back and pay him the rest of what I owe because I do not have the full sum on my person. Where am I?
So we're back to the "i do not believe in medicine" and it actually sickens me to take these pills but I guess sometimes ones ideals has be to compromised when sickness creeps in, uninvited. I took one for the team, team me.

So cheers this fine Friday evening to getting better, one nasty pill swallowed at a time.

And ps. I decided I deserved a treat for doing the responsible thing and going to the dr and so I bought myself a bag of curry flavored chips. The jury is still out on that one.

And I've decided that my 4 month haitus from shopping has come to an end this evening. I'm not saying I'm going to buy anything, or even have money in my wallet when I go, but I am going. And sadly, this excites me. Window shopping excites the once upon a time shopaholic.

Happy Friday.

Meredith does Paris part 1

One day I received an email from my sister just updating me on what was going on in her life and at the bottom before she said goodbye she said and maybe I'll come to Paris to see you, what is your schedule like? I immediately freaked out, called my mom and told her she had to convince my sister to come. (Side note: since I have moved here my sister has always told me she wouldn't be able to come to Paris so I just thought she never would so the idea that she was thinking about it was a big deal!!!) 

Fast forward a few weeks and her ticket had been purchased and she was committed to coming!!! Yee-haw!

Fast forward a few more weeks and she lands in Paris to spend 7 lovely days here, with me, in the city of light. I was beside myself excited!!! :-D

The first day I introduced her to french bread, sandwiches, bakeries, and desserts; small apartments (mine), the Eiffel Tower, a few friends, the Seine river, lots of walking and the metro. We ended our evening by taking a boat ride down the Seine. 

Day two of Meredith does Paris I had planned for us to take a walking tour which was given by French lady who was born and raised in Paris. Meredith learned about Notre Dame, the Marais, Falafel, the sometimes incomprehensible French accent in english, ice cream on the side of the river, and some more friends. 

Day 3 we ventured the distance (ha) to the Eiffel Tower where to avoid the lines we climbed the stairs, got stuck in my 2 person elevator for half an hour when it broke, met up with friends for happy hour and enjoyed a french favorite of people watching, met the Pont des Arts (a famous bridge where couples put a lock on the fence and throw the key into the river), and dinner out.

The first three days were busy and crazy but it was nothing compared to what was in store for the rest of the week! She was able to sight see, meet some friends, and enjoy some unforeseen amazing weather here in Paris (prior we had experienced rain for nearly a month, daily).