I like my candy AMERICAN.

So I bought a package of Twix to replace my American Snickers, which met their inevitable doom a few days ago. I just remembered why American brand candy in France is lame: See that tiny writing? It says "No artificial colors or preservatives, and no artificial flavors."

HOLD EVERYTHING. I LIKE MY CANDY ARTIFICIAL. If I wanted it to be all natural I'd eat an APPLE.

No wonder they think American candy isn't that great. They take all of the delicious out of it. Silly France.

Betsey and I celebrated the beginning of the end of her personal statement for law school applications tonight - with homemade mac n'cheese and wine. That's what I call a full-course meal.

Audrey Hepburn looks jealous.

It's cold outside.

On Thursday I went to Censier-Daubenton to meet my friend Emma for coffee at Starbucks. There you have my Thanksgiving ... A bag of M+Ms, and a trip to Starbucks (Chai Tea Latte, obviously- reminds me of long study sessions in the North Reading Room of Bartle).

On my way to meet her, I found a sewing machine store. Wouldn't be my mother's child if I didn't take a picture. Just down the street is the Andre Stock store (OUTLET SHOES). I swore not to buy clothes, I made no stipulations regarding shoes. Damn myself and my own loopholes. Red booties. They're cute (HIMYM fans, I'm rocking them)!

Big news: YESTERDAY IT SNOWED. Hard to see in these pictures, but it got pretty intense for awhile (of course it doesn't stick, but still)! I was so pumped. I was pointing it out to Simon and he didn't fully appreciate my excitement. I told Julien and Maxime we'd have a snowball fight in the park if it ever sticks ...

It even smells like winter. Nothing puts me in a better mood than walking through darkened streets, with snowflakes glittering and the smell of winter in the air.

For those of you who remember my determination to acquire those disco bottles of vodka, look at this:

I'm tempted to buy it just to have the bottle ... But it's whiskey. Ugh. Anyone want to come to France and finish off a bottle for me? Favor?

Today was part one of the "week-end de travail." It went alright, although there wasn't heat in the room where we were rehearsing, which means I haven't really been able to feel my fingers all day. You try playing a Scherzo when you can't feel your fingers! Part two tomorrow, then celebratory homemade mac n'cheese with Betsey! Can't wait :)

One of these things is not like the other ones ...

On Monday Paris apparently reached Critical ChristMass (please, hold your applause). The first bizarrely colorful and unrealistically "snowy" trees hit the markets of the 16e arrondissement.

The real irony here is that trees in France are mounted in little squares of wood, instead of buckets of water, and thus last a whopping two weeks before pine needle Hell sets in. So it goes.

The other night I met Betsey at a café near Saint Sulpice (like the good old days) and on the way home, I noticed yet again the lonely yellow chair. I sing "One of these things is not like the other ones" every. single. time. Sesame Street?

Today the boys had drawing classes. While I waited for Maxime to finish his projects, I wandered around the little studio and happened to observe this lamp. Are you seeing that? That's right, your eyes deceive you not - 'tis a Polly Pocket, circa 1990-sometime-when-I-was-playing-with-these. You know, back when she was made of (lead-incrusted?) plastic and could, in fact, fit in your pocket. Made my day.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which is up there with Halloween on the list of 'Reasons I can never stay in France.' What kind of country doesn't take the time to celebrate the successful (?) installation of the colonists it sent over, before selling off the majority of the colonies for almost nothing to finance silly wars (cough *NAPOLEON* cough)?! You'd think they'd take any excuse they could get ... Unfortunately, they do nothing - so instead of buying cranberry sauce and a roasted chicken and faking my way through it, I will be in orchestra rehearsal from 7-10pm.

FAIL.

I'll give you a cage of folles.

On Friday, borders were crossed, multiculturalism was spread, happiness abounded ... I made the boys [real] macaroni and cheese! Thanks to my mom's awesome recipes/expert directions, I pulled it off [mostly] without a hitch. I even managed to find cheddar cheese! Turns out macaroni and cheese is completely unknown as a concept here. Why isn't THAT the "typical" American cuisine known the world over? I'd take that over a burger ...

Anyway, it was a great success, and there was much rejoicing. [Picture Monty Python here.]

Saturday morning we had orchestra, as usual, and it was a rough awakening. Next weekend is the "week-end de travail," aka those 12-hours-of-rehearsal weekends that precede our concerts. Yikes.

Saturday night I went to see "La Cage aux Folles" at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin. The play version. It was very funny, but for the first time in YEARS I actually had trouble understanding the French - lots of plays on words and humor with which I don't have the background to know. Apparently the two leads are fairly known TV actors in France; their names are Didier Bourdon and Christian Clavier. They were great!

This doesn't really show it, but here's the beautiful chandelier and blue/teal ceiling! I was all the way up in the amphithéâtre, so I had it more or less directly in front of me ...

Pain au chocolat WITH BANANE?! Oh, it is ON!

To celebrate successfully completing the second part of visa Hell (makes Dante's inferno look downright cozy), I stopped in a new boulangerie near my house to test something celebratory.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, I FOUND IT: PAIN AU CHOCOLAT, WITH BANANA. WHAT WHY HAVE I NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE?! It's like a banana-nutella crêpe, EXCEPT IT'S A PAIN AU CHOCOLAT!!!

Snap. PS, it's as good as it looks. I also got a chunk of brioche. So.GOOD.

Last night I went to another concert at the Salle Pleyel; this time I was seated in arrière-scène ... AKA, behind the orchestra! The choir would be there if there had been one. So cool to look out at the audience, and the program included a Beethoven piano concerto and Schubert's 9th. Loved it, can't wait to be seated back there again! On the other hand, the fourth movement of the Schubert had some killer runs that reminded me why I needn't consider a career as a professional violinist. I had finger cramps just listening.

Sunday night, rain's not falling (for once)

Went for a walk Sunday night to try and burn off some of the calories from that all-you-can-eat brunch of Sunday afternoon.

Found a neat artsy design/bookstore. Found this future coffee table book. How could I not have it?

Next, as I wandered along the Canal Saint Martin I happened to notice this neat wall mural. The Blackberry camera doesn't do it justice, but with the darkness and the streetlights it almost looked magical. Not any weirder than wandering through a closet or jumping into a chalk drawing, at least.

Above it, a mysterious game of tic-tac-toe? Incidentally, why do we call it tic-tac-toe?

View from the arched footbridges over the canal. Again, the camera isn't doing it justice. Warm breeze, after the rain so the pavement was still wet ... Glowing lights (that bar of lights in the back is actually more of a UV blue color than white), reflections on the canal. It was a beautiful night.

Coming back down off the bridge. Looks like a scene out of the Twilight Zone a little bit, doesn't it? That awning belongs to a restaurant I mentioned going to last spring, called Chez Prune. Turns out it's LITERALLY down the street from my house. This is EXACTLY where I dreamt of living.

Language fail.

This morning I tutored in Neuilly Plaisance as per usual, and in my adoptive café (because I seem to either get there 20 minutes early or 20 minutes late, I don't understand these magical trains) I noticed a new variant for my old list of incorrect spellings of 'sandwich.'

If you can't read it too well, it's spelled 'sandwiche' in the menu (which is logical, since they got the plural sandwiches right; unfortunately English is not logical).

After that I went to "brunch" with two teacher friends from last year. This is where linguistic fail number two was discovered. I commented on the fact that it was 1pm, which is on the late side for a brunch, when Marlène and Aurélie informed me that for France, 1pm was fairly early for a brunch.

Buhhhhhhh, what?

So they asked when we usually have brunch, and I explained that the whole reason for the name is that it comes between 'breakfast' and 'lunch,' hence 'brunch.' Yeah not in France. Good to know, I would have showed up long before any of the all-you-can-eat brunch places were even open. How strange.

Now I'm considering practicing violin before settling in for some reading. I'm a bit worn out from my late night babysitting and early morning, so I'm not sure that I'm up for a movie or anything. We shall see.

One month; check!

Happy one month anniversary to me - I officially got here on the 12th of October, so fine I'm a day late but whatever.

Summary:

Apartment - AWESOME

Orchestra - AWESOME

Babysitting - Three adorable little boys, I'm not complaining!

In other news, because of orchestra's tour in China in December, we had guests today during rehearsal: Chinese soloists that we'll be accompanying, and the communist television crew.

Say what?

That is correct, we were filmed by communist Chinese television. While sightreading a piece entitled 'Shanghai Opera.' That, friends, is the death of any political aspirations I may have harbored. Obama is a muslim, Christine O'Donnell is a witch, and I'll be branded a Chinese communist.

And it's only the beginning. I'm planning on being made miserable at the border, given Chinese-American diplomatic relations in this moment. One American traveling with a French orchestra of roughly 100 people? Definitely going to be bad news. Oh well, it will make for a good story at least ...

This afternoon I'll be heading to a concert at the Salle Pleyel (Tchaikovski, Beethoven, Baba and Wagner), then off to babysit so the parents can have a night to themselves.

On my way home I noticed that my route is kind of hilariously American-themed:

First, a bagel shop. Ari's? That sounds legit, but I haven't sampled it yet.

Next, American Apparel. Not only is it unreasonably expensive for no reason in dollars, it's even more heinous in euros. No, thank you. But I use the window displays for fashion inspiration :)

Finally, my favorite kind of shop ... NOT. Filled with protein powders and boxing supplies and god only knows what else. To be avoided.

Otherwise, all quiet on the [eastern] front. For now.

"Knocked out by clouded vision ..."

Great song, in case you don't know it.

Anyway, today was rainy and crappy, which made an early morning orchestra rehearsal all the more ...

Joyless.

Nah I'm exaggerating, considering it was a second violin sectional, it went rather well. LOT of work to do though, Mendelssohn is SERIOUSLY kicking my rear.

In other news, the final load of my stuff from Rue de Grenelle was delivered by Marlene and Antoine via car, which was infinitely easier on my muscles :)

IT'S OFFICIAL, MY LIFE IS ENTIRELY AT Rue Beaurepaire! Turns out I'm right down the street from Chez Prune, a restaurant I went to at least a few times last spring/summer. I knew I was near the canal, but failed to connect all the dots. This is EXCELLENT news!

Betsey came over and we killed a bag of Madeleines, and baguette with cheese. I feel entitled. We also watched some ridiculous French TV.

Probably should work on organizing the last of this stuff before I head to sleep. Tomorrow I think I'm tutoring in the morning, and then I'll be going to Maxime's birthday party (he's turning six)!

"I just want 2 b on my own"

The title comes from a message Kelly received last year, during her quest for a subletter in Binghamton (that feels like a long time ago).

ANYWAY, PICTURES OF MY NEW APARTMENT! Note: I'm not all the way moved in yet, these are the in progress shots ...'

You're standing in the doorway, looking to your left and slightly behind (think, 7'o'clock). There's a sink and a shower; the toliet is down the hall. This is very common in sixth floor studio apartments (and it's not like I care)!

Next, the 8'o'clock to 9'o'clock portion of the room. Typical kitchen area, but lots of cupboard space (although I'm SO not tall enough for it!) and the tall cupboard on the right is a great pantry-cupboard deal with shelves that roll out. GENIUS.

This is the 10'o'clock to midnight part of the room (aka half of the front of the apartment, which overlooks the street). I can barely fit my clothes into the closet, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! I don't understand how I can have this much clothing here, I mean, I've brought it all in more or less three suitcases. Baaaaad news. No more buying clothes!!!

Oh, AND THERE'S BALCONY NUMBER ONE!!! Love it :) Never mind all of my crap on that table. Haven't figured out where to put it yet. Eek.

Here's the second part of the front wall that looks out on the street, and THERE'S BALCONY NUMBER TWO!

And here's the more living room/bedroomy area. Notice the Audrey Hepburn print, which just so happens to be my Halloween costume from last year (sometimes coincidences just seem too unlikely). The couch converts into a bed (it's the first time I've had a not-twin bed in my entire life). There's even a TV (I can watch all my favorite American shows, dubbed)!

Now, for the balcony views. To the right: (The tiny rectangle in the way background is the Tour Montparnasse.)

To the left (to the left, everything you own in a box to the left. OK finished with song lyrics, sorry):

And because I've been so distracted while working on this, there is now a beautiful sunset outside.

So happy about this place, I just love it already. Can't wait to get the last of my stuff settled in :)

Macshilliotti Reunion!

Sunday was great, because Carrie and I met up with Abby :) We met at the Pont Neuf, and I took them to the mall at Les Halles for lunch. After that we took the boat tour (bateau mouche), and proceeded to ignore the guide and catch-up the entire time!

After that we wandered down the Rue de Rivoli into the Marais. I showed them my favorite vintage shops (may POSSIBLY have caved and gotten a really nice pair of black heels for 10€, how am I such a girl?). After that we went to a café to hang out for a bit, and then back to the apartment to paint our nails. Finally we decided to all go to dinner in Saint Michel (stick with what you know, right?). We elected for an Asian restaurant, and we had some really good Chinese food.

After THAT we made a sidetrip to the Latin Corner Café. Love that place, it never gets less funny! And the poor, repressed, French girls were totally getting their dance on. We had a drink there, before deciding that 200° F is a little too warm to stay in for too long. It was a sauna in there.

Monday was a national holiday in France (All Saints' Day I think?), so I didn't have to work. This was BRILLIANT, because I got to spend the day with Carrie instead :) We wandered around the Louvre for a few hours and had lunch there. The best part was giving our own commentaries and narration to the paintings and sculptures. We were crying laughing, and I'm sure the true art afficianados were NOT amused. NOT MY PROBLEM.

Then we wandered on Rue du Rivoli again for some window-shopping. We ended up in a café, and finally Carrie and Julien went for drinks while I went with Marlène and Antoine to see ...

MY NEW APARTMENT. Pictures to follow and all, but long story short I HAVE MY KEYS!!! I'm starting the first of a billion trips over to move my stuff post-work tonight. I can hardly wait to stop living in my suitcases and settle in.

THE.APARTMENT.HAS.BALCONIES. And it's about 18m², so those of you who saw my apartment last year, fear not -- this one is LEGIT. So legit I'll have my name on the electric bill and I have a contract and I have to get insurance. Crap. Oh well, it's GOING TO BE LEGEND --

WAIT FOR IT --

DARY.

That's not all! Afterwards I refound Carrie and Julien and we went to dinner; Guess where. Saint-Michel. We went to my favorite restaurant in Paris, La Cochonnaille. I bring everyone that comes here to visit there. My mom and I first discovered it three years ago, and now the guy that works there knows me and calls me princess. He's hilarious.

This morning I saw Carrie onto her train before going home and starting to sort out the order/weight distribution of things to be moved. Yikes.

Did I mention it's going four floors down, through the métros, and then up to my sixth floor walk-up? Yet another reason I will NEVER engage in pointless exercise. Just saying.

We stayed for a long time, then headed back towards Rue de Seine to get a final drink for the evening.

Sad Carrie is gone, but really glad she finally got to visit :) I had lots of fun, and it's about TIME we got to see each other!