The First Week

We have managed to survive our first week living in Paris.  Most of this week was spent learning about everything around us.  We both figured out how to get a Navigo card and use it to navigate Paris' amazing transit system.  I learned that the bakery we live above makes amazing bread and pastries but isn't open on Mondays.  We found that food is actually fairly affordable.  I discovered that going from a 5 minute commute to an hour commute is a bit of a rude awakening.  We also found out that while living in an apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower is great, trying to find an affordable restaurant in the area is not so great.

But, by far, the most interesting thing I have found is how attuned your brain becomes to one language.  I can be in a crowd of dozens to hundreds of people who are all talking amongst themselves and easily pick out the two people speaking English.  Hopefully French will eventually get to that point...

We started out this week just looking around our neighbourhood.  Here is my obligatory askew picture of the Eiffel Tower.

Then Jessica surprised no one by looking at the ducks in the pond rather than admiring the world famous monument right behind her. 

On Saturday we spent the day out at Versailles.  If you ever have a spare day while travelling through Paris, I would highly recommend it.  The place may be incredibly busy but it's worth it.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but keep in mind that at one point this was just some guy's (OK, the King of France) house and back yard.

Finally, on Sunday we had intended to go visit Paris' catacombs.  Unfortunately we didn't think far enough ahead to go first thing in the morning.  Instead of the 2-3 hour wait, we opted to head over to the Montparnasse Tower for a Google's eye view of the city.  They say that seeing the city from the Montparnasse Tower has 2 main advantages over the Eiffel Tower.  The first being that you can see the Eiffel tower and the second being that you can't see the Montparnasse Tower.  Although I wouldn't call it an eye sore, it definitely stands out against Paris' old world aesthetic.  Either way it makes for some good pictures.

Up this week is house hunting and getting bank accounts.  We are finally penetrating the depths of French bureaucracy!

First few days in Paris

We have arrived in Paris!

After several hours on a plane we arrived on August 16 at about 1:30 PM. The flight was decent, actually short compared to other routes. We flew via Iceland which makes each flight leg much shorter and the layover in Iceland is incredibly short, ours was less than an hour after we made it through security and customs.

We arrived at our apartment got the quick tour and then wandered around the area to keep us from falling asleep. During our walk we went and hung out around the base of the Eiffel Tower and I, of course, managed to find a pond full of ducks to keep myself occupied for... A while... We then walked down the Seine.

On Sunday, we took the Metro and met some friends (Mike, Erin, Mo and Sheila) after walking around the area that they are currently living in Mike, Erin, Jason and I headed off into the suburbs to check out one of the areas we might be interested in living in. Walking around the streets of Paris on a Sunday is a bit surreal, especially coming from the mindset of a retail veteran. NOTHING was open, most grocery stores were closed, and the ones that were open are only open until 1 PM. It was even difficult to find restaurants that were open. The streets that are normally bustling with people were empty. It will definitely take some time to change our views and remember to NOT save our grocery shopping until Sunday.

Today (Monday) Jason had to go back to work. I spent the day getting settled into the apartment, grocery shopping and finishing up unpacking. I have even have a load of laundry in the washing machine, which naturally, lives in the kitchen.

Here are some pictures of our apartment, hope you enjoy.

This is our kitchen. You may note that there seems to be a colour scheme. Everything is red... Including our toaster, and kettle. It isn't very big. I can stretch my arms out and easily touch both walls. This kitchen differs from every other kitchen I have ever used. It is separated from the rest of the apartment by a door, and as I mentioned earlier, it has a washing machine.

Here is the bedroom. By European standards it is quite large, with one exception. The bed. Bed sizes in Europe are different than they are in North America. This is a double bed but is quite a bit narrower, as well as shorter. Now, if I can notice that it is shorter, that sure is something. 

This is our living room/dining area. In Europe bedrooms are small, but living rooms are HUGE this is no exception. The couch in here could comfortably seat 5-6 people.

This shower is certainly photo worthy. Rain shower. Amazing. Enough said. The strange thing about the shower here (and most places in Europe) is that there isn't a door or shower curtain. It is kind of just a hallway converted into a shower. So there is a squeegee that you have to use after every shower so water doesn't seep into the rest of the apartment.

Lastly, you can't really beat our view. Yes, that is the Eiffel Tower. The only downside to living in this area is there are plenty of tourists so there is a constant buzz. There is also a plus side to the touristy areas, things are open later and restaurants are actually open on Sundays.

Au revoir!

Last Weeks in Edmonton

Over our last 2 weeks in Edmonton we managed to pack in a lot of local tourism.  Trust me when I say the best way to ensure you see everything your home city has to offer is to plan to leave it.

On August 3rd we took in the Heritage Festival at Hawrelak Park.  There were certainly some...interesting sights.

Thank you Joel.

On August 6th we visited the Royal Alberta Museum.  There were the usual assortment of dioramas, rocks, bugs, and dinosaur bones.

The next day we ventured over to the (partially) renovated Edmonton Valley Zoo.  Jessica was particularly enamored with the otters.

We also saw sloths, owls, the majestic capybaras, and even Lucy was out for a walk.

Lastly, on August 9th we went out to see Jurassic Forest.  You might say it was...DINO-MITE.

But now all that's left is a final re-packing before we head for the airport tomorrow...