My future neighborhood, in the 6th arr
Feels like a lifetime since I was scattered and pathetically unedited! Um… yesterday! My journalistic guru taught me better… shame on me. Je ferai mieux.
For me Paris has that certain je ne sais quoi about it, that New York has always had. I don’t speak french well, or at all. I can read and write it and if I connect with someone kind and pronounce “lentement, s’il vous plait” well enough I can get possibly hear it. I have poor grammar and mix up the sexual tenses. Seriously though, what are those called? 🙂 For instance, I said to the Dreamy VP “suis-je fou!?”. And he replied, “are you a crazy man!?” But it doesn’t even matter. I fit here. I know my way around, almost inherently. I can meander through the left bank and find that one little shop on a corner, after a manicure and verre de vin rouge, without having ever looked up at the charming blue rue sign.
Just like all my trips to NYC before the move, I know my neighborhood already. It’s in the 6th arr on the left bank where things are still really nice, but just a tad more gritty than the Champs Élysées or Etoile. How boring those others are! Sure, there’s the Arc de Triomphe and views of Le Tower Eiffel, but the left bank is where it’s at. For a classy chick like me anyway… with her mini-bar Pringles and ridiculous bottle of Saint-Estephe from the wine shop!
I wasn’t able to sleep much on the plane, so yesterday when I arrived, I force-fed myself lunch, champagne and a xanax, showered, and was in and out of sleep all day and night. Was absolutely perfect, as I woke up refreshed and watched the sun rise from my balcony this morning. Then, just like someone who belongs more on the left bank, I threw my hair back and didn’t put on an ounce of make-up and tooled around with my camera. How gauche! L’horror! But those French boys were def an ego booster regardless. And yes, I did shower! Sometimes it’s tough to know on that front… haha.
Je mange petit dejourner, took the metro to Montmartre, and was determined to actually see the Moulin Rouge. Many of you would remember my 10+ year obsession with that movie! And here’s a warning: I think it might be making a Liz-comeback! So if I show up on your doorstep with a DVD in hand and a bottle of absinthe, (it is killing me not to say absince on purpose!) you’ll know what’s about to happen! Kind of makes me sad its been so long since we’ve had one of those nights! I tried to ‘make’ Ashlee do it, but I’m not sure it’s the same without my in-person zeal. Hey, maybe I’ll bring it to Chicago next month!!? 😉 Anyway, after a few photos and a walk past more dildo shops than I’ve ever seen, I took the metro back to the Rue de Rivoli, crossed Il-de-Cite and made way to where I am coziest in Saint-Germain/Saint-Michel. I found a local manicurist online. She has her own shop tucked away tight on Rue Dupin. There aren’t 30 people slaving away being barked at by a nail salon godfather. Just her. She is amazing. She took more care than anyone has and I bet these €35 gel nails will stay for weeks! She let me talk on the phone too which proved helpful with some dreamy fluent french translations. I could easily imagine myself living in an apartement in one of the buildings in the photo above. And, according to the nail salon lady, flats in the area run about €1500 per month to rent. Uh… yeah, pas de probleme! I shall be tri-continental one day perhaps! 😉 I was able to make that much out with our language barriers! That, and she’s got a 2 year old son and married to a police officer. Working that one out was a bit hilarious actually. Lots of hand gestures. And not for chicken salad.
I am feeling a bit more grounded now at least. My intuition rocks, if I do say so myself! (touch wood everyone!) Still need to figure out where I will spend the weekend and how next week’s meetings play out. I will try not to overstay my welcome in the form of these updates, I just had such an exuberant day!
Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! Que sera sera…
