hey everyone!!
and again...SO much has happened since i wrote last...i'm getting really bad at keeping in touch as this trip wears on.
but i think that my lack of communication also has a lot to do with the fact that i'm sorting a lot out in my mind and heart right now....
i'm sure i mentioned having met laurent on koh lanta in thailand, and spending that week in phuket with him....
well i ended up booking a flight to france last week, and so....i'm in paris now!!
i arrived on the 18th at about 2pm, and its been a whirlwind since then. laurent hasn't been home in 2 years, so we've been spending a LOT of time with his family and friends. s'been fun explaining
let me tell you, 10 years of french immersion doesn't really help as much as it should. my head sometimes feels like its gonna explode from concentrating so much on what people are saying and what i need to say in response. the first couple of days, i was so shy that i would only speak through laurent. i think what i find the most difficult is pulling together the words to make sentences in time to join the conversation ~ and not getting flustered when laurent is watching me....!!!!! i don't really have much trouble understanding what someone is saying to me; its just that its WAY easier to respond in english, of course! but everyone has been wonderful about speaking slowly with me AND not laughing out loud at my 'attempts' at speaking french. its really been great.
mmmmm! and the food!! i feel like i'm in heaven ~ after 8 months of rice and veggies, noodles and soup ~ i'm eating cheese and baguette and chocolate and croissants and wine and avocado and.....EVERYTHING is so good! breakfast is a big bowl of hot chocolate milk for dipping croissants, chocolate cookies, crepes with nutella, toast with butter and jam....HOW can anyone eat like this on a daily basis???? lunch is always meats and sausage and cold cuts, cheese, pickles, baguette, of course red wine or white wine with cassis.....dinner has been incredible. his mom makes the most amazing food ~ we had raclette (sp, i know...) the first night, fondue, moroccan couscous, crepes, pasta....and always with amazing desserts, too. tiramisu, strawberry cake, profiteroles...(cream filled round pastries smothered in chocolate pudding-ish stuff....OMG).
i'm loving paris, too...even though its a little colder than i'd expected (apparently unseasonably so..) and i have NOTHING to wear. backpackers clothes dont' exactly suit paris, y'know?? but we've spent a lot of time wandering the city. the metro system is incredible ~ a zillion lines heading in every direction...very efficient. there are literally cobblestone streets and cafes every 2m and vespas and crazy roundabouts....carousels all over the place for kids....
laurent has been wonderful at balancing all that he has to do, and all the people he wants to see, with showing me the city. we've been to the bastille, sacre-coeur, the eiffel tower, notre dame, the arc de triomphe, the champs d'elysee, les jardins luxembourg....and i've been promised yet to see versailles, the louvre, and i can't even remember what else ~ the catacombes maybe???? so much, so beautiful. i feel like i'm in a dream.
the other night, after drinks with his sister at a way cool bar called the barrio latino, we went by the eiffel tower at night ~ all sparkling lights, the paving stones were wet with rain, and i was GIDDY. so incredible. i felt like i was 7 years old, for real. i really had to pinch myself.
i've been taking pictures of course...but haven't yet gotten them up on the site. Soon, soon! This afternoon we are headed out to get me some new clothes after some indian food for lunch...yummy.....i need new clothes as we are headed to the south of france on the 28th for a few days. nice, cannes, marseilles, cassis...how exciting. laurent was saying its too bad we didnt' have more time or we could go to venice. how incredible that italy is right next door...unbelievable. i'm so so excited that i get to have my big 3-0 (which, by the way, is coming up on june 02, hint hint ~ haha!!) on the french riviera. what a lucky girl i am. and who would ever have thought, when i left canada 8 months ago, that i'd end up in europe. you just never know, do you.
my plans are to leave paris on the 15th june, flying back to singapore via dubai, and then the next day fly to sydney. i have a room arranged in bondi beach through a girl i met in shanghai, so i don't need to worry about accomodations...and hopefully i'll find work quickly, too. i'm definately gonna have to hit the ground running after this little detour...not so cheap to fly to paris on a whim!! but i'm looking forward to seeing my friends in oz and earning some cash again. and who knows...i might end up back on koh lanta sooner than later....i'm feeling really good about this with laurent and really, what better reason??? well whatever i decide, i'm set ~ in both australia and thailand, i have place to live and a job lined up. so its just a matter of picking. but i'm sure you can guess where my heart is right now.
i miss all of you and i really hope to hear from you soon...
lots of love from PARIS!!
xoxo lolo
