Friends, Festivities, and Firsts

Hi all! I've been staring at this blank page for at least a few minutes now, racking my brain on where to start with this blog post... Choose a theme... What day to go into detail about... It's been in the back of my mind since Monday to update everyone on my weekend/new experiences but I kept putting it off, half because I've been so busy, half because there's just SO much to say! The way it feels to me is completely backwards... the more I'm experiencing, the harder it is to write about. In the past week, I've experienced more "firsts" than I have in probably the last ten years.

Imagine how a baby acts when first given a new puzzle. He/she might look perplexed, stumble around a little bit trying to fit the triangle piece into the circle, but after a few mistakes finally figures it out. The mom or dad might be watching on in shear amusement to see their child try to figure it out on their own, when they could easily point to the correct place to put the puzzle piece. But once the baby figures it out, the excitement that baby shows is written all over their face. He did it all on his own! He put the triangle puzzle piece into the correct place. 

I know this is such a corny example, but after being around a 2 year old all day long, I can't help but see a resemblance as we both are trying to figure this big big world out. While Josh might be trying to learn how to not poop his pants, I'm learning how to know when to take the Metro vs RER vs tram vs train vs bus, how to pronounce "de rien" (meaning "you're welcome".. I cannot pronounce that word for the life of me. And Sam loves asking me to say it just to get a laugh), or simply order a crossant without the help of one of my "enablers." Even though I'm stumbling all over the place, it's a great feeling when I finally get the hang of if without the help of someone else. Paris is really starting to feel more like "home" to me as I familiarize myself with the city... and I'm truly enjoying every minute of it!

Now for updates of my lastest happenings! Since it's been almost a week since my last blog I thought I'd just give you a few highlights from each day:

Saturday: I met up with Isabel (a German au pair who I've become friends with and have really enjoyed getting to know) and her cousin, Karen who was in town visiting. The three of us had a very touristy day, visiting both the Musee d'Orsay and Centre Pompidou. The Musee d'Orsay was stunning! It used to be an old train station in the early 1900s and then was converted to an art museum and is best known for its impressionism pieces and featuring artists including Monet and Van Gogh. Unlike the Louvre which is paparazzi central, there are no photos allowed in d'Orsay but shhh, I still managed to snag a few :) 

Centre Pompidou on the other hand... (I type with a slight smirk and chuckle). It's, "how you say"... a freak show. No I'm kidding, but this museum is all modern art that makes you wonder what the artists could have possibly been thinking (or smoking) to create. (see for yourself below. We made a contest out of who could find the WEIRDEST... I mean "most original" piece of art). Piece after piece, I would say to Isabel or Karen, "you're kidding me... I could do that." To what Isabel quickly would reply, "but you didn't. They did. That is why their art is in here and yours is not." Touche girlfriend. Nonetheless, it was cool to see this place and add another "first" to my list. 

2 museums, 1 panini each, 1 coffee, and countless miles walked later, it was safe to say we needed a break. We headed back home and then called it a night... NOT. Come on, Saturday night.. St. Patty's Day.. anyone that knows me... it's time to party! The three of us accompanied with 2 of our friends Kendall and Jackson made our way into a popular bar area in Paris. After downing our "friends," our feet felt fully refueled and ready to dance the night away! The pubs were wall to wall crowded.. apparently American's aren't the only one's who celebrate St. Patty's! (which I was completely content with) We finally made our way to Cafe Oz known for being the Australian Bar but I met people from all over the world there. I have to say that's one of my favorite things about meeting people here. Instead of being in San Diego and basically asking what part of California you're from, the question is formed more along the lines of what part of planet Earth are you from. It's awesome :)

Cafe Oz turned out to be a fun filled night of dancing on tables, taking green shots made with who knows what, and some glow in the dark face paint. I didn't hate it :)

Bridge where couples inscribe their initials on a lock and throw the key into the Seine

View out of Musee d'Orsay

Inside Musee d'Orsay which used to be an old train station

Van Gogh-- so not allowed to take a picture of this

The Freak Show... I mean, Centre Pompidou. The red things are the escalators for each floor

Performance going on in courtyard outside the museum.. A unicyclist and a drunk. I'm assuming only one was supposed to be there but guess who stole the show...

Standing in another line... 

Andy Warhol

... am I missing something?

Sums up the museum pretty well 

ouuuuuu

ahhhhhh

OH!

firehose. ?

And the winner goes to.... 

Ok, this was actually cool. Picasso! 

Karen wasn't the only one wanting a little rest

Out at the pubs! 

 Cafe Oz :)

Happy St. Patty's Day from Paris!

Inside Cafe Oz

Isabel and I :) ... dancing on a table.

Sunday: Went to the American Church of Paris again. It was a really good sermon and focused on one of the most common bible verses there is-- John 3:16. After that I met up with Isabel and Karen at La Defense to shop a little and get a coffee. Leslie and Jennifer joined us then 2 more au pairs joined us for my FIRST sushi dinner in Paris. I'd have to say that dinner was the highlight of my day. It was hilarious swapping stories of our experiences being an au pair, our families, and "kids." You don't even want to know some of details we were getting into but I can assure you it's nothing etiquettely proper to discuss over dragon rolls and edemame. We had the whole restaurant giving us looks from our collective laughter. With all our different dynamics going on, I truly believe we could write a damn good book on "the au pair life."

On my Sunday stroll to church.. Infront of the invalids.
Crepe stands are everywhere!

 SUSH!

 Nutella sushi dessert. Bomb.

Monday: Back to strollers, diapers, playgrounds, bottles, and toys. The weekends go by way too fast. While I was getting Josh ready for school, I had to stop and laugh when I realized I was stimutaneously brushing my teeth, running down stairs to throw out his diaper, putting on his socks, turning off Barney, and putting away his race cars. Fast forward 12 hours... I went out in the St. Michel area to a pub called The Greatest Canadian Bar. It reminded me a lot of San Diego for the fact that it was 50 cent wing night-- I'm sure the closest I'll get to "Wing Wednesday" at Bub's. As I mentioned earlier, it's great getting to meet people from all over the world. Monday night was no exception as the only American representative, other countries included Australia, Italy, France, Brazil, and Spain. Meeting people from all different walks of life has already felt invaluable and is changing the way I look at so many things!



Tuesday: Happy 1st day of Spring!!! I didn't want to waste one second of it so Leslie and I decided to go sit out in the Jardin du Luxembourg... the most cliche way to possibly spend this day but so fantastic! One thing we know how to do is chat it up... We're eerily similar to where we are in life so everything we talk about is so relatable. Leslie was supposed to be leaving Paris in September but has decided to stay until December which obviously thrills me! Watch, next step will be pushing that date back again and us looking for an apartment somewhere in the 6th arrondissement. Kidding Dad, don't have a heart attack... 

 Jardin du Luxembourg

 Sitting outside here.. again, these pictures don't do it justice

Thursday (today): Myself, Leslie, and Jennifer met up to go check out the new Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacob exhibit. It was so cool and interesting... I think my favorite to date. I really loved seeing the artistic talent that goes into fashion and how they're intertwined. It's Jennifer's birthday today (Happy Birthday!!) so afterwards we found a cafe across the Seine from the Louvre to sit outside and have a glass of wine. As we were starting to wrap up, the man sitting next to us ended up being American as well (but has lived in Paris for 20 years now) and ended up buying us another glass. By 1 o'clock we were slightly buzzed as we said "merci" and strolled through the Louvre courtyard and ate sandwiches out on the lawn. 

 Louis Vuitton.. the man!

 Some of the first LV's packers

 LV purses from all different eras

 Jennifer, me, and Leslie :)

 Outside Marc Jacobs/ Louis Vuitton exhibit (it's also a normal museum as well I believe)

 12 o'clock happy hour

 Where we sat outside and looked out onto the Seine and Louvre

Sante!

Some of you might have noticed I left out Wednesday. Don't worry, I didn't forget but I decided it was just way too good and deserves it's own blog... so stay tuned!