Hello, and happy Friday!

I can’t believe we’ve been in Paris for a month! In some ways it feels like no time, and in other ways it feels like we’ve been here for ages. We’re really getting settled in, and getting to know our neighbourhood. Our apartment is feeling pretty homey (we have furniture!), and once our things arrive from Newfoundland (and I can bake again!!), it will be perfect. The city is vibrant and beautiful, and I can see how easy it is to fall in love with this place. Ive been told that I’m still in the honeymoon phase of living here, and that I’ll get grumpier about Paris after a few months of living here (apparently a normal phase of moving to a foreign country), but I just can’t see that happening (I’ll keep you posted). The weather is wonderful, the people are friendly, and our dogs are welcomed everywhere!

A few observations I’ve made in the past month:

1. The crosswalks are actually just painted on the roads for decorative purposes. Okay, maybe it’s not quite that bad… but I’ve nearly been run over several times while crossing with a walk light, and jaywalking is highly encouraged. Giving the stink-eye while crossing the road seems to help a little, but you really need to be constantly watching out for cars.

2. The rules of the road do not seem to apply to motorcycles and scooters. They drive between cars, sometimes in the wrong direction, and even on the sidewalks. It’s kind of amusing – but safe to say I will not be driving my motorcycle here!

3. The public transportation is great. I know a lot of locals complain about the RER, or the fact that sometimes the Metro loses power and just stops on the tracks (in the dark) for a little while (this happened to me, but no one around me seemed concerned in the least, so I figured it was fine) – but it’s so lovely to be in a city where you can get anywhere you want, relatively easily, without owning a car.

4. Most elevators are extremely small and a little dodgy. The elevator in our building is technically a four person elevator, but let’s just say that you’d need to know those other three people REALLY well. It’s tiny. Teeny-tiny. And the other day I got stuck in it. After 5 minutes and a mild claustrophobia-induced panic attack, I rang the alarm bell, and a nice man came out of his apartment and called the elevator people for me. It still took 30 minutes for them to arrive (and they fixed it by opening the door, smacking the bottom, and then pressing the button for my floor and sending me up and on my way), during which time I was happy to have cell service and distract myself on twitter.

5. Everyone has great shoes. Okay, this is a generalization, but still, I’m constantly oogling people’s feet! I’ve been wearing more of my heels since I arrived, however, the blisters keep sending me back to my trusty Birkenstocks. Ohhhh the comfort.

Here are a few pictures of the city that I have taken recently….

| from a canal cruise I did with my Dad |

| a beautiful view from the Eiffel Tower – you can see La Défense (the large towers in the background) where Hitchen works, the Bois de Boulogne (huge park area), and Neuilly-sur-Seine (where we live) |

| La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur – a pretty touristy area, but has a beautiful view of the city |

| a Saturday picnic in the park with newly-met friends |

| my girls walking in the city, completely settled in |

| sitting by the Seine on a sunny day |

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend – au revoir! :)