TWENTY OF THE BEST FRENCH SLANG WORDS/PHRASES YOU NEED TO KNOW TO SOUND LIKE A LOCAL:

1. J'hallucine
2. Genre
3. Je m'en fous
4. Chelou
5. Je kiffe
6. Du coup
7. C'est ouf
8. Keum
9. Meuf
10. Naz
11. En faite
12. Fait chier
13. Franchement
14. Space
15. C'est clair
16. Bordel [de merde]
17. Ringuard
18. Rien à battre
19. C'est lourd
20. Laisse tomber

(stolen from IVY Paris News)

SHIFTING SANDS

This week, I feel like my life has started to shift again. I always think that things are constantly shifting slightly, but in subtle ways that you can't obviously see. But that every few months, a bigger change occurs which starts you off in a new path.

Everyone who knows me realises that I am having a hard time accepting that I have to leave France, and particularly all the friends I have here whom have become essentially my family. But on the other hand, I know that I have an amazing new life, job, marriage, city to look forward to when I get back to Oz. But this week I realised I had to take some time out and really look at what was going on around me, and to my surprise something shifted.

Sometimes you dread these shifts, because you know that nothing will ever be the same. This time for some reason, I am welcoming the change. Finally. It makes me want to come home, it makes me impatient to be with Daz again, it makes me long for summer (incidentally winter has arrived - it has been about 5 degrees and raining here every day this week).

But it still makes me want to pack everyone up and put them in my suitcase and take them with me.

10 things I forgot I love about Australia

1. The people! So relaxed and friendly and easygoing!
2. The weather
3. Sydney Harbour
4. Being able to understand EVERYTHING perfectly
5. Asian food
6. Red, red wine
7. Cool bars in Melbourne
8. Views!
9. Melbourne fashion
10. Coffee!

SUBTLE CHANGES

So I returned to Paris on Monday after spending 2 weeks in Australia organising my wedding. Its funny, I felt like I was only in Oz a short time, but it felt like I was away from Paris for ages. And it seems to me like a number of subtle changes have happened while I was away.....
* Misty mornings (indicating winter is approaching)
* Leaves are changing colour
* People look depressed and are all sick (unlike after le rentree where everyone is happy and tanned and relaxed)
* Its dark until nearly 8 am (daylight savings finishes in 1.5 weeks which will help)

But really, its all the same.

RETURN TO HELL

Help! Its the rentrée (the return) - i.e. the start of the French year. Who's idea it was to start on Tuesday the 2nd of September, as opposed to Monday the 1st September I have no idea. But still, basically for me it means:
1. The metro is full again
2. The city is busy again (still undecided if its a good or bad thing)
3. Everyone is back at work - this is BAD. No more slacking off and disappearing for afternoons and sleeping in and saying "oh well, its summer".

Anyway to counteract my distress at the inevitable return, I thought I would post a few photos from a trip we did a few weeks ago to my friends Simon and T1K (or Thomo)'s country house at Le Vezoult. Now if the French know how to do anything, its a weekend in the country. We swam in the (private!!!) lake, played pétanque, stayed up all night by the fire, had a dancing competition (well deserved Twins!) and ...... a cochon mignon!! Basically it was a complete baby pig... yes you heard correctly. It was kinda gross. And undercooked! But well, very rustic! Have a look at the pics.

20 Things to Do Before the Rentrée

The rentree (start of the school year) is in 1 week. And yes, I stole this list, but its pretty accurate (especially #4 and #7 and #14).... I'm going to try and get this all done in the next 10 days. Phew! So much to do.....

1. Park a car, any car, anywhere, because you can.
2. Walk through the Tuileries.
3. No-stress at BHV.
4. Make the most of the national assumption that everyone is on vacation for your work.
5. Nap.
6. Ride the bus.
7. Pretend you’re French when talking to tourists.
8. Get first dibs on theatre / concert tickets.
9. No line on a Sunday at Sacha Finkelstein’s.
10. Reserve your bar stool at La Belle Hortense.
11. Figure out how to work the Vélib,
12. then get to know your bike route.
13. Get a taste for good music at Flèche d’Or.
14. Sleep in.
15. Celebrate the return of your local boulanger.
16. Watch cheesy reality shows on TF1.
17. Catch up on international news before France finishes its August hibernation.
18. Sit on the grass ( for once! ).
19. Reminisce on the first time you came to Paris...
20. Kick back and enjoy the calm before the storm.

OOPS - HOW COULD I FORGET ITALY????

As pointed out by my lovely dad, I forgot to post something about my Italy trip with them.... not because it wasn't a great holiday, just because I lost my brain in the heat (no, really - ask my friends!). So, lets go back a month or so to the lovely Amalfi Coast, just near Napoli in Italy. If you have been to the Cinque Terre then you have some idea what the Amalfi coast is like. Small villages perched on cliffs overlooking the Med, which is the most inky blue I have ever seen in an ocean. Great wines from the vineyards of Mt. Vesuvius, a vista from our balcony back along the coast to the 3 famous rocks off Capri, lots of tiny churches loaded with Moorish influences, and roads that twist and turn and can barely fit 1 car, let alone 2 buses heading in opposite directions, providing plenty of entertainment! We went to Pompeii, where the sheer scale of the city buried in ash is almost beyond comprehension, and to Ravello, a little village right up in the hills overlooking the Ocean. And don't forget the sun.........It's a place where you revert to "Italian time" and soak up the atmosphere......... highly recommended.

Our new neighbour.....



Babies on the way???