galmc2Report

I’m pretty sure being here in Paris for 6 weeks constitutes the longest my travelling self has stayed in one place. In 2016 when we were here for the Euros I was here for a bit with Chloe, then off for a visit in Nantes, then back for a few days with Heather. As we are now at the 1/2 way point of our Parisian stay, here’s a glimpse into our “routine” and what life is like here.

One thing that made this unique is that, due to Paris city council efforts to limit the impact of AirBnb, we had to sign an actual lease for the apartment. It was very kind of the owners to take us for a drink and a tour of the Quartier as part of the signing!

We seem to have developed two different approaches for our morning. Once we do get up, there is the ceremonial “raising of the bed.” It’s a very cool feature of the apartment, and gives us a lot of space during the day.

We are currently doing French lessons in the apartment on Tuesdays and Thursdays (10:00-11-30am) with the first 45 minutes focussed on me and then it’s Heathers turn. We arranged a tutor through “French a La Carte” and it’s been a great way to get more familiar and comfortable with the language. We even get homework! Mine was to go into a local grocery store and ask in French if they had specific ingredients (i.e. maple syrup) for a recipe.

I think we managed to exceed the expectations of our instructor when we shared that we took in a French film (Les Trois Mousquetaires). Heather followed the dialogue way better than I, but thankfully it was action packed so I was able to infer what was being discussed in the film!

On French days we get up and head for a time boxed exercise walk to the Jardin de Luxembourg. Sometimes Heather stays behind and works on her yoga/Pilates routine. Then it’s a quick clean up and breakfast (since we have an actual kitchen)to be ready for class!

On non-French days we mostly get ourselves up for some morning exercise. Now that we found ping pong tables in the park, we’ve incorporated a game or 2 as part of the walk. We tend to alternate between coming to the Jardin de Luxembourg or walking a couple of blocks to the Seine riverbank and using the river walk.

Fast forward and we are now 1/2 through our stay here. We’re just loving our neighbourhood, and have found a few favourite spots. There is a creperie close by that’s got a little bit of our business as we discovered that they use real chocolate!

There is also a local market that pops up every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays where we load up on fresh produce, fruit, cheese and baked goods. The bakery there won the award for the best croissant in Paris in 2018, so of course we’ve had to sample these a few times!

The neighbourhood also has a plethora of comic book shops, which would have greatly appealed to my younger self!

And of course we are just around the corner from the world-renowned Shakespeare and Company bookstore and coffee shop!

We’ve now entered the back 9 of our Parisian stay. We’ve made some plans today to explore some new things (Monet’s Garden, the Opera House) and we will certainly be making time to appreciate what we are so fortunate to have access to while we are in our temporary “home.”