Burgers, berets* and a boat...

Once again I have decided to combine two days into one for ease of blogging/ your enjoyment.

So yesterday I decided to embark upon my first Parisian dining out experience, We went to an American bar and spoke English, fail on the language student part but I like burgers and what. 
We then explored the area around Hotel de Ville, when I say 'explored' I generally mean went shopping and took photos. The buildings around this area are rather impressive although I have no idea what they are, but they are definitely photo-worthy! 

I then decided in my infinate wisdom it would be a good idea to pay a visit to the Hypermarché before work, because I've replaced my usual student alcohol addiction with haribo, princes biscuits and diet coke and I needed my daily fix. However, I forgot it was Saturday afternoon and I think I aged about a year queueing.

Then a fairly quiet evening at work being mistaken as French and being told I had a too posh accent to be from Yorkshire. HA! First time for everything I suppose.

Today myself and Lorna decided to embrace the tourist boat cruise culture and I'm not ashamed to say I enjoyed it. The woman who voices the GCSE listening exams was on top form informing us of historical and interesting facts in 3 languages throughout our trip. I plan to drop some of these facts into everyday conversation in the hope that I come across as a well informed woman of Paris.

Discovering my camera has a 'food mode' meant I had to buy a crèpe just to test it out; crèpe based excuse number 2.

So on the way back to work I was casually going about my usual metro routine when changing trains I was stopped by someone checking tickets, now, to a sensible person this wouldn't be an issue they would simply present the ticket they used to travel and be on their merry way. I, however, am an idiot. I put all my used tickets in the same pocket of my purse. So after presenting all the tickets I've used in the past week to the woman and her checking each one individually, I was on my way, narrowly escaping a 30 euro fine. 
Ah Paris.

*with reference to the title of this blog; no berets were directly involved in the past 2 days activities but things sound better in 3s, poetic liscence and the like, sorry to dissapoint all you beret enthusiasts out there

Bet he's a bit narked that everyone just thinks he's a fictional character

How Parisian

Pretty batiments

Pretty tough to take photos off a boat

Notre Dame

Pont des arts and the building where they decide what words go in the Dictionary

Vive la France

The aforementioned crèpe

Lorna's crèpe carnage

Avoiding buying a 10 euro by taking a squinty photo myself 

A post full of blog worthy activities...

So I haven't written for a few days as I haven't done many 'blog-worthy' activities, so I've culminated 3 days of activities into one bumper edition blog. Work has been really busy these past few days also so I've actually had to do work at work, shocking I know. 

So, Tuesday was my second day off, and it was so sunny! We decided to make the most of the sun which we didn't suspect would last (it's still sunny today) and go to a park quite near to the hostel and catch some rays, so to speak. The view over Paris from the top of the park is pretty stunning and the perfect spot to listen to music and read a book for a few hours. 
Then I decided to do something marginally related to my degree and go to 'Franglish' in the evening. It's essentially the same concept as speed dating, but less awkward and more language based (I'm really selling this right?) You speak in 7 minutes in English and 7 minutes in French and then move on. It's quite nice to be told by someone French that you speak quite good French, it may have been a sympathy comment but I like to think it wasn't and he was genuinely impressed at my linguistic skills...

I'd like to say my Wednesday was full of fun touristy ventures, but that would be a lie. I slept, all day until work. 

On Thursday I made an exciting trip to the post office before heading to Opéra to have a wander and take a few photos. Opéra is riskily close to the Champs-Élysées and I thought to myself 'I'll just have a wander down and catch the metro back, no need to go in H & M' yeah, I know, good one Becky. That street is dangerous for my bank account! Champs-èlysèes-1 Becky- 0.

It has been pretty manic at work these past few nights which was a bit of a welcomed break from the usual monotonous questions of a night shift, but still I'm glad it's a little quieter today. 

I have now developed a very strange English accent, it's tremendously European and not at all my usual Yorkshire twang. I hope that usual service will resume as soon as I find myself back upon Yorkshire turf.

View over Paris from the Park

Little square near the hostel

FONTAINE

Sun, pandas and salted caramel...

Paris was on top form for weather today! Absolutely glorious, I would gloat but apparently it's just as sunny in England. 
I was less a tour guide today and more of an annoying question asking friend. We went to Jardin des plantes- a garden of plants yes, but it also has a small zoo, a maze and a vineyard. So we spent 10 minutes looking for the maze only to find we were actually in it, and it just wasn't a very hard maze. I didn't go in the zoo but I did peer in from the outside and see what I was reliably informed was a 'Red Panda' it looked neither red or panda like to me. 

It would have been terrible rude not to have an ice cream in the park on such a gorgeous day, especially when salted caramel icecream was there for the buying. 

So I managed a week in Paris without injuring myself before slicing my hand open when cutting a baguette this evening, at least it was a slightly french injury!

After this slight drama I decided I'd take advantage of this really clear night to climb the Arc in the dark. The experience was made hugely better by the fact it rhymed. I remembered my passport this time so gained free entry! So once again, I climbed the 284 stairs to the top, to be greeted by an amazing view of Paris all lit up! I just missed the tower sparkling by 5 minutes but there's always next week!

I then took the double decker RER home (a double decker train will never not be exciting)!

The quest for curtains is ongoing...I might stop updating you on my curtain situation at some point, maybe tomorrow!

Jardin des plantes

Again

Centre of the maze, that we didn't know was a maze...

More 'plantes'

Salted caramel icecream, to die for.

Plantes

More plantes

Not a bad view from my bedroom window!

Arc in the dark

Not a bad view for a Monday evening

Jardin 

Vineyard

Champs- Élysées from the top of the arc.

In quest of the hunchback...

So today began as most days do with me convincing myself to get up for a good half hour before finally getting up and eating as much breakfast as humanely possible to avoid having to buy lunch (stingy student even when in Paris).

Today was my second day of playing tour guide aka pretending I knew where I was going and adding in the odd historical fact for good measure.

So Montmartre was first on the list of places to visit, but it appeared to also be first on every other tourist to paris' list as it was heaving. After climbing the 'mont' and seeing the Sacré Coeur from the inside and out, we took the funicular railway back down. Montmartre is full of crèperies so it would have been practically criminal to have left without eating one, a crèpe that is, not a crèperie.

And then we continued our cultural day with a trip to Notre Dame, I didn't find the hunchback but I did take tonnes of photos of candles and stained glass windows, it's quite beautiful in there!

And finally a walk through the latin quarter resisting the urge to stop at every restaurant and order tea before a very uneventful metro ride to work, and here I am.

You may wonder what I actually do at work as I always seem to write my blogs from here but I promise you in between blog writing, checking facebook, texting, tweeting (tweeter is actually the french verb), eating, reading and photo editing, I do actually do some work, checking people in and the like, although at the moment it's very quiet so there isn't much to do! Hence, blog writing!

Curtains? still no. But I think the bedsheet is doing a better job as it also keeps out the wind, Pfft les rideaux, who needs them anyway!

The café used in Amélie in Montmartre, yes I got excited, no I have no shame.

Sacré Coeur

View from the Sacré Coeur

Tilt your head to the left- Notre Dame 

I'm a massive fan of candles

Kaliedoscope window

Notre Dame

I just love candles.

Notre Dame again

Paris in a day...

Well my second and third nights at work were certainly less eventful than the first, except for the mouse that made it's way into reception last night, but what's a night shift without a bit of excitement in the form of a 4 legged friend.

Other than a trip to the Champs-élysées to buy yet another jumper (only for it to be continously sunny for the forseeable future) I didn't do much yesterday. Today however, I had my first attempt at being a tour guide for one of my visiting year abroad friends and it was quite some tour, if I do say so myself. For starters the weather was glorious which made it even harder to not take hundreds more photos of the tower! With it being the weekend there were tourists everywhere, I decided I can judge how much I've settled in by how angry I get at tourists getting in my way, according to this method of judgement, I've definately settled in.

We visited le tour, l'arc de triomphe, champs élysées (no more jumpers bought as yet) walked to the louvre through the most stereotypical Parisian Jardin which was so pretty in the sunshine, only to decide it was too sunny a day to stand and queue for the Louvre, so I took a photo instead. Then onto Pont neuf and Pont des arts, I just can't get enough of the bridges! Finally a sunny walk along the Seine before I had to catch the metro to start work. 

Today I had my first 'metro break down' experience. I wouldn't recommend it as one of the top 10 things to experience in Paris.

Curtain gate: still curtainless.

Yes I know I'm dressed for winter, the weather changed after I left this morning.

FONTAINE! word of the day, there's a lot.

People ruining my photos by going places

An arc, but not THE arc.

By the Louvre

Pont neuf and Pont des arts

Ponts et plus de ponts- Bumper Edition

So I didn't blog yesterday due to the fact I spent the majority of the day in bed watching French TV and then was at work in the evening. So today you're in for a bumper two day edition; you lucky people, don't say I never treat you!

So my first shift at work was interesting! People are very patient with my broken French if they speak French. The problems occur when there is no common language between said customer and you. I am now considering using my newly developed mime skills to earn me some extra money by the Seine. And then a fire alarm added some excitement to the evening, don't worry, despite an English woman shouting at me that we could have all gone up in flames, there was no fire. 

I intended, much as a do every morning, to wake up early today, but alas, I didn't finish work until half past 1 and I like sleep. So I once again woke at half 11. I decided to explore some bridges, Paris has a lot of them and they're all pretty. So I got the metro to Cité which is at the centre of the little island in the middle of the Seine. Then walked along Pont Neuf, the oldest of the new bridges, it's got cute little Victorian bench alcoves all along it! And then from this walked down to Pont des arts, which is the bridge covered in padlocks, I literally mean covered! As I was on my own, I didn't put a padlock declaring my unbreakable love to myself there, I draw the line there. 

I have to resist the urge to take a photo of everything that I see that looks so Parisian because I remember I'm in Paris and I only have 8GB of memory. 

So I'm now blogging before I start another what will surely be eventful shift at work. 

Things I have learnt today: Don't daydream on the metro, you will miss your stop and have to make a really annoying journey back the way you came.

The Curtain Factor: Still no curtains.

You get judged for taking photos of metro stations.

Pont neuf

View from Pont neuf

View of Pont des Arts

View of Pont Neuf and the island from Pont des arts

Padlocks

I love black and white shots.

Stereotypical Parisian man.

Pont des arts