11 December, 2006 | 2 Comments

Sometimes when I’m bored between classes (like today), I hang out at Simone de Beauvoir’s grave.

Yes, I know Jean-Paul Sartre is buried there too, but he doesn’t really interest me.

The Second Sex is one of two books that shaped my feminist consciousness when I was a teenager (the other was Backlash by Susan Faludi). You know how it is when you’re very young and you read a book that gives a voice to all sorts of complex things you are feeling but are powerless to articulate? That was The Second Sex for me. Reading that book empowered me in so many ways. It completely changed my way of thinking. And it’s amazing to think that this book had the same effect on countless women who read it before I was even born and it will no doubt have the same effect on women born generations from now.

So yes, I like to visit Simone de Beauvoir’s grave. And sometimes I even leave flowers.

10 December, 2006 | 1 Comment

Notre Dame à Noël

Originally uploaded by Anglofille.

10 December, 2006 | 4 Comments

I’m reading my Rick Steves guidebook on Italy. Here’s his intro to Rome:

“Rome is magnificent and brutal at the same time. Your ears will ring. If you’re careless, you’ll be run down or pickpocketed. You’ll be frustrated by the kind of chaos that only an Italian can understand. You may even come to believe Mussolini was a necessary evil.”

And here’s part of his warning about avoiding theft:

“With sweet-talking con artists meeting you at the station, well-dressed pickpockets on buses, and thieving gangs of children at the ancient sites, Rome is a gauntlet of rip-offs.”

But don’t be fooled — Steves believes that Rome is one of Europe’s greatest cities (even though he writes that it can be visited in one day if necessary).

(more…)

7 December, 2006 | 9 Comments

I am not going to be homeless at the beginning of January. Hurrah! I mentioned in a previous post that I met with a male model about renting his place while he’s in New York working. He had several people interested in the apartment (one of whom offered to pay several months rent up front) and I didn’t think I had a chance. I didn’t have the energy to lobby for it. But to my surprise, he said he felt the most comfortable with me and that he felt he could trust me. My innocent and fresh-off-the-farm demeanor serves me well, I must admit. I think I could have a successful career as a bank robber.

Here is a photo of my new landlord (with his face cut off — sorry, but it feels wrong to publish a recognizable photo of him on my blog):

Yes, I will be sleeping in his bed for four months — but he’ll be far away in New York. He doesn’t really appear this way in person, of course. He’s sorta grungy looking, but obviously he cleans up real nice. He’s a very sweet and thoughtful guy and I feel quite comfortable with him. He’s not a pretentious jerk — otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen to live in his apartment. Today we met at a café so I could be introduced to his best friend — a nightclub singer who lives nearby. We plan to go to the movies together soon.

So anyway, I move in on December 30th and have the sublet till the end of April. If he lines up another modeling stint, I could stay longer. While I’d rather not have to find another place to live, I like not being tied down with a lease. By the spring, I’ll have a better idea of when I want to return to London and I like having a bit more freedom. Plus, it’s fun to experience new neighborhoods. The apartment is very tiny. It’s in a modern building (with lift, concierge, parking garage, etc.). I’ve never lived in a building like this before, so it should be interesting. If you live in New York or London, you would die to find out how much I’m paying in rent. Paris isn’t a cheap place to live in by any means, but the rents — for some reason I do not understand — are quite reasonable for a major city.

I’ll be living in the 16th arrondissement, which is close to the Eiffel Tower. The apartment is about a 5-minute walk from the Trocadéro, the famous plaza that overlooks the Eiffel Tower (and where you can take the best photos!). I will be seeing a lot of the Eiffel Tower over the next few months. I can walk to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées in about 15-20 minutes (I think). This area is a bit stuffy and snooty and I wouldn’t want to settle here long-term, but for a few months I think it will be fantastically fun. I move in the day after I return from Italy, which is cool because I’ll be close to the Eiffel Tower for New Year’s Eve.

I am so very relieved to have found a place without much effort (thank you, Craigslist!). And I am excited to move in. My first few months in Paris have been rocky and I think a new apartment and a new year are just what I need. It’ll be a fresh start!

6 December, 2006 | 2 Comments

Today I got prints made of some of my Paris photos. This is the first time I’ve gotten prints made since I bought a digital camera a year and a half ago. I don’t know why I never did it before. Now I have the prints spread out all over my bed. When I looked them over, tears came to my eyes. I was not expecting that.

I was so terribly unhappy when I first arrived in this city. Taking photos is what made me feel connected to this place. And now my memories of days spent in the Jardin du Luxembourg surrounded by autumn trees are suddenly tangible. I can hold those long afternoons in my hands, afternoons spent obsessively searching for what I knew would make me whole again if I just walked enough and took enough pictures and observed life in this city. The distraught woman who was behind the camera is not visible; she’s a memory, too, in many ways, but what she saw through her lens — the beauty of a hundred captured moments — remains.

6 December, 2006 | Comments

I’m pleased to report that French department stores at Christmas are just as hellish as their British and American counterparts. I went to BHV on the rue de Rivoli in the middle of the afternoon and you’d think it was Christmas Eve. It was a frenzy! I don’t know how I survived without some sort of tranquilizer. While I was shopping, I heard the faint tune of Alvin and the Chipmunks playing in the background. That’s the only thing that kept me from losing it.

The good news is that I am done with my shopping. I have my carte de séjour. Oh, and did I mention I found an apartment? More on that tomorrow!

Exhale.

In other Christmas news, the Notre Dame tree is up! Compared to the trees in Rockefeller Center, Trafalgar Square and other high-profile places, it’s a bit tiny and frumpy. The angle of my photo makes it look much bigger and more spectacular than it is. In person, it’s like a Charlie Brown tree. But to me, that’s what makes it special.

5 December, 2006 | Comments

Candy Apples

For sale on the rue de Buci. For some reason, I never expected to see candy apples for sale in Paris. Of course I bought one. And ate it. Now I need to find a dentist…

4 December, 2006 | 6 Comments

I’m going to Rome, baby! And Florence and Venice!

Everyone voted for Italy, so it made my choice easy. Thanks for your help. Or should that be grazie? I have spent two days researching how to get to Italy in a way that won’t break the bank. All the trains are practically full. There are a few seats floating around out there, but they’re asking over $500 for a round-trip ticket! And that would involve 13 hours of night-train hell each way. Uh, no thanks. So I’m flying — it’s much cheaper and faster. It was nearly impossible for me to find info on budget airlines on the French websites, so I went to Italian Yahoo and hit the jackpot. [If you can read French, you can also read Italian quite easily. Hurrah!] I hope these airlines I’m traveling on are safe. I hope they aren’t the European equivalent of Adios Airlines.

I am going a bit earlier than originally planned so I can spend my birthday in Italy. On the big day, I want to be surrounded by naked men. Who doesn’t? (Yes, I know they’re only made of marble. Trust me, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And on the subject of naked or near-naked men, today I met with a Calvin Klein model about possibly subletting his apartment while he’s in New York working. His pants kept falling down. I swear I’m not making this up.)

After Rome I’m going to Florence, then Venice for a few days. I have no idea what things will be like during the holidays, but I have no real agenda besides looking at statues of naked men. I traveled around Italy about ten years ago when I was backpacking through Europe. It was not a pleasant experience. I went in May. There was a heatwave and it was so so so crowded. I have never seen so many human beings crammed into one place. There were so many tourists in Florence that you could barely see any of the art in the museums. And there were men who followed me around and harassed me and then I got ripped off a lot. When my train from Venice crossed into France, I nearly wept with joy. Honestly, in these past ten years I have not been tempted to return to Italy. But I want to give it another go. I mean, it’s Italy. I need to make an effort to repair our relationship. Plus, if I blog from Italy I can use lines from Gladiator. (Brace yourselves. I am a total Russell-Crowe-in-Gladiator slut.)

I did almost reconsider going to Italy before I booked my tickets. Going to Italy means I will be spending Christmas alone. I’m not going home to see my family and friends. I could spend Christmas in Paris with other family-less people I know, but I haven’t known these people for very long and feel no great affection for them (yet). Is it important to spend Christmas with people if the people aren’t the most important people in your life? I don’t know. I have two weeks off from school and work. I won’t get another break from work until June. And how many more times in my life will I be in a position to travel to Italy for Christmas on a whim? Sometimes I think I am an incredibly odd girl. I guess I am odd. But if I weren’t odd, I wouldn’t be having the adventures I’ve had and continue to have. So I’m going to Italy. Why not?

3 December, 2006 | 8 Comments

A few people have been pestering asking me to put my Amazon Wishlist back up. (I had it on my old Blogger site, but it made me feel cheap.) It has now suddenly appeared in my sidebar over there on the left. Hmmmm, how did that get there? I’ll only leave it up for a week or so because I’m moving on 2nd January and will have a new address.

[Note to self: Must find new place to live.]

In other holiday news, here are my options for Christmas:

1) Stay in Paris and celebrate Christmas with various international orphans I have befriended. Pros: Costs nothing. Cons: Depressing.

2) Go to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with my sister and the ‘rents. [I just can't do a trans-Atlantic flight right now. Too stressful.]

3) Hop on a night train and go to Rome. Pros: Italy. Christmas. Yay. Cons: Can’t think of any.

4) Travel through Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. Pros: I really want to see Poland. Poland is cheap. Christmas markets. Cons: Cold weather for backpacking.

Please vote for your favorite option. I need help!

2 December, 2006 | 5 Comments

Go to the Louvre! It’s open until 9:30 and after 6:00, the admission price is reduced. Plus, there are fewer crowds. Bliss!

I can’t understand why they’ve parked the Venus de Milo in front of a horribly ugly, drab olive-green wall. Perhaps they’re building her a new home. Let’s hope.

I just think this looks too much like Laura Petrie:

More Louvre photos.

1 December, 2006 | Comments

Just a quick note to let you know that I got the carte de séjour (resident’s permit) this afternoon! It’s only a temporary carte. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? Non! But I just wanted to let you know that I got it, because many people were worried about my situation. Everything is okay. I’m not walking around Paris with expired immigration papers. Whew.

I’ll write more tomorrow. (You know I have a story!) But now it’s Friday night and for the sake of my mental health, I need to go out and do something fun. It’s been a looooonnnngggg week!

Bon week-end! Thanks for all your well wishes. xx