24 June, 2009 | Leave a Comment

So it looks like I’ll be staying in Paris until August 30th!  I booked and paid for my accommodation for the whole month of August.  I won’t be in a flat in August, but that’s okay.  I need to save €€€€€.  Now I just have the last two weeks of July to figure out – I can stay in my present flat or do something else.  I think I might extend the flat by a week and then for the second week, travel somewhere.  Any recommendations on cool places that are within easy train distances of Paris?

My flat has its own washer (though no dryer).  Right now I have a load of wash in there that’s been going for over 2 hours!  I have no idea how to work the washer.  They rent these furnished apartments to anglophones, yet never include instructions on how to use things like this.  I have no idea what I’ve done wrong – there are three dials but I have no idea what they mean – there aren’t even any words, just mysterious symbols.  The washer has to stop running at some point, doesn’t it?  Today at Franprix it took me 20 minutes to find the right laundry soap – it’s difficult to tell the difference between detergent and fabric softener.  I mean, who on earth learns this kind of French vocabulary?

Today the light in the bathroom went out, so I went to the hardware store and had to buy a new bulb…for 9.50€.  Bloody flipping hell!  I swear, I am going to take that bulb with me when I leave – they aren’t getting a free 9.50€ bulb out of me!

We seem to have garbage collection every single day here.  Very strange.  I know this because the garbage truck stops right underneath my window.

So anyway, since I’ve been in Paris, I’ve become very boring.  I am in lovely Paris and here is what I do all day: WORK!  I mean, my whole purpose in coming here was to get away and write write write, but I guess I never figured I’d actually do it.  Ha!  I’m as shocked as anyone.  I get up in the morning (well, more like 11), I turn on the computer and I just write for hours.  I’m not sure what has happened to me.  I keep all the curtains drawn because I like it dark when I’m writing.  So I’m inside this flat writing all day in the dark.  It’s not really healthy, but I have to get this work done, so I’m pretty happy about it.  I just feel bad that Paris is out there and I’m in here.  I have been going out to run the occasional errand, such as to buy the aforementioned light bulb and also pizza from Pizza Hut.  Yes, Pizza Hut.  Be quiet.  I’ve also developed a horrible addiction to Orangina!  One of my goals this summer was to cut down on sugar.  Obviously, that’s not going well.

I have faith that I will start going out more soon, but for now I need to immerse myself in this book.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been writing seriously.  I know I said I’d be done with the book by June 13th and that didn’t happen because I was pre-occupied with the thought that I might be dying.  But anyway, in my defense, right now I have around 250 pages (250 good pages – I’ve discarded 100s of pages over time).  I originally thought the book would be around 250 pages in total, in which case I’d be done!  Alas, this stupid bugger will likely be around 400 pages long.  It’s difficult to guesstimate.  So you see, my book is unfinished not because I’m a flake – it’s unfinished because I’m running a race and the finish line keeps moving.  But the thing is, I have to finish it this summer, even if it turns out to be 9,000 pages long.  My supervisor is waiting to receive in on September 1st.  I have no wiggle room, since I must submit the PhD in late winter or early spring and need ample time to revise this mess.  I think that’s the main reason I’m writing up a storm now – my back is against the wall.  I always get motivated when I have no choice

Ooh – the washer has stopped!  2 hours and 20 minutes later…

1. Comments RSS

1. Dorothy Says:

   June 24th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

   The Normandy is a really beautiful place to go, for example (I know it very well since my ex-lover lives there), you can go there by train from St. Lazare station. Honfleur, for example, is really wonderful (there’s a wooden church there!), and if you like really really marvellous cheese and cidre, go to Pont l’Evêque.
   Deauville is where all the Americans go, but I don’t like it too much. There are mainly rich people there. I don’t think it’s really your taste (judging by your cafe-preferences). Etretat is always good if you want to be at the sea.
   Cabourg is really really lovely, too (it’s very tiny and sweet!).
   There’s also a fantastic fairy-tale like little castle near Lisieux, but I can’t think of it’s name at the moment, maybe I’ll recall what it’s called in which case I’d tell you of course…

2. Ken Says:

   June 24th, 2009 at 11:23 pm

   I’m glad to read you are working on the book. If it takes Paris to get it done, so be it!

3. Seb Says:

   June 25th, 2009 at 10:21 am

   I would not necessarily call it “easy” train distance, but Cologne is only 4 hours away via Thalis and I think Amsterdam should also be quite easy to get to from Paris. I don’t know if you have been to either of these places, but I can guarantee that they are pretty nice. They’re not in France though… But, I’ve heard that Lyon is a pretty pretty town and the pictures I’ve seen confirm this. So, if you want to stay in France…

4. Jan Says:

   June 25th, 2009 at 8:00 pm

   OK, three options

   1. Lyon – Marseille – (trips to Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, or Cap d’Agde – and have Michel Houellebecq kind of fun)

   2. Toulouse – Barcelona

   3. Fly to Lisbon.

5. Anglofille Says:

   June 25th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

   and have Michel Houellebecq kind of fun – Oh, come on! You know me better than that!

   Seriously, thanks to all for the tips. You’ve given me some good ideas to ponder. Much appreciated. And thanks Ken for your encouragement!

6. Jan Says:

   June 27th, 2009 at 10:34 am

   Another option is to go to Rennes and then further to the coast of Bretagne – you could write from your room with a view over cliffs and the Ocean, eat crepes (best in France), see the house of Flaubert and enjoy a more temperate climate. Bretagne is errr.. very Celtic and traditionally Catholic, but much more interesting, in my opinion, than Ireland.

7. Ang04 Says:

   June 28th, 2009 at 7:58 pm

   This from http://www.eyepreferparis.com “I went to Lille, a city in northern France close to the Belgian border, on Friday and Saturday to see the Lille 3000 art & cultural festival. Lille 3000 was started in 2004 when Lille was the European Capital of Culture…
   I took the easy one hour train from Gard du Nord station.”

   I haven’t been, but sounds wonderful.