Parisian Weekend

I started my journey on what was a bank holiday in Espana, arriving at the airport at around noon. The flight that was supposed to depart at 13:30 was delayed for four hours. The flight from Barcelona to Paris which is approximately 1.5 hours ended up taking much longer...about 5.5 hours. I could have flown home to Toronto in this time I wasted waiting around at the airport. But I eventually made to Paris. I proceeded to find my way to the train that will take me into the city center which started as a comfortable ride. But this perfect image died rather quickly...approximately 10 minutes after. I am now standing and pushed against a corner, with almost no breathing space with a woman with poofy hair in front of me and he rear end pressed against my crotch. This is how full the train was. It was packed. And yet more people managed to get on, while pushing and shoving.

1 hour later I finally arrive at the Champ Elysee right outside the massive Disney store. It put a smile on my face after the long journey I had this day. I proceed to meet my friend who works nearby only to find out that her 'office' is a private estate mansion of some sort. Amazing. Total jaw dropping moment.

We are now running late for dinner with our mutual friends so we hurry to catch the metro and find cafe musee. We arrive and I quickly spot our dear friends and it was the single most exciting moment of that day. 5 friends all re-united in Paris, having bottles of wine and enjoying a Parisian Dinner. Some would say we are like the sex and the city girls. This was the beginning of a fantastic weekend.

Saturday started much later than anticipated. Our dear friend was checking out of her hotel. After leaving and finding pay phone she realized that she doesn't have her credit card.

So many hours later we were all together again and began exploring the fabulous neighbourhood of Bastille. After walking along the canal and dreaming of owning a boat one day, we decided to pick up some wine, chees, ham, baguette and other goodies and chill by the canal. What else is there to do on a beautiful sunny gorgeous day in Paris. It is rare you get a beautiful day like this in Paris so might as well enjoy it and share in some good conversation.

Why does wine always lead to conversation about sex and/or relationships or both? We started talking about monogamy and how my friend doesn't believe in it. Wouldn't she make the perfect girlfriend? Well I guess that depends how slutty you are. You can't be monogamous unless you know why you should. I understand that you can't expect that one person to fulfill all your needs but being the hopeless romantic that I am (sometimes) maybe once you find that one special person that you 'love' then maybe that's the reason you were waiting for to be monogamous.

This lead to conversations about love. What is love? and when do we know if we are in love? Those three little words could change your life forever. But how often do people actually mean it when they say it. Some perhaps say it too soon, or mistake love for other things. What does it mean to be in love? I guess you won't know until you are actually head over heals and in love with that special someone. But we came up with a few ideas: You're in love when you make decision (life decisions, travel or what have you) based on that other person. You are constantly thinking about that person. Ok that's the end of that. All this love talk almost makes me want to vomit. In one of the most romantic cities in the world, it's hard to be cynical about love but we managed just fine. We are no fools and we are not in love. Not yet anyway. That's subject to change. One day we will meet our knight in shining armour and it will be fabulous but until then...

Our evening continued with more lovely conversation along the Seine River with a spectacular sunset while what appeared like a big gathering of friends continued behind us.

We proceeded to our friends house where we had an amazing view of fireworks for more than 2 hours. After which we headed out on the town and hit up some bars. Conversations about life, love, work and everything in between, followed by some late night food where the waitor didn't appreciate our attempt at French. oh well. we tried. Can't please everyone. Now who said the French were very stuck up?

The next morning was not as glorious weather wise but we made the best of it. Service seemed to be lacking on this Sunday morning. After waiting 10 minutes for service we decided to walk off, while some people thought we didn't pay the bill and skipped town. The next cafe we went to had an interesting owner. Side note, we all had luggage. I was heading back to BCN and the other friends were headed to south of France. The tables and chairs were aligned a particular way and the owner almost had a heart attack when he saw that we messed his set up. He ordered us to take our luggage inside as this ruined the image of his cafe. As we sat on the patio, the waitor came outside to tell me that my coffee was ready but he wouldn't bring it to me. Is this a french thing?

Off I headed to the airport, only to miss my flight by 5 minutes.

Espanol

This week marks the beginning of my Spanish classes.

It's been six months since i've been in this country so I figured it's about time I learned a thing or two. It's quite refreshing and exciting to learn a new language, especially one that is as sexy as Spanish. Why did I wait so long?

p.s.

Did you know that Spanish is one of the top three languages spoken worldwide?

Why don't peas smoke weed?

It was just another Saturday afternoon.

There's a lovely bar right by where I live and although this was my second time being there, I knew it was a special place. This Saturday was proof.

While enjoying a clara (beer+lemonade, a local favourite) and lost in conversation with a friend, the waitor interrupts us to ask us a question: "why don't peas smoke weed?"

I pondered. Why? I thought smoking of any kind (herbal or otherwise) was limited to those with a pair of lungs and a bank account but apparently not.

He proceeds to tell us "because if they did, they'd jump out of the pan".

Intro

I originally intended to call this blog "Culture Shock" but having grown up in a city with many cultures, and having been to a highschool where 'white' was the minority, the idea of being in shock of any culture seemed unusual. So perhaps this is cultural embracing.

It's been 6 months since I left the land of snow, peppermint mocha's, recycling and customer service. A city so obsessed with customer service that your call is even recorded to ensure ultimate customer service. Now I live in the land of no customer service that when you actually get service, you might faint. This is one of the many things one may find 'shocking' about Spanish culture.

This is what I intend to explore and write about in my future entries. I discovered this city long before Vicki and Cristina did. There's so much to write about. That's what the next entries are for.

Living away from home may perhaps be difficult for some. Living half way across the world maybe more so. Sometime it seems unreal. But amazing. all at the same time. Sometimes you just have to do what's right for you and although you can't meet your friends for that hot cup of peppermint mocha or head out to the movies, or just stay in and gab about American Idol over a bottle (well with my friends it's always several bottles) of wine, we are still connected, knowing that someday we'll all be re-connected. Until then, life goes on.