September 17, 2023
Hi folks - it's official....I have now made it to Paris and have gotten an apartment in the 15th arrondissement...the search for the apartment went well, but trying to get a bank account organized was much harder 😜 But at this point, I have a bank account here in France, know my commute to work, know where to get tasty food, as I have an outdoor market close to my place every Sunday and it is amazing (pictures below), my new cohort is filled with super cool people and I have a bunch of connections with people that work at ASP and ISP, due to all of my moving around in the international circuit...so it has been a good landing here in Paris....
I have not really done much in the way of being a tourist...mostly because it has been super hot, the last two weeks were insane with the heat and humidity and no aircon to be found..and i am busy getting things oriented for school and my life...plus, there are tons of tourists here....which I have been told does not really change during the year ;) but those numbers do get less as the temperatures get colder.....of course, i see the eiffel tower as i am moving around the city and have walked along the seine....but i have not been in any museums as of yet....the parks and gardens have been fun to have picnics in and i have been finding great terraces to have drinks and snacks...as they are everywhere....so overall i think my first month and a half has gone well...i have even had two guests swing through Paris and got to have a meal with them as they were visiting.....please let me know if you are coming this way....i will say my place is not super huge, but there are air b'n'b's around me and a bunch of hotels if that is more your speed....just depends on how long you intend to stay ;) anyway, on with the pictures and stories....vive le france 🌍
This is me on my flight out of philly to paris....it was a relaxing and family & friend-filled summer...plus a bunch of swimming - both at the shore and my mom's new place....it was just what i needed before my new adventure...peace out philly....see you at xmas 😀
crazily enough, the Panamanian consulate is just across the street from my metro stop...i guess i will always focus on things from the other countries i have lived in where i currently live....and the store underneath the consulate is chinese and the folks that run it are from shanghai....small, small world 😉
when i was looking for an apartment i spent a day walking through the two neighborhoods i was most interested in living in....the 15th & 16th arr. ...they are "easy" to get to work from and have lots of things to do and are close to the eiffel tower....i ended up in the 15th which is a great spot...although at times the corner bar can be rather loud....i am going to have to go have a beer or two....
one of the many things i love about this town is trying to spot a piece of art by space invader...he is from paris and his stuff is everywhere....there have been tons of copycats and now he has other folks helping him make the mosaics....but the originals were his....the one on the left is one of his old ones...only half of it now exists....
one of the craziest things about paris is walking around and then suddenly seeing the monuments or museums....its just wild...i caught the Arc de Triomphe right at sunset while walking to the metro...just crazy....many times i look around and it feels just surreal that i live here....
i have walked through some of the gardens as well at this point - this is Luxembourg Garden....but I have to go back, because i have found out from teaching that the original meter was actually carved into one of the walls here out of marble...the original kilogram is actually housed in a museum in the town where my school is located...i will have to go check it out at some point..random things i love to learn....
Merle is also here from Beijing and it has been fun to have a person to meet up with, who does not work at ASP....that way we do not talk shop....this was our first meet-up and our first cheese plate together....the best one so far, as they had 9 different types of cheese on it!!!! french cheese is a food group unto itself 🧀
the decorating of all of the terraces is also its own classification....many of the places do it, and it is lovely to see...this is from the montparnasse part of the city, where there are crepe & galette places everywhere....and when in paris/france...you must have a crepe or galette....you just must!
of course, i also am always happy to see the musee d-orsay...which is actually my favorite museum here...i have not made it inside yet, but i will....soon.....
different types of sculptures are everywhere in this city....i love this one in the marais area of town....
i know folks wanted to see my apartment, so the next few images are of it....it is rather modern and does not look like a quintessential paris apartment - it is just what i wanted...i am on the tenth floor...and actually has a oven, dishwasher!?! and washing machine/dryer?!?! in the open kitchen....
this first shot is my living room & kitchen space.... i have an open kitchen and a very comfy (I hope) pull-out couch....as you can see the space is rather modern, just the way i like things.
in my opinion, the best part about my apartment is the huge balcony - these are rarely found in Paris, unless you have a penthouse or something....mine is the whole length of the apartment....in this view you can see the Montparnasse Tower (one of the biggest buildings in Paris)....it is not very pretty....but maybe in the distance, you can see the dome of the pantheon....
this is view the other direction....looking towards the seine.....so the apartment is facing south....but i can see the sunrise and later in the year, i will be able to see the sunset.....i love it for coffee and dinner on the balcony....so very nice....
here you can see my apartment building and which apartment is mine (red arrow)...i did not want the quintessential french building, with a walk-up or tiny elevator....i was looking for something more modern with a balcony and a view...and i got that 😀
i am also quite happy with the square that is closest to my place - Cambronne - it is a metro stop and has four terrasse places on the corners that come together....this one is my favorite - piou - which means the sounds of a "cluck" or a "kiss"....very tasty and the waiters are terrific.....very friendly and let me practice my french😉
This is my newbie cohort, plus some wonderful folks from HR....they took us wine tasting at the Caves of the Louvre, as one of our fun activities in Paris....it was lovely and the Cave itself was amazing...sante (cheers in french)!!!
It is always overwhelming to be walking along and suddenly be face-to-face with the eiffel tower....i can see it on my walk home from my metro stop and it is very visible during the bus portion of my commute to school....it is mind-blowing that i get to see it...and really, i always have to look & think to myself - wow, I live here.....it's crazy
another shot of the eiffel tower from another angle....this is as you cross one of the many bridges over the seine, but this is the one that has the weird bridge from inception and an excellent view of the eiffel tower...
this is my classroom for 7th grade science - it has a ton of light, but the windows really do not open very much....luckily i have two air conditioners, which help immensely, as the windows face south and we cook in the room when it is sunny...especially in the afternoons....
as you can see, i have both lab stations and moveable tables this time around....the lab is fine and i am starting to know where equipment is located....when i first got here, much of the room was completely empty.... it's getting better slowly, but surely as we start doing labs and working in the room
i have an amazing outdoor sunday market around the corner from my apartment....it has everything you could ever want in the way of fresh food....one of the most impressive stores is the cheese/fromagerie kiosk....they bring the entire cabinet with them....and there is more than one of these in the two blocks of the market....the cheese here has been amazing....and there are sooooo many kinds 🧀
the fresh flowers are also incredible... this was the week i bought sunflowers....the week after dahlias....there are just so many to choose from and they last for much of a week 🌻 there are so many more stands...which i will share every now and again...but these two are my favorites so far....
of course, i needed to include a picture of the eiffel tower, and this is actually what i can see on my walk home from the metro....all lit up and sparkling every hour on the hour at night....so very cool!!!
the shot above is from my balcony on the morning of the first full day of school....i got up early enough to catch the sunrise....thought that was a cool way to start the year....when its morning here, it is quiet...the french like to stay up late and sleep late....so early mornings are quite nice...plus, i have a commute in the mornings of a metro and bus....so i need to give myself time to get to school early enough to start my day....i have been leaving at 3:30pm, right when school ends....which has been wonderful...i have even left my laptop at school several nights during the week...which has been awesome!!!!
i know....its not me and a beer....but i live in paris and summer and picnics here are all about the rose.....so this is me at a friend's bday picnic, on the lawn of les invalides....drinking rose...sante!!!
so my life in france is moving forward....so far it has gone quite smoothly....i am hoping for my first break in october to go diving in malta and am in the process of putting that trip together...it is so nice to have a trip on the horizon....malta, will be country number 90....so keep those fingers crossed that it happens....also, i will be in the states for xmas...not a long time, but if you are in the Philadelphia area over the holdiays, let me know...and we can try and make a meet up happen....hope all of you are having a great start to your spring/fall....if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out....and if you are headed to paris...please let me know 😎
peace out.....dani
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