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Monet's studio & gardens

I worked most of yesterday so I could go play for some time today. I decided to take a bus to the lovely village of Giverny. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Paris. It also happens to be the village where Claude Monet created his works of art. The gardens are absolutely beautiful. It was great to see his studio, home and gardens. To know this was his primary inspiration for the amazing work that he created was a bit surreal for me. The countryside on the way way so green and lush already…tres belle!! What a perfect day!

Ha! Ha! Mom, you could drive here because they just drive all over the place. It kind of reminds me of your driving!! I think you would fit right in around here…maybe a new career as a Parisian taxi driver is in store for you! lol

See Mom, you could drive here!

The blue door is the entrance to my apartment, market on one side and cafe on the other : )

Bonjour mes amis!

I decided to cut my adventures short today considering that I am drenched! It has rained everyday that I have been here. I am really not complaining about the rain because I enjoy it. However, it does make walking around a little challenging when you are trying to simultaneously keep your umbrella from blowing away and take pictures on a camera and the iPhone. OK…get this picture…an umbrella between your knees, a camera in one hand, an iPhone in the other and whatever else you are caring you hold between your teeth…ah yes…a tourist! So much for not wanting to portray that stereotype on this adventure! : / I am smiling and laughing!

I have to comment on here just for my daughter that I did make another trip to the market. She seems to think that I am not eating over here…uh…wrong! Ashley- see pic below.

View down the street

I set out today to head to the Centre Georges-Pompidou and Notre Dame. I did not make it to either one because I found other interesting sights along the way. I will head to both of them tomorrow after I do my work. YES, I do have work to do while I am here.

I saw some beautiful and interesting buildings and meandered along for quite a number of hours. The downside is that I forgot my umbrella and it was pouring for a while. I have taken my umbrella everyday except today and guess what??? I really could have used it today…oh well! It was rather fun walking in the rain in Paris! = )

So I am now watching the British Music Awards with French subtitles on TV…love it! Speaking of music…I am really enjoying the French music channels on my TV. I listen to them every morning and night. There is some fun music and I have been downloading it to my iphone when I can figure out the artist.

Bonsoir!

I spent yesterday walking around for about five hours! Trust me, my feet know it! Can you say blisters???? Ouch!!! It was fabulous though…minus the blisters. I can absolutely say that I love Paris just as much as a I did when I was 16. This place just has a magical feel for me! I feel strangely comfortable here….hmmmm!!??

Yesterday I walked the entire length of the Avenue des Champs- Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe which was so exciting for me to do again! It has been a long time. I feel like I need to pinch myself everyday to make sure this is real! : ) I then spent time at the Place de la Concorde seeing the Obelisque. From there I spent quite a bit of time walking around the beautiful Jardin Des Tuileries which is lovely. Then it was on to the Musee Du Louvre which, of course, is just stunning!!! I could have just stood there for the entire evening looking around at the amazing architecture….WOW! From there I walked along the Seine for some time. Tellement belle!!! What a day!!!

Good morning from Paris!! I figured out my espresso machine so I can have espresso today while watching the morning news, hooray! I have also discovered that Saturday morning cartoons are not just an American tradition! It has been very helpful for me to watch the TV. I am learning more of the language this way!

Yesterday was my first trip to the market. It was fun to go shopping. I recognized most items but there are certainly some things that I was wondering about in the market…hmmmm. I also learned quickly that you are expected to unload your basket ASAP for the cashier or you will be reprimanded immediately!!!! lol! Got it! It won’t happen again! ; )

Well I am off for a day of walking around the neighborhood. It will be fun to see where I end up today!

Au revoir!

OK, so since my last post I have moved to my next apartment. What a fiasco that was to accomplish….but I made it!! The poor taxi driver from the day before arrived to pick me up at the correct time. I had packed my 70 pound suitcase down three flights of stairs or rather wrestled it, only to find when I got to the gate to leave I could not get out!!! So the taxi driver is waiting with the meter running and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get out the damn gate! I tried the keys, pushing the gate, pulling the gate and yelling for help…yep, I really did! I even became desperate enough that I went and knocked on several doors to no avail. Finally, I left my luggage and went back up to the apartment and sent a text to the landlady with the message HELP in the subject line. She called me and said the button to get out was on the wall next to the gate. WOW!!! I am not an airhead but I am feeling like a total idiot by this time! I get out the gate and the taxi driver was still there! Whew!!! So, we load my incredibly over-packed suitcase in the taxi and I tell him in very broken French
that I have to go get the rest of my stuff and lock the apartment door. I get upstairs, grab the other bags and shut the door but can’t get it locked! Are you kidding me????? I was more than a little frazzled by this time. So I leave the keys under the door mat because I do not know what else to do and text the owner to let her know. Meanwhile the meter is running on the taxi so I get in and head to my next apartment. I am quite sure that I need some wine by this time!!!!

We arrive at the next place and I do not have the door code to get in the building! OK, I truly am ready to just have a breakdown. The driver calls and gets me in the building but he then has to leave. He assures me that someone will be there soon to get me into my apartment. I wait for 30 minutes and finally a very nice guy named Damien shows up to let me into the apartment and give me keys, etc. Thank goodness I will be staying in this apartment for some time. The two days of taxi fare alone cost me 110 euro!!!!! Yikes! It is a good thing that by nature I tend to be optimistic and can roll with life. Trust me when I say that this certainly tested me! But I am here and happy to be doing what I have dreamed of doing for so many years : )

Sooooo…I have arrived in Paris!!! I am so excited and thrilled to be here. The flight over was superb! I flew over Ireland which looked absolutely AMAZING from the plane…that may be next on my travel list! : )
It was an interesting trip to my apartment since the taxi driver spoke zero-zip-nada-bit of English. I know what you are thinking…Kimberly, you were speaking fluent French to him! Right??? Um…well…er…the answer is no! I was trying and we did ok but it was pretty funny! Luckily he was very kind! I do believe he was wishing he had not been the one to pick me up from the airport when he saw my suitcase, which is the largest suitcase I have ever owned! I am quite certain that the suitcase easily outweighed him….poor guy. And get this…he saw the horror in my eyes when I realized that the place that I am staying tonight has no elevator…just a very narrow, steep staircase. Bless his heart…he packed my suitcase up the three flights of stairs. I did tip him very well but…I am quite sure he will need back surgery after dealing with my luggage. Guess what??? He is supposed to be here tomorrow to help me move to the other apartment. Hmmmm….I wonder if he will show?!
Ok…enough for now. I need sleep!

My blog for my Paris adventure!