And now I've been to Paris!

Wow, sorry anyone who's reading this, but I just realized how long it had been since I updated this. What with writing emails and now trying to be on facebook regularly, I loose track of what I have and I haven't kept up to date.

So yes, I'm still here (it would be sort of a problem if I suddenly wasn't), well settled-in, with the kids in school - except for today, since they don't have school on Wednesdays. Still very much enjoying getting to speak French, eating tons of baguettes and sampling cheeses. Also: I bought a trench coat, which makes me feel very française. Hopefully I will post pics of that soon.

The other thing that's making me feel very française is driving here. I am getting more confident not just in my stick-shift driving abilities, but also in my turning-corners-while-looking-in-the-little-mirror-mounted-on-the-side-of-the-road capabilities. Mind, I still stall out now and then, but not too too often. Not more than once a trip, usually, and often not at all. Although starting on a hill gives me the willies. I spend a lot of time worrying about hitting the car behind me. So far so good. Let's hope I didn't jinx it.

But the most exciting news (that was all just intro, sorry!) is that I have now been to Paris! Twice! For proof, see my facebook page. Me + Eiffel Tower = profile picture.

Saturday I went in with two other au pairs and we met up with the friend of a friend of one of them, who's also an au pair. It was a lot of fun ... which is a really underwhelming way to express my feelings about the day, but while it's a drab expression, rest assured that the day was awesome, despite the blisters I developed. Generally I say "beauty is pain" and accept the lack of skin on my Achilles tendons, but since I really want to be able to think about what I'm seeing while in Paris, and not just about my feet, I may have to forego that particular philosophy in the future.

But I digress: Paris. On Saturday we pretty much just wandered around. We found the Swedish embassy first, since one of the au pairs I was with is Swedish and needed to vote, then we made our way to the Seine. We ate on the outdoor patio of a café next to the river, then walked over the Louvre before taking a metro to the Champs Elysées to meet the other au pair. We walked down the Champs Elysées and stopped for coffee (or hot chocolate, in my case) just to say we'd eaten there. Yeah, the café we were at had 8 euro cokes ... so I won't be doing that again any time soon. I mean, I can buy a can of coke in the grocery store for less than a euro - location-based pricing is so weird. But after the Champs Elysées we went to Notre Dame (though not into it) and then to the Latin Quarter and by the Sorbonne (and that's an area I'd like to spend more time in).

Sunday I went in with the fam, and we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing. As you may know, I'm terrified of heights. Not of falling, particularly, just of being up high at all. So the elevators with the glass sides? Yeah, not so fun. Once I was actually up on the platforms, though, it was better. And the views were absolutely amazing. Paris is HUGE, by the way. I knew it was, obviously, but seeing it from that high up, and really getting a good look at how densely packed all the buildings are (and sometimes it looks like Paris is one giant apartment complex) really brings the size of the city home. I'm so glad I got to go all the way to the top.

Okay, I think this is long enough for now - just an overview he of what I've been up to. More details of specific activities to follow!