Busy bUSY BUSY and I like it.

I'm sorry to the few faithful readers that I have for the lack of posts! I've been meaning to write something for a long time now, lots has happened.

I'll start with a few weeks ago... I've been meeting some people in town which means actually having somewhat of a social life, and practicing my french in a different setting which is great!

Then last week Christine Agustin and I went to take a sunday stroll around the Cathedral de Notre Dame. The sunday before, Christine the boys and I relaxed in the

garden in front of the Louvre, along with visiting the Musee de l'Orangerie. Very interesting stuff it was, but both of those times we didn't have time to go in.

Now my family is away on vacation with extended family in Spain, so I have a holiday here with a house to myself! They left early in the morning on the day of my birthday, so we celebrated before. This last friday, the kids were sent to the grandparents, then Christine and Nicolas took me to this beautiful Brasserie/Restaurant in Paris. The entire interior decor is made of ceramics, and the restaurant was built between the first and second world wars. I ate escargot for the entrée, and duck with french fries for the plate principale! It was really typical french..

The next morning the kids came home and sang "Bonne Anniversaire" continually, which was really cute. They all made me little crafts, except for Honorine who gave me a painted cup which was a gift that she gave to her father last year... Nicolas told me he would like to keep that. For supper, I went to the Creperie with some friends who made me feel special also. In the evening I went to a birthday party for someone I've never met... so when mid-night hit, and they all said happy birthday to me... I felt a little guilty. On the day of my actual birthday, I went to church! But not just any church... Notre Dame! And I sat in on the very traditional service with French and Latin hymns. I would say this is probably the most unique birthday I've ever had...

With the family being in Spain, I now have holidays also! And I've found lots of things to do to keep myself busy. Yesterday I spent the day in the Louvre and really enjoyed myself. I think I got through 2/3 of it! I'm proud of that. Today, I went on an english walking tour through the Marais which is an old historic central area in Paris. The guide was very knowledgable, and we toured and learn't a lot about the history of the buildings and churches. I will admit, after living in the french culture for two months, it felt a little uncomfortable being within a group of 60 year old american tourists, but it was worth participating in. I will being going on another tour tomorrow morning.

For the rest of the week, here are some plans that I have:

-Spend a day in Versaille

-Get my tragus pierced

-Chill with some new friends

-possibly finish my Louvre adventures.

-Musee d'Orsay

This is considering I don't spend a few days filling in for the neighbours sick nanny... I'm crossing my fingers!

La Braderie de Houilles 2011

It's been two weeks since the last post, but I probably only have half a weeks worth of things to say... so I'll talk about one of these days!

Last week-end, I witnessed the most incredible steroid injected garage sale EVER. Well, not ever, it's the second biggest in France. It's called a Braderie, which is a day where people can buy spots on the side of the road from the town, to display all their old toys or treasures for sale. So, within a 1 or 2 km rage, the streets were blocked and filled with bargainers of all sorts. There were stands that sold Hibou candy, posters, hand bags, crepes, and expensive watches. Some of the stands were actual businesses and others were people who go around to other Braderies, search for cool cheap treasures, and then they form a super stand that makes more money than others. The majority of the stands were just everyday people getting rid of old junk. The Braderie is a one day event, and because this one is soooo popular in france, the streets were packed with people. I didn't know what to expect when Christine and Nicolas were explaining it to me, but when I saw in the morning that our street had cars parking on the sidewalks, and then when I walked to the end of the road where all the madness began, I realized that there was no way I could have imagined what it would be like. I ended up buying a nice old bag for 2 euros, some candy and a crepe. Not much, but I didn't have much in mind that I wanted. ooh, and I didn't take any pictures... but these are from google images of Houilles Braderie 2011!