Red wine to be your Valentine

To avoid at all costs: Paris on Valentines Day when single. You have been warned.
Instead the appropriate choice is red wine, chocolate and chick flicks while doing laundry and making shepperd's pie and packing for Dublin.
Irish boys here I come.

Wow. That's just pathetic.

So confession. I have gone slightly crazy. I have fallen off the deep end. I have created a Facebook account for my cat. (Although it goes without stating that he is clearly the coolest mofo cat ever).

I don't even think there is no possible way to justify this. Not even a combination of excessive free time and longing to have him here with me seems to even slightly make this ok. As far as I am concerned though, I needed an easy way to see multiple pictures of him in a row without searching through dozens of albums on Facebook. Apparently saving said pictures to my computer wasn't an option slash didn't occur to me till right now as I wrote this last sentence. Fuck I'm lame.

Just another Sunday in La Marais

What a lovely weekend. The weather in gay ole Paris these past few days has been mild enough for a sweater and surprisingly dry enough to trade in the umbrella for sunglasses. If this was winter in Canada I think our population would double over night. Most days I even forget it is February. There is still vegetation. Little things :) And more than just the weather made me happy this weekend.
In typical weekend fashion I escaped to Christina's "apartment"for refuge from three loving, albeit clingy, children. Wine can always be assumed, but we also had delicious garlic chicken and tomato-mozzarella salad. Camels have now become the cigarette of choice, and Harry Potter is always the default movie of the evening before going to bed.
Saturday was spent with Christina's friendly, although slightly overbearing, homeopathic aunt and her distant not-cousin-but-somehow-related relative, who were spending a few days in Paris. We toke them to Montmatre to see the Sacre Coeur and after omelets for lunch the Moulin Rouge... always a classic combination.
Sunday the au pair clan hit up China town to see the most chaotic Chinese New Year parade ever although something has to be said about the convenience or having a full blown market along the street where thousands of people are gathering and forced to wait an hour for the parade to actually commence. I also must mention that chocolate flan from a sketchy little man is a great idea and highly recommend trying it. Yum. After watching the parade and thinking to myself "these people aren't even remotely Asian, much less Chinese..." and "I know it's the year of the rabbit, but I was really hoping to see one of those dragons where the people make the legs" we were handed some incense and well, anything free can make me smile.
After it finished for the second time... after a 30 minute gap with nothing happening and people leaving, you start to assume that there isn't much left... A few of us headed to le Marias, Paris' Gay and Jewish quarter. After just a short subways ride, a transfer, another subway, and winding walk, we fond ourselves in front of the best falafel place is Paris and of course this merited a lunch stop. Apparently we weren't the only ones drawn by this gimmick as John C Reilly was also waiting in line to get his. He's in town shooting a film with Kate Winslett, Christopher Waltz and Jodie Foster. So le Marias officially has the best food (falafels, muffins, and fresh homemade marshmallows), awesome and ridiculously cheap vintage shops, celebrates, and 5 piece bands planning of the side of the road. It also earns a star bonus point for being hopping on Sundays when the rest of this city is dead.
It's weeks like this that I love my job <3

Worst Blogger Ever.

I think I would have to be one of the worst bloggers of all time... just as far as consistency of posts goes. I mean I had originally intended on writing every few days and detailing all the exciting things that I have been doing, but truthfully, when exciting things, I am the least likely to write. This could be because I am tired after or most likely because I am just lazy.
So the updates since my sister left? Life is like normal. I am still a young, single mother of three. t is awesome some days and fucking terrible others. All and all though time goes by so quickly here that before you know it there is another vacation. (The French are quite fond of frequently having two weeks off from school and I am in no way opposed as I don't have the kids for that time... Thank you grandparents!)
So between meeting a whole slew of au pairs that are living right around me for drinks on a regular basis, I have been planning a trip to Dublin. Hurray! The Land of the Leprechauns! I'm heading there in exactly two weeks with Christina and Carly, a girl from California.
And that my friends is about as good as my blogging gets for today.

A Little Taste of Home

My sister just left today. It's weird how easily you get used to having someone around. In 14 days of her being here I can't even remember what it was like before she came. Now I feel tired and sad that she is gone. I mean I don't have to sleep on the floor anymore, but I would do that for the entire year if it meant having her here.
We did do a lot of awesome things throughout her visit though. She got here on Christmas eve so we celebrated that with the family. To my surprise in France most people celebrate at night and wait till midnight to open their gifts. The kids disappear to the basement while "Santa" just happens to come by in those exact 5 minutes. He is one clever man.
Christmas day was spent with Christina and Sam eating chicken fingers and mashed potatoes while listening to Michael Jackson. Every holiday needs its traditions, and if it can't be turkey and stuffing with the family, MJ is a good substitute.
On the 27th we left for Barcelona. There we had rented a little apartment for the week (I highly recommend doing this if you are traveling to foreign cities for a few days or more). Even on a budget, it was cheaper for us to rent the apartment then it would have been for us to stay in hostels. Not to mention that we had our own bathroom, kitchen, living and bed rooms. It was really central so we had the chance to see all the major sites and really just enjoy the city. I highly recommend getting to that city if you ever have the chance. The people are incredibly friendly, the city itself is beautiful and as far a European destinations go, it isn't too expensive. Even in December it was great weather (do not forget that I am Canadian and therefore positive temperatures in the winter is considered great). Go to the beach and put your feet in the sea, pay the 11 Euro to see the Sagrada Familia, take the time to go up the Sagra Cor, visit Park Guiell, and walk down Las Ramblas with all your small coins. You will not be disappointed.

All in all my favorite part would have had to be New Years. We didn't go to a party or a club, or even a bar for that matter. All we did was go down Las Ramblas by the Piatza Cuatiluna (terrible spelling and I do apologize) and rang in 2011 with thousands upon thousands of people in the streets. There were riot police and men selling 2 Euro bottles of champagne and people setting fireworks off with holding them in their hands. Magnificent. Later we walked down to the port and just enjoyed a sea breeze while drinking right from our bottles. Men are forward and more persistent than usual, but it is New Years after all.
So a very late Merry Christmas to you all and I wish you the best in 2011!
Oh and I just want to add that I have the best sister in the entire world and I miss her so much already. Love you Mara.