Bits, INCEPTION, Greek backgammon and bobs

Ok, so I'd totally forgotten these were on my phone but check out the firemen heroically climbing up to save the mythical dying old person from my first day here:

And a totally rad car I saw one day:

As far as bits and bobs go, Amel accosted me on my way downstairs yesterday morning and ominously asked me if I was scared of mice...

In chocolate-related news, I had a mars bar from the vending machine at work the other day and was surprised to discover that the nougat within was whiter and exactly like the filling in milky way! It is utterly beautiful and I know not why it is not so in England. Get your requests in and I'll bring a load home.

I also purchased this beauty tonight and as well as being good news for traders and (believe it or not) my health, it is utterly GORGEOUS!

The chocolate itself has a very pretty swirly pattern and contains delicious nutella-like substance inside (Becky, I'm making the most of this in your absence!)

In amusingly-named food products-related news I saw this in the supermarket tonight:

In book-related news on Tuesday night I got home early and so ran round to the library and got Les Nombrils out. It's the second book in the series (the only one they had there!) and I like it.

In work-related news, Chris left for holiday today and it was far too quiet in the office for me. Bernard's not in tomorrow and I'm thinking about moving into someone else's office for the company!

I got paid yesterday!! (But need to go into the bank on Saturday to get my bank card!) This was announced to me this morning as I was brushing my teeth by a text message!

In a quick tidy-up I found that the half-finished bottle of coke that has been left open on the windowsill at least since my arrival now has mould growing on the surface. It is intriguing and I almost want to save it for Chris to see when he returns in 3 weeks time but I fear its evolution into a huge hairy creature of doom which would barely fit into the office and the subsequent death of my co-worker when it then eats him as he opens the door a little too much to do so.

In toilet-related news I have found that in women-only areas the toilet seat is up far too often than is normal for me. Both here in the Foyer on the second floor where boys aren't allowed beyond the ground floor (how high-school are we? Becky, I thought of you and the LRGS room!) and at work, where men have their own toilets right opposite, I have come across an upped-loo seat at least 3 times a week.

I wonder, if it's not intruders, then is it because French women do something different? I really want to ask but I haven't found the right moment with anyone yet...

In Inception-related news, last night the trains were on my side - I swear the driver held the train for Diana and I coming from work and then when I arrived in the centre of Paris, all the metro trains arrived just as I walked down the stairs, so I FINALLY made it to Inception and it was jaw-droppingly awesome and everything I had hoped for and I am SO suggestible because I genuinely exited the cinema looking at everything around me, going "that's not real; that's going to explode" and it all looked exactly like the set in the film I'd just seen as bits were set in Paris and I want to see it again but at the IMAX! Ugh. Just brilliant.

"But what about your dinner tonight, Soph?" I hear you cry. Well, I was just getting to that.

I was STARVING on the train home and so I went out to the shops but couldn't see anything I really wanted and so thought I'd go down the road to find that place where I got those stuffed tomatoes and parma ham before but on my way I passed this tiny Greek place which is nothing more than a counter and two tiny cafe tables indoors and as I slowed to inspect the menu the man inside called out to me in the middle of his conversation with a customer, so I came inside to see what food there was and realised it was exactly what I wanted.

So I began with the usual apologies for my french and he said "Oh no! It's fine, I'm Greek, I learn French too. You speak Greek?" I replied that I didn't but that I did know Spanish and German. He then counted to four, said please, thank you and hello, all in spanish and looked at me proudly. I loved him.

There was an older couple sat sat the table by the counter and they started talking to me and I asked what was good and the lady got up and jabbered on about everything but pointed out some definite winners and so I asked for that and he told me to sit down (I thought I'd bring it home but didn't feel able to say no and besides, I really wanted to spend more time with them!) so I sat and spoke with this lovely couple who told me they were house sitting for some friends in Paris who were away on holiday, they really liked Greek food.

The lovely Greek man then asked me if I wanted some Ouzo, I wasn't really sure but the encouraging lady nodded and smiled and said "Yes you do!" they all laughed and said it'd make your head spin and the man offered me red wine and I said I thought it wasn't such a good idea when I was so hungry but they insisted it was meant to go with the food and the lady had been drinking it and clearly wasn't on the floor so I decided I to try it. He then brought me my food (along with the drink) and it looked BEAUTIFUL:

Sadly, I didn't bring my camera but I used my phone (it is good for something after all!*) I surreptitiously asked the lady how one went about eating it and she showed me and then they got up and left and a man walked in who appeared to be a friend of the owner-man (who, incidentally, looks exactly like Andy Murgatroyd!) and sat himself down whilst helping himself to food. Then along with a girl, who I couldn't work out if she was someone's daughter/waitress or what, we all had Ouzo and they said "Yassou" just like on My Big Fat Greek Wedding and so I joined in and then said "Oopah!" ... and they didn't. But they did laugh.

We were then talking about my Big Fat Greek Wedding and all the phrases I'd learnt from it, Christos Anesti, Nice boobs, I have three testicles, etc. and the girl flew to the laptop on the sideboard and put it on!

I'm not sure what language they were speaking but I don't think it was French as I genuinely couldn't catch a word but every now and then they'd include me and I'd understand. Halfway through the meal the girl came round with some salad-y thing and offered some for me to try. It was good. And then when the old man had finished he brought out this box which looked like chess. I asked if he was going to play chess and he said "Oh no, wait, you'll see..." and he opened it up to reveal backgammon! He then began to play a very loud and excited game with the owner, alas he was not well-matched and lost stupendously in the first game whilst the girl was stood there shouting at him. Greek-Andy was looking very smug (which served to further remind me of Andy!) and then explained that the girl was really good at backgammon and so in the next games she decided to help this old man who really had an adorable-looking face and seemed quite helpless against the owner. Alas, he was also obstinate and didn't always like the young girl's advice, which led to a lot of shouting, slapping and throwing of the counters! The owner just sat back and laughed and called out to his friend in the hotel bar across the road to come and watch!

It ended the owner winning 3-2. He did ask me halfway through who I was rooting for and I felt obliged to reply that I wanted him to win, since he had just fed me such wonderful food but in my heart of hearts I wanted the poor old other man to win as I was really quite fond of him. Greek-Andy seemed to possess black magic in his fingers as he would roll the dice, declare the exact combination he needed and 4 times out of 5 he got it! This was another reason I decided to tell him I wanted him to win. If he has power over dice, who knows what kind of curse he could bestow upon me!

After their game they brought me round this sweet:

It was lemon jelly and just delightful.

(*It is however, crap at voicemail; every day I receive a text, sometimes two, telling me I have a message and to dial 660. I do and it then asks me for my pin. I have never been given a pin. So I've tried a number of combinations - none of which have worked - and now get even more annoyed when these texts arrive, remindind me I still have a message. I feel my phone is mocking me and I have no idea how to make them shut up but I think I'm going to have to go and search for a mobile shop this weekend to find someone French and mobile-telephonically-minded who can help!)

Libraries, Family and Inception Deception

So Wednesday night Amel showed me the Parisian library system online - it's absolutely magical, there are 69 libraries in Paris, and it seems as if you are never more than 5 mins away from one and some of them have specialist subjects and some open on Sundays and as in England, you can look online to find a book and which library it's in and whether it's on shelf or not and then it tells you the nearest metro stop to each one and you can borrow up to 40 things for up to 6 weeks in the summer!!! I love Paris.

The closest one to us is just down the road but it closes at 7.00pm so Thursday night I raced home and made it to my stop at 6.30. I then decided to go straight there, but I hadn't memorised its exact location and as a result ended up going up and down the roads around me until I finally decided to get directions from a friendly-looking man in a bookshop who was very helpful and came out and pointed at the huge library building just down the road!

Anyway, I came in with 20 minutes to go before closing time and walked over to the man at the first desk. I said I was new to the area and wanted to sign up to the library but I must've said something wrong because he didn't understand but once I explained myself again he told me I had to go upstairs.

I did. And there I found the kindest lady who talked me through the form and told me everything about the system. It's most likely due to the fact that she was repeating everything Amel had told me the night before but I understood every word she said (for the first time since arriving in Paris!) and this encouraged me greatly and I felt even more French when she exclaimed delightedly "Oh but you have a French name: Sophie! And Louise! Louise is very French too!" Good work there, parents.

Once I got my shiny new library card (it is nice but not half as pretty as my Lancashire and West Sussex County Library cards!) I asked where I would find Petit Nicolas and she sent me upstairs again. Here I found a very jolly lady who was able to tell me the precise code for it and I discovered many copies of different books but I ended up going for the first one and one about his neighbours.

I merrily skipped home and proudly showed my new card and books to Amel as I came in. She was very impressed. But before I could settle down to enjoy them I had to go straight back out as I was off to see Inception at the cinema!

I felt like the world was ganging up on me on Thursday morning; I'd spoken to Dad the night before and everyone had been to see it and said it was awesome and then when I logged onto facebook, every status was about how great it was so Chris had then said he was going to see it with his friends after work and I decided to tag along, only to discover (upon arriving half an hour in advance) that they had sold out of the English version with French subtitles! (And I do NOT want to see a French version as it is a) too complicated and my french is too poor and it is b) too distracting and irritating watching dubbed versions.)

So then I tried to go with people from work again on Monday night but alas, we had mistakenly turned up to a french showing! So we ended up in a café on the other side of the street for the rest of the evening. Third time lucky? I hope so!

The weekend was just WONDERFUL: I got to spend it with Brian and Paty at their shed in Leysdown and Gerardo (whom I utterly ADORE - Isaac, he's like you but Mexican!) one of their nephews, was there too! So we spoke lots of Spanish - although for the first couple of hours I just couldn't get my head out of French mode (I finally finished my French book on the eurostar over, two minutes before I arrived! It is an excellent read.) They took me out for a curry in Sheerness and we were waited on by the craziest (albeit very lovely) Indian man who didn't seem to know the menu at all or indeed speak English! He gave me a proper look when I asked if I could have a doggy bag and so I only asked for my leftovers and not those of the others (this as ok really as they all had VERY spicy food!) This meant I had curry for breakfast:

And then Phil and Hazel made curry for lunch, which I then finished off for tea! Hazel also made chocolate brownie. It was gooey and good and I love her. I got to see Joy and Nanna and all the rest of the family and Brian even managed to arrange to an airshow to be put on for us, with spitfires and everything! We went and played in the sea and the playground where we found a slide which was not very slidey at all so we spent a good long while trying to fix it. And then Brian's new car, Collins, arrived! I love Brian and his cars. This was a Rover ... something and it was beautiful. Brian drove us down to the club in it for a quick drink that night and when we got back we tested out all the buttons and worked out what they all did. I honestly felt like I was involved in some government secret going-on in the past with the headlights beaming into the dark, empty field! We then played BILINGUAL UPWORDS which just made me so very happy as I always see the best foreign words when we play word games at home but I'm never allowed them so this was a dream come true for me with four of us speaking English and Spanish!

Sunday we went to Abbey Minster in Collins and had a wonderful time, the woman spoke in a true vicar voice and we sang bits back to her but the line that cracked me up the most was "Hosanna in the highest" and it truly was in the highest and I'm certain only bats could actually reach that note, we the members of the congregation certainly couldn't and this made me crease up and then again when Gero decided to sing Great is thy Faithfulness imitating the accents around him, I can't describe it but a fourteen-year old Mexican boy trying to sing churchy hymns in an English accent has to be heard to be fully appreciated!

When I got back on Sunday night I pulled out my pyjamas and they smelled like the chalet and I love it when that happens.

In other news, the earlobe infection I had a month or so ago has returned with a vengeance after wearing an earring that can't have been properly cleaned :( I still have the cream the doctor gave me but not the tablets. I am hesitant to go and see the doctor as it is EXPENSIVE but it was looking really quite red, swollen and yucky Sunday night.

My new roommate moves in on Sunday - this TERRIFIES me: apart from everything else the beds are feet-to-feet and my feet rest on the other mattress at night so I REALLY hope she's short!

I noticed last week that my mousemat at work is squidgy and there are purple triangles which float about inside! This kept me happily occupied for three long minutes.

I got presents from people who love me in Mexico.

I got post from Edwina, Phil, Molly & William, Laura Crosby, Chelsea and Gragry.

I return to Wo'Town in just over a week!

Post and a wander...

So I have much exciting post (I really shall NEVER tire of coming home to exciting envelopes slipped under my door!)

Lots of lovely writing in an Edward Monkton card from the Males (including a poem!) and a BEAUTIFUL card of a pretty teacup filled with flowers and butterflies from Gragry and Grandad and post from Mum COVERED in stickers:

I think it got sent by airmail and recorded post and then I had to go and collect it from the post office down the road as there had been nobody to sign for it.

By 7:30 I'd had tea and there was nothing to do and it was still very hot so I decided to go for a stroll along the Seine and ended up heading towards the Eiffel Tower:

Up close, it is ENROMOUS!
Then I sat in the golden light, just as the sun went down and read L'arbre et le roi.

When I finished I wandered round and came across many performers and this choir who did some very exciting songs complete with whistles and dance moves and foot stomps...

I then went to buy a postcard to sit and write but got to the till and realised I had forgotten my purse (silly Soph!)

Also, today I looked at my name for far too long and now it looks weird and I feel like I do not recognise it at all! Fool.

Le week-end

Ok so FIRST of all, (how I do not know) I forgot to include my Sunday lunch in last week's blog!

I went to a Moroccan Restaurant down the road and had this:

It's a lamb tagine with cous-cous and almonds and raisins or something similar - all very nice indeed! I was sat on the outside patio in a small courtyard, with lots of plants and tiled tables and at the top of the walls there were neighbouring roof gardens and vines and it was just lovely! I did feel a little foolish though as once I had finished, the lady cleared away my plates and asked if that was all, I replied that was and sat and waited for her to bring the bill whilst I finished the rest of my jug of water. She kept serving all the other tables but there was no sign of my bill. By this point people who arrived after me had finished their pudding. It was then that I sheepishly realised that you were meant to go to the bar to pay! Fool.

Now, when I got in on Friday there was an exciting package waiting for me from Gay, it contained the tales of Little Miss Magic and Little Miss Fun - I especially liked this one because I read it when I went to bed and I was very comfy and sleepy and at the end the narrator asks why, when all her friends were asleep, Little Miss Fun was still pretending to be a clown;

"Why, for you of course!

because you aren't sleep yet...

...but you will be soon."

And I was! Ah, I loved it.

So, Saturday I went in search of the bank to ask why my card hadn't arrived yet. The lady who set me up with my account was in a meeting so I waited but I was glad I did because I am quite certain she is the smiliest, friendliest and generally nicest banker the world has ever seen and even though she was very busy she took lots of time to help me out. I needed to upload of photo of myself online and then she helped me find my missing login number too.

I also passed by Zara and found a couple more tops in the sale, and then as my beautiful bag lovingly handmade by my own dear mother has officially worn through to the inner lining, I bought a new bag in a little bag shop on the main street. It is yellow and I love it.

Also, on my way to the bank I smelt a really good smell but couldn't see where it was coming from but as I stepped outside I saw a LUSH right opposite!

Even though I don't have a bath, I went and smelt all their lovely products and I sighed deeply.

The rest of the afternoon wasn't very exciting, I cleaned my room (and I'm certain that some parts hadn't been cleaned for a very long time indeed!) and then in the evening I made chicken soup. Vanessa came in and smelt it and liked it so I shared it with her. She then showed me how she made gratin and shared that with me! We then made a cake with orange juice and cherries and crumble on top (?!) It was superb.

Then Sunday I went to church (and really struggled to concentrate on the sermon). I think there's only one lady who can play the piano in the congregation and she is on holiday for the summer, so we sang everything "a cappella" and I think people sing louder when there're no instruments playing. I mentioned this to Anne-Laure and she agreed saying "louder, yes but in tune? Perhaps not!"

She and I along with a professor from the church went to Versailles for the afternoon!

I had planned to see the gardens only as I'd heard they were free and it was a beautiful day to be outside but upon arrival discovered we did in fact have to pay as there were musical fountains! There was classical music being played from hidden speakers and as we walked through the many, many gardens (we must have only seen a tenth, if that, in four hours!) there's loads of tall hedges and then you turn a corner and come across things like this!

We came across these fountains which were cleverly made to dance to the music!

I met Jo on Friday night and she introduced me to this French nursery rhyme (it talks about a green mouse running through the grass which is then caught and dunked in oil, then water and then turns into a hot snail! Check it here) anyway, whilst we had been in the queue, I'd asked Anne-Laure if she knew it and we tried to remember all the words but then as we were walking along the main lake at the bottom of the garden two women with young children passed us and they were singing it! This made me very excited indeed.

We were comparing names of plants in French and English and I was just explaining how Buddleia attract butterflies when, as if to demonstrate my point, this butterfly very obligingly landed right next to us!

As we walked back we saw a "bio" stall selling sorbets and I really wanted to taste them to see which one I wanted, Anne-Laure wasn't sure if that was allowed so I asked the man who looked at me and said "Technically, yes but..." and he pulled a face so I said "Oh never mind, I only wondered" and he then produced a spoon and asked which I wanted to try.

He really was making a bit of a fuss and I could tell that I'd only get one try of something without REALLY winding him up, so I asked for the redcurrant (h'YEAH!) and it was REALLY good so I had that with orange and because they were organic/fresh/whatever it was, they were quite sharp and juicy and beautiful and with the sweet cornet it was quite the most perfect sorbet I have ever had, EVER!

As we came back Anne-Laure told me how above the main station by us, there is a roof garden! So after work this evening I went to explore and it is indeed beautiful - I'll take my camera and get some pictures but it seems to be quite new and rather big and it's all exciting as it's lots of twisty paths which come out into lots of different spaces, and it's quieter than out on the street but then you pass a big grate and can look down and see the trains below and you can hear the noises they make and feel the hot air rushing upwards!

Oh and I am currently missing out on our summer holiday in Cornwall but just as I was going to bed last night I got a call from Alex on skype and there were my most favourite people in the whole world smiling at me from the newly decorated Wheel House!

Crêpe no.3

I think I've found the best one yet!

I was going to work through the menu in order but I really didn't fancy the top one OR the bottom one and I REALLY wanted the one in the middle so I'll start in order next time but I think I've found my favourite!

This is the menu:

This is my lemonade, I LOVE its name!
Then this is it: the basquaise
You're looking at an emmental cheese base with chicken, peppers, tomatoes and onions on top and it was EXACTLY what I wanted!
So so very very good!

And then for pudding I had the top of the sweet menu: butter and sugar.

It was ok, I found it a little stodgy and I think I prefer lemon and sugar! As I am led to believe, however, it is Amel's favourite!

Top-ups, Art and Fireworks

It was pouring torrential rain Wednesday morning and missing the parades and unable to find anyone, I found myself sheltering at the Louvre. (This was not due to lack of credit - oh no! It turns out the woman was asking me to press hash and THEN there were a million options of what kind of top-up I wanted! I had no idea of the differences but went with classic as it sounded like it'd give me both minutes and texts. I looked them up later and found it ridiculous, so many different combinations which lasted for different amounts of time -why?)

There was an amazing cloudscape with different colours and textures here but this picture does not do it justice:

This was the rain:
I remembered seeing signs for Anselm Kiefer and so went on a very long journey to try and find him, meeting many museum assistants who sent me in various vague directions before finding this in a stairwell:
I love it. It's called "Athanor" and it's absolutely huge; I kept walking back and forth to examine it closely and see it from a distance. I love how Kiefer uses so much texture in his work (something which inspired some of my GCSE work) and it's probably a good thing that we were separated by a staircase as I REALLY wanted to touch it! He uses cracked clay at the bottom but then in between the cracks you get glimpses of shiny bronze, like there's something beneath, I could rant about it for ages but this blog says most of it!

Then I found Degas:

I found this tapestry whilst looking for Anselm and I loved it, especially all the details and patterns

So I went and bought a little sketchbook and sat and sketched for the first time in AGES

Then this ceiling was done by C. Y. Twombly I think and it is very very different to all the other ceilings:

I liked it.

Then I found this view on the third floor in a tiny little room off the main gallery and sat on the windowsill (which was huge) and began to sketch but then got bored...
I found a painting of cows! It reminded me of our holidays in Cornwall
By the end of the afternoon it was really sunny outside, so I went home
I bought some sweeties at the shop round the corner but it cost 2€! I thought the man was ripping me off because I was a tourist but Diana later assured me that it was in fact a good price! Either way, he threw in a free sweetie:
It was strange and I think I liked it, it was like a treacle toffee gone different but it had jokes inside! I got the second one (Toto comes home and says to his mother "I was the only one in the class not to get a zero in Maths! The teacher said "Pierre, zero. Robert, zero. Toto, ditto.") but the first one was a little odd and it doesn't really translate across; it was something like "Why does one put straps on trousers? Because they can't put them on themselves!" Stupid French.

Then I went to see the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower with Diana and her boyfriend. She is from Mexico and he is Venezuelan so we spoke Spanish all evening and it made me so very happy indeed because Diana's voice reminds me SO much of Paty and her family.
I'd post beautiful pictures of the show but most of them came out like this:

However, it was spectacular. The music was great and it was all very clever, though I did expect a little bit of a bigger finish! It all felt like it was over too quickly! It lasted half an hour but felt like ten minutes!

It was PACKED trying to get home so we got on the metro going back one way a few stops before the Eiffel Tower stops and then got on going back the right way. I got back very late and very tired indeed!