Our mansion

October, 8th.. Last day I wrote something on the blog? Crazy, it seems like it wasn't that long ago... This weekend I went to Lille to visit Marie-Pierre and Gilles, and Marie-Pierre asked me: "Tu penses que le temps passe vite?" And then I just though about how much of a Yes and No response the answer could have (to avoid trying to explain a philosophy of how we experience time en français, I just said yes and smiled). I have so many things I want to say it's a little overwhelming.. but I really want to write it down, cause I haven't been the best at communicating with friends and family these past few weeks, so a good chronicle is necessary! My dad sent my an email yesterday saying: "You haven't updated your blog since October 8th, the fans are waiting". Haha, hello fans, are you there? I just feel like I'm talking to myself when I write but that's actualy not true, cause like I'm learning in Art History this semester, there's always an implied viewer in the production of a piece! I guess implied reader in this case of course. Hi implied readers, are you actually reading this? At least my Dad is :)

I've been walking to school almost everyday, and it's actually very impressive cause it's SO COLD in Paris right now. By the time I arrive to Saint Germain I can't feel my feet. So I was walking yesterday out of the house and kept hearing Marie-Pierre and Gilles comments: "You live in Strasbourg-StDenis? Oh lala!"... Bridgette and I had kind of figure it out (there were always some girls suspiciously standing by the entrace of the metro everyday) but their comments corroborated out hypothesis: "Just don't tell anyone you're a Boulevard Saint Denis girl or they might get the wrong impresion!"

Haha, oh well, yeah that's the hood, but so what! I have news actualy, regarding my housing situation: I have a roomate. Yes, Bridgette and I decided to move in together into my place, and become it's been awesome so far. No more late night panics of "I'll fall out out the mezzanine and no one will know" and so many nice dinners and fun times.

The place is actually very tiny for two, but we're making it work... Bridgete lives "upstairs" while I get the "main floor" (I really feel in love with the IKEA couch I got plus I'm next to the heater so I willingly decided to give up the mezzanine, which I feel is haunted but that's a whole different story). So my "room" is situated right behind a window, in the "west wing" of our 25 square meter mansion.

I would say our daily routine consists of getting up fairly early, I take a shower while Bridge eats a yogurt and viceversa, we walk to school, do out own thang and then at dinner we'll annihilate whatever's left on the fridge or run to the Monoprix downstairs and grab something. Monoprix never fails us, oh how we love you! You can get anything there, even clothes which are not even that cheap. It's actually a strange concept, you can go quickly cause you wanna grab a banana but on the way out you might be tempted by the 100euro cashmere sweater (?). I guess it works with the frenchies because there are Monoprix everywhere! You even get the Monop' which is the small version that opens late, and we love it cause we can run to the one 4 blocks away for a late night wine craving.




So just to put our humble place in a little bit of context, it's in a big Boulevard, busy area, right in front of the Strasbourg-SaintDenis station. Everyday you walk in and out of the metro there are like 6 guys trying to recruit you to become a hairstylist for the dozens of 'afro-coiffure' places around. When you get past them and are on the street, you see the Monoprix, kebab shops (there's one that's all of our friend's favorite cause its one of the only 24 hours place we know), cafés with tabac bars (in here you have special TABAC stores, you can't get your cigs in a super market or anywhere else), little more higher end restaurants, theatres, etcetc. As I said, it's a pretty busy street, but it's cool cause from out place on the sixth floor you get the whole sound of the city and you see the colored lights and everything. Our building is right between the Porte St Denis and the Porte Saint Martin (those interested in a little bit of history: CLICK ME)






The building in itslef is absolutely beautiful, built in the 18th century and my landlord told me when I rented the place that it actually has status of historical patrimony of the city of Paris. The doors are HUGE, and when you enter the ceiling are super high. We have an antique style elevator but there are also two escalades: the fancy gorgeous one, and the one that takes you to my floor... Yeah, most top flors in Paris used to be where the 'service' of the houses lived, so they have different stairs, and its very common that the elevators of the building don't take you to the last floor unless they have been renovated. We're lucky cause the elevator actually takes us so we don't have to climb the tiny dark staircase everytime.




So to finalize my post about the humble mansion, I'll leave you with some pictures of a very spontaneous housewarming we had Wednesday night. It all started when Annie (friend from Australia) asked me if i wanted to go for a drink with her and I friend on Wednesday. I said, for sure, that we should actually get together at my place first so Annie could meet my roommate (I was sure they would get along, Annie's the funniest girl and lives just one metro away, aka, 5 minute walk). So that as the plan, then while a school I saw Tatiana from UBC and told her come, also Sam and Sophie, Bridgette told Signe (I know, so many names!) and then I received a message from Annie asking me if she could bring 5 other friends (HAHA I love her) which of course I said 'fo sho', then Bridgette and I told some more people etc...

In the end we didn't even know what was gonna happen, but just ran to the Monoprix (you can see it's an essential part of our existence) got some bottles of wine, peanuts, olives, cookies, baguette and cheese, etc. We got everything except plastic cups (you'll see in the pictures what I'm referring to, cause Owen ended up drinking out of the bowl we use to bake veggie in the toaster oven...). Its was veeery fun, we ate and drank, and sang, and danced, and hung ourselves from the beams, and feel, and got beer at the kebab place, and ate more, and probably pissed off all the neighbors. As I said before, you gotta show'em who da boss.

Pendaison de la crémaillère:


When things were nice and in control... The snacks, living room, alternatives for cups and good laughs.










And the second part of our Wednesday night (probably from 12:30-3:30? Who knows)