For Rosie.

This is a 'supportive-friend' post for my dear friend Rosie, the rest of you need not feel obliged to read it!

Dear Rosie,

I recieved your wonderful, wonderful letter this morning and was a little sad to read that you have given up on your running abilities and so I write to you here as I know the French post is a little sloooow and you may have given up before you recieve my next mailing from France. I will of course write in pen form also.

Rosie, my darling. I have complete faith in you. So much so, I have decided that if you enter this half marathon that you want to do, I will also enter and come home and do it with you. I am due for a visit anyway and October sounds good! So enter. And I will too. Because if I - the chocolate craving, pasta loving, carb-addicted eating machine that I am can do it, any one can.

And so, as promised I have started to do your training regime. I started this morning. Forgetting that I hadn't excercised in 3 months and instead I had sat around eating bread and cheese and consuming vino, I saw that you had got up to 3 miles and figured I could match it. Apparently not.
Stupidly I didn't consider that I live on the top of a hill and in 20 degree heat and off I set.....

Half way, I was near dying. Thankfully I had the wonderful compliation of Aerosmith, Shakira and The Bieber to get me through it.... Nope, not even Paris could make me 'cool'.....

Eventually, I gave up and walked the hill back up and came home and instead completed my 'Pilates for Dummies' DVD. Because if I can't run again just yet, I can at least 'strengthen my core'.

Rosie, we can do this.

I'll keep trying and keep you updated, on here and in our preferred contact method of snail mail.

And get Shannon involved, we do GREAT things when the three of us are together. Quite the role models.

I love a good sunset.

The view that makes washing up in the evening that little bit more bareable.

Cote d'Azur on a rainy day...

This weekend I had a visit from Maggie and Ashleigh.... And unfortunately, a visit from the rain too.
The girls had used the Easter Holiday as an excuse to have a bit of a travel around Italy and on the way back popped in to see me for a couple of days.

Their train arrived into Cannes so I met them there for a stroll along the promenade and then headed back home to get some dinner and an early night ready for a jammed packed Saturday.

6am Saturday morning, we were up and ready to go. A short drive to the train station and we jumped on a train to Monaco.

We walked around the marina looking at the fantastic yachts, wandered up to the castle to check out the views and strolled along the beautiful, narrow, winding streets along the rows and rows of coloured terrace homes.

We grabbed lunch in Moanco and then hopped on a train to Nice to meet Charlotte (another au pair from Paris), as luck would have it, all four of us happened to be in the South at the same time!

Nice was also beautiful. And all four of us being a sucker for a good view, trekked up a mountain with hundreds of stepsin torrential rain to visit the ancient chateau and see the breathtaking views of the entire bay.

Next stop, Antibes. We stopped for a walk but decided that the rain was too damn heavy so we sheltered in a cafe in one of the squares then headed home to the warm and dry!

Sunday, thankfully the sun shone and so a day of sun bathing, swimming and generally chilling out was had.

Although the weather was completely shocking, I had a great weekend and I hope the girls did too. It was wonderful to see them.... And I'll see them in a month when we all head to Disneyland for Maggies' birthday.

The new pad....

Some of you have asked me (the Mother in particular) what my new home looks like..... So, here it is....

 The house.

 The terrace/pool.

 The stables.

Ma chambre.

And the Easter holidays begin....

Last Wednesday I finally rolled up at Cannes train station to meet my new host family.... And they are wonderful!
I am living in the countryside just 15 minutes away from Cannes. I am living in a beautiful house in the forest right next to the lake (I will take some photos of the house soon, I promise!). Here I am au pairing for three girls aged 10, 11 and 12, two horses, two dogs and two cats. And so far it's great!

I have been introduced to the whole family and attended a family BBQ on Friday evening and have been launched straight into family life! I have a separate living area which is superbly quiet, my own car to make exploring the area easy and a fantastic new host family! I think I'll be quite happy here!!

The Easter holidays began today and I was thrown right in at the deep end and I have the girls for the whole day, and today was a busy one!

The girls were up and ready to go at 8 am, so I made a picnic, we packed a rucksack and headed down to the lake....

The view from the path from the house to the lake. Lush.

More lovely views....

My girlies!

So off we set down to the lake, and of course the girls wanted to go straight in. Trying to stay on the side and watch was out of the question and so I too was dragged in. It was bloody freezing. But I managed.

After half an hour in the freezing cold water I was finally allowed out and we all settled down to a little picnic to dry off and warm up in the sunshine....

After reaching a group decision that the lake was a tad chilly we decided to trek back to the house and go in the heated pool at home!
And so we did. In a bid to make the girls eat fruit, we cracked the blender out and made some raspberry smoothies avec a sparkly straw. Glitter apparently makes fruit and veg more enjoyable and they were a huge success!

After an afternoon spent in the pool, we headed inside to get a little shade. The evening was spent being incredibly girly.... We baked cupcakes (with edible glitter.... goes without saying...), painted nails and braided hair.

It has been a busy, but really good day! It's so nice to have older children again who are self sufficent. The little darlings even helped to cook dinner!

Tomorrow, another fun filled day.... Tennis in the morning, followed by arts, crafts and more baking in the afternoon!

Zurich, Switzerland....

My new home as of August 2011!

This weekend I took a trip to Zurich for four days to meet a family who were potentially to be a host family for August... I am pleased to say I had a wonderful weekend and it is confirmed! As of August I will be working as a nanny and living in Gockhausen, a small village 10 minutes from the centre of Zurich for these two little sweeties....

I left Paris bright and early on Saturday morning and took the 5 hour express train to Zurch. Excited and a little anxious... I had absolutely nothing to worry about.. The family were such sweethearts and I had the nicest time! So a little more about them, the mum is Italian and the dad is French but they live in Switzerland.... And as a result there are four languages flying about the house! This means that I will be taking both French and German classes when I arrive, as well as learning a little Italian to get by when we visit the family in Italy. Am I taking on a little too much? I think so...!!

The family are currently living in an apartment, a lovely apartment at that, but when I arrive they will have moved into a new house, this one....

And this is the view....

Wow.

So the weekend, they kept me very entertained and I was thrown completely in at the deepend!

They picked me up from the station, dropped  my case off my house and off we went to a birthday party where I was to meet the entire friendship group! It. Was. Daunting. Thankfully, although the group was completely international.... French, Irish, England, Russian, Italian, German, Swiss.... everyone spoke fantastic English and so I got by!

In Zurich they have a parade where to mark the end of Winter they have a huge parade by the lake and then they burn a snowman and the speed at which the snowman burns predicts how good the summer will be, and so on the Sunday I was taken to the lake and the parade.....

Yes, they even have camels.

After the parade it was off to the park for a BBQ with the friends in the sunshine, at the second meeting I felt a lot more at ease and it was a really lovely evening. And the lake and snow topped mountains views weren't to be moaned at....

Monday, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, so the mum and I took the girls to the zoo! It was a great afternoon, and the biggest highlight? Just up from my new home is the FIFA headquarters and they have a huge training ground. Were there half naked, delicious, sweaty footballersin full view? Damn right there were. That was it. Sold. I am moving to Zurich, no question. Every view here is a good view.

I also learned a valuble lesson today. It is possible to be TOO punctual.
I like to be organised. Overally organised. And so I got to Zurich train station half an hour early so I could be ready, I looked on the board, Paris Gare de l'Est - Platform 14. Perfect. So off I went to platform 14 and got on the train. With half an hour to spare I got my book out and got comfortable and watched the train next to me pull away and start moving.... And the trees starting moving.... And then I realised my train was moving half an hour early....

Yes I went to the right platform but I didn't look on the board to see of any other trains were going from 14 and here I was on a train...... to Geneva.

Thankfully after a panic a lovely SNCF lady informed me that luckily this train and my Paris train had a stop in common and so I was able to change at Basel.... I got to Basel to find the walkway had been closed due to 'Security reasons'. Bollocks. Panic number 2. How the hell do I get to platform? Thankfully it reopened just in time and I jumped on the right train this time and took my seat..... next to the drunk German lady.

The journey from hell. Never again will I be early.



My final few days at Chez Ramin....

Tomorrow is my final day as an au pair for my three lovely little ones and it's all starting to get a little sad...
The dreaded Wednesday wasn't all that bad this week... Although little hellers awoke at 6am and being the sole semi-responsible adult in the house, up I got, bright and early. The girls were told it's too damn early get back into bed, but unfortunately that wasn't possible for dear old Yann.
The morning was spent baking chocolate chip muffins with sprinkles on the top and dancing around to Justin Bieber. Joyous.
My girls have a slightly unheathy obsession with Justin Bieber, which is referred to as 'Bieber Fever' in the house, and worldwide I believe. I am becoming quite the Bieber buff. ('Bieber Fever' said of course in an extremely French accent). Ashleigh's children also have the same problem - they just love the Bieb's. I had shown my girls a video that Ashleigh and her girls had made for dear Justin and immediately my girls wanted to make Ashleigh and her girls a video. So that is what we did.
Ashleigh.... here is a video for you from my girlies.

Tu as Bieber Fever Ashleigh?? We most certainly do.

In the afternoon I had to help Tiphaine get ready for her friend's Birthday party..... with a 'Princess' theme.

We spent half an hour going through the trauma of the most suitable outfit in a 6 year olds wardrobe for the 'Princess' theme. Yes, the choices were endless. Eventually we decided on a little pink dress and so I left her to change.

After 10 minutes I started to wonder where she was. And where was she? Sat in my room with the contents of my drawers everywhere looking for 'pink maquillage'. Not wanting to fight a war that I wouldn't win, we applied some pink blusher, some pink lipstick and a little squirt of perfume and we were ready to go. She did look like a little princess though....

With Wednesday over, today I have had a little more time to myself and so the packing has started. Two suitcases and a holdall later and I am good to go with just a few more things to add...

We had our last home dinner tonight (tomorrow we are all going for Indian as a farewell to moi) and dear Solene stood on her chair to make 'a declaration for Kerry' where she told me "you will forever stay in my heart". I'ld be lying if I said I didn't well up a little!
So tomorrow, the final day and then bright and early Saturday morning it's off to Gare de l'Est to catch a train to Zurich....

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware" - Martin Buber

Three months later and I have quite the collection of used Metro tickets....

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" - Dr Seuss

The wise words of Dr. Seuss.
Today was a tad emotional, I said good bye to Ashleigh and Maggie. Well not really a goodbye, more of a 'A bientot'!
We had  lunch at mine and it was lovely, but as soon as I closed the door behind them a wave of sadness swept over me! Our last day as three residents of Paris. The end of an era if you will....
Does three months count as an era? It's a significant period of time for sure. It's crazy to think you can make such good friends in such a short time.
I'll miss them. But when you make good friends it's impossible to lose touch and we will stay in touch for sure and I will see them again, it's already in the stages of planning.... A little boomerang time in the Australian sun and a little trip to a 'Honky Tonk' down in the south in the 'hollers' of Tennesse.

Onto the next chapter....

My final weekend as a resident of Paris, done and dusted.
As a little farewell treat the girls took me to my favourite spot in Paris for breakfast. Not quite the traditional French bistro it should be, but Breakfast In America, where I can eat blueberry pancakes until my hearts content. And content it was.

next stop, Musee de l'Orangerie. Because you can never have too much Monet in one single weekend. Monet designed a vestible here as a 'peaceful haven for Parisians'. A white circular room where 'waterlilies' covers the entire walls.

It was completely beautiful. Although not so peaceful as the first Sunday of the month means free museum entry and it was bursting at the seams with tourists!

To finish off the day, we finished as we have finished every other Sunday. Dinner and a movie. The American way, just for Maggie!

And so onto the next chapter. I head to Zurich this Saturday to meet a family who I will be nannying for this September, then I come back to Paris on Tuesday to collect my suitcase and have dinner with Muriel, my hostmum, spend the night in my bed here and then Wednesday, it's down to Cannes to be an au pair for 3 girls aged 10, 11 and 12. This could be a challenge. I'll keep you posted.

I have had the best time in Paris. Granted, I have worked extremely hard and if there is anything being an au pair for a 12 month old baby has taught me, it's that I am definitely not ready for kids just yet - sorry Mum!

I hate to admit it, but I am just to selfish. I like to sleep way to much.  But that doesn't mean I won't miss Yann and the girls. The Ramin's have been nothing but great to me and I will miss them so much. But too much as I have already planned a date at the end of May to come back and stay!

And my stay wouldn't have been half as amazing as it was if it wasn't for my friends here. I have made a fair few friends here who are all great, but the two people that really made it were Maggie and Ashleigh. It's so rare to find people who like exactly the same things as you and are on the same wavelength as you. And I was lucky enough to find two of them, right here in Paris. And they speak English which is  HUGE bonus!

We have done some incredible things here, if someone told me three months ago that now I would have done the things I have done I would have told them to sod off and told them they were crazy. Ice skating on the Eiffel Tower, riding a hot air balloon, weekend trips to other European countries, and of course eating my own body weight in Macarons to name just a few.

I will miss the girls so much. Although, I am lucky enough to receive a visit from them in Cannes in two weeks time! And I will of course be back for Maggies birthday!

And so to leave my final Parisian post on a high I am going to leave you with a large number of photos of the good times..... And they have been good. Really damn good. Paris, je t'taime.



Giverny...

Today has been a true delight.
I awoke early this morning to the sun streaming in through my blinds and the bird's singing right outside my window. And the rest of the day didn't disappoint.
Maggie, Ashleigh and I had been saying for so long how we wanted to go to Giverny to visit the house and gardens of Claude Monet, and so this being my final weekend we decided to go today and so we jumped on a train to Normandy.
The sun was out in full force projecting warmth of 23 which was pretty fantastic for March so we spent the majority of the day strolling through his gardens. They are absolutely beautiful. The range of flowers, colours and smells was breathtaking and having a good dose of sunshine made it all the better.

The gardens are also home to the bridge he painted in one of his most famous pieces 'Waterliles' and it's easy to see why he loved to paint here. The lake is simply charming and combined with the peaceful atomsphere it makes it's the perfect spot to spend a sunny afternoon.

It's also possible to have a look around Monet's house too which has been restored, but to look the way it was when he lived here. It was gorgeous. The walls were painted in bright pastels and the entire house had a traditional French cottage feel. Here is also his studio where some of his orginal paintings are displayed.
Unfortunately photos in the house are not allowed.... but here's the outside!

Today was such a fantastic day! I can honestly say that this has been one of the top things I have done in my time in Paris. An amazing way to end my stay.