Fall-ing back into the groove...

Hi everyone!

I have to thank you for being so patient and checking back to see if I have updated. I can see you visited and I have been neglecting my blogs a little lately due to being so busy and trying to figure out my next move, in life. To make up for the break however, I have prepared several little videos and pictures to share with you, as well as multiple posts this week. I hope you can forgive me for my time away :)

I think if I were in Canada right now, this post would be considerably more poetic because I could tell you about how beautiful everything looks as the leaves change colour and the smell of fall takes over, but alas I am in the concrete jungle of Paris, where it seemingly is just getting colder and the few trees that there are, are not changing colour.( I suspect that the trees are not in fact real, but that I can't be certain about, as the leaves begin about a giraffes length up and I cannot reach to check). Regardless, one thing I can say is that, as it is dark in the morning when I wake up, by the time I ride over the "Pont D'Alma" on my way to work, the sky is a canvas of orange and purple and showcases the Eiffel Tower beautifully.

I am still loving work and couldn't be happier with my job. I have been looking for things to do to keep my life interesting and exciting while I'm still in the city. Last week, I went to see one of my favourite French musicians, Christophe Mae, at Paris Bercy, which I would say is Paris' equivalent to the ACC. The show was incredible and we were so close to the stage. Just a little closer and I think I could have shook his hand and then of course never washed my hand ever again.  It was really nice to go and see a concert and I was blown away by how good the show was. There were African dancers and singers, a full band, dancing, audience participation, and an uneventful pre-show act, which to me sums up all the necessities of a great show. Here are a couple of pictures and a video so you can pretend you were there with me: (Please excuse the quality of video and pictures, my camera does not do well in dark spaces)

If you like what you heard in my shoddy video, check out this link where you can hear more of his stuff. It's French, upbeat and a little islandy!

I have also been trying to take in a little more culture when I can, so I have been going to the Bastille market on Sunday afternoons. The market is known for being cheap and good for fruits and veggies, which I can tell you is not something grocery stores in Paris do well. Most of the time, the fruits and veggies from supermarkets are on the verge of going bad and  I never eat everything in time. Fortunately, the market is full of good quality produce and it costs next to nothing. I sometimes make it a challenge and bring a small amount of money, like 10 euros and see how well I can do. Last time I came home with over 8 kilos of stuff -  it was a trip well worth the carry home. I will also add that I get proposed to at least once each time I go, by the merchants. I still cannot figure out if this is a sales tactic that works well for them. Surely I would consider buying my potatoes off the man who has the courage to ask my hand in marriage as opposed the man who does not!!!

Regardless, last time, on my way home, I stopped to see this street band that was really gaining a crowd. The music was so fun and groovy and although you can't see in the video, people were dancing together off to the side. I think in retrospect, I would have loved to live in the Bastille area, because it is young, hip and teeming with creativity like this:

Now I'm sure you are all wondering about the strikes in Paris, and France in general, as I have had plenty of people ask me what is has been like here. I have to say that, perhaps I am missing something big, but nothing has really changed in Paris other than the transit is slow and disorganized, or at least more so than usual, and sometimes they decided to not run my bus home for no apparent reason and without telling me. I know there have been riots in other cities and there have been strikes all over Paris, but nothing so big has happened that has made me think twice about leaving my apartment or not going out. I can assure you that all this business about Lady Gaga canceling her show in Paris because of the strikes is a clear example of how the international media is blowing the situation out of proportion. I'm pretty sure that Miss Gaga herself could still have come to Paris without fearing for her life... but the media will do what the media will do. (To be honest I wasn't crushed in the least about her not coming, I just found it to be the most humorous of examples when it came to the real situation in Paris.) To assure you further that things are fine here in Paris, the regular strikes for things like animal rights are back on as per usual, which to me proves that things are slowly going back to how they were. I even took a photo for you all to see:

I will be back this week with a couple of posts as I have been working on a couple new projects that I want to share with all of you, so be sure to visit soon!

I want to thank you all for reading and commenting as often as you do, it really makes me happy to know that people back home are still with me :)

Sending love to you all!

 

Spec.