Fluctuat nec mergitur

The stunning Eiffel Tower

The beginning of the week was understandably subdued; back at school Monday morning the atmosphere in the staff room was sombre. Thankfully, no one I spoke to at school was affected directly by the attacks of last weekend and many of the children were unaware anything bad had happened. At midday we all met, teachers and students, in the sports hall where the Head Teacher gave a very moving speech about how following the events of Friday night the most important thing is to stand united against the terrorists and embody the French motto ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’. This was followed by a minute’s silence while we remembered those who lost their lives, and I realised during that minute that I felt the same loss as the people around me. Paris is my home now and I mourned with France as a citizen.

Tuesday night, some of the girls and I went to see the Eiffel Tower, as during the national days of mourning it was lit up red, white and blue. The effect was stunning and we all just looked at it in awe: there it stood, a beautiful symbol of mourning and solidarity; a clear message of defiance to anyone looking to destroy the Parisian way of life. Far from being broken after the attacks, the Eiffel Tower was more glorious than before; the epitome of the French spirit with Paris’ motto shining upon it: ‘fluctuat nec mergitur’ - ‘she is tossed by the waves but does not sink’. Seeing those words, my determination to continue life as normal intensified and for that reason I will cease to refer to the 13^th November and focus on the highlights of my week because we will not be sunk!

delicious wine and walnuts!

The weekend started early for us as Thursday night was le Beaujolais Nouveau: the third Thursday of November. This night marks the day when bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau, the new wine from the first harvest of grapes in the Beaujolais region of France, are officially released. We turned up at our local bar to find the floor covered in straw and chickens chilling by the door – I’m still not really sure why but it added to the overall ambience of the night for sure. The wine was yummy and the atmosphere was lively and cheery which was exactly what we all needed after our week at work. The best part of the night was that we got given handfuls of complimentary walnuts – delicious. The night ended how most British people end a night out drinking – with fast food. A delicious Maccy D’s later and we were home.

random chicken

Friday four of us decided to check out the Andy Warhol exhibit which was really interesting, after which we decided to go to Marks and Spencers – much more interesting! I never thought I’d be excited to go to M&S but after two months trying to navigate French supermarkets it was like heaven! In the end I only bought three things – sliced wholemeal bread: now a luxury, pitta bread: another luxury and an advent calendar for Clémence cus I am a top babysitter. 

Then we decided to go proper shopping which is always dangerous for me. I seem to have two settings when faced with shopping: spend nothing or spend a fortune. Friday was no exception as I spent over 100 euros in H&M! It was after this tiny indulgence that I realised I’d lost my phone. Total panic ensued, on my part anyway, I wanted to cry and got very irrational. Luckily, Laura was a calming presence and we located my phone in the M&S café where we’d had lunch. Phew. Friday night some of us went out for Pizza at an Italian restaurant nearby. Me and Laura shared a pizza and a pasta dish and I managed to help Sapphire finish hers off too cus I’m a greedy piglet!

Saturday morning we were treated to a delicious brunch of crêpes chez Sapphire. We walked into her flat and were greeted by a spread worthy of a hotel; slices of grapefruit and orange, chocolate sauce, chopped bananas, honey and a big stack of yummy crêpes. After we’d devoured the lot we headed to a little made in France pop up market thing. All of the products there were amazing, if a little out of my price range (60 euros for a woolly hat). We then decided to visit Galerie Lafayette to see the spectacular Christmas decorations and they didn’t disappoint! Paris certainly knows how to do Christmas.

just wow!

Last night four of us headed out to a bar/club/hostel called Belushi’s and it was so much fun! I really needed a good dance and that was what I got. Sapphire lost her phone, which seems to be the theme of the week, I empathised completely and we soon had the security guard ringing it and scouring the entire building for it. Little did we know that one of the guys we were out with had it in his pocket all along! Panic over we set off home. We left slightly earlier than I’d have liked so I’m hoping to drag all the girls back there again some time soon.

This week is a two day week at school for me (yayyyyyyy!), so looking forward to filling my days off with swimming, exploring and planning for when my family come to stay which is less than two weeks away! Next week’s blog is about things I didn’t think I’d have to do on my Year Abroad so a bit of a change from the normal weekly account, hopefully you’ll enjoy it.

Bisous à tous xxx