An Au Pair Out & About: Les Jardins Albert Khan.

14:20

Last weekend was les Journées du Patrimonie. These heritage days allow Parisians, and those in the many small villages outside of Paris the opportunity to go behind the scenes of buildings that are normally off limits or to enter local landmarks for free. I took the opportunity to visit Musée Albert-Kahn. I was joined by fellow British au pair Lucie for a free look at this unusual and beautiful place.


Beware: This is an image heavy post.

So you've come down with the Au Pair Rhume...

17:55

1 month into your stay with the family, and you feel a bit tired. The initial adrenaline rush of living in a new city and a new country is starting wear off. Every morning you get up early to prepare breakfast. You hate rushing to school, and the weather has been changeable so you've been caught in more rain showers than you can count. The kids have been at school and mixing with other children, and have had a few sniffles or tousse. You've been running yourself ragged trying to pick up toys and get out to see Paris through the day. You must be feeling pretty tired right now, like you could go to bed and sleep for a full 24hrs... and is that a tickle in your throat?

You might have caught le rhume d'au pair!

Sources (i.e. facebook, Whatsapp, twitter, and word of mouth) reveal that several au pairs in Paris have succumbed to the condition and so here is your guide to surviving this unfortunate (but almost unavoidable) condition.

Where did the time go?

14:41

Alors! Bonjour! Ça fait longtemps!

Well I'm sorry for the lack of updates. It turns out that looking after children is incredibly time consuming. So is trying to adjust to a new country.

So what has happened since I last checked in?

Well, I've stepped on this about 100 times for a start....

La Vie est Belle - Nuxe rêve de miel lip balm

14:48

Bonjour! It's time for another French beauty post. This time I'm looking at a cult beauty classic by Nuxe - rêve de miel lip balm.


La Rentrée

09:18

Bonjour from Paris! I am finally here! I hope you understand the lack of updates over the last fortnight - you can probably guess I was very busy!

I arrived last Friday at Charles de Gaulle airport just outside Paris where my new family was waiting to meet me (with a home-made banner - how cute). Despite a horribly early start, there were no problems during travel, and I managed to unpack a year's worth of clothes in one afternoon. I immediately took photographs of the Kitchen, because you can see la tour Eiffel from the window. After 3 nights the light show late at night is still beautiful to me.

La tour Eiffel from the kitchen

I have spent my time here so far out in Paris with the family, enjoying the last few days of the summer holiday. This has been accompanied by a heatwave in Paris - temperatures reaching above 30 degrees celsius. Considering I mostly packed for the upcoming Autumn, I not only found myself short on chic floaty dresses, but have also treated the Parisians to the sight of a very red-faced, overheated Brit who has spent the summer in Wales and the English countryside where the temperature barely made it over 20 degrees. How nice for them.

Hiding from the heat on the balcony - not a bad view.

However, last night it rained and this morning there are grey clouds over la tour Eiffel. There is a slight chill in the air, and the streets that had been mostly deserted except for some very tanned teenagers and a few old ladies with dogs are now filled with business men in suits and chic women with portfolios and silk scarves. This is the beginning of La Rentrée.

La Rentrée is the name given to the 'back to school period' in France, though it is much more than that. In August, many parts of France shut down almost entirely. Not only are the schools and government AWOL (as they are in the UK), but many shops, businesses and restaurants close as well. This means that some parts of Paris can feel a little bit dead, as not only are the businesses closed but many families leave the oppressive heat of the city for family homes in the countryside. Paris si mostly left to a few families, some pigeons, and a lot of hot and sweaty tourists.

This morning, my family's mum and dad (Teresa & Marc) have left for work. However, the children do not start back at school until tomorrow, so my first official day of work is going to be pretty intense! The eldest (Nina) has a music exam at 18:00, but the rest of the day I have to entertain them without giving in to their demands to watch the television.

Wish me luck!

x