A letter to my MP regarding Brexit

Below is a letter I wrote to my MP back in the UK regarding the UK referendum to leave the EU. It is the real letter, I really sent.

T'aimes le flânerie?

The sun is shining over Paris today, for the second weekend in a row. That's it, I'm calling it. Spring is here, and it's the perfect time to learn a new french word.

flâneur

A flâneur is someone who strolls around, observing society and soaking up the atmosphere. Balzac described flânerie as "the gastronomy of the eye", and Baudelaire explained it thusly:

For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite. To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world...

— Charles Baudelaire, "The Painter of Modern Life" - Originally published in Le Figaro, in 1863. 

When things go wrong

If you read a lot of au pair blogs you may well have the impression that working as an au pair in France involves a lot of sitting in cafes, drinking cafés noisettes and occasionally swanning around a museum looking profound. Certainly, this is true to an extent, we do get to do this. But we also work really hard and, as far as jobs go, it can vary wildly from life enriching experience to a living nightmare. Just like any other job, how bad it gets will vary depending on your office (the house), your boss (the Host Parents), your coworkers (the kids), and your contract. However, suffice to say, when it gets bad it can get really bad.

You may have noticed that the blog has not been updated much recently. That is because my experience has been going through one of these difficult times. Consequently I have not felt motivated enough to write much and I have felt even less motivated to go out and experience things in a worth writing about. But this blog is meant to be an honest account of my time as an au pair, and I guess the best and most honest thing to do is tell you about how bad things have been.

Odyssey Salon de The and Crêperie

Take a walk under the gothic spires of Notre Dame, stroll along the banks of the Seine - how chic. How Parisian. But take a right, and head down Rue Dante, and suddenly everything changes. No more Gothic spires, no more chic designer shops - it's wall to wall nerd heaven. Bandes dessinées, les figurines, truc de cosplay - its all here. Since they released The Force Awakens, the world has gone Star Wars crazy and we have had about 3 months of Star Wars Mania. If you still haven't had enough Star Wars, Rue Dante is where you can go to get something to satisfy your hunger. Let's take a trip to a galaxy far, far away and Odyssey Salon de Thé & Crêperie

The best apps and podcasts to get you learning French.

So as part of my new year resolutions, I promised to put more effort into learning French. Perhaps it's because my family are fluent in English, but French does not seem to be progressing as quickly as other people's. So I have turned to technology to try and push my French forwards. Mostly because some days the only time I have to myself is the 20 mins on the metro.

Here are a few of my top picks of the best apps and podcasts out there to help improve your French. And I have to add - none of these app/podcast makers have paid me for these reviews, they are only my opinion.

Champs Elysées Christmas Market

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Or if, like me, you loathe crowded spaces and shopping its time to get your game face on and reluctantly trudge around desperately trying to find something to take home for Christmas. This is made all the more difficult by the fact that your whole family wants something "from Paris", a city famed for luxury and chic, and your au pair wages just won't cover a Chanel coat for everyone.

The one upside to this time of year is that is more or less acceptable to consume hot alcoholic beverages in public at anytime after midday under the ruse of 'being festive". This helps to take the edge off the dreaded christmas shopping stress to the point where elbowing strangers in the stomach to get to the last box of macarons is almost bearable.

So in the spirit of christmas, and drunken public disorder, have you checked out the Christmas Market on Champs Elysées?

Turning 26 - I'm an old au pair.

So yesterday I turned 26. Yes, the slow descent to 30 has begun. With the vast majority of au pairs being in their late teens and early 20s, I find myself firmly in the category of older au pairs. There's not much in life that you can be 'too old for' at 26, but au pairing can sometimes feel like one of them.

I have no sarcastic comment - this was a genuinely nice cake made for me by the kids.

An Au Pair Out And About: Hallowe'en Special! Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle

It's Hallowe'en! And to celebrate here is a special spooky edition of An Au Pair Out And About - Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle! How is a natural history museum spooky? Well I'm specifically going to be looking at les Galeries d'Anatomie comparée et de Paléntologie - aka the bone rooms!

Bonjour. My name is Pierre, and I am your hell hound guide for today...

An Au Pair Out & About: Père Lachaise Cemetery

Ok, so for this edition of An Au Pair Out & About we are going with a classic Parisian tourist spot - Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (Père Lachaise Cemetery). If you aren't afraid of graveyards and have excellent map reading skills, this can be a fun and interesting way to spend an afternoon.