L'As Du Fallafel

There are plenty of fancy restaurants in Paris, delightful cafés, and boulangeries where you can grab a lunchtime baguette the size of your arm. But sometimes you just want something a little different. The french may be renowned for their gastronomy, but there are two types of food that the Parisians do not handle so well - vegetarian food (or at least some form of it that does not involve cheese) and spicy food. After filling up my arteries with crêpe au fromage when I need a savoury hit on my touristy travels, I was aching for something with the crunch of vegetables. In addition to this, I was craving something with a bit of a kick.

So I headed to the historic Jewish district of Le Marais and joined the throngs of people queueing at L'As Du Fallafel.

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. 

I'm an au pair, not a mother in training

What I am about to say may surprise you. It may even offend some of you. But I think it's worth being honest about, as it perhaps goes against many of the stereotypes of being an au pair.

I'm not really interested in being a mother. I'm not even that interested in children.

Ok, I can almost hear the gasps and angry comments being thrashed out on poor unsuspecting keyboards - let me explain.

I'm just looking forward to the day when my handbag isn't full of compote.

L' Éventail Bar-Restaurant

L' Éventail means two things in French. First of all it means a fan, the type you hold in your hand and use to stay cool. But it can also mean something else - the range, usually price range. So, cool and price range - something to consider when considering what may be one of my new favourite places to grab a bite to eat in Paris, L' Éventail Bar-Restaurant.

La Vie Est Belle: Avène Cleanance Range - The Secret of French Beauty Rituals

If you read some of my last posts (here) you will know that the kids have been giving me major stress lately. One of the side effects of all this stress has been that my skin is terrible! I have had break outs all over my face and neck, and they have lasted for weeks without calming down. I know things like the lack of sleep and the insane amount of chocolate I eat to stay sane contributed to that, but even though I've tried to clean up my act, my old La Roche Posay Effaclar (review here) just wasn't cutting it. My host mum swears by Avène products, so I thought I would try some too. But I wasn't just going to change face wash. I was going to start washing my face like a real Parisienne. I was going to start a full cleansing ritual with Avène's Cleanance range whilst on my holiday in the Alps, to make my pampering complete!

Nuxe Bio Beauté High Nutrition Body Lotion For Sensitive Skin

On my recent trip to the Alps, I made a promise. I was going to practice a little self care and try to repair a little of the damage that my body had undergone since coming back to au pairing in January. I went on a mini-pharmacy binge before jumping on the TGV and picked up a few treats to boost my apres ski regime. My first choice was this - Nuxe Bio Beauté High Nutrition Body Lotion For Sensitive Skin. After receiving an entire handful of free samples of this in a Monoprix para-pharmacy near Notre Dame, I decided to go out and buy the real deal.

An Au Pair Out And About Special- Haute-Savoie Region & Chamonix Valley

Winter in Paris has been cold and dry. The skies are grey, the rain comes down hard, and even the chicest Parisian is running into the nearest shop to protect their cashmere scarf. As I have mentioned before, things have been quite stressful with the family for a few weeks, and I needed a break. Luckily I had pre-arranged with the family to have a week off while the kids spent the first week of their holidays with Mamie and Pappie in Biarritz.

Many people would no doubt choose somewhere hot & sunny for a break away. Good choice. However I have always been a fan of cold weather holidays and I needed some physical exercise (there's only so much cardio running around after the kids can give you). So I headed south-east, for the fresh air and exercise capital that is the French Alps. Specifically I headed for the Chamonix Valley - home to the first Winter Olympics.