le premier dimanche

Our new view.

So, we're here! Uncharacteristically for us, the journey was absolutely seamless -  literally nothing went wrong - no ticket mishaps, no unreasonable queues, no walking the wrong way, no panicked running late or arriving annoyingly early. The low point was, admittedly, wheeling/carrying the two heaviest suitcases known to man, crammed with far too many clothes (and books, secretively added when Patrick wasn't looking), which leads me to my first observation in Paris: not disability friendly at all. Pretty hostile, actually. We primly boarded every lift and escalator in London, only to be confronted with flights of steps in Paris. I honestly don't know how mothers with prams cope, let alone wheelchair users. We were exhausted by the time we made it out of the métro, but also buoyed by the familiar greys and pale yellows unique to Paris when we emerged above ground.

Which brings me to our flat. It's on the fifth floor, up 74 rickety wooden stairs (not too bad, actually), and it's absolutely delightful. We shall be very happy here. It is right under the roof, an with an extra-Parisian view (more rooftops; see above), beautifully decorated with lots of heavy beams painted white and a dangerously sloping ceiling on one side. We have a lovely desk (where I now sit), a tiny kitchen with a toaster-oven, a skylight and, to my great joy, a bath. There's also a record player with a bizarre selection of records (Stevie Wonder's score for 'A Secret Life of Plants', some Iggy Pop, one record seemingly devoted entirely to the delicate notes of the Russian panpipe); we've had the questionable Serge Gainsbourg on repeat for lack of anything else.

Our pleasingly Parisian front door.

We both slept incredibly well last night, and have spent our first Sunday making our way up and down the Marché Bastille, an enormous food and produce market of hundreds of stalls stretching down Rue Richard Lenoir, 5 minutes from our place. We were amazed at its cheapness, and bought some lovely fruit and vegetables in tentative French, along with a baguette and half a poulet roti for our lunch. And some churros, of course. It was monumentally busy, much like Borough Market is on a Saturday. Although there were a few tourists but I'd say mostly it was locals doing their weekly vegetable and meat shop, which was nice. We will definitely return on the days it is open (Tuesday and Sunday) and hopefully as we become more confident, our French interactions will be more fluid.

I was enticed by their leaves and bought 3 for 35 cents in total.

Tomorrow is our first day at our French school. I'll keep you updated.

Bisous! xxx