So I noticed the other day that they finally put our name up! It looks so funny, Monsieur and Madame Lutz. It still catches me off guard when someone refers to me as "Madame Lutz" -
Saw an advertisement for a concert at St Chappelle - Vivaldi in one of the oldest chapels in Paris! What a great cultural experience for the girls and ourselves. And we were not disappointed. The string orchestra played lovely and actually played at bit with the audience - when the bells of the church rang, they paused mid-air and waited to resume playing!
It's a lovely medieval chapel - complete with stained glass rose window. It's undergoing renovation - needs it since the church was started in 1248! But the disrepair was charming in itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the music and it was nice to take a break from all of the stress. Too bad it was waiting for me when I got home!
So I am now getting bills in French and I have no idea what to do with them. Google translate is helping me figure out what they are for but I don't know how to pay them. Funny thing is here the banks don't accept cash to pay for bills! Crazy, right? Husband has to pick up the cheques from the bank across from his office and bring them home - HA! Can't just go to any branch and handle business.
School sent me an invoice that makes no sense whatsoever - even has the cafeteria listed twice - my kids may eat a lot but not 1000 euros in one month! And it gets better - the accountant doesn't speak any English! So I get to go and try to use my "Frenglish" to figure out what it all means.
And the house is still in chaos - can't put things away because I don't have any place to put them - can't get anything to put those things in because Manu wants to have a say in what we buy. That would be fine if he actually was involved - he is doing the job of several people and cannot get away - thus, I stay in chaos and we stay stressed.
So today we venture off to the famous flea market at Clignancourt - Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt. I have never seen so much junk mixed in with cool vintage pieces and gorgeous antiques! It is too much to take in all at once. But the most interesting and icky thing (gotta mention it - it's a cultural thing) is that there was no toilet in the ladies room - just a ceramic type platform with a hole in the ground and places for your feet on either side. Puts a whole new meaning to the phrase "cop a squat"! There were also some gorgeous vintage linens and clothing - even Hermes and Chanel! And also old military uniforms and hats. If you are looking for something in particular I bet you could find it there!
Also saw this cool antique carriage - couldn't touch or get too close. Also, in the way back of this labyrinth of a place was a small cafe - complete with an old woman singing Edith Piaf songs with a smoke tainted, raspy voice. The best part was that the folks in the cafe was also singing and clapping - felt like we had been dropped back in time.
So on the the way to the flea market we see the craziest and most interesting advertisements! And I am starting to understand them! This one is for a week long seminar on violence in today's society - led by philosophers and professors and mental health doctors - love the topics!
and just a few steps down from the violence seminar ad is this - don't know who it's for or who calls themselves Texas (how dare they! - LOL) but I found it funny.
So thanks to a high school senior I now have my internet connected. I put together the bookshelves that serve as behind the couch storage and I ordered my SIM card for my phone - getting there, I think. So here are some pictures and comments from my walking and seeing and doing - for those who aren't on Facebook!
So Olivia got her bangs cut - so very French. And of course she likes it and knows she's cute. Oh to be so self involved! LOL
And lastly - the Ikea bus?! It's either a shuttle or a delivery truck
They got our stuff in the apartment - and now we have to figure out where to put everything! I am so exhausted - and there is so much trash to go out and the movers need to come pick the boxes back up! And we need more bookcases and Sophia needs a writing table for her homework -
It's been a rough week - I have had to be a single parent and deal with the apartment and the house all by myself - I am exhausted. Of course the kids are fighting and not listening. I have been run ragged between the apartment and school. Olivia has lost her "carte de sortie" which is her id card that allows her to enter and leave school. Annabelle has had many hormonal outbursts and Sophia has been a general stinker. I am exhausted. And then some grownup has the audacity to tell Olivia that her mother is loud and rude. HA! Talk about rude - the parents who scrum instead of waiting in a line to pick up their child! The administrators who will not answer any questions - that is rude. I am mad - what was the purpose of telling MY daughter that they have a problem with me? If I find out who that person is ...... I am going to give them a piece of my mind!
So we have been here for a little over a month and I am slowly getting used to the fact that I LIVE IN PARIS!!!! I have been exhausted, exhilarated, overwhelmed and flat out irritated but I definitely have not been bored. I have met so many nice and friendly and helpful people, from here and everywhere else on the planet. I have discovered that this sort of regulated chaos seems to work - things "sort themselves out" somehow and I really shouldn't sweat it. This hilarious Greek man told me, that the first email, well eh, you can ignore. The second email, think about it. But the third email, well that's when you know you must do something about it. Now that does say something as to the current Greek economic crisis but he does also have a point, in a way. I should stop freaking out about things falling through the cracks - if it's really important someone will let me know! After this weekend we plan on being in our own place. with our own stuff - that alone will make a world of difference. And despite the stress and chaos, I am really happy here. I think this is going to be one of the better things we have done for our family. Even though Manu is back to his wicked work ways. The girls have made friends, I have made friends and I think this is going to be a grand adventure. Feeling pretty good, after the first month. Shocker, eh?
So spent some time working on the new apartment - our internet/cable/phone was supposed to come between 9-6 today or tomorrow. Whatever that means - ok, I guess. As I was leaning out the window to see if the UPS/DHL or any other sort of delivery guy was down at the front door, this is what I saw! I can see the Eiffel Tower from my apartment - if I lean out, but hey! Hopefully after this weekend we can completely move in and sleep in our own beds!