Snip. Snip.

Yesterday I experienced my first French haircut. If I wasn't typing this on the metro I would look up the French word for hairdresser but I'm working with limited resources. I have been complaining about how long my bangs are for a week so finally my girlfriend told me we are solving the problem. We took the line 1 train all the way to the end and went to her hairdresser in a cute little town called Vincennes. Before we entered the salon she looked right at me and said, "Don't worry this will seem a little crazy but just trust me!" Thinking it couldn't really that bad I didn't think much of the comment until we walked in and I saw the salon. It was cute and simple and honestly could have used some updating but hey who am I to judge?? We were greeted by a receptionist who was sweet and went right back to get the owner. When she walked out I knew exactly why I was warned. Here comes this little old Japaneese woman who is probably in her late fifties, wearing rollers in her purple streaked hair, a gray sweater with holes all throughout the back of it, flowered pants and slippers. I tried to hold back my WTF face and just stood in shock as my friend translated for me. After a quick wash in the bright yellow sink I was lead to the cutting chair and handed a cup of homemade Ginger tea - which was delicious. Before my friend even finished explaining what I wanted done the scissors were flying!! I just sort of sat and tried to keep a straight face at this point. As she cut she started asking questions half in English and half in French -but only after she complimented me on my looks, which was incredibly kind until she asked if I had had any work done. Ha ha. I responded to her not yet ; ) the conversation continued on and at this point I was so enthralled with the conversation I was able to not pay attention to he razor she was taking to my bangs. By the time I looked up again she was working on drying my hair which was still combed over my eyes. Once she finished drying and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I have to be honest it was the best hair cut I have ever had. Sculpted perfectly around my face with some fringe like bangs over my eyes!! But wait we weren't done yet. She took two hair dryers in one hand and started blowing them directly on my back - thought she was blowing the hair off but it turns out after she chops your hair she gives you a fantastic massage to finish out the experience. No complaint there!! I'll take a massage any day of the week. I walked over to put my jacket on and pay but she stoped me and posed me to take a picture. So now, as all of her other clients are , I am posted up on the wall of the salon for all to see!! As interesting as this was I will most definitely be returning!!

Ahhhhhh....

The weekend is here!! WOOOOT WOOOOOT!! This week at work has been one of the most intense and challenging weeks I have ever experienced in my entire work life to this point. So Friday night feels right around a million bucks at this point. We have been working incredibly hard to launch a new project in the office and today was sort of the icing on the cake. Things are in order, the big go's have been given and it feels like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders, well not just mine because I have been working very closely with some amazing people so I am hoping they feel the same. Although the project has been launched we will all still have a big challenge to make it as successful as everyone hopes and wants it to be but our first milestone has truly been accomplished. To top it off we all stopped at the "watering hole" next to the office on the way to the Metro. It felt unbelievably good to sit with the people I have been working nonstop with to make all of this happen. I think the past few weeks have been so interesting, we have all been angry, excited, stressed, frustrated, happy and relieved on more than one occasion and I think that we have truly become the definition of team work. So a nice cold "sante" at the end of the day was just what everyone needed. As I was sitting there sipping my mojito I started to think about about how far I have come since I have been here. Not only have I been pushed to new limits and faced with assignments I never thought I would even be a part of I have made some really great friends. Tonight - after I indulge in my blue box Kraft goodness- I will go to bed happy and comfortable here....

AND to top it off, I had some incredibly gorgeous flowers waiting for me when I walked through the door. Sometimes it really is the little things : )

And Another.......

I was warned that France had many strikes but honestly I didn't think it would be this many!! Tomorrow is ANOTHER nationwide strike - based on the new reform for retirement. They want to change the age from 60-62... still not bad at all compared to the US. ON my way into the office this morning a nice man handed me a pink sheet letting me know all the times I could go join other upset workers to protest working until I am 62. People here will actually walk out from what I am told... this should be interesting. Anyway - I am going to post everytime there is a strike so that I can go back and count once my time here is finished!!

France: Severe disruptions on September 23 strike


On Thursday, September 23th, transports across France will be disrupted by a nationwide strike over pension reform.

According to the SNCF (the French rail operator) half of TGV and TER trains will be on service, while two Transilien trains out of five will run. One Corail train out of four will run during the day. The strike will also impact international travel. Only 50% of the trains to Germany will run, while Lyria (trains to Swiss) will offer between 70% and 80% service. Nine Thalys trains out of ten will run, but Eurostar service will be regular. SNCF announced the strike would begin at 7 p.m. on September 22nd and finish on September 24th at 8 a.m.

In Paris, subway lines 2, 3, 3 bis, 5, 7, 7 bis, 8, 9 and 12 will be heavily impacted with only 50% of the trains on service. On the Regional Express Network (RER), line B will be severely disrupted with only one train out of five available, while RER A will offer 50 percent service. Bus and tram services will also experience minor disruptions. Two trains out of five will run on RER lines C, D and E.

As air traffic controllers will also join the strike, around 40% of domestic flights will be disrupted. International flights might also experience delays.

Furthermore, rallies are planned in French main cities on September 23rd.

For further information please visit:

SNCF: http://www.infolignes.com/?rfrr=messageMaintenance_body_SNCF%20Direct or call at 0805 90 36 35 or 3635

RATP: http://www.ratp.fr/

Ding Dong.

I was introduced to one of my neighbors tonight. I was cooking dinner (and I won't lie singing quite loud to some music I will leave nameless in this post) when I heard the doorbell - which I really didn't even know that I had! Thinking my sing along may have gotten out of control, I quickly shut off my music and slowly cracked open the door. There was a man who introduced himself and let me know he was going out of town for a month for work and had a bunch of vegetables, juice and a few other groceries that he really didn't want to see go bad so would I want them?? Taken a back by a few reasons - the first being he mentioned nothing about my vocal escapade or my super stylish Victoria Secret pj pants and I am 99% sure that no one at home would go to a neighbors door and offer up perfectly good groceries because they were leaving on business. I graciously took a few things thinking it would save me a trip to Monoprix tomorrow and thanked him. After  a few minutes of small talk he excused himself to go pack and we both went on our way. At first I didn't think much of it but now that it has sunk in I really wonder if that would ever happen back in the States......

Normal.

Finally about to give myself time to catch up on the last two weeks. It has been a crazy mix of working and visiting with friends. As nice as it is to have company and familiar faces it is tough to be so out of routine.  In the last two weeks, I have done so many things I have never done here before and spent time in a new country. Between exploring new restaurants and trying some new French food - it was some sort of Duck that kind of looked like cat food - it tasted much better than it sounds, making sure my dumb ankle didn't twist again, taking a boat ride up and down the Seine, seeing my first French concert at my first French club and jetting off to Spain for a long weekend, I have barely had time to sleep and catch up on normal things for awhile. So today on this fantastic fall-like Sunday I am going to review all my new pictures, catch up around my apartment and take a break to start a new book... maybe even in the park down the street!! Then if I am feeling REALLY up to it I will try out the new S'mores maker machine that some of my friends form home sent me for my birthday.... don't worry I'll keep you posted on that one. 

Yikes!

I have never received so many emails at once in my entire life. Well maybe for my birthday but that doesn't count. Apparently there was some big evacuation at the Eiffel Tower tonight due to a bomb threat. No worries I am home safe and sound basking in the glory of a full belly from the most amazing pizza I have ever eaten in my life
tonight.  Back to the bomb threat in a minute .... after an amazing week with Ashlee - details and photos to come - and a long day at work, I wanted nothing to do with cooking tonight. So I rounded up my girlfriend and convinced her to join me for something easy and relaxing. Over hearing my need for something tasty a pizza place was recommended that is not so far from my apartment.  It is actually in the Red Light District - the pizza place, NOT my apartment. So tucked away between sex shops and the Moulin Rouge is a place called, "Da Carmine". The owner is a cute little Italian man who brings you a glass of wine if you have to wait, kisses everyone on the cheeks- goodbye and takes your cash at the register with a shot of grappa. Delightful. Not to mention the pizza was unreal. The combinations of flavors was really unique and everything that everyone had around me looked just as mouthwatering as my pizza. Which was a great mix of grilled veggies, italian ham, rocket lettuce, two types of mozzarella - one of which was baked into the crust and freshly shaved parmesan cheese!!!! DELISH.   So if any of you are ever in the area - I would without a doubt recommend this little gem.

As for the bomb scare - I am not close to the Tower and had no immediate plans to visit it this evening, so no problems over here. I can't even imagine the chaos that is going on down there trying to get everyone out of the area and at a safe distance. I have to be honest the tower is always quite packed with people. But I guess that is why they have big guys with machine guns always patrolling.

I made Ashlee take this picture while she was here

Eiffel Tower and surrounding park evacuated

By the CNN Wire Staff

                                      September 14, 2010 -- Updated 2133 GMT (0533 HKT) 

The Eiffel Tower and the park around it were evacuated Tuesday night after authorities received a telephoned bomb threat, police said.

The police press office said the alert, which was reported at 8:20 p.m., was being treated as a routine occurrence and the tower was being inspected to determine whether the threat was real. Around 11 p.m., the perimeter of the inspection -- which included bomb-sniffer dogs -- was drawn back to the base of the tower as the search continued.

A telephoned bomb threat also led authorities to briefly evacuate the St. Michel metro station, police said, according to CNN affiliate BFM-TV. It was reopened within 30 minutes.

Some 2,000 people had been in the area of the Eiffel Tower and the park in which it sits when the evacuation was ordered, police said, according to BFM-TV . Briefly evacuated were a number a nearby apartment buildings and businesses, according to news reports.

"One person on the scene said the police came by and said there was a problem and they had to leave the area quickly, and that's what they did," CNN's Jim Bittermann reported.

A taxi driver said he drove to the tower two tourists who were planning to eat at the Jules Verne Restaurant, where they had made reservations two months ago, but they were turned back by police.

More than 100 cameras -- more than a third of which are infrared for nighttime surveillance -- are located on the monument, according to the tower's website.

It also includes a network of sprinklers, and more than 150 extinguishers. A water pipe from the ground feeds hydrants on the first two floors; the top floor's hydrants get water from pressurized water tanks.

The 324-meter-high (1,063-foot-high) tower is usually open from 9:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. in September. It was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889, and was intended to last for 20 years, according to the tower's website. But it was saved by the advent of wireless telegraphy -- and its use as a platform for antennae. It currently holds 120 antennae.

The tower weighs 10,100 tons and is held together by 2.5 million rivets.

Spain

My first early morning post!! It's about 6am and I am sitting at the Easy Jet terminal waking for our flight to Spain. I say our because my dear friend Ashlee is posted out right next to me. She arrived in Paris on Tuesday (just in time for my birthday- which was different to spend in Paris without my family and a swollen ankle). Before she came we decided that after the week in Paris we should incorporate a little weekend getaway into the plans. After exploring lots of options- Italy, the South of France and the UK we both agreed we needed palm trees and sunshine in our life. Leaving us with a few options but finally settling on Malaga,Spain. The pictures look gorgeous and the tickets on Easy Jet were almost free making it the perfect location for a quick sunshine filled trip. Unfortunately I'm still a tad gimpy (I have been extra careful all week because my feet are my main mode of transportation here) but luckily you don't need to be fully functioning to lay on a sandy beach and drink sangria!! I have yet to spend anytime on a beachtgis summer so I feel as excited as a kid at Christmas and not only is this a beach but it's on the Meditteranean Sea. Leading me to believe the water will be quite comfortable to spend some time in. Something that I no always possible at the beaches of New England. I'll keep you'll posted but hopefully the next entry will include picture of two bronzed and relaxed New England girls enjoying a new county together!!

Graceful

If you were to look up graceful in the dictionary I can guarantee you that my picture would NOT be next to it!! Some of you probably remember my first trip down the stairs at Alstom almost two years ago... .well this morning on the way to the Metro I felt the need to encore that presentation. Ok so I didn't actually feel the need to but being jumbled up in a crowd of people when someone caught the back of my foot I lost all control I had over my stepping and down I went. Not only did this happen in prime time traffic to get on the train but I had a cute little skirt on that I am pretty sure flew up and allowed the people walking down the stairs behind me a little peek. Good times had by all. A nice young lady managed to catch my arm before my head went all the way to the ground and helped me up - asking in French if I was ok - THANK YOU French lessons!! I actually understood - which maybe the only good thing that came out of the 2 minute ordeal. I managed to get myself up, brush off my scraped and bruised knees and hobble to the train platform - only to miss the train I really wanted to get on to assess the damage. It was when I stepped onto the next train that I felt the lovely tension in my right ankle but I managed to balance through all the stops and today I took the escalator up to the street. You know that feeling you get when you just don't feel right - I had it the entire walk in. I don't know if I have ever been so happy to get to my desk EVER!! Not only because there was a seat but because I had a nice flat pair of black shoes tucked in the bottom drawer - as a just in case for a moment like this. As painful as it was to take off the sleek black suede peeptoes and replace them with black ballerina flats it was neccessary. I made it about an hour before the throbbing made me want to cry. I was determined to make it through the day and just get on with it but as soon as I looked down and saw the ping pong ball emerging I knew I was going to see a little more assistance than I wanted. LUCKILY I have some great friends at work who helped me make my way across the street to the nurse who took one look and said - Radio for you. So not only did I have my first honest to goodness embarassing moment in France when I fell, I was also going to visit my first French hospital. As I bowed my head and put my hands ove rmy face as I was handed a cane and pushed out in a wheel chair - I just hoped no one was looking down and recognized my head of blond hair. At this point I think my chaperones were in it more for the pure amusement of seeing me in the wheel chair than to translate. I am pretty sure there are some photos floating around that I will have to recover. A cab picked us up and brought us to a hospital right down the street from the office and I have to be honest there is an obvious difference in the standards and the way the systems work between here and there (there as in the US - Springfield, MA to be exact). I have never been moved through an emergency room so quickly ever. This could be contributed to my fantastic translators or just the fact that this is how the medical system works here. Aside from that when I was handed the bill at the end the price was hardly a fraction of what my visit would have been in the states - I know this from experience as well!! Aside from that I am in one piece - with my right ankle a bit larger in size than my left and a pretty little aircast for a few days to keep it from twisting again. Simply a sprain( a less than good feeling one) and no broken bones - Talk about a great birthday present!!!!

Pop Rocks and Pixie Sticks

I received a superb little treat in the mail today at work.  An early birthday package (Thanks Nancy <3) filled with some of the most fun and what I found out to be American candies and treats. As I unwrapped all the pretty little packages I got more and more excited to share them with everyone at work.

 Part of me had a good feeling they had never experienced the explosion of a Pop Rock or the sugar high from pouring as many Pixie Sticks as you can fit on your tongue. I took it upon myself to introduce them. My first target was more than willing to try something new and since there are a few other American's in the office who knew just what a handful of Pop Rocks will do, I had a captive audience. Actually I think there may even be a video of the reaction - which was truly priceless.  As he outstretched his hand and I poured the pink crystals - you could actually almost see the fear in his eyes. I am not sure if its because they look like a weird science experiment or because I was almost bursting with laughter just imaging how this would go!! The Pop Rocks were poured, and dumped in the mouth - let the magic begin!! At first it was more of a curious expression then the popping began and it turned into one of the best things I have ever seen!! While he was cracking and popping away he tried to spit out a few things the first and more hysterical was " WHY, would you eat these!!!" Eventually he swallowed and ran for water - while the rest of us shared the package. Upon his return he looked as us with the most serious face, dead in the eye and said, " Guys, I'm sorry but you really have to just stop eating those. This is just crazy." As far as I was concerned I had just done a great deed for the day. Which was until I had to warn another colleague that Pixie Sticks do NOT go up your nose : )