Dear Kitty,
what a thoroughly eventful last few days! I'll begin with Thursday - and that means Fete de la Musique. It's a 24 hour music festival in Paris, and Charlotte and I went along after choir. We met up with lots of her friends at Chatelet, and then we were going to go to a rock concert, but we got distracted by an African drumming band - so we followed them instead, and ended up in a big square. We stayed there for half an hour or so, sitting on the pavement, dancing, listening to Pink Floyd, drinking champage out of the bottle, smoking, and generally being bohemian. I was quite drunk at this point, because we'd been drinking since Charlotte's friends arrived, so when she offered to teach me how to smoke, I accepted. So we shared a cigarette, and I quite liked it, but it's not something I'll be letting myself do again. We found a few other bands after this, and then ended up on a Boulevard somewhere, listening to another band, and this is where we met 1) the creepiest man ever and 2) a group of English speakers. There were two Americans who left pretty speedily (because it was late, not because we scared them off), Vincent, who is French/Chinese, and Daniel, who is English/Pakistani and grew up in Auckland. We spent until three with them, sitting in a bar and drinking cocktails - and I will admit that I flirted with Daniel, and he was flirting with me. So when it came to saying goodnight, Daniel caught my arm just as the others were leaving, and kissed me. We swapped email addresses, and then Charlotte and I made our way back home.
Friday was a normal day, as far as work went. I went up the Eiffel Tower on Friday afternoon, for the first time, and I'm very glad I did! In the evening, I worked until quarter to eight, and then Laurent dismissed me, and then it hit me - I was leaving. Marie-Pascale gave me a hug, and I immediately dissolved into tears, and then I couldn't stop. I still tear up when I think that I don't know when I'll next see Etienne - yes, I've complained about him a lot, and he can be a nightmare, but he's also adorable sometimes, and he's been my main priority for the last year. He's bright, and eager to learn, and the feeling of pride I used to get when he learned things from me and then used them - well, it certainly makes the job worth it, and I've really come to care for him. I left my flat at quarter to nine and got the metro to Opera - because Daniel had emailed me, and was taking me out for dinner. We met in front of Institut de la Musique, and then he took me to Cafe de la Paix. We went to a bar afterwards, because I insisted on buying him a drink as he'd just bought me two drinks and a meal, and then we stood around and laughed and chatted and got very drunk. By the time we left the bar, I'd had pastis, wine, and two rum and Cokes, and was having problems walking. He took me back to his flat because of this, where I promptly threw up, and then he made me stay the night because - well, I wasn't really in a fit state to be doing anything except sleep.
I left his the next morning at quarter past six - noticing, as he walked me to the metro, that he lives on the same road as Will - and then wended my lonely way back to Molitor, feeling ill and sad. I had time for a quick shower, and then I finished packing, put my bedding in the wash, finished my washing up, and then left my flat for the last time. I would have cried on the metro if I hadn't felt quite so ill/fallen asleep, and then I was on the bus on my way to Amsterdam. I slept for the first two hours, and woke up feeling much better afterwards. We stopped in Brussels on the way, for forty five minutes, so I took the opportunity to explore the area, and then we were on our way to Holland! The two guys who were sitting behind me turned out to be American - Jacob and Kevin, who are both Jewish - and we chatted most of the way to Amsterdam, and then Jacob and I watched part of 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' until we arrived. They invited me to join them exploring when we did arrive, and I accepted - I wasn't due to book into my hotel for a few hours. I regret agreeing - the first place we went was one of the notorious 'coffee shops'. I didn't have anything - I think smoking and not going home all night is enough excitement for one week, and I was still feeling a bit odd from the night before - but they did. It didn't seem to really affect them, though, and I left them a little while afterwards to get to the hostel. It's called HostELLE, and it's girls-only. There was a bit of confusion with the sleeping arrangements, but after we'd sorted that out, it was fine.
I overslept today - meant to go to the Anglican church here, but I was still recovering from two nights of minimal sleep. I did go to the Anne Frankhuis, though, and also to the Torture Museum, and I saw the Bloemenmarkt, and the most stunning church, and explored the area around there. It's very pretty, but I think I would have appreciated it more if it hadn't been so rainy and windy and I hadn't been shivering. Still, it brightened up this afternoon, and the canals really are stunning. It's very nice here - despite not being able to speak the language and feeling like a tourist, I'm having fun.
Oh - did you know that the Dutch word for a hat is a 'hoofddeksel'? It literally translates to 'head lid'. I still haven't stopped laughing.
Yours,
Chessie
what a thoroughly eventful last few days! I'll begin with Thursday - and that means Fete de la Musique. It's a 24 hour music festival in Paris, and Charlotte and I went along after choir. We met up with lots of her friends at Chatelet, and then we were going to go to a rock concert, but we got distracted by an African drumming band - so we followed them instead, and ended up in a big square. We stayed there for half an hour or so, sitting on the pavement, dancing, listening to Pink Floyd, drinking champage out of the bottle, smoking, and generally being bohemian. I was quite drunk at this point, because we'd been drinking since Charlotte's friends arrived, so when she offered to teach me how to smoke, I accepted. So we shared a cigarette, and I quite liked it, but it's not something I'll be letting myself do again. We found a few other bands after this, and then ended up on a Boulevard somewhere, listening to another band, and this is where we met 1) the creepiest man ever and 2) a group of English speakers. There were two Americans who left pretty speedily (because it was late, not because we scared them off), Vincent, who is French/Chinese, and Daniel, who is English/Pakistani and grew up in Auckland. We spent until three with them, sitting in a bar and drinking cocktails - and I will admit that I flirted with Daniel, and he was flirting with me. So when it came to saying goodnight, Daniel caught my arm just as the others were leaving, and kissed me. We swapped email addresses, and then Charlotte and I made our way back home.
Friday was a normal day, as far as work went. I went up the Eiffel Tower on Friday afternoon, for the first time, and I'm very glad I did! In the evening, I worked until quarter to eight, and then Laurent dismissed me, and then it hit me - I was leaving. Marie-Pascale gave me a hug, and I immediately dissolved into tears, and then I couldn't stop. I still tear up when I think that I don't know when I'll next see Etienne - yes, I've complained about him a lot, and he can be a nightmare, but he's also adorable sometimes, and he's been my main priority for the last year. He's bright, and eager to learn, and the feeling of pride I used to get when he learned things from me and then used them - well, it certainly makes the job worth it, and I've really come to care for him. I left my flat at quarter to nine and got the metro to Opera - because Daniel had emailed me, and was taking me out for dinner. We met in front of Institut de la Musique, and then he took me to Cafe de la Paix. We went to a bar afterwards, because I insisted on buying him a drink as he'd just bought me two drinks and a meal, and then we stood around and laughed and chatted and got very drunk. By the time we left the bar, I'd had pastis, wine, and two rum and Cokes, and was having problems walking. He took me back to his flat because of this, where I promptly threw up, and then he made me stay the night because - well, I wasn't really in a fit state to be doing anything except sleep.
I left his the next morning at quarter past six - noticing, as he walked me to the metro, that he lives on the same road as Will - and then wended my lonely way back to Molitor, feeling ill and sad. I had time for a quick shower, and then I finished packing, put my bedding in the wash, finished my washing up, and then left my flat for the last time. I would have cried on the metro if I hadn't felt quite so ill/fallen asleep, and then I was on the bus on my way to Amsterdam. I slept for the first two hours, and woke up feeling much better afterwards. We stopped in Brussels on the way, for forty five minutes, so I took the opportunity to explore the area, and then we were on our way to Holland! The two guys who were sitting behind me turned out to be American - Jacob and Kevin, who are both Jewish - and we chatted most of the way to Amsterdam, and then Jacob and I watched part of 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' until we arrived. They invited me to join them exploring when we did arrive, and I accepted - I wasn't due to book into my hotel for a few hours. I regret agreeing - the first place we went was one of the notorious 'coffee shops'. I didn't have anything - I think smoking and not going home all night is enough excitement for one week, and I was still feeling a bit odd from the night before - but they did. It didn't seem to really affect them, though, and I left them a little while afterwards to get to the hostel. It's called HostELLE, and it's girls-only. There was a bit of confusion with the sleeping arrangements, but after we'd sorted that out, it was fine.
I overslept today - meant to go to the Anglican church here, but I was still recovering from two nights of minimal sleep. I did go to the Anne Frankhuis, though, and also to the Torture Museum, and I saw the Bloemenmarkt, and the most stunning church, and explored the area around there. It's very pretty, but I think I would have appreciated it more if it hadn't been so rainy and windy and I hadn't been shivering. Still, it brightened up this afternoon, and the canals really are stunning. It's very nice here - despite not being able to speak the language and feeling like a tourist, I'm having fun.
Oh - did you know that the Dutch word for a hat is a 'hoofddeksel'? It literally translates to 'head lid'. I still haven't stopped laughing.
Yours,
Chessie
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