When in Rome...

Exept I'm not in Rome, I'm in PARIS!!!

Oh it feels so good to get away. Work has been far too stressfull and I needed a break. So thanks to EasyJet seat sales and finally getting my expenses submitted from the business trips I took over the last 6 months I'm thinking of this as a free trip. I know it's not really, but that's how my brain is justifying it.




Arrived yesterday and did the adventurous thing and took the RER & Metro to get into the city. It was actually very simple and I manged to luck out in the stops I went to all had escalators so I didn't need to lug my bag up any stairs.

I've rented a self catering apartment in District 18, the Montmatre area. Last time (which was the first time) I was in Paris we stayed in the Latin Quarter so I wanted to be somewhere new. By the time I got to the flat it was early afternoon so didn't really do much on the touristy side of things other than walk the market area in Montmatre.

Today though, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. I'm very close to the Sacre-Coeur which I have been informed the locals take pleasure/pride in being very blase about it. They won't even admit it's beautiful. But my guidebook says it's supposed to have some stunning views from the hill it's perched on. So I'll check it out.

I've had my morning breakfast complete with fresh croissant. Just need a shower now and I'll be ready to start the days adventure.

Chaos

Not a happy bunny at the moment.

This is my 4th attempt to try and post this. I'm not at the new flat but no internet hook-up yet so have been checking out the various cafes and pubs in the neighborhood. The signals in these places are always a bit on the iffy side and keep dropping their connection with annoying frequency.

My experience at the i-cafe this morning was evern more frustrating. I could connect, and had good signal but it wouldn't load my email, and a number of different websites. So I had drafted a blog entry offline and then went to publish it and the signal would drop out just as it was to finish. It didn't even do it's normal save to draft so when I've tried again at a different cafe , Enjoy(great porrage here) I've had to start from scratch.

So yes, I'm now sleeping at the new place but hesitate to use the phrase 'moved in'. All the stuff is there. Strewn about with no rhyme or reason. But my bed is made and is very comfy so that's one thing. Kitchen is still under construction with wood dust everywhere as they are still cutting strips for stuff so no point in cleaning until they're done. Our couches were delivered on Thurday but are draped in plastic and shoved in a corner. So it doesn't feel like home yet. At this point I'm not sure when it will be.

Because of the internet issues I can't seem to upload any pictures so you'll have to go to my Flickr site to see them there.

So, it's still chaos.

Still Here

This weekend was supposed to be the big push to move into the new flat. But as per the title. I'm still here.

Saturday I was at the current flat packing and cleaning while B was over at the new flat painting and cleaning. Today, Sunday I spent the morning emptying my closet into

2 duffel bags,
1 large suitcase
1 carry on size suitcase
2 laundry hampers

My books and Cd's I have packed in some of the dresser drawers along with my coats. My extra large suitcase I had sent home with my parents back in May when they were out for a visit. Wishing I still had it as I need something to pack my bedding into yet. Perhaps I'll try one of those nifty vacuum bags my Mom left.

So everything is packed up and sitting in the hallway waiting to be carted away to the new place.

But,

The van I thought we had fell through, the back up car I thought we had also fell through. I emailed, texted and called a number of people but everyone seemed to be either out of town, already busy or (gasp) ignoring me. Because lets face it, helping someone move is not a fun job. It's hard on the body, involves going up and down stairs far too many times and lifting heavy boxes and bags.

But,

One friend, one REAL TRUE friend - M came as she said she would. She helped to pack up the kitchen and then the two of us grabbed as much as we could carry and traipsed the 5 blocks over by foot to the new place. TWICE.

But,

This still leaves the problem of the rest of the stuff. I might have 2, possibly 3 cars available tomorrow (Monday) but I really need a van or a truck otherwise we can't move over our mattresses. Without a mattress there will be nothing to sleep on.

We also have a few other large items that need to be carted over and I'd love to just be able to do this in one load. IF I can get a hold of a vehicle large enough to take it all.

I've left emails and voice messages with two local 'man with van' outfits but as today is Sunday I don't expect to hear from them until tomorrow. At this point I just hope and pray that one of them is available and that they aren't too expensive.

I HATE MOVING!

And so it goes

The holidays are officially over. Monday means back to a full 5 days of work. And it's going to be busy. I wonder if I could afford to go to a 4 day work week. Hmmmmm.

The flat renovations are coming along and it's looking like next weekend might be the move in date. Or at least the begin to move in date. I'll need to start thinking about packing up my life one more time.

I'm trying to be a little more forceful with my photography and try to document more randomness. No idea if this experiment will result in anything artistic or not, but we'll see.

I'm also playing more with Black and White. I've often said that Black and White can cover a multitude of sins by the photographer. But also, when you see a picture blown up to 8 x 10, on a stark white matte, simple black frame..... Admit it, you think to yourself 'Hey, that's a nice picture' even if it's just of a trash can in a back alleyway. So I'll give it a go.

Check my Flickr page and tell me how I'm doing.