A quick Bonjour!

Hello there loved ones and strangers (there's a sentence I never thought I would write). It is currently a cool (hmm, cold) Sunday morning in Paris, mon amour is busy getting ready (who said women were slower?) so I am *trying* to write you a quick blog entry. It's harder than expected though - the French keyboard is a nightmare!! Azerty. I ask you, why?!

So far the weekend has been lovely, but, unfortunatley, it's just a weekend. Friday - Sunday night is not enough time to spend with someone you love. However, the good news is that it's only temporary, we are organising to be back together (most likely in France) by mid-December, and then Australia in early January. I can't tell you how much I am dreaming of this moment.

Anyway - lets get down to the business of my first Parisian post. While I am (slowly) becoming Francophile I didn't always believe that Paris had as much to offer as it claimed to. In all honesty, I'm beginning to think I was wrong. Large, attractive monuments aside, it's not like London - which, as you integrate into the culture continues to charm you with it's markets, fields, clubs, and what not. For me, Paris was a bit.. 'Large monuments, museums, people that are just like Londoners but with a nicer language, amazing food'. Sweet, but it's not going to keep me keen forever. After all this, maybe I'm wrong. Here, is a list/details of things I can genuinely recommend you do in Paris (Eiffels and Louvre's aside, though I won't say that any of this is 'off the beaten track'). Any questions/comments - fire away. Pictures will follow - I just completely forgot about it today.

1. Canal St. Martin on a *sunny* day.

Cyril (le copain, I can't believe I've not mentioned that!) and I tried to be ultimate Parisians and head to Belleville (supposedly an up and coming arrondisement, we must have missed something), then take a leisurely walk along the canal. Don't. Take the Metro to somewhere like Jaurés or Republique and then walk leisurely like normal people. To top it off it rained a lot and was freezing, which kills the romance a bit when your shoes are waterlogged and your teeth are chattering. However, when the sun shone briefly, it was lovely and relaxing (and yes - it will recall the film Amelie for you - she skimmed stones from here).

2. Les Catacombes

Firstly, please don't go if you are (or suspect you may be) claustrophobic. I never thought I was but as you trundle deeper and deeper underground looking at skulls, the ground gets damp, you slide everywhere, the roof gets low - it can get pretty creepy (not so much because of the bones, rather the thick air, slight smell of decay and the vague feeling the walls are closing in). The bones themselves are in various states of ok to decay (woop! rhyme!) and it's not as scary as the ones in Rome for example, but personally I enjoyed it, it was interesting, pretty (in a gothic kind of way) and only costs €2 or so if you have student ID (mine was expired and Australian and they didn't bat an eyelid), I think it's €4 or so otherwise.

3. Le Mur des Je t'aime

Montmartre might just be one of my favourite areas of Paris. Steeped on the hilly 18th arrondisement, it has an old-fashioned charm. Take the Metro to Abbesses and Le Mur des Je T'aime should be in a park right in front of you. This sight only takes 10 minutes or so, but is a great stop for the lovers, and isn't too touristy (yet).

4. Parc de St. Cloud

Maybe I'm a bit biased on this one, because my boyfriends grandmother's house (where we stay most of the time) is strategically located to here (if you're staying in the very centre of Paris, or worse, the East, getting here might cause a few troubles - though it's a bearable walk from Boulogne - Pont de st. Cloud on Metro line 10). It's merely a park (for running primarily I suppose) but also has some lovely restaurants, a great view over Paris, and lots of nice little hideaways to discover. There used to be a Château on site but it was burnt down in 1870 (for memory, it was those bloody Prussians). If you've got a day to spare and don't want something too strenuous, you can let your troubles melt away here. I would also recommend Jardin du Luxmbourg in the centre or Parc Floral (near Vicennes, you could also take a quick trip to the Château there) in the East, just relax, the French are good at this.

5. Travel to outer Paris

I'm not sure if I can technically call St. Germain en-Laye 'outer Paris' (sorry), but it's a gorgeous town easily reachable by RER line A that I can really recommend visiting. When my family and I first ever went to Paris we stayed in a tiny little studio apartment here, it was lovely. Everything looks like it comes straight out of a picture book, there is a lovely little castle and lots of forests to explore not too far away. I also recommend St. Cloud in the West of Paris. Again, this may be primarily because I get to spend a fair bit of time here, but it feels like it's own little village that just happens to cling on to Paris. It also has frescoes of fake windows/people on some of the buildings. Why not have a look?

6. Have wine/coffee/tapas around Etienne Marcel

 If Montmarte isn't my favourite Parisian area, Etienne Marcel (well, that's the Metro stop, I suppose it borders on the Marais? 2nd arrondisement?) may well be. It has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere, take a walk down Rue Montorgueil, my personal pick of bar/café is (currently) Drôle d'Endroit Pour Une Rencontre (meaning something like 'fancy meeting you here').

7. Brunch in Montmartre

This is what Cyril and I have planned for today, as a matter of fact. Taking the Metro to Abesses and brunching at Le Sancerre, on Rue des Abesses. It charges €15 (not including a drink) for a brunch. But oh lord do they take brunch seriously. Start with eggs Benedict on toast, a piece of bacon, mini sausages, move on to a tomato, Mozzarella and lettuce salad with vinigarette, then fromage blanc with rasberry coulis, a fruit salad, 1/2 a chocolate muffin, a donut, a mini croissant (plus slices of baguette should you not be stuffed to bursting already). Gosh! I can't be sure that this is the best place for brunch in Montmartre, (they will forget your water and they will insist you wait 30 minutes before they grace you with their presence to hand you l'addition, a further 20 minutes for them to locate the Visa machine), but it's still a thoroughly enjoyable way to begin a lazy Sunday.

So - that's about it from me. Before I go, I would just like to share this with you. The day before I went to Paris I excitedly facebooked 'Eurostar' to tell them how excited I was that they were taking me to see my lovely boyfriend. I was hoping for some 'aww's', but I was not expecting this!

And I thought it was a fairly innocent post!

Source: http://www.facebook.com/#!/eurostar?ref=ts

(Edit: Unfortunately I had to give up and write most of this on Monday morning back in similarly freezing London - but the idea was there!)

More ups and downs

Ah, hello, hello again. I don't know where to begin on this one, my mind is a muddled mess unsure of whether to feel elation, worry, sickness or stress. A mixture of the four is almost a worse fate. The most important part is that, in three sleeps, I get to be back in my boyfriends' arms again. Oh yes - 16.55 Friday sees me on a  Eurostar voyage to lovely Paris, to be with my lovely boyfriend for the weekend. It's only been two weeks but I tell you, it's high time. I'm becoming a complete emotional mess (which ususally, I pride myself on being the exact opposite of), in the past two days I've cried at...

• Adverts for Eurostar
• Adverts for Google (in my defence, this was charming, I will be sure to post the link at some point)
• People speaking French (at work no less, I crawled into the bathroom in shame)
• A woman walking her child to the bus stop

How and why? I do not exactly know. I blame hormones and being away from the man who stopped me from being a black hearted solitary cow to... a blubblering maternal mess (oh, joy of joys).

Anyway - back on track, my journey is something to be very excited about. I also have the right to be slightly worried (because I had to fib to worm my way out of work an hour early, love will do these things!) and also because, well, I'm not on the train yet. Which is going to keep me awake on Thursday night, I just know it.

The sickness and the stress regard work (which has been so busy I haven't been able to have a single thought to myself between 7.45 and 4.45), there is a winter sniffle going around I am desperately trying to avoid and, the fact that my boyfriend is now worrying about what visa to apply for, and when to do it.

I'm not going to bore myself (or yourselves) with the details but this is the decision my boyfriend and I have made. He's going to apply for a Skilled - Recognised Graduate - temporary (subclass 476) visa which allows young (under 31 years old) Engineers who have recently finished uni at a recognized institution to come to Australia without a sponsor and work freely for 18 months. At the end of those 18 months, well, another visa (at the moment the options are for him to get an employment visa and a sponsor, or for us to get one on the basis of our relationship). However, one of the options is that I go to join him in France for my final year of university - which would make applying for another visa futile. Oh well, lets see. Progress on the Australia front, hurrah! He's also managed to secure an interview with Veolia already too. Words cannot describe how excited I am!

Ultimately, I feel optimistic and strong, like I'm going to be able to get myself (and possibly, if the lover has another freakout, us both) through these challenges, and like if it's meant to be, it will be. Wish me luck =) I'll write to you from Paris, and it will be even more swoony than I am now, be prepared ;)

Please note that my views/opinions/choices of Visa are not professional, and while I could offer my personal advice, this is only relevant to my particular situation.

The Challenges of Dating an Engineer

I come from a family who, on my mother's side at least, are incredibly good at living life. Challenges face us every day, and if we do not embrace them, life becomes harder than it was in the first place. My boyfriend, does not see life this way. Oh no.

As I am leaving London in a few months, and the past 10 or so months my boyfriend and I have had together have been complete bliss, the lovely boy has decided that his mission for the next year is to find his way in to Australia, get a job, and then (once I graduate), contemplate a return to Europe for our future. Anyway, I'm getting off topic, there is plenty of time for romantic swooning later.

The problem is, getting a job in Australia is (as with anywhere) bound to be a challenge. Thus, as he hasn't recieved an instant 'yes! Frenchman, we love you, come over!' in the past week he has been searching - he is getting... well, discouraged is an understatement. My boyfriend speaks almost perfect English, has loads of contacts in the field - some of which extend to Australia, a degree from a fabulous university in France paired with an equally fabulous year long exchange to the UK (and it should be known, many Australians are at least closet Anglophiles), his career choice is not only incredibly relevant to Australia, but Australia is publishing news story after news story of how we are scouring the world looking for 20,000 of these sorts of people. Given its reputation for virtually unpassable immigration laws, the fact that Australia has made a) getting a visa outlandishly simple and b) basically opening the doors to the young ones is mindblowing, it would fill any Engineer with hope. Except, my boyfriend.

I try so hard to play the calm, collected and supportive girlfriend, which I am, but it's no easy feat. He contemplates giving up on his career and coming to Australia as a student (so much more expensive and much harder to get a visa), which is sweet, but to be leaning toward plan B one week in to a search is just mindboggling to me. 2 years ago, when I first made the decision to come to the UK I had no job prospects, was not a graduate of university, wasn't looking for any job in particular and it took me at least 3 months of waking up at 8am, going to an internet cafe, applying for job after job after job until my brain felt like it was going to explode, then coming home and willing the phone to ring. Social life was out of the question as I had only come with the bare minimum amount of wages I needed and that was dedicated to food and rent. After 3 months I found something temporary and, thankfully, by complete luck, I found something permanent from there. I was, judging by my account balance, about 3 weeks from having to give up and go home, it's not easy, whoever you are wherever you are in the world. You would think (given that it took him a month to find him an internship in his native France) that he would understand this and embrace it. Instead, he faces sleepless nights and unfulfilling plan B's.

Anyway, just a little rant. I love the man to pieces, I just wish he had an 8th of the optimism I have (and I am not an unrealistically optimistic person). Cross your fingers, I will keep you informed!

I have a house! (And rental tips for new Londoners)

You may or may not have assumed I had a house, or at least a place to call 'home' somewhere in London. I do, or rather, did. On the 20th of August (while I was on holiday in Germany and blissfully unaware of the horrors befalling my East End abode) my block of apartments caught fire. Two people had to be pulled from the inferno (luckily the other 12 or so of us were out of the house), the fire department arrived in time to extinguish the fire before it got to the 2nd floor (and I live on the third, so no damages aside from the door the firemen knocked down to check no-one was inside), but the past month has been spent getting the place live-able.

At first, I slept on many friends' floors.which starts off ok, but if you have your period or a busy day at work (and yes - they are in the same league in my opinion) you don't want to be sleeping on a floor. Then, by some miracle, I found 2 weeks accomodation in a temporary room that *wasn't* extortionate. At the end of those two weeks (i.e today) I was given the keys back in to my house. While I am so happy to have my room back, it's a complete nightmare - everything is covered in a thick layer of dust, my window blind is broken, my clothing racks are teetering, it's all a bit unnerving. I am thankful though, I have my room, it will be beautiful again soon hopefully, and nothing was destroyed.

A FEW LESSONS FOR THOSE OF YOU CONSIDERING RENTING A ROOM IN LONDON

1. It's expensive, I pay £420 a month (for everything except internet, which I provide myself) for a big room, shared toilet/bathroom/kitchen in Bethnal Green next to the tube. This is VERY cheap. Expect to pay at LEAST this in the East End, add approximately £150p/m on if you live somewhere between Shoreditch and Angel, and the original price can honestly DOUBLE if you go to Zone 1 south west (South Kensington, Chelsea)
2. While I love the East End and believe that for a multitude of reasons Australians would thrive there ( for some reason all antipodeans seem to head way out west - Shepherds Bush, Acton) it is largely corrupt and/or deprived - I would love to be more politically correct but I am amped up. Be prepared for dodgy landlords, employers, crappy insurance. I thought, being in a beautiful period building would save my bacon (and I was an idiot who didn't insure any of her belongings) but for example - the caretaker of my poor burnt house lived on the first floor and lost EVERYTHING (clothes, documents, new mattress, TV, the lot), was poor and had no insurance, the landlords are not going to help out even a teeny bit. I respect them and thank them for getting me into my room, but, come on!

Please - search and search and MAKE SURE you are getting a decent deal, *particularly* in the East. Read, read and re-read before you sign anything. If I wasn't only here for another 3 or so months, I would be moving out of my place with all due speed.
3. Take out insurance - especially if you are not 100% confident in your landlord/house/area
4. Do not take anything for granted. Last time I did, my house burnt down.

If you would like any opinions or advice, I am more than happy to give it. Why do so many of us Antipodeans choose the West anyway? It's very boring in comparison to the East (in my opinion, at least!).

(Please note, this blog was written before Stratford and the East held the London Olympics. London is not ready for the Olympics, and the East is going to suffer, if I had to move back in/post 2012 I would a - prepare to spend more money and b- live in the north or south)

Oh, London, I love you but sometimes you wear me out. Thinking I could probably rent a house in Brisbane for the money I pay brings a tear to my eye.

Allo luv

Hello! Welcome, Bienvenue, Willkommen, Kia Ora, Selamat Datang (and all those various other greetings I could google to impress you). Welcome to my blog Musings of a cosmopolitan. I've tried (and failed) to write lots of blogs in the past, but this one, I hope, might last. Why? Because I think I have some vaguely interesting things to say.

As a bit of a general background I am a young Australian living in London. I am small, self-conscious, have a mundane job (though in its defence the people are nice and it means I can travel), a French boyfriend, and a head full of dreams. While I suppose the logical thing to do with this blog would have been to start it just over a year ago when I first moved to London and document my adventure from day one, I hadn't the time, energy, interest, or (in reciprocation) anything interesting to say (write?). So, with only a few months left before my return to Australia, lets try and make my two cents worth something.

I am sitting here with my (nearly finished) cinnamon scroll (it was my birthday last Saturday, I am allowing myself a treat) and my tea, trying to work out where to begin, funnily enough I've gone from having nothing to say to having too much to say without even noticing it. This could take some pondering. Speak soon!