100 Days in Paris

My sky

Today, Wednesday 21 May, marks my 100th day living in Paris. I guess that 100 days isn't really an anniversary of any particular importance (other than the fact that everyone loves a round number) but #100happydays is trending on my Facebook homepage so let's commemorate. Yes, I know I'm mixing up my social medias but I'm radical that way.

I can honestly say, my time in Paris has been one of the happiest periods of my life. My French has improved, I've met lovely people, and done plenty of unexpected things. But it has been a difficult period in other ways, with lots of rushing back and forth to England to be with my family. As I reach this point, it's easy for me to say that blood will always come before Paris but I'm thankful this city has always been waiting to welcome me back. As I begin to count my days down here, I am clutching onto anything Paris offers me.

Here are some photos from off the tourist route. These are all shots from my bedroom window. The 28th floor certainly gives me quite a view. It looks out to the east of Paris so don't go scanning for the Eiffel Tour, it isn't there. My post today is inspired by the rain that is currently pouring down after a week of beautiful sunshine.

The rain in Paris seems to come out of nowhere, chucks down heavily and disappears. And I see it all from my apartment in the sky and it has become one of my favourite things - rushing to window when I hear it begin. I don't really have a point and I don't want to turn it into a metaphor. Let's just enjoy it...

tl;dr I like the sky.

English wine and future plans

buckets, bottles, barrels

So before I get back to my posts of Paris, I have one more from England. My sister lives in Dorking where I spent most of the holiday. A lovely little town that happens to have the largest English vineyard, Denbies, which covers 267 acres. My sister kindly gave us the tickets she couldn't use and we went for a Sparkling Wine Tour. Don't mind if I do, thanks Em.

The tour comprised of a film, a tour of backstage, a tasting and a little train ride around the grounds (with another little tasting). I have done a vineyard tour in Bordeaux before on my Erasmus year and my lasting memory was that although I understood wine and could say things like: "mmm, oaky...slightly tanic...smooth," with meaning, it didn't stick.  Only mere days later and all I could say was: "Yum, grapes"! This time I am really trying to commit it to memory. Here is what I learnt:

• The soil is similar to in the French Champagne region and therefore they make great sparkling wine.
• The slopes protect the vines from the cold Northerly wind so the grapes can grow in peace.
• The chalky geology in the area means the soil doesn't get water logged. Yay.
• The Queen's favourite is Surrey Gold.

Lovely day, lovely wine, lovely company.

This is the end of my England photos however, I will be returning. In June, I'll be starting an internship in London for a publishing house. I'm super excited to begin and can explore a whole new city - I've not spent much time in London. I'm equally sad to leave Paris. But we'll always have Paris and who knows what my next step will be post-internship, I may be back. Good things ahead. Until then, more Paris posts coming up...

Can't wait to see you again London...

Sussex: seaside, coastline, battlefield

Up to the highest height at Seven Sisters

My family holiday began in Sussex in a little village called Cowbeech. From there, we packed up our daysack and explored the local area. In traditional J-A family fashion, we sought out the historical and beautiful countryside to enjoy. The Seven Sisters are some of the chalk cliffs found at the south coast of England. Amazingly dramatic, it's a popular place for film locations (such as Joe Wright's Atonement) and it is not hard to see why. We sat and stared out, wind in our hair, clearing our minds.

Dad has still got his stone skimming down...

A little further along the coastline we headed to Pevensey. This is where William the Conqueror landed in England in 1066. The most memorised date for most British school children. Funny to look across the Channel to where I live now. The world is certainly smaller now, I can't see Monsieur Hollande invading anytime soon (thank you very kindly European Union).

The Battle of Hastings did not, surprising, happen in Hastings but in fact 7 miles away in Battle. The Battle of Battle is clearly not as catchy. We wondered which came first, the word battle or the town Battle. But worry not, I have googled and can confirm that it was the word - William the Conqueror was just really rubbing it in by building an abbey and naming it Battle Abbey. Quel idiot*. Battle is a lovely town and it has a very engaging visitor centre which really brings the battle to life and made the trip quite moving.

Battle Abbey

*I must add that whilst Bill's behaviour regarding his show-off abbey may have been questionable, I must thank him greatly. After the Norman invasion, French became the official language of the elite and English was only used in everyday use. Nowadays, more than a third of all words are derived from French. Fabulous news everyone! Even if you've never studied French, you will know around 15000 French words. This also explains why we call the animal a cow but the food is beef, since the English word was used in the farm but by the time it arrived on the king's plate, it was boeuf. Oh, la vache!