August 2024
All things Paris
August has been a busy month. It doesn’t feel like the Olympics ended and the Paralympics started. It doesn’t really feel like I was there either (which I definitely was and it was a lot of fun). I have a specific post about my Olympic experience, and I will write another one for the Paralympics.
A childhood friend, who I hadn’t seen in ~15 years came to visit for the final of the men’s hockey. While he was here in Paris, I showed him parts of the city, we went to the Arc de Triomphe, walked down the champs elyseés and chatted about how our lives had changed since I last saw him. We parted ways in the late afternoon so that we could both get to our olympic events in the evening (I went to see the table tennis).
I helped a friend move apartments from the suburbs into the city centre. I love friendships that contain multiple layers, where it’s not just the fun socialising, but that we’re able to help each other. Moving apartment is always a lot of work, and there’s always more work that what you’d expect. I’m not planning on moving anytime soon, but I know that it will take so long to pack because we’ve acquired so much stuff over the years.
We had some family that came to visit. They stayed with us for one night and then a few nights in an airbnb. We spent a lot of time walking around the city, we visited the flea market in Saint Ouen, l’orangiere and visited the gardens at Musée du quai Branly.
The market at Saint Ouen is so big! It’s been years since I was there. Despite there being a lot of things closed we were still able to see a lot of things. Two of the highlights at the market were all of the old postcards and a dog (I love dogs ok). A lot of the postcards were written and posted many years ago, some where containing the answer to a newspaper, others were to friends. I love love love postcards, I pretty much always write some when I’m on holiday and it’s so cool to me that they still exist.
I’ve been to Musée du quai Branly a few times, but I’ve never really taken the time to see the gardens. There are lots of nice places to sit there and enjoy the space. It goes to show that there’s always more to see.
I spent a morning walking along the Coulée verte René-Dumont. It’s beautiful, especially during summer because of all of the flowers. I’ve been there a few times, but I’ve never walked the entire way (~5km). I’m so grateful to live in a city that has green areas, and areas that are for pedestrians.
I went to the cinema with my partner, we went to watch Golo et Richie which was a fun movie. We both really enjoy travelling by bike, so it was cool to see their adventure. We both didn’t know anything about them before the movie, so I’m sure there were some things we missed. I rarely go to the cinema, so it’s a nice activity to do from time to time. The last movie I watched in the cinema was Dune part one and part two, and I can’t remember what I saw the time before.
I went to the book store The Red Wheelbarrow for the first time! This English focused book store has been on my list for a while but I’ve never had time while i’ve been in the area. I read at 2-3 books a month on average, so I’m always looking for my next book.
All things blog
I did a day trip to Favières to visit the Japanese garden there. It was a beautiful day. This is different to some of the other places I’ve been to on my Project Île-de-France because there isn’t much to see other than the garden.
I finished writing up my Olympic experience. I’m so happy I decided to stay in Paris for the games, it was a lot of fun getting to see the different events. I know a lot of people were worried about Paris during this period, from overcrowding to issues with public transport, but I honestly think everything was done well. Some friends that live here were sad to have missed out on the experience because they’d planned a holiday to get out of the city during the period.
I’ve added a guided through Paris blog collection where I can write a bit more about what I do for work, including things to watch out for. More articles to come in September!
Books
August has been a slower month for reading. I didn’t have a book club book this month because we’re taking a pause for summer. I did however take some time to see if the book club in its current format is something that people want to continue. We’re working on the book list starting from September. In the new iteration (if it happens) we’ll be reading one book over two months instead of one month and all books are books someone had already read. We’re also adding more fiction to the mix which I’m excited for.
I finished reading trainspotting and wow it was good. Definitely a difficult read because of the topics covered and because of the language. After finishing the book, I watched it with my partner. We watched it a few years back, but I really couldn’t remember much (I possibly fell asleep during it). There are some differences between the book and movie (there always are), but I do think the movie does a good job.
I also read grow where they fall, a book I picked up from Shakespeare and Co event last month. The first half of the book was a little slow, but the second half really picked up in pace. The ending felt quite sudden and it didn’t feel like answered all of the questions but overall I enjoyed it.
I spent a long time in The Abbey looking for a new book after I finished grow where they fall. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to read next. I thought about another fantasy book, but they make it so hard to know if it’s the first book in the series. In the end, I picked up something different, homesick for another world, which is a series of short stories. I very rarely read short stories, but I’m enjoying this book so far.
Music
August has been a good month of music. That Woman’s album find joy was released and I love it. It’s so beautifully written and it could by my most listened to album by the end of the year. Just wow.
Hamish Hawk also released his latest album, a firmer hand. He was my most listened to artist last year, and he’s definitely going to be top 5 again this year. At the start of September I’m going to see him again when he supports Travis (two scottish bands in one night!). It will be my third time seeing him within a year (I really like his music and style).
Orla Gartland, also released some of the tracks off her new album which is out in October! I love her music, and her 2022 album Woman on the Internet was an album I had on repeat.
Journalling
I attended two JoClub live journalling calls! The first was about appreciating the little moments in life, and the second was about daily wins. I love JoClub calls because people always share such interesting thoughts. Someone in one of the session mentioned they did morning pages as a commitment to themselves and it reminded me how much they helped me.
So I’ve started up with my morning pages again! In September, I’m restarting The Artist’s Way with a friend which I’m excited for. Morning pages help get me out of my head in a morning, and it’s a much nicer way to start my day than jumping into social media or rushing for a bus. Some mornings are harder than others and required the extra effort of getting out of bed earlier than usual.
French
I’ve continued with French lessons. I wanted to try out Babbel after a friend recommended it, so I did two free live lessons and then bought a 3 month subscription.
I’ve updated my learning French article with my thoughts comparing Lingoda and Babbel, because they offer a similar product but there are actually some differences between them. I tried out Babbel live for the first time after a friend recommended it to me.
I created a post on a facebook group asking if anyone would like to practice French. I live in France but don’t spend that much time in day to day life speaking French and I would like to practice. Lots of people were interested so I created a whatsapp group, and hopefully we’re going to be able to organise frequent meetups.
I met someone for a coffee, and we had a nice chat in French. It was nice to be able to help each other when we were stuck for words, but it also reminded me that I’m going to have to brush up on my grammar. Grammar is my downfall