November 2024
November has both been a fast month and a slow month. It’s been busy and it’s been calm. I can really feel the seasons starting to change, suddenly it feels much colder, it feels like it’s 11pm when it’s only 6pm. It’s a period of adjusting.
I started writing this thinking I didn’t actually do much, but turns out it was busier than I remember! This is why I like taking the time to write a monthly wrap-up.
All things Paris
The month started off with my mum visiting! We had one crazy day in Paris and one day at home. We explored Montmartre, walked all the way down to the Notre Dame (which is going to be reopening soon!). We made a quick stop by the Eiffel Tower before heading to meet a friend to watch the rugby! It was a lot of different things do to in one day but it was fun!
The weekend after, my mother-in-law was visiting. She came over for the weekend. We spent a day in Paris - we went to two museums and had lunch in Paris. We went to Musée du Luxembourg to see exhibition on Tarsila do Amaral. We had lunch at Baillotte which was so good. After lunch we headed to Musée Maillol. I had never been to this museum, or even heard of it! We went to see the exhibition on Nadia Léger. Both exhibitions left me with something to think about which is always good.
On the monday, we went to watch a cyclocross event to see what it was like - my partner was deciding on if this is something he wanted to try out. After this event, he decided to sign up for the year, he took part in two events this month. I was able to watch the second event he took part in which was cool to see (and thankfully did not rain)
I’m a member of the association Paris Historique, they’re an association that does a lot of things related to the history of the city. This month I followed one of their tours and it was SO GOOD. It was a visit to La Maison du Fontainier, a place that’s closed to the public outside of certain openings. It’s open for journée de patrimoine (heritage days) but outside of that it’s rare to visit. There’s something extra exciting about visiting a place you usually can’t visit.
The visit was on a Friday afternoon, and I was the younger person there by quite a lot (is that a surprise? most people are working on a friday afternoon, I am making the most of my freelance schedule). La Maison du Fontainier had an role in the distribution of water in Paris and it was so cool to see. It’s hard to imagine how much water would have actually be stored here. The guide (a volunteer) was so good, you could tell that she had a real interest in the history.
During November, I had a train themed day. I love public transport, I love not needing to drive, I love the freedom that comes with it. With my partner, I went to part of La Petite Ceinture in the 14th and had lunch at one of the stations that recently was converted into a restaurant. After this we went to a model train expo just outside of Paris.
The model train expo was cool! I loved getting to see all of the different backdrops of Paris. It’s also cool to be around people who are passionate about something. It’s fun to imagine what Paris would have looked like with an actual train running through it. Parts of it you can walk along, like La Petite Ceinture, but also along the old train line between Bastille and Vincennes.
I spent two nights at my friends place pet sitting. They have two dogs and a cat who are cuteeee. I love pets, but my lifestyle doesn’t match the work required. While pet sitting, it snowed! Snow! One of the dogs was not a fan of the snow, but the other dog could not care less, he was happy to be outside!
I went to the monthly event of Under the Umbrella, an event where people read out things they have written. It’s often something that wasn’t meant for public consumption, we’re talking phone notes, journals, text messages but it can also be something published. The theme was on homecoming (although you don’t have to read something on theme). This is my third time attending but my first time reading. I was so nervous, but everyone was super supportive.
Back in 2016 I had a blog. I say it’s a blog, but it’s more of a journal (the blog is no longer live). I read something that I had titled Borders. Where are you from? that I published in October 2016. It’s super interesting to see how my life has changed, how my mentality has changed but also some things remain the same. It was a really fun experience, and I’m so pleased I stepped out of my comfort zone to read something (it was weird hearing the echo of the microphone as I spoke).
A friend invited me over to her place and we cooked together. I say cooked together, she did essentially everything, but I did help with cutting things for the salad (that counts, right?). She has done most of the work before I had arrived. We had mac and cheese, roasted chicken, candied yams and salad. It was wonderful. I love moments like this.
Work
It’s been another month of giving tours (which I love) including a private tour of Chaillot. I love putting together private tours especially in areas that tourists don’t often visit. I find it really inspiring to explore different parts of Paris.
Book a tourI’ve also released a self guided tour of Montmartre! I had a lot of fun putting this together, thinking about the best route between each location and the type of things people would like to see. There’s a slightly different version (with more details!) for tours that I organise, so I’m excited to give that for the first time! I also have a few more tours that I’ve started putting together, more on that in December or January!
All things blog
On top of the writing that I’ve done this month including the self guided tour of Montmartre, my partner implemented a search feature! It’s now possible to search, and the search is great - even with typos it will still find what you’re looking for, it also takes you to the part of the text that’s relevant!
I went to a friends house for dinner, and I get home to find out that there’s now search, so cool!
Books
It’s been another reading slump. I finally finished Lord of the Flies. There were parts that I liked, but also parts that I just couldn’t get into. I find classics hard to read, so no wonder 15 years old me didn’t want to read it (on top of having to study it for an exam). The themes are actually pretty intense for teenagers. Happy I re-read it, but I don’t think I will read it again.
A friend gifted me a copy of Girl, Woman, Other which I’m currently reading. I read it back in 2022 and I loved it. I love how the lives of the different woman link in with each other. It reads like poetry, there are no fullstops, it flows over lines. This isn’t a style of writing for everyone, a friend of mine borrowed the book and couldn’t get used to the lack of punctuation.
Music
A friend of mine shared a stat on her instagram stories about how few women appear on festival line ups. I’ve thought about it a lot since then. It’s really striking to see how little representation there is (and not only related to gender). I tend to have a few albums on heavy rotation, and while there’s definitely women there (on current rotation there’s Orla Gartland and That Woman) it’s probably not as equal as I would like it to be. I’ve asked some friends for women artists that they like, so I’m excited to discover some new music! So far Taylor Acorn is a new addition! If you have any suggestions, please send them over on instagram!
This month I got to see Frank Turner live and it was SO MUCH FUN. I love Frank Turner, and I’ve been listening to his music for over a decade which is wild to think about. I had tickets to see him in May 2020 but that was cancelled due to covid. The first dance at my wedding was a Frank Turner song - a song he actually played live! I haven’t danced like that in ages.
The support acts were also great! The Meffs (who I didn’t know before) really got the crowd going from the start, followed by Skinny Lister who also very much involved the crowds.
Journalling
I’ve journalled on an off since I was a teenager. I’ve gone through phases but since 2022 I’ve been pretty consistent because I joined JoClub (they have a Black Friday event on, you can use the code BF24 to get a discount). I love love love JoClub. I love the live sessions that they do, I love the challenges that they do but I think the thing I love the most is carving the time for myself.
I love that I have something to look back on. Coming across my old blog, and reading something I wrote in 2016 at Under the Umbrella feels extra special. It’s sparked my energy for journalling again. There are so many ways you can do it, in a way, this blog is journalling. I like to start my day with morning pages and I love to sit on a train with my thoughts and a notebook.