The good & the bad....

So here it is. Living in France is hard. 

Of course it is old, beautiful and amazing. It is France.

This is the blog where i say all the blah....

I still love it but today is the day i realised that after 2months you either stay & get seriously better at being French or you go home. I reached that point today at the market and i want to go home.

Yes, of all places at the market. Buying the fruit & veg. You get your basket, fill it with the items on display. Then there are things in the back that you have to ask for. You wait in line. Pay attention to the queueing system. Very important in every shopping experience here.

Then a girl takes my basket, i think I'm going to be served, but she puts it in back. Why? Then i wait for 2more people to be served & its my turn. The man gets my basket from the back, i put in 2 more oranges, ask for champignons, ail (garlic) and  une citron (lemon). What i get instead of lemon is a wedge of pumpkin. What did i say?

I nod my head and come home with pumpkin, because asking again means I might get more pumpkin. What is the word for lemon? I want to cry. Walking home and instead, laugh & laugh at the absurdity. This is my realisation either get better or get out.














Citrouille is pumpkin. French husband said i pronounced lemon correctly, the vendor just misheard me.














Other stuff thats dumb here....

• the dog shite everywhere!
• some balconies have little spouts for rain water runoff that sprays you on the footpath or right at the front door of the building below!
• every place indoors is overly heated, outside is freezing, then you catch a metro, go into a shop, in your winter woolies and you melt, then go outside in the cold all wet with perspiration and get pneumonia!
• everything has a time, don't ask for a coffee or tea before 3pm as the cafes will not serve you until lunch is over, strictly 3pm! restaurants won't feed you before 8pm!
• kids make france less romantic!
• the saying goes "the world is your oyster", well French men think the world is their toilet. i guess thats why they don't have a problem with the dog bombs!
• if you don't know the rules waiters don't like serving you very much and they love to show it!
• don't get sick on a sunday or monday without medicines, very inconvenient to get even paracetemol!
• bathrooms.... so much to say, i'll keep it brief. bathtubs with hand held shower heads, really people, how is this a good way to wash. I miss standing under a shower and have the water pound your shoulders, soak your hair and wake you up. I think this is one of the main reasons people here are so grumpy. Crap showers. Hairdryers that blow cold air... no kidding. 

Theres more but now i just sound like I'm complaining. Getting these out has helped lift my mood.


Mostly it is autumn leaves and baguettes here, with an edge that i guess when you live here you get used to dealing with. I will miss the amazingness, the old stuff and the ordinary everyday sparkles of beauti-ness everywhere. I am ready to go home.

Thanks for the memories, France.

Sparkle & Twirl*