Back in the FR

I’m back, baby!

The flight over was relatively uneventful. I managed to stuff exactly 50 pounds into each of my checked bags. I also managed to stuff several books and Lilian’s ukulele in my carry-on. I’m not a fan of red eyes, but at least I got a whole row to myself on the plane, aka Poor Man’s First Class.

Pro tip: if you have Delta points, they codeshare with Air France for flights to Paris (and from Paris to Lyon). If you pay attention to who is servicing which flight, you too can use your Delta points but be served champagne with dinner. And hot chocolate at the end of the flight.

I’m so happy to be back with Kristian and Lilian. While I was back in the US, they found us an apartment and got everything moved in. It’s more than we were hoping to spend, but it’s huge (almost twice as big as our very first apartment). It’s also centrally located, across a plaza from the metro and a tramway. Most importantly, it’s a 4 minute walk, door-to-door, from a pole/aerial studio. I took a souplesse (flexibility) class on Saturday, and I basically rolled out of bed and went.

The apartment has great light (what with overlooking a plaza and all). I was worried that it would be noisy, but it’s generally very pleasant. Our bedroom overlooks the courtyard. Lilian is on the street, but they swear they can’t hear anything at night. When I sit in the living room with the windows open, I can hear the sounds of life going on outside. But, honestly, I kindof like it. You can hear kids playing in the park, people sitting in the café downstairs, etc. The most noise is probably from the tram, but compared to the Green Line back in Boston, it’s downright pleasant.

There’s a really nice restaurant a couple doors down from us. We had lunch there on Saturday. We sat down right out front, but the waiter was like “oh no no no.” They have outdoor seating that’s located across the street and in the plaza. He insisted that we have the better dining experience. Point well taken, sir.

I’m kindof a weirdo, I love unpacking and arranging all of my things. It’s been fun to figure out where everything should go and to setup my new office/craft room. We had to get creative with the furniture, and even then a trip to IKEA was involved. We rented a van from a carshare program, and Lilian was really disappointed that they couldn’t hide from us in third row seating. I had to explain that they don’t really do seven passenger vans here like they do back in the US.

I ended up with the larger room, but it will also do double duty as a guest room. We haven’t bought a daybed for use in there yet, but we also don’t have anyone who’s made plans to visit (hint hint, everybody, hint hint). The apartment came with a cute little loveseat that we moved into Kristian’s office. It’s not quite long enough for a full-sized adult to sleep on it, but will be a great option for kids.

Last night, we went to a housewarming party at the apartment of some other parents from Lilian’s school. It was mostly fellow parents, and they are literally from all over the world. By my count, there were at least 10 nationalities represented. I loved meeting everybody and hearing their stories. It took a little negotiating in terms of language, but lucky me, I speak the two most popular (French and English). Poor Lilian was already overwhelmed after an afternoon at IKEA (aka sensory nightmare land) and all the kids were a lot younger. It’s pretty cool that they were able to walk home on their own, though!

Lilian might pick up some babysitting gigs. I spent a summer in France watching three children back when I was in high school. It was really great for my French skills. Little kids use small words and they love correcting you.

Today, Lilian and I went to a vintage market that was held in an old sugar factory (I do believe that is the most hipster-y sentence that I have ever typed). We each bought a ring, I bought a pair of gorgeous orange and pink glass earrings, and they found a vintage jean jacket.

There were also churros. With Nutella.

The walk from the tram was along the river, and the weather was 60 degrees and sunny (but not too sunny). Perfect day, no notes.

Kristian went on an adventure of his own today. He took the metro across the city to St Cyr au Mont d’Or and went on a several mile hike. More importantly (for me anyways), he stopped by the apple festival there and brought us all sorts of goodies, including a delicious apple tart. He said that the weather was too overcast for much of a view, but that it was a pleasant walk. Maybe I can even get him to write about it.