Bonjour Paris!

We've arrived!  We can therefore now join the ranks of the bloggers / braggers and talk you through the ups and downs of our year in Paris.  Max's days aren't yet quite as exciting as those of Ben, Eve, Margot & Fiona, but we'll try to do our best to make the blog worth looking at from time to time, if only to see photos of Mad Max.

Getting here was a palaver!  We went to collect the van last Saturday from Airdrie, all organised through a right dodgy company called 'Yellow Hire'.  Do not use them!  Legal proceedings will commence soon!  Paul had fully explained the set up with Yellow Hire weeks ago and we were glad to have found a company who were happy for their vans to be driven onto the continent (Paul would need to return it to Ashford in England).  However, when we pitched up in Airdrie, the van they'd organised for us was a two-seater!  No room for long-distance Max!  Anyway, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I managed to get relatively cheap flights for myself and Max to travel in style on the Thursday.  Paul went on ahead with his pal, John, who thankfully stepped in at the last minute to help with the navigation and unloading.  Paul's cousin Neil, who is also living in Paris, helped out too.  The traffic was a nightmare so I'm so glad Max didn't have to go through that journey.  Thanks so much, John and Neil!!  Thanks also to Graeme and Chris for helping us to store all of our worldly goods in mum & dad's loft.  We seem to have accumulated an embarrassing amount of stuff over the years - none of it worth much at all, but I'm too scared to part with it!  Please don't downsize this year, folks!

We're currently staying in a beautiful building on the Rue de Recollets, very close to the Gare de l'est.  It was formally a convent dating back to the 16th century but has been recently modernised.  The building was occupied by squatters in the 80's and some of their graffiti work has been kept as relics in the hallways.  I'm not making the place sound attractive but it is lovely.  Here are some pics of the flat.  We have it for two months but we'll need to either downsize or move further out of Paris for the remainder of the year.  Paris flats are extortionate!  The studio option is beginning to look more attractive than being far from the city centre but at the same time, we don't want to have to be whispering from the minute Max goes to bed.  We'll need to have a look at what's available for our budget, but a smaller flat in this complex is looking tempting, particularly as it's so secure and there's a lift!  Essential with the pram!  If truth be told, I'm just dreading attempting to flat-hunt with a wee baby in a massive city with my non-existent French.  And I forgot to mention that there's a cleaner who comes in to change the sheets every week and clean the bathroom!  Yep, a smaller flat right here is fine.

Paul went out for dinner on Saturday with the director of the project he's working on and another colleague from the project.  I'll not even attempt to summarise the work he'll be doing this year (as if I could).  However, here's a link to a rare thing - an article that explains in decent English the background to the project: http://www.nd.ed/~ndworks/two2007-8.pdf

Paul's quite excited about the project, it's right up his street, and he's effectively getting paid to do something that really interests him, so it's a lovely set-up.  I'm more than happy being unemployed in Paris and hanging out with Max.  It's brilliant to be able to relax with him after such a hectic summer.  The French seem to adore babies and so Max has been charming the neighbourhood with his "Are you trying to be funny?" stare.  People coo-coo to him and blabber away in French before turning to me with a question, to which I always reply, "quatre mois" with a smile, regardless of the question.  From their reactions, I reckon I've been right half the time, which is worth it for the feeling that you're actually HAVING A CONVERSATION IN FRENCH!  I will really need to get on with the French tapes and learn some French.  I also intend to develop an accent that I'll retain for the rest of my life!

Paul is away out to see if he can watch Andy Murray take on Roger Federer in the final of the US Open.  Go on yersel', Andy!