A month already we left Paris. But I still hear the accordion music played in the metro, the bicycle I rode when I stucked in the strikes season, the letters of every cafes, boutiques and restaurants, every morning I run to the boulangerie for 1.20 euro baguette and the lights of the buildings at night!! Is there any better place to declare the truth feeling of each other as we cruise the river in bateaux-mouche Paris at night?
I'd love being lost inside the city.
Therefore, I remember the song "Paris in our hearts" which I never know who sing it. But I love the lyrics!
Paris in our hearts
memories of a town
with millions of lights
reliving the time
when i close my eyes
longing for the place
where i felt so alive
longing for the place
where lovers lay
chorus :
we always have paris in our hearts
and our minds
we always have a passion for life
on our side
we always have the colour and light
through the night
we always have the touch of a hand
to understand
drinking our morning coffee
by the riverside
watching the water flow
through this old town
wanting to be there again
with you by my side
wanting to feel like lovers
through the morning sun
chorus :
we always have paris in our hearts
and our minds
we always have a passion for life
on our side
we always have the colour and light
through the night
we always have the touch of a hand
to understand
walking though a busy
main street at night
looking at the art
that gives pleasure to my eyes
needing to be in a town
that never sleeps
needing to wake up with you
so close to heaven
chorus:
we always have paris in our hearts
and our minds
we always have a passion for life
on our side
we always have the colour and light
through the night
we always have the touch of a hand
to understand we always have paris in our hearts !
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Paris in Our Hearts
Monday, June 1, 2009
Things I miss about Paris
It's been several months we're based in Paris and a few days from today we will re-unite with the whole family again. Me and my daughter, Noelia are having lotsa fun being in melting-pot city of Paris. I don't like to be the tourist in a city. I'd love to be in a small cafe and having a good conversation with the locals. It's easier when I get Noelia around, because they are friendly with the children.
Paris is one of the melting-pot city with so many immigrants, tourists, expats etc. I'm looking for something more profound than just what a spectacular Paris is. I am not talking about Paris museums and old buildings.
So, here things I am going to miss here ....
1. The Butter
It's amazing to see so many kinds of butters in the shelves of the supermarket. It has different taste from the butter where I lived in Singapore. Those butters over here are deliciously good, creamy, a little bit sweet and oohh heaven! At the beginning, I didn't understand why they can be contented with croissant and butter or la crepe and butter only. Now I want to taste all the butter they have in the shelves.
2. Cafes and Bistros
The service could be bad but being in the cafe is more than that. I am not even a coffee drinker. Well, I stopped drinking coffee when I got pregnant and now I am a tea lover. But for me the cafes and bistros are meant to be the gathering places, and the less-fancy the better. The old grunted man behind the bar prepare the drinks while the waitress guy takes your order, that's the first impression when you enter the cafes. If you can win their affection, you are lucky cos they can be really realy nice. But that's hard! I only managed to do it in one of the cafe in boulevard Raspail. I've got a free coffee and good conversation, that's good enough.
3. Cycling around with Vélib'
Paris is notorious for having the street demonstration, strikes and other surprising events which can affect our plan to move around. Luckily, the governement provides the bicycles everywhere for the Parisien to move around. I used the service once, when I was really late to my class during the demonstration around Gare Montparnasse. It's really a good alternative beside buses and metros. Especially during a hot day, you don't want to jump into bus and metro! You'll feel like in the oven, they don't use aircon (not like busses in Singapore!!). But of course, we need to be brave to cycle in between all those crazy Parisien drivers, especially taxi! But I love the look of Velib bicycle, and it's ecolo! For once, it's the transport which doesn't produces a lot of hazard for the environment.
4. The unique sense of fashion
Of course, Paris is the fashion city and I understand a little bit more than that now. Anything that feel comfortable is the key, and everybody is an unique individual. Although most of the famous designers are from Paris, but everybody doesn't need to have Louis Vuitton and Prada bag or shoes. It is more than luxury brands. There are higher end society group who are happy to show off those branded stuffs to each other. But for the most part, they don't look like carrying the common Gucci or Louis Vuitton stuffs around the town. I think those are for the tourists (especially Asians!!!)
Their sense of fashion is dorky and Bohemian or Bobo (Bohemian Bourgeois), in a way. They don't really care about the global luxury brand, it's the mix between our old and new ones. A funky jacket with the vintage t-shirt, with the grandmother's jewellry. The good example from the celebrities are Kate Moss and Nicole Richie's sense of fashion. They are not neatly attire but it's attractive. And we can google what is BoBo, a Bohemian bourgeouis...
Fashion for the French is for tout le monde with young, fresh brands at affordable prices making you look fashionable with no excuses. Just take a look at those adolescent lycéennes and you’ll get my drift.
Hair and make-up must look effortless and natural (so, no big fake eyelashes and thick make-up powder here, that goes for CanCan dancers). I am not sure how they do these, I never found a secret or not just yet. They are less flamboyant than the ones in London.
5. The Boulangerie (Bakery)
My friend who lives in the city of Paris told me that he loves to smell the fresh bread from the nearest bakery in the morning. He sometimes walk around 3 or 4 o'clocks in the morning and smell 'the morning aroma'. Thierry, that's for you!! Haha...
It's true, it's amazing how I grow in love with the French baguette which costs 1.60 euro (medium quality). I love cutting the fresh bread for breakfast (only), but I love it fresh for the tartine. I am lucky, we have home-made jam over here too! In Singapore, those quality bread is priceeyy...
6. Accordion musician busking in the metro (trains)
Noelia loves when there's somebody plays an accordion in the metro. It can be bored sitting in the stroller for a journey, the music is good to bring up the spirit. I just loved the instrumental music and not when they are singing. Crossing down the quai and looking out the busy and narrow streets of Paris entertained with these buskers make us framed in the nostalgia of old Paris.
7. The smelly cheeses
I could be a little bit crazy if I say this, but truthfully I love them. There are sooooo many different kinds of cheeses but I only love soft and creamy cheese. I know it's fatty. But during my diet, every evening for dinner I have to choose between having a dessert or cheeses. I usually have cheese twice or three times a week, it's enough. The foul smelling of them could be 'hazardous' for some people, but even me too. I just have to switch off my smelling sense for a while and trust my taste buds to work it out for me.
8. The cutest and SIMPLE children clothing
I know, I am a mom. But Paris has a simple, most adorable, gorgeous, well-made children clothing. Forget GAP, OSHKOSH B'GOSH, BENETTON (boring), WALT DISNEY characters (sorry, I never fond on them). Sometimes I really can't help it but what I can do when they dedicated the entire streets for children boutiques.
9. Friendly passer by who helped with the strollers
It could be a little bit a hazzle to travel around Paris with the stroller and the baby. I would say the condition is not baby friendly, because there are many stairs to go up and down. I usually have to lift up the stroller with Noelia inside of it. It is heavy. But I love to see how young or old people ask "Avez-vous besoin d'aide avec la poussette? (Do you need help with the stroller)". They help me to carry the stroller together. It's one of the good basic courtesy over here beside opening up the door for us. I don't normally get those in Singapore. The men couldn't care less about opening the door in the shopping center for us to get in. Even when they see we are with the baby, the shopping bags and stroller.
10. La Creperie, chocolate noir, and sumptuous kinds of desserts
Should I write more about these? It's extraordinary. It's hard to look for the good crepe restaurants around Paris. The good crepe is coming from brittany (Bretagne) part, so usually we can get those places around Montparnasse area.
I am not going to explain how the taste could be, but you just need to look out the window display the variety of desserts and you'll know.
I will definetely come back for more, it is only 10 things at the moment! Maybe I will change my taste about Paris in the future, but it is one of our home.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Getting "off the hook" for a while...
I am gonna have my written final exam this saturday afternoon. And I am practically busting my butt off to 'digest' the extraordinary French grammar in a few nights. In the day, I am busy with my demanding role as a full time mom. The house is empty as my parents-in-law went off for a wedding in Bretagne, north east of France and will be back on Monday.
But I have welcomed my niece to stay over for a few days because her family will be spending a week of vacation outside Paris. They only take the other 2 kids, and she stays with me cos she will need to attend a class on Friday. Her school is 1 minute away from our apartment, so it is convenient for her too. She's 11 years old, a teenager.
Ok, practically I am a mom and a baby sitter...I am a nocturnal too.
So, I will try to be focus and stay away from internet blogging or surfing. Will write soon!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Spring fashion for children
A few months after I became a mom, I get connected to the network of moms. It's pretty fun to read and share their experiences. I've got to know some moms who live in Singapore, Europe and USA from networking. And one of them is Leonny, her website Our Everyday Things shares her practical parenting and motherhood tips of her two adorable children.
Leonny Atmadja, an Indonesian lady who lives in Singapore with her family shares her ups and downs being a parent. It's interesting to read her blog as it shares some simple creative activities for the toddlers. And the most important thing is how to enjoy the parenting's tasks.
Recently, she opened an online shopping store for children fashion called Spring Kids which she employed her cute and photogenic children to be her models. You need to check out the website and get the latest spring fashion for your little ones!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Zen-ing your zone, Mama!
I know, it's international mother's day.And I have been a mother for about 18 months, and I say 'what a ride'!
We just got back from a weekend getaway with the family of my husband. We went to Revel in the South of France and rented some chalets with 7 toddlers and 2 adolescents. It is situated in a nice green space with a swimming pool facilities. We had a real fun together as a big family in the southern France compound where the children get to catch up with cousins and play. It is one of rare occasion that the family can be together as some of us live miles away from each other.
Did I mention surrounded by 'children'? Oohh, children!! How life could be fun on your side but it is a lot of work for the adults to raise you? I have been spending quite a bit of time with some young parents with younger kids. Of course, in our background there are must be shoutings, cries, laughs, accidents, bleeds, breaking furnitures, runs, and lotsa other 'fun' things. As time to time, I heard the parents who want to keep control of their children says, "Eat properly", "Play gently", "Don't run", "Eat with spoon and fork", "Be nice", "Don't eat this", "Get out", "Eat your lunch", "Don't cry" etc.
I do feel sorry for the children who can't contain themselves to be curious and make mistakes for their development. We think sometimes they push our buttons real hard. We may become depressed and emotional at work or elsewhere if we have relatively bad incidence with our childen. I have seen it everywhere and even our mom and dad did the same thing during our childhood. We've been told not to do this or that, if not something bad would happened.
I am looking carefully for other solutions more than screaming off our children all the time.
I am reading "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and I thought it is probably relevant to the subject I have been searching all this time. Haha, Yes...I am getting ready to face a toddler's life soon! Those once cherub angels' faces may turn upside down our life. It is part of our growing up too, yes we are! Any form of activity to calm our mind such as yoga, meditation, or pilates and so on may not be effective if we do not change our ways of parenting.
.......
"Many children harbor hidden anger and resentment towards their parents and often the cause is in-authenticity in the relationship, the child has a deep longing for the parent to be there as a human being not as a role, no matter how conscientiously that role is being played. You may be doing all the right things and the best you can for your child but even doing the best you can is not enough. In fact doing is never enough if you neglect being.How can you bring being into a busy family, into the relationship you have with your child? The key is to give your child attention.
There are two kinds of attention, one we may call form-based attention, the other is formless attention. Form-based attention is always connected in some way with doing or evaluating, “Have you done your homework? Eat your dinner, tidy up your room…….do this, do that, hurry up, get ready.”
Form-based attention is necessary and of course has its place, but if that is all there is in the relationship with your child then the most vital dimension is missing and being becomes directly obscured by doing. Formless attention is inseparable with the dimension of being.
How does it work?
As you look at, listen to, touch or help your child with this or that you are alert, still, completely present, not wanting anything other than that moment as it is. In this way you make room for being. In that moment, if you are present, you are not a mother or father, you are the alertness, the stillness, the presence that is looking, listening, touching, even speaking. You are the being behind the doing.
In the human dimension, you are unquestionably superior to your child; you are bigger, stronger, know more, can do more – if that dimension is all you know, you will feel superior to your child, if only unconsciously and you will make your child feel inferior, if only unconsciously. There is no equality between you and your child because there is only form in your relationship and in form you are not equal. You may love your child but your love will be human only, that is to say conditional, possessive, intermittent. Only beyond form and in being are you equal and only when you find the formless dimension in yourself can there be true love in that relationship. The presence that you are recognises itself in another and the other, the child in this case, feels loved, that is to say recognised.
The longing for love that is in every child is the longing to be recognised, not on the level of form, but on the level of being. If parents honor only the human dimension of the child but neglect being, the child will sense that the relationship is unfulfilled, that something absolutely vital is missing and there will be a build up of pain in the child and sometimes unconscious resentment towards the parents. “Why don’t you recognise me?” This what the pain or resentment seems to be saying....." Eckhart Tolle.
Happy Mother's Day! Hope we have a Zen day ....
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