Bonjour à tous! Hello everyone! I’m sending a big welcome to all my new subscribers!

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Today I’m looking out my 5th floor window towards the Sydney Opera House, there are rainbow lorikeets chirping and chattering away as they sit on my balcony’s railing, and my cat Ms Mooshie is curled up at my feet as we listen the rain drumming down outside.

It’s been unusually hot over summer and so this rain is a welcome relief.

I’ve had some lovely emails from people who are in Paris, would like to go to Paris, or who love reading about Paris, and I’m waving a big hello to you all – and wanted to say Thank You for taking the time to write!

Ahhhhh just made myself a cafe latte with my trusty little stove-top Italian coffee maker, and can’t wait to taste the delicious thick creamy coffee :-)

Many of you already know I LOVE my coffee, and if you didn’t read about my coffee pot disaster recently, you can pop over to my blog and read it later if you like. The great news is that I solved the dilemma, and wrote about it on the blog too :-)

Now I can settle down and think about some things I’d like to share with you today, so go grab a tea or coffee, or cold drink, put your feet up, and walk with me through Paris for awhile … Here’s a quick video I just made for you, simply click the the triangle in the centre to listen:

xxx

What’s in today’s newsletter?

Message from Teena with my good news!

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Happy New Year one and all!!

When a new year begins, do you let your mind wander back over the past twelve months and ponder the things you’ve thought, seen and done? As the year’s end passes by, it’s time to take stock, reflect and look ahead to all the potential adventures we can have!

For example, I have some ideas of great new things I want to do when I’m back  in Paris in June & July  2010 – to share with my fellow Adventurers – and every day is one step closer to being back in the city I love. Will you be able to join me? Oh I do hope so!

My memories of the past …

Over the holidays I’ve been going through a whole pack of letters, aerogrammes and postcards which I sent to my very dear friend Jan over a period of 10 years or so – wow! what a trip down memory lane I’ve been having as I re-read my own words about all the adventures I got up to! I’m including some of the photos etc here to show you.

Left: Yes, that’s me — way back in October 1982, first visit to New York – after island-hopping in the Caribbean for a couple of weeks with friends.Receiving all these letters and postcards from my friend Jan was such a surprise and a delight, and I’ve spent some hours reading them, laughing at the ‘me’ of the 1980s and 1990s.I’ve been hurtling back through time and space, speed-visiting the cities and countries I’ve lived in, the stories I wrote to my friend. The flood-gates to memories have been opened, as I read about the escapades and adventures I had way back then, the people I met, many of whom are still my friends today. Wow! What an amazing experience this has been, to be able to re-read notes, letters and postcards written by me so long ago. I must admit that some of the memories pulled at the heart strings, others made me laugh out loud. Thanks Jan! This is the best present I could have received!

 

Paris Pastry | A Presentation

And now a bit of fun to share with you …

A marvellous online presentation by a photographer — who loves pastries in Paris — can be viewed at:

http://www.susanhochbaum.com/PastryParis.html

Be patient – the music is very cool, and it’s like a slide show. The author sees similarities between her favourite pastries and architecture in Paris – it’s lovely to watch and quite amusing.

Wondering what to do in January and February in Paris?

 

 

 

I I have a whole page of great things to do in January, like ice-skating, eating la Fetes des Rois (Festival of the Kings) cakes. You can read more by popping over to this page:

Things to do in Paris in January  >>

In February,

Things to do in Paris in February  >>

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

A song which reminds me of Paris in winter is “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” by good old Bing Crosby. I found a Michael Buble version which is also very cool – I just melt hearing his voice:

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I remember being in Paris for my very first winter, and to see the street sellers with their fires lit in the brazier as they roasted the chestnuts … well, I was just thrilled to experience something fabulous which I’d heard about in songs, but never seen.

This is just as fabulous as watching crepes being made in the streets of Paris and walking along eating a delicious morsel of yumminess :-)

Questions from website visitors

I’ve picked out a couple of questions which I think you might find interesting – follow the links to read more:

• How much spending money will I need in Paris? – The important tip here is to NOT convert everything you see in Paris into your OWN currency.  It will drive you nuts, and if the exchange rate isn’t wonderful, you will be worried about buying small things like a coffee etc … and you’ll miss the whole experience of simply being in Paris. Work out how much money you’ll need for each day, and you’ll have a great time – remember, don’t start counting pennies when you’re there :-) Make sure to click the link at the bottom of this article to view more prices.

• What does French money look like? The Euro notes are bright and colourful, very similar to the Australian ones I’m used to, and very different from US money.

• Why can’t I find “French Fries” and “French Toast”? This question always amazes me … see what I replied!

• How can I find cheap flights to Paris?  Most people want to save their spending money for their time IN Paris, not spending it on flights, so I’ve found a flight search engine which is pretty good, no matter where you live. Let me know what you think.

Funny Videos

And now, a couple of videos which I thought were funny – maybe you will too! If you find any Youtube.com videos about Paris or things French, do let me know and I might be able to add them to the Newsletters – thanks!!

A dog Speaking French – funny video

I can’t understand everything this dog says, but it made me laugh nonetheless :-)

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Learning to count from 1 to 17 with a two-year old

This is very cute – can you count to 17?

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A French advertisement I like :-)

This advertisement above is very clever – I loved the adverts in Paris when I lived there, so tongue-in-cheek, naughty, thought-provoking – and fabulous! This one says, “Stop murdering the English language! Learning English made easy!”

 

Want to share this page with your friends?

If you think someone else might like to read these, please copy this link below, then email them so they can share my Postcards from Paris :

https://www.a-night-in-paris.com/postcards-from-paris-jan-2010.html

I hope you’ve enjoyed these little snippets about Paris, so until next time, au revoir! a bientot! (goodbye, see you soon!)

Teena Hughes

 

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