Unemployed

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Dear all,

Here begin the diaries of Nina in my state as willfully unemployed. Unfortunately I'm not yet bludging off the state, (though I'll be sure to grab a dole form from Centrelink as soon as I get home), but am gallivanting through Europe.

For those who don't know, I finished work in Thailand August 25 and left dear Thailand on September 5 for the surprisingly sunny shores of Europe. I've already spent a day in London and a couple of days in Paris, and am now in Liege, Belgium. I'm in Liege another week, before a triumphant return to the gai Paris (to my friend's apartment with a view of Sacre Coeur!), and then I sidle down to Roma, via the slopes of Grenoble/Lyons (a Belgian friend lives there) and the catwalks of Milano (where George and Robbi will be). I'll be in Roma for the entire month of ottobre (that's October for those who don't speak Italiano), volunteering at a shelter there, so any passers-by, let me know and we'll go eat pizza together. After that a week in London, a week in Israel, a week in Bangkok and then return to Melbs, date to be confirmed.

Paris remains an achingly beautiful city. It's just a magical place to be, every corner is gorgeous. It was wonderful to see my friend Lily again, who I knew in Bangkok when she did a short internship there about two years ago. As said above, I was/will be again staying in her charming apartment in Montmartre, from which one can see the towers of Sacre Coeur. It's great to have a Parisian to show me around Paris, taking me to places I've not been before (le palais de Tokyo, a modern art museum; le Parc Monceau; le Canal St Martin, on which Amelie in the film of the same name skimmed rocks), and of course, having drinks at Parisian cafes in true Parisian style. I particularly enjoy the Parisian (French?) tradition of the aperitif... so nice to no longer be in a country where a woman drinking is clearly a bad girl and a drink before evening is clearly the sign of a lush...

We went out Thursday night, all in true Parisian style: aperitif at the local cafe with friends at 8pm, dinner at 10pm, meet our other club-going buddies at midnight when we take a drink at a bar before going to the club... then off to the club which has a VERY long queue because Thursday night is free night... but we manage to squeeze our way in significantly further up the line when one of our crew spots someone who asked him for directions earlier that night (old friends!)... after an hour of chatting to various strangers, we make it to the entry only to find out that it costs 15 euros... we slink off to the genuinely free bar down the street. One of our new friends of the evening spent a good portion of the time freestyle rapping in Spanish to the French tekkers, which was very impressive. He even rapped in English for my benefit. A man told me that I have the figure of Monica Belluci (and just because he was high on god knows what does not invalidate what he said!). I also met a really cool 21-year-old guy (friend of friend of friend) who has an awesome mother and who can use the word 'feminist' without flinching, so if anyone has any little sisters in Paris who needs a date, let me know.

a la prochaine fois mes puces,
Nina,
xx

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Photos

View from Lily's window
Gai Paris!