An American, Australian and Canadian go to Provins

Sundays here can be quiet as stores and the such are not open. It's a great day to be a tourist. And it's also nice to get out of the city every now again. A few week backs a few of us decided to check out Provins in the Seine-et-Marne region outside of Paris. If you have a metro pass, you can use it to get there on weekends at no extra cost.

Provins is known as a medieval fair town and was declared a UNESCO World-Heritage site in 2001. The town itself is tiny so you can easily walk it. We spent the afternoon wandering through the streets and checking out the sites. It was once again a million degrees so we weren't moving too fast . . .

The streets of Provins

Downtown Provins

The Caeser's Tower

Inside the walls 

Gate to the city

An American and an Australian

Walking on the ramparts

The view from the ramparts

The garden we decided was better to hang out in than the one beside our office

While we enjoyed being out of the city and breathing fresh air, the temperature and the massive amount of little black bugs that were stuck to us made us quickly realize that we missed the city and were happy to go back at the end of the day!

Canada Day!

Being a Canadian abroad, unfortunately I had to work on Canada Day but that didn't stop the celebration! Thanks to my visitors the week before, I was able to share with my new colleagues a little taste of Canada - maple candies :) 

Then it was off to the embassy for my own taste of Canada - poutine and beer! The food and drink were supplied by the Great Canadian Pub here in Paris which is owned by the same guy as the Berryman Pub on Bank Street. There was a band playing a mix of the oldies followed by Canadian artists (not live of course).

The Canadian embassy 

The poutine and beer

All the Canadians!

While it was fun to be with my own on July 1st, it was 39 degrees that day and we were literally sweating to the oldies! 

Hope everyone else enjoyed to day off!

"The" summer party of the season

Each year the leisure association at work puts on a summer party and it is considered "the" social event of the season - friends and family are welcome. Even though it was the Friday after five days straight of meetings and dinners, I figured it was a must attend soiree. And I'm glad I did! It was a fun night.

There is a fee to attend but once you are in, it's unlimited everything. There were bbqs and tables filled with food - from cheese to candy! There was of course wine and beer to wash it all down (sadly there was an additional cost for the champagne). Though, we did have an intern with us who served as the gopher for the evening :)

Our offices are centred around a complex that includes a Chateau. The party was set up around this which made for a lovely setting. After some formal speeches there was live music and as the night progressed, DJs and dancing. They even played the Women's France-Germany World Cup Match. The game went into penalty kicks and much to the dismay of most of the room, the French lost.

If I'm not in Mexico next year, I am definitely going back to the summer party!

The Chateau and garden

People settling in for the evening

It was a sold out event this year!

Canteen turned discotheque!

Canadians invade Paris!

And on the day my friend left, my colleagues from home arrived for a week of meetings. It was definitely weird to be on the other side but the first time I really felt part of the Secretariat! 

The week mostly consisted of sitting in meeting rooms underground but somehow we found time for food and drinks :)

The Canadian delegation of old and new!

And my fellow blogger in action - photographing the food for his blog!

It was a crazy week but it was awesome catching up with my peeps again!

Musée des Arts et Métiers

The same week my parents left, a friend of mine stopped by Paris for the weekend. Since both of us have seen the major sites, we opted for a museum neither of us had been to before - Le musée des arts et métiers. Like most museums in Paris, the building in itself is worth visiting.

The museum was founded in 1794 by Henri Grégoire, and focuses on technological inventions. While it has some interesting history and pieces, the museum lacks a little in my opinion. For example, the section related to construction is a bunch of models which I found less interesting. I think the best rooms were the technology and communications ones but then I might be a little bias. 

Staircase to get between floors

Random statue of liberty

Foucault's pendulum

And for my coworkers (old and new!) - here is some of the technology that was on display.

I think this is still the computer IC uses

IBM computer anyone?

Communications room

And for Lisa and Melissa, a rogue llama for good measure!

Antiquing in Paris

So I'm a little behind on posting - all the visitors wiped me out :) So without further ado, this is the last post from when my parents were here. 

The last weekend they were here we went to one of the many flea markets in Paris - or marché aux puces as they are called in french. The most famous is Clingnancourt but it's huge so we opted for Porte de Vanves. It's in the 14th so a bit of a commute from my place but easy to find from the metro stop by the same name. Though one thing to note - if you are looking for it on a map, it gives you the starting point of the flea market which is not near the metro stop. You essentially do the market backwards but it really makes no difference.

In a shocking development, my dad bought a camera! The rest of the day was spent shopping at the department store for more apartment things. 

And with that, my parents visit pretty much came to an end.