Paris... or "How I learned to love being unemployed"

Lately I've found myself in the land of the unemployed. This mostly involves finding new and interesting ways to keep myself entertained, and so far I'm not doing too badly. I'm discovering my inner domestic diva whilst realising just how filthy a decent sized apartment can get. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.

With that said, I do have a newfound respect for stay-at-home moms, wives or partners. It's not an easy life. I'm sure it takes much longer than my not-quite one week of unemployment to get used to this kind of life, and I admit that some days have left me nearly crawling the walls, but I now have much more time for the things I enjoy. I've sorted through and posted my best photos from our trip to Paris, for example, and very soon I will be starting my Christmas Project - a calendar of my favourite photos, to be given to friends and family (and anyone else who would like one - requests are welcome!)

Speaking of Paris... that was my birthday present from B this year. We left on the first of November and stayed until the sixth - just enough time to see almost everything, and yet not quite long enough.

We stayed at the Hotel Monte Carlo, just near Montmartre. It's a wonderful hotel, 15 minutes from Gare du Nord one way, 15 minutes from the Opera House the other way, and about 20 minutes to the Louvre. It's in a safe and relatively quiet neighbourhood (apart from a random fight outside the karaoke bar across the road which I'm sure was an isolated incident) and is surprisingly affordable, given the extortionate hotel prices in Paris, even in November.

As for what we did and saw... well the obvious highlight was taking a cooking class at Cook'n With Class, at a small studio near Sacre Coeur. I cannot recommend this enough, and I cannot believe that more people do not know that it even exists! We did the pastry class, which is actually more of a dessert-making class, and learned how to make creme brulee, chocolate souffles, raspberry mousse, poached pears, and madeleines - all from scratch. Bring a healthy appetite.

Apart from all the usual touristy sites (Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs Elysees, etc) we also, at the recommendation of one of B's friends, did a tour of the Parisian Catacombs. It's not for the squeamish or faint of heart, but I would definitely recommend it. In the late 1700s, largely because of disease and infection, the contents of many cemetaries across Paris were moved to old quarries about 20m below the city. The bones were built in to walls, with skulls being used for decoration. The entire site was consecrated, so it is also a holy place where the residents can rest in peace (or what little peace you can find given the number of visitors the site receives each year).

We also took two of my favourite birthday presents to Paris with us, and I think they enjoyed themselves too.

So that's been my life over the last couple of weeks. And good news for my readers back at home - B and I will be back in town on the 12th of December. Can't wait to see you all then!