Excusez moi, I'm full of phlegm.

 Another week has gone already in la belle France and I think I've actually become quite used to this place. There are obviously still some things that I just cannot get my head around (why do I have no oven? why can I not find lined paper?  why was there a man with a potty on his head the other day?) but for the most part, I'm settled now.

I've even been to the pharmacy and coughed all over them to visually demonstrate my illness ( I lack the vocabulary to say 'I'm going to cough up my lung'). On my second trip today, yes second, I came away with some intriguing tablets. I didn't read the instructions and so very nearly ended up choking to death outside the bakery. Turns out you have to melt them on your tongue...oops. 

The tablets that nearly took my life in broad daylight

I'm also loving the Navigo pass and I can't help sneering a little bit at the groups of tourists that fumble around the ticket barriers. Oh, les pauvres.

I'm still having name issues, but to be honest I think everyone is. I've taken to telling them my name is Marie in Starbucks. Smiles all round.

wow

On Monday after Uni, Joe and I trekked around the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery, which was really interesting, apart from inappropriate fits of giggles (blamed on me) and very nearly crashing a funeral. We saw Oscar Wilde's and Jim Morrison's graves, which was....quite odd really, as well as loads of other ones, it was fascinating and a little bit freaky.

'it's too morbid'

Uni is going well though, apart from the amount of work, but I actually do quite enjoy it - considering I want to be a translator. The only things I don't enjoy are a)presentations, I feel sick thinking about it and b) French keyboards. Seriously, it took me like 5 minutes to write two sentences. I was almost hysterical trying to Google and Niamh had to help! 

On Wednesday night, I met Hannah at the Louvre and then we went to meet some of her English friends at a bar called Earth's Kitchen. Cocktails were 3 euros, which is pretty mental for Paris. Throw in a couple of free shots and some wine and I decided that I'd definitely missed the last RER and was crashing at Hannah's. While we were there, singing to Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake (I KNOW), I bumped into someone I went to primary and secondary school with!! We were just screaming at each other, both equally quite freaked out.

Hannah and a very creepy drawing on the street

I woke up at Hannah's in the early hours coughing my guts up and she kindly suggested I take myself outside for some air....and then I locked myself out for an hour. Sitting in a Parisian courtyard at 4am in October with no socks or jacket on, is not something I recommend. Hannah eventually rescued me and I was on the Metro at 5.30, high-tailing it back to Cachan and my bed.

For now, I'm going to enjoy some more of Agatha Christie's Mort sur le Nile and eat a croissant. A bientot!