Home Again

So I am back. I got home Friday night and started work again yesterday. It's been great to see my friends and NYC but I really miss Paris. I miss guys actually hitting on me and the chevre chaud salads. I miss drinking wine in cafes in the middle of the day and being able to smoke in the bars and clubs. I miss my little studio and the clean, timely metro. And I miss the friends I made there. And being back at work is not helping. I have been trying to quit this job for years but can't find anything else I want to do and am addicted to the money I make here. And now I am in so much debt that I can't possibly take a pay cut for at least another year.

So I have been thinking about moving to Paris. It's impossible to get a job there but if I can make it happen I might do it. Not forever but for a few years. I love NYC but I'm so sick of the rat race. In France you get a minimum of 8 weeks vacation and no one works any where near as hard as they do here. The quality of life it just so much better. But there's so many things I need to think about before I can make any decisions. These are just some thoughts I've been having in my depression at being back here.

Anyway, I am SO, SO glad that I went there as it's given me clarity on a lot questions in my mind. I just need to make the actual decisions that are laid out before me. I'll let you all know how that goes.

My Final Week :(

Chris and Farrah
Originally uploaded by ffaverey.

So Chris left this morning. As with Janna we partied until almost 4 in the morning and then got up at 7 to leave for the airport. Needless to say I haven't done anything all day! It was SO great to have him here but I have to say it was nice to just lay around all day. I'm even too tired to go out again tonight, even though it's my last Saturday. I guess I feel like I've done everything here that I've needed to.

Over the next few days I plan on doing one or two more touristy things that I never got around to but will otherwise just take it easy and enjoy my last moments here. I keep going back and forth from being really excited to see everyone and get back to NYC to being so, so sad that my time here is ending. The only thing from keeping me from feeling really sad is that I know Paris will always be here and that I can come back anytime I want. But with life picking back up it will probably be a while. But I've had a lot of time to contemplate my life and figure out who I am and I will always be grateful that I did this for myself.

Anyway, I will try to post one more time before I leave but otherwise I will be seeing many of you very soon!

Farrah and Chris!

Farrah and Chris at the Eiffel Tower
Originally uploaded by ffaverey.

So Chris and I are having a great time. We partied on Sat night and went for drinks with Katie last night for her final night in Paris but have otherwise been doing touristy stuff. I've needed the break! Going out every night for 2 weeks is hard when you're almost 30. Ha ha. But we are going non-stop all day so I will still def need my last week to relax.

Anyway, just wanted to drop a quick note. I'll write more after Chris heads home to give a full report. :)

Time is Flying!

Katie, Kat and Farrah
Originally uploaded by ffaverey.

Well, just as I said, time is flying now. Chris is here now and Katie has gone off to the UK until Monday night and will head home on Tuesday morning. We had an amazing time while she was here. Her friend Kat (the one in the middle in the photo) was here for 4 days also and we just had tons of fun. I've been going out almost every night. I'm so tired! And I don't think I've ever drank so much wine in my life. Every morning we wake up thinking we couldn't possibly drink more or go out again but somehow we manage to rally and head out. Paris is really only fun on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for clubbing etc but we still have been hitting cafes and little bars etc and partying like it's our job.

Chris and I went out last night and hit some gay bars and had a great time. Today we are going to take it easy and then do touristy stuff the rest of the week. It'll be nice to chill out on the partying again until Friday and then send him home hungover on the plane. Ha ha! And then I'll only have one week left! I can't believe I spent so much time alone and a bit bored and now everything is just flying by and before I know it I'll be on NY soil again. I really have some majorly mixed feelings. I've loved being here so much but I do miss home. But I think I'll be crying like a baby when I get on the plane. At least I won't be totally alone my last week as my roommate Lauren's friend Karen will be here with her cousin (they are staying at a hotel) and we plan to go out a few times.

Anyway, just wanted to give you all an update since I've been lax with the posting. I hope you're all doing well and I will see you soon!

Janna!

Janna and Farrah in Paris
Originally uploaded by ffaverey.

So Janna and I had a great time! We ate and drank a LOT, of course. And she even stayed out until 4am one night! Haha. Unfortunately, she was trying to prove that she could be a party animal and ended up drinking about 55 mojitos. And boy was she in pain the next day!! We were both quite hungover but we soldiered on because I wanted to try to show her as much of Paris as possible! We went to the Eiffel Tower (of course), Notre Dame, the Louvre, Versailles, shopping and a Seine cruise. And we ate at a cafe, went to a bunch of trendy bars and then to the famous night club, Le Cab. So we pretty much did it all! I had to spend all day Sunday in bed recovering after I dropped her off at the airport. Ha ha. And Katie comes tommorow so I start the whole thing over again! I can't wait!

It was so great to be out at night and to have a friend to hang out with. My friends mean so much to me and they always make my life brighter. And since I make it a point to only be friends with people that will make me laugh so hard that I start crying, it's always a good time. :)

Anyway, I went on a bit of a shopping spree today so from here on out all of my money will be spent on food and booze. Should be great!

Hope you're all doing well and I'll check in soon.

Dreams

So I've told some of you that I have been having weird dreams since I've been here. The first two weeks, those dreams mainly consisted of me being back at my office, having flown home thinking there was some emergency. Of course there's no emergency and I then have to pay another $800 to get back to Paris and miss a whole week here. Well, thankfully those have stopped but since then I've had some even stranger dreams. One involved Jonathan Rhys-Meyers that was actually quite enjoyable, ha ha. But the others . . . I don't know where they came from.

One involved this bitter, evil partner at my law firm. She is the one female partner I've worked with and she is mean, shrieky and basically a miserable bitch (those of you at the work know who I'm talking about). Well, I had a dream that I was back at work in September and she called me into her office. She asked me a bunch of interview like questions, all while being suspiciously nice, and then unceremoniously told me I was to now be her personal paralegal and would be getting her lunch and handling all of her affairs. Like a freakin personal assistant. Bascially it was the Devil Wears Prada except in this case the Devil Wears L.L. Bean and there are absolutely no perks. No free clothes, celebrities or fashion shows. Needless to say I woke up in a cold sweat.

The second one, that I had last night, involved the much anticipated wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Which is weird because I still believe that their relationship is a sham, Cruise is gay and that Suri has yet to be born to the hapless surrogate to whom they are paying $20 million. Anyway, they decided it would be easier if they just allowed the press to be at the actual ceremony and for some reason that included me. There were millions of reporters and they were taking so many pictures that the place was as bright as Times Square. I kept admonishing everyone for talking through Tom and Katie's very special day and then things got really weird. I looked up and the two of them were wearing freaky white-toga scientology get-ups with flower leis and no shoes. Next thing I know they are naked and walking towards me. Aaauuggh! Luckily I woke up before they kidnapped me and installed me in some Scientology reform center.

Anyway, it's still cold and rainy here so I haven't been doing too much. I've now read seven books and today went to one of the few English bookstores here to buy up a few more. I just wish it were warm so I could be sitting in a park instead of in my apartment or at a cafe alone but what can you do. Paris is notorious for having crappy weather. But Janna will be here in 2 days and then we can spend the rainy days getting drunk in a cafe together.

Talk to you soon. :)

Versailles

Versailles: Marie Antionette's Hamlet
Originally uploaded by ffaverey.

So I went to Versailles on Wednesday. They just reopened the Petit Trianon and Marie Antionette's fake village she had built so I spent all my time there. Didn't even go in the palace this time. I figured I'd be going there with my visitors so I'd be able to come back. Versailles really is so beautiful but the weather was crappy. It was cold and rainy. It's actually gotten really cool here. A little too cool for me, frankly. And some of the tree have already started changing colors! It's the middle of August! Hopefully it will warm up again in the next couple of weeks. Really, you all know how much I hate cold and dreary weather. Ugh.

Today I went to the Marmottan museum, on the recommendation of my Mom. They have some fabulous Monets and some other impressionist art. The saying is true about Monets: from far away they are beautiful but up close they are a fine mess. I don't understand how he painted them. Amazing.

I tried to take a trip to Spain as it's still summery there but the tickets on the flights and trains were over 200 euros. Plus I'd have to pay for the hotel etc. I just can't afford it and I want to spend my money when my friends are here. I'll def go to Italy and Spain etc soon though as Harris is already planning a trip for us for next summer since he was thwarted this time.

Well, I'm getting more excited for everyone's visits. I hope the recent terrorist BS isn't deterring them! Just don't bring any hand cream on the plane and you should be fine. :)