Give me holidays!!

It’s been hot lately in Paris, in the past few weeks the temperatures have risen to 30 degrees regularly and the city has not shown its best side to me. Yes yes, it was cool that France won the world cup! My favorite player is of course N’Golo Kanté.

There are a few warning signs in the air when you are in a desperate need of holidays outside of the city:

• In the midst of a heatwave you find the city polluted, dirty and uninteresting. Paris is definitely at its best in mild Spring or Autumn days, when you can enjoy a drink in a terrasse in a mild breeze. Not so much in the summer heat with carbage smelling all over the packed streets.
• The constant problems with RER – I’m about to have a malaise myself just when I hear about a malaise voyageur – the 25 minutes waiting time when there is supposed to be a train every 5 minutes, wagons being so full that you don’t fit in, the infamous gap between the train and the platform swallowing your favorite Uniqlo cardigan, almost fainting because there are so many people, finding yourself mouthing “putain” like a hundred times on your way to the office despite the Spotify and e-book distraction.
• You almost start a fight with an American mom in Facebook mama group, who dares to call oatmeal old fashioned and says it has simple carbs, I mean simple carbs?? How dare she insult the Finnish national food in such an impolite manner. I’m so not going to put my 1 year old kid in carb free diet and just feed him eggs and avocados! (ok in reality the kiddo hates avocados which kind of breaks my heart)

So tonight I will be finally on holidays and taking a plane to Finland. I’m mostly thrilled about having way more space around me and preferably no people (except the family). Give me forest, lake, blueberry pie, rye bread and I’ll be happy! Châtelet – Les Halles in the morning rush, I’m so not gonna miss you.

Random things lately

The spring has went by too fast, the summer arrived to Paris last week with temperatures rising way over 25 degrees! Suddenly all the greenness is just overwhelming. The little one is now crawling everywhere and standing against things, and us parents have been kept busy running after him. Yet some random things have happened lately:

• I applied a while ago out of curiosity for the Berlin coding challenge organized by Ironhack, got accepted, and have been learning HTML and CSS so far to my geek husband’s great amusement. I never thought I would be interested in coding, but I have found it weirdly addicting, seeing the results immediately. I’m behind the schedule but planning to complete the challenge at my own pace.
• We almost entered into marital crises after I found out that hubby has been watching Casa de Papel behind my back! So now we are stuck with Marseille, unfortunately the second season has been a bit disappointing. Luckily there is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. We are still watching season 1, the baby and the coding project have sadly eaten up all my Netflix time. In addition to Netflix we’ve end up watching Scènes de ménages conveniently just after baby’s bed time on M6. Maybe we’re getting old, but it’s actually hilarious and at least in French.
• I love the Marimekko x Uniqlo collection! I have not been a huge fan of Marimekko clothes (apart from one silk shirt), but especially this collection of T-shirts and cute pants were great.
• After my latest post about social media rehab I got back into my old habits. Seriously considering deleting the social media apps again. The lack of self-control and all those mama groups…
• With the baby our cultural sorties have been much in decline. We did go to couple of expos, but it was not always a success. Once a loud video installation woke up a napping baby, once baby’s baby friend ate the museum ticket, once there was an installation about US army war training center that I judged suspicious for such an innocent little one. But now everyone is talking about the Klimt expo in Atelier des Lumières, we are planning to check it out soon! Stay tuned for obligatory Instagram material…
• This week our nanny is off, so I’ve been at home a couple of days. It’s been great, just to be at home without travelling and spending precious time with the little muppet. After getting back to work you truly cherish the time spent with the kiddo, that’s not a bad development.

Social media overdose

Last week I did something I haven’t done since 2007, I took a week long break from Facebook and Instagram. I have been an enthusiastic user of social networks and ever since I signed up on Facebook in 2007 and a few years later on Instagram, I have connected to both daily. After getting a smartphone, I started to spend more and more time clued to my phone browsing the infamous social media feeds. Now after having a kid, the free time has become more and more precious and I wouldn’t want to waste it by consuming other people’s lives, whereas I could be doing something more useful or especially more relaxing to me. And naturally I would like to set a good example my kid, not spending too much time clued to a screen. It’s already enough to have my phone usually close by to take photos and to keep contact with family and real life friends.

What I love about social media is that have gotten great ideas, inspiration and tips through it, from many smart and funny people I follow. If I haven’t appreciated someone’s posts, I have simply hidden this person. The best part of especially Facebook is, that I have gotten back in touch with people from all over the world and also easily kept contact with friends from home after moving abroad. But I have also just killed countless hours of time browsing the feeds for no apparent reason, in a bus, in a waiting line, even at work between tasks. I have stalked people, followed their lives even if they are not particularity close to me. I have felt jealous at times, seeing what other people are doing while I’m sitting home on a Friday night, even if it was my choice to take it easy. I have shared important moments of my life with all my 600 Facebook friends and monitored closely the amount of likes. In the past I have also shared each and every student party and others have shared too – this is the very reason that my tagged photos are visible only to me.

My social media use paradoxically maybe even increased after having a baby. Being far from family and friends in the same situation (except a couple of wonderful mamas here :*), I started to browse the Facebook mama groups, a very dangerous field. First the Finnish breastfeeding support group, then baby lead weaning support group (well this was not a success, we were so afraid the little buddy will choke that he’s still eating purées.) Then I started to follow English speaking mama groups in Paris region, this has been an amazing support but weirdly addictive. I ended up browsing these groups hectically first during my maternity leave and even after getting back to the office.

So I decided that it’s time for a rehab, thinking that it must be hard to spend a week away. Well turned out that it wasn’t that hard at all. I uninstalled Facebook and Instagram from my phone and social media blackout started. I kept Linkedin, but I rarely go there outside office hours. In the end didn’t even notice the week pass (having a baby and working might have something to do with this), and I didn’t really miss the social networks. I think it’s more of a habit actually, to fill the empty moments. Well, I did have a need to fiddle with my phone, so I ended up reading more news and sending more private messages via Whatsapp and Messenger to people that matter. Not a bad development at all! I did miss Instagram a couple of times, first when it was snowing in Paris (in March!) and I wanted to share the news to get some sympathy. Quite a many times I took a phone in my hand just to remember I had deleted those applications and then put it down again.

When the experiment ended on Thursday night I went to check my Facebook feed and was kind of disappointed, too many notifications for nothing that really mattered. I was very happy to see my closest friends’ holiday pictures though (keep on posting!). I still haven’t installed Facebook or Instagram on my phone. I think I will end up installing the applications back, but will try to limit their use.

By coincidence my Facebook strike started just before the news came out that Facebook apps have gathered information about us and the data have been sold to third parties. This is not really surprising, but it made me think again what I want to share and with who. I did checked my privacy setting page and found out that I have been stupid to sign up on certain web pages with my Facebook account just out of laziness..

I’m likely to remain an avid user of social media, it is just very useful for communication, but I will try to take more time offline. For my serenity’s sake and to concentrate more on the present moment, instead of trying to capture it to share it with hundreds of other people.

Mommy life tactics

So in France the maternity leave is 10 weeks, yes, two and half months. Most people generously extend this with their annual leave, up to three or four months. As a Nordic mama, I took a few extra months of parental leave and now I’m already back to work, which I find actually quite relaxing in comparison to the maternity leave. My initial plan was to enjoy my maternity leave sitting in a sunny park, drinking take away coffee and reading magazines while the baby is sleeping in a stroller. Or have coffee with girlfriends while baby sleeping next to me peacefully. Well I did have quite a few cups of coffee, alone and with friends or hubby, even in the park, but usually this scenario included a curious little one wide awake, ready to have a meltdown any moment. During the first months I also walked countless kilometers through Paris with a baby in a carrier as he disliked the stroller, which is not so much fun as it sounds in those early weeks post partum (luckily French social security pays for getting one’s pelvic floor fixed.)

Some people told me that I will have time for myself during the first months when the baby is sleeping the most of the time. Muahahaha, our baby was wide awake long stretches of time straight after we got back from hospital, needing constant attention. The most time was spent actually figuring out how to put him to sleep. Some people might start a new project during their maternity leave, such as learning a new language or writing a book or a blog. I barely had time to order sushi during the first months.

Little did I know that babies can be fussy most of the time. They have physical growth spurts and mental growth leaps when they require more attention. Then they can get upset after vaccinations or when they are sick, most are irritated when they are teething. Even easygoing babies can get cranky at these times, but the ones who are already demanding, need even extra attention. And these phases are frequent, actually it is more rare to have some calm days in between. Oh and did you know that during the first 3 months most babies have stomach pains and colic wits? No, I did not know either.

Luckily from early on our little muppet was very curious and communicative, and when he soon started to smile, we did forgave him everything, such a charmer he is. Now at 7 months he’s a big boy, sleeping and eating well and getting more independent so it’s a very different ball game. But in the beginning there were some rough days, for which I have developed survival strategies.

• Go out. No matter how tired you are, always go out to get some fresh air and fresh ideas. If you can have a cup of coffee with another mama / daddy for some peer support, even better, but even a chat with sales person or a granny will do. (Yes, unlike in Finland, in France people actually strike a conversation when you are out with a baby)
• Take a shower every morning. Even if the little one will cry a bit despite your desperate attempt to place his bouncer close to the shower and sing to him, it is worth it to feel fresh.
• Forget about reading morning news in peace. When the little buddy gets upset after following me preparing coffee and breakfast, I take him in my arms and we drink coffee together (not him yet) and sometimes I read newspaper headlines out loud to him. He knows already a lot about Saudi Iranian conflict and the implications of Hizbollah interfering in Israel, so he can soon impress his peers in the day care with all this knowledge.
• Forget about reading paper books. I have started to read e-books with my phone, as you can easily do this while breastfeeding. I tend to avoid reading child psychiatrists and likes that might make you feel guilty for not looking your kiddo in the eye while breastfeeding – hello, this is the only moment of peace! In the first weeks after baby’s birth when everything was confusing, Yösyöttö by Eve Hietamies and Vuoden mutsi by Satu Rämö and Katja Lahti were life saviors (sorry non-Finnish readers, I’m not sure if these have been translated). You need a good laugh at that stage. Later I found The Wonder Weeks also helpful.
• After singing Saku Sammakko, a Finnish children’s song, a five hundred times in one day – by the way the song is a bit sexist, Hillevi Hiiri running away with that musician Hepokatti Heikki instead of good old Matias Myyrä and saying that woman is always a woman – I decided to make him listen all the Finnhits (and some world music too). Our favorite is Pariisi – Helsinki by Jari Sillanpää.
• I do some yoga and exercise with Youtube videos while baby is napping, I rather use the 30 minutes that he finally sleeps to clear my head rather than clean. I like Sarah Beth postnatal yoga classes, especially this one and I did Lucile Woodward post-grossesse series that my French midwife suggested. You will find only 15 minutes long episodes so there are no excuses.
• Instant glow beauty serum by Lumene – some people actually thought that I have slept through a night during the past 6 months, I wish… Thank god for the hormones whatsoever that keep me going. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

Now being back to work I can only say that despite the rough start, the past 6 months were the best time. For all new mamas and daddies I’d say relax, eventually they will grow up and cry less and eventually they will fall asleep every time. For the Finnish mamas I wish that you enjoy the long maternity leave, but remember that in some parts of the world the leaves are way shorter, so don’t feel guilty if you sometimes miss the calmness of the office. And the fact that you can actually finish your lunch in peace.

Greetings from suburbia

You can take a girl out of the suburb, but you can’t take the suburb out of a girl. Let’s face it, I have never been a city girl or a country girl, after all I do come from Espoo. It’s just very convenient to live a short commuting distance from a city, but in a greener neighborhood where life is calmer and you have more space. Once you get bored with the suburban life, the city is waiting for you just a short bus or train ride away. We have recently moved from Paris to Nogent-sur-Marne and it feels like home already, in a different way than Paris was. We ended up in Nogent by a chance, or actually due to a clever algorithm in rentals website that suggested me our current apartment even if Nogent was not in our original search scope.

In Paris we lived in the South side of the city in a calm neighborhood, but still it’s Paris. More noisy and hectic, I won’t miss the corner pizza delivery place’ scooters driving back and forth in the night. Who orders pizza in a week night anyway?? We had a park close to our place as well as part of the Petite Ceinture, which is great by Paris standards, but not enough greenness for me. Even when you sit by the Seine in the center of Paris, it feels like you are in an outdoor museum. It is ridiculously pretty and impressive, but it’s hard to feel like home.

I’m pretty excited about our new home town, it is only 4 RER train stops from Paris center and we have the Marne river and Vincennes forest (which is more like a big central park) close by. There is a cute shopping street with palm trees and Christmas lights where most of the stores close at lunch time and on Mondays. And a port de plaisance with cute river boats! We have sushi restaurants but they don’t give you chop sticks unless you ask, you see, we are not in the city. There is also quite an ugly concrete sports complex by the river, where they have a 50 meter outdoor swimming pool that is open all year round, yay! Nothing better than to swim outside in slight November rain (yes, we Finnish people are a bit crazy. Pool is heated though, I’m not that crazy). The complex also has bowling and snooker, somehow fits to the picture… In the town there is an old movie theater and one restaurant and bar frequented by young people (in France the lycéens, high school kids, apparently still smoke, how old school. In Nordics they seem to be only eating healthy and training).

Actually Nogent has gotten as the only town in Val-de-Marne department a status of a ville touristique. I wouldn’t go as far as recommending this place for tourism, as there as are a few other spots in France that might be slightly more interesting, but this is certainly a cute place to live. Let’s see how the city will treat us, it’s only the beginning here.

Notions of a baby life in Paris

It has been now three months and two weeks of a hectic baby life in Paris. Time for a recap.

• It is easy to lose those few pregnancy kilos as you live in the fifth floor without an elevator. Just try to climb five floors with a baby, a stroller carry cot and the groceries.
• You are likely to be a relaxed mom, once the baby drops his pacifier on the floor in the hall on your way out, you certainly don’t climb back to the 5th to wash it. (Note to self: Carry a bottle of water with you)
• Parisian grannies love babies, they might even attack the stroller or the baby carrier, so be aware (I have heard this applies to some Asian tourists too). My favorite was the granny who told me to enjoy my time with the baby since when he grows up “il va te faire chier“, he will piss you off. Thanks for the tip, lady.
• All french women seem to have the same manner and tone while talking to babies, it’s kind of cute. Ça va mon coeur / Au revoir petit crapaud… tui tui tui
• Instead of believing in all things baby led (sleeping, eating), the French believe in all things parent led. If parents are happy, then baby is too. I try to tell this to my three month old, but he has hard time understanding it.
• Literally everyone, including a guy at the Orly airport passport control desk, are asking if the baby “fait ses nuits“, sleeps through the night. They are obsessed about this. Well he did sleep through quite a few nights before the three months’ growth spurt, sleep regression and whatsoever. They should see the dark circles around my eyes and know better not to ask.
• When out and about with the baby, and also while pregnant, you are prioritaire. This means that you can basically skip most of the queues and avoid waiting for your turn in line. This comes in very handy in Primark on a Saturday afternoon or in the airport taxi stop late at night. Muahahahaha, some compensation for those sleepless nights.
• People treat you as a champion and congratulate you when you are still breastfeeding your three month old. It’s nice to be good at something!
• French social security pays most part of your pelvic floor and abdominal reeducation sessions. Luckily I had my baby before Macron gets to cancel this policy.
• If the baby refuses to take a nap at home, he is likely to fall asleep quickly in Paris metro, that strange little creature.
• If you have a horrible day and the baby is only taking 20 minute naps, you can always use half of those 20 minutes to take a petit verre de rouge in a local brasserie on your way home from park. This naturally only when chocolate does not help.

All in all, baby life in Paris is not too bad at all, but the next chapter will take place in banlieu.

Normandie <3

A long weekend in Normandie is enough to restore your faith in the humanity (or at least in French people). Therefore we end up going there time and time again. There is also something quite nordic about Normandie, rough wind, unruly sea… not to mention the red nosed wannabe sailors. Maybe that’s why I always feel like home there.

Distance by train from Paris is reasonable, most destinations are not more than 2-3 hours train ride away from the center of Paris. But be aware, we are not talking about comfortable TGV high speed trains but the infamous Intercité or TER connections… This means no marked seats, no extra place for luggage.. so avoid going back to Paris when everyone else does if you can. Yesterday afternoon our train Rouen – Paris was so full that one grandma actually fainted.

This Easter we discovered Dieppe, a recommendation from a friend who used to live in Rouen. The city didn’t instantly charm us, but the people did. The first time we stopped and hesitated which way to go to our Airbnb, a lady approached us asking if we need help, and proposed to give us a ride our accommodation as she lived close by. When we ventured out from our place to lovely Esplanade du Château, people greeted us with “Bonjour” whenever we passed them. Also our B&B hosts were just lovely. After Paris, such kindness almost brings tears to my eyes. While in Paris people try so hard to not to see other people that they almost walk over them and often lack the most basic manners, it feels good that people acknowledge your existance. We had a smile on our faces for three days in a row and again sweared that we will move outside of Paris or at least get a summer house in Normandy (we say this everytime and everywhere when we go outside of Paris).

If you are after the sea, delicious sea food, relaxing walks and avoiding Parisians as we did, Dieppe is a perfect destination for you. The falaises surrounding the city are grand and the beach is quite impressive. In cute port de plaisance, the harbour area, you will find plenty of relaxed restaurants serving fresh fish. But don’t expect anything lively, we were the last couple in a restaurant when it was closing, around 10 pm… I can recommend “Les bains de Dieppe”, they have heated outdoor pools and spa sections with a few different pools, sauna and hammam. They propose different treatments too, but you better book well in advance. With unexpected sunshine on Sunday, Dieppe was for us exactly what doctor ordered, a very positive experience. The city may not be the most pittoresque destination in Normandy region, but it is a sympathetic one.

If you are looking for a more animated destinations you better choose something like the twin cities Trouville and Deauville. If you are after great views over the falaises, try hiking around 20 km over the cliffs between Fécamp – Etretat. And a wild card, that is technically not even in Normandie but in Picardie (who knows the difference) is lovely Somme region, last year we spent Vappu (1st of May) weekend in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, it was just perfect. So cute village and you might see some seals if you are lucky! We have tested and highly approved all the mentioned destinations and would be glad to go back anytime.

Next up in my plans is Bretagne, we never set a foot in there yet…

Good things lately

Meanwhile Spring has arrived to Paris and we’ve had +17 degrees and sun this weekend, yay! Warm enough to take the winter jacket off when you find a non-windy spot in the sun. We tested this weekend the mazy garden between Louvre and Tuileries, worked perfectly. After a long grey winter, here are some good things of the moment:

• Spring spring spring! Some trees are already blooming (don’t ask me what are those) and the magnolias will be blooming in a couple of days.
• First ice creams of the year eaten outside. McFlurry and Amorino are always safe choices. Amorino is the best though.
• Park lunch to assure the daily sun intake, food always tastes better outside.
• Tulips from Lidl for 1,99 euros in all colors. I buy them every week.
• Listening to Gangsta rap in the metro. Nothing cheers you up in morning metro like N.W.A. Ok there is a reason to this, I’ve been of course following the Norwegian teenager TV series SKAM (like everyone else it seems) and then downloaded the series’playlist on my Spotify. Slightly embarrassing, I admit.
• Following malamutes on instagram (they are like huskies but cuter). Try @lifewithmalamutes. In this era of too many depressing news, some malamutes make my day. Yet I think I will go to malamute rehab now, too much cuteness.
• Did I not mention our weekend trip to Venice already? Oh Italy. I just realized this was the 4th time we went to Italy in 3 years time. There is a reason, food and the dolce vita in general. In Venice I loved not having cars around, but I could not spend too many days there as there is no greenery, at least in Paris we have trees! Of course the city is ridiculously pretty and romantic, just perfect for a weekend getaway.

That’s pretty much what’s up here, long walks in the city are my favorite Spring activity, with ice cream stops of course. I should take my camera with me more often, I am a bad aspiring blogger. Oh well. Next time.

Have a lovely week everybody!

Tropical air in Paris

Yesterday we enjoyed the springy weather and headed to the 16th arrondissement of Paris to visit Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil, one of Paris’ botanical gardens. I’ve had this visit planned for a long time now and finally had a good opportunity. I’m not a big fan of the 16th district as it can be a little dull, but since we took the bus to Eglise d’Auteuil and walked towards the garden through Rue d’Auteuil, I was positively surprised. The street is very cute, like walking in a little village. Closest metro is Porte d’Auteuil, only a few hundred meters away from the garden.

Jardin des serres consists of several greenhouses that present different climates and flora from all around the world, you can take a walk in New Caledonia or in Sahel. The best thing was the main greenhouse with tropical temperature. The humidity and warmth was so good for my flu that has bothered me the whole week. Finally I found a place in Paris where you can breath easily! If my husband wasn’t sweating too much inside I would have stayed there for hours… There are also fish in pools and tropical birds whose singing adds to the jungle like atmosphere, very pleasant, even if it always makes me sad to see birds in captivity.

They have also the cutest flower distributor… Not sure if it really worked though.

We were smart to buy lunch baguettes on the way and ate them in the garden outside enjoying the sun. We were not the only ones, it was a perfect spot for the first picnic lunch of the season. The garden is situated close to the périphérique, the Paris ring road, and the surroundings are unfortunately a bit noisy. But inside of the serres it is heavenly peaceful and even the small yard in the middle of the greenhouses is quite calm.

I definitely recommend to visit this place, perfect to take in some tropical air in the midst of February!

Brunching in Barbes

It’s been a while since I wrote something on the blog, it’s been hard to find motivation lately. It’s been still cold and grey in Paris, so basically I have been spending most of the time indoors. If I have dared to venture outside, it’s straight from place A to place B. Meanwhile we have also celebrated a wedding in Tunisia and for work I have traveled to Alger, the rest of the time I’ve been pretty much curled up on the couch. Needless to say I have a lot of Netflix recommendations, currently I’m hooked on the American Crime Story. That O.J Simpson case is fascinating. To my defense, I’ve also managed to almost complete a course in Coursera, after all you can do this also from your couch, not disturbing the hibernation.

Yesterday we ventured bravely out and headed to Barbes, a previously threaded neighborhood in Paris were you can easily buy illegally imported cigarettes or even drugs (they say, I’m not buying of course). I needed to fix my Samsung’s screen that went black and my trusted (ok the cheapest), phone repair shop is in Barbes. In one hour they fix everything and you end up paying way less than in official repair (in your face corporate giants who always find a reason why your guarantee does not apply). Already last time while visiting the area I noticed that bobo Parisians have adopted Barbes, the eventual destiny of all formerly shady neighborhoods, and a new brasserie has opened in the corner just outside the metro station. As we had one hour to wait for my phone to be fixed, we went to test it.

Brasserie Barbes was a nice experience all in all, service was very friendly and the brunch formula, 18 euros for a few salty pieces that was sufficient for lunch and dessert pancake, was not too bad at all. Food was not exceptional but correct, we both enjoyed the meal. Other than brunch they have a traditional bistro menu with sandwiches, salads, burgers and a few other dishes. Best thing was nice decoration and cozy atmosphere, there is even a fireplace, you’re lucky to get a table in front of it on a cold winter day.

Since we were already in the North of Paris far from our hoods, we went to check Pavillon des Canaux as I had red about an exhibition “Gueules de Parisiens” that was going on in there. The exhibition itself turned out to be pretty small, but the place was the cutest! The pavillon has two floors and several rooms that are decorated in different random styles, you can even enjoy your coffee or beer in a bath tub in a decorated bathroom. I will definitely come back to sit on a terrace when the weather gets better, they also do brunch in the weekend.

To end the city day well, we headed to movies to see the Moonlight in MK2 in Stalingrad. The movie theater is actually in two buildings on the opposite sides of the canal and there is a small ferry ride between them. No need to say I’m always excited to take this ferry to the movies! Moonlight was worth watching, after napping a bit in the beginning of the movie (oops) the rest was captivating.

The weather is supposed to get better next week, I’m looking forward to end the winter hibernation period and discover more things in Paris! Have a nice Sunday you all xx