I’m back for another round of jet-setting to Paris and Barcelona! First it was 3 days in the outskirts of Paris, same hotel as last only this time I’ve found several English speaking employees so that has been comforting. (no problem with the toilet this time…knock on wood!).
I’m really starting to feel comfortable here in the Paris office; I’ve gotten used to the schedule and [some of] the people are really nice! Each morning around 9-930am everyone meets in the break room for a morning chat and cup of café. Lunch between noon and 1pm, with most people taking the 5min walk to a small sandwich and salad shop in the nearby mall. 2pm sharp is the second café break. I’ve realized it is not really common to have more than these two cups (or shot glasses) of café per day. It’s more of a social thing and not a means to get a caffeine high, which is a major disappointment to me.
The cups and spoons used for the café are not disposable so each day I would wash my assigned dishes and found my completely random fact for the day. Coffee in the US stains cups, mugs, teeth…you get the idea. The coffee I’ve had in Paris washes clean with just a little water and doesn’t even need soap! So what exactly is the difference between our coffee and theirs? Does this mean their coffee is more healthy? I’ll have to do some research and get back to you…
One of the ladies at the office brought in some homemade canele de bordeaux. It is traditional French breakfast cake that was very tasty and a perfect companion to the morning café. The consistency probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, as it’s very “French” and reminded me of a thicker, baked crème Brule.
I also went out to dinner with a group of the office IT guys, one local French and 3 Spanish who were in town. What an eclectic group we were! The common language was English (lucky for me!) but everyone had heavy accents and were often struggling to find their words. It was a very enjoyable evening as we all got to know one another, discussing our families and cultural background, and most importantly we didn’t talk about work at all! These trips are very work centric, so I night away from colleagues is never a bad thing (sorry guys!).
Tomorrow I fly off to Barcelona, unfortunately the weekend weather doesn’t look promising so I may have to grab an umbrella and spend the days shopping indoors rather than sightseeing. Fine with me!! I actually packed light this time so I would have an excuse to go shopping, and would have room in my bag for the flight back!!
I’m really starting to feel comfortable here in the Paris office; I’ve gotten used to the schedule and [some of] the people are really nice! Each morning around 9-930am everyone meets in the break room for a morning chat and cup of café. Lunch between noon and 1pm, with most people taking the 5min walk to a small sandwich and salad shop in the nearby mall. 2pm sharp is the second café break. I’ve realized it is not really common to have more than these two cups (or shot glasses) of café per day. It’s more of a social thing and not a means to get a caffeine high, which is a major disappointment to me.
The cups and spoons used for the café are not disposable so each day I would wash my assigned dishes and found my completely random fact for the day. Coffee in the US stains cups, mugs, teeth…you get the idea. The coffee I’ve had in Paris washes clean with just a little water and doesn’t even need soap! So what exactly is the difference between our coffee and theirs? Does this mean their coffee is more healthy? I’ll have to do some research and get back to you…
One of the ladies at the office brought in some homemade canele de bordeaux. It is traditional French breakfast cake that was very tasty and a perfect companion to the morning café. The consistency probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, as it’s very “French” and reminded me of a thicker, baked crème Brule.
I also went out to dinner with a group of the office IT guys, one local French and 3 Spanish who were in town. What an eclectic group we were! The common language was English (lucky for me!) but everyone had heavy accents and were often struggling to find their words. It was a very enjoyable evening as we all got to know one another, discussing our families and cultural background, and most importantly we didn’t talk about work at all! These trips are very work centric, so I night away from colleagues is never a bad thing (sorry guys!).
Tomorrow I fly off to Barcelona, unfortunately the weekend weather doesn’t look promising so I may have to grab an umbrella and spend the days shopping indoors rather than sightseeing. Fine with me!! I actually packed light this time so I would have an excuse to go shopping, and would have room in my bag for the flight back!!
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