La Maison de Victor Hugo, and Pikachu by the Eiffel Tower

It's that glorious time of year when not only is the sun continuing to show her face but I have holidays! With the exception of today, I have two entire weeks of freedom while the children are off gallivanting in the French countryside and abroad.

I'm trying to save my pennies for when the boyfriend arrives next week, which is pretty hard to do in Paris but I've not done too badly so far.

As I now have less than three months before I have to leave this beautiful city, I've been returning to my "must-do" list more and more. I compiled this list from various sources: city guides, word of mouth, and literary legends.

Speaking of literary legends... I visited Victor Hugo's apartment in the Marais, which he lived in between the years of 1832 and 1848. The luxurious apartment can be found nearby metro St Paul at the Place des Vosges, at the centre of which is a beautiful green garden surrounded by the most expensive apartments in Paris (so my host family tells me and I have no reason to disbelieve them, the area is exquisite). I have finally decided that of all the areas of Paris, this is the one I would most like to live in, the Marais is vibrant and has the undeniable "cool" factor that makes it genuinely Parisian. Naturally, the edge has been taken off to an extent by the filthy rich that flock to such notorious hip spots in capital cities, but only to an extent. The Jewish bakeries, vintage and just downright beautiful clothes stores such as The Kooples and my personal favourite Le Comptoir des Cotonniers, as well as libraries and bookshops, never lose their appeal.

But I digress... the house of Victor Hugo was worth a visit, but really only to say I'd been there, and to see the area. The interior has been tampered with to the point that nothing original really remains, not even in the correct rooms (there is for example no sign of a bathroom or a kitchen, did they not have bodily functions and needs!?). Yet one is led to believe that Hugo's own personal writing desk does still remain there, which is pretty nifty. I apologise for the bad quality of the photo, but the lighting should give you some indication of the stuffy darkness that the rooms were filled with. However, entrance was free so if you're a fan there's no harm in popping in.


I also took a peep at La Maison de la Culture du Japon (entrance here is also free), which is situated about a 5 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower by Metro Bir-Hakeim. We were excited to see the library and tea pavillion, but both were closed so be aware of this before you visit. The main attraction was an anime exhibition, which detailed the success of Japanese anime throughout the decades, ranging from the 1950's to the present noughties. The security guard was rather angry about us taking photos, so bear this in mind when looking at them! The exhibition emphasised the somewhat duplicitious nature of anime, (the sexual nature of girl figures and their appeal to an adult male audience for example), and the importance that anime holds in Japanese culture. The entire scene was brightly lit and embraced its own kitchiness (I'm not sure if that's a word but you get the picture).

Apart from that I've been spending a lot of time at my friend's place in Belleville. Walking past hookers at 9am this morning was a bit disconcerting but I like the area's authenticity - definitely not many tourists hanging around!

Next week I'm off to experience my first ever French cabaret which I'm really looking forward to, but I will keep you updated.

A bientot xxx