Les Zombies de Paris

Last weekend, I finally boarded a train from Nantes to Paris, after over two years without a trip to my favourite city (after London of course- don't worry Golders, you'll always be my number one). I was a tad overexcited and spent most of the journey bouncing up and down. When the train eventually pulled into the Gare and I caught a glimpse the glittering Eiffel Tower out of the window it was simply too much for me to handle.

I met the lovely Lottie at the Gare Montparnasse and we went straight to one my favourite culinary corners of Paris - rue de Montparnasse by Edgar Quinet metro, a street dedicated entirely to creperies. Despite having just spent over two months in Brittany (well, Nantes is not actually in Britanny, but everyone refers to it as part of Bretagne...), Creperie Josselin was better than almost any nantais establishment I have tried.

Me looking quite happy.

The whole weekend was one big food-fest, which also involved a return to the best Lebanese sandwich shop ever in Rue St Jacques, the most chocolatey hot chocolate in the Marais and, saving best for last, FALAFEL. L'As du Falafel is a hardly a well-kept secret in Paris - the long queues at all times of the day are a testament to it's huge popularity. It was just as good as I remembered, if not better.

Lottie is living with a lovely family just outside of Paris and they also cooked us an amazing Sunday lunch. Finally tried foie gras, which was pretty good - luckily at the time I couldn't really remember how it was made...

I also tried to go and visit my old apartment in the Marais. However, there was a zombie walk going on at the exact time that we attempted to walk down the street, which made matters rather difficult. We gave up after someone tried to bite Lottie, but later saw the zombies enjoying burgers in McDo, which we agreed made for a much better diet.

 My old apartment is just above the zombie's head

Overall it was a wonderful weekend. Paris, I'll be back before you know it!

FLASH - Argh.

Last week I presented the midday show and this week it was my job to present the 'flash' which is essentially the 12 O'Clock news. It happens at midday, then at half past, then at precisely 12.57. I have discovered in the past two weeks that:

• When panicking and trying to say something in French, my brain becomes too confused and simply says words in English instead. I recently enthusiastically announced WELL! in the middle of an otherwise French sentence. Swapping between two langues is clearly too much for my overtired cerveau.
• Similarly, I cannot say numbers in French on air. I've always been spectacularly bad at all things mathematical (shout out to Mrs Fidler, my year 9 Maths tutor who tried, but ultimately failed, to help me understand long division), but it seems like my ineptitude for all things numerical is MULTIPLIED whilst trying to speak on the radio. So I just spontaneously make up numbers that don't actually exist such as 'eighty-five fifteen'. Then the lovely presenter has to explain to the listeners that I have said a made up number and tell them the correct one. Sorry to all who have been affected by me getting the date of everything wrong... 
• Talking is hard. A word as simple as libéralisation becomes a minefield, as I witnessed today. I struggled on: liber... liberaliseaa... liberalazeatieeeon... but it was all in vain. At least the technician found it funny.

Some more successful radio endeavors have included a report on people stealing chemical toilets in Bulgaria, which involved me spending the afternoon translating Bulgarian twitter comments into French. Probably my most successful piece of work to date to be honest... 

Today I also attended my first ever press conference. I didn't know I was going until an hour before and rocked up in shorts and a snazzy T-shirt. Unfortunately  everyone else there was a middle aged man in a suit. Whatevs.

Tomorrow, I am going to PARIS. It's been over two years since I was last there and I can't wait!

A bientot xxx

Baggel?

Bagels are one of my favourite things in the world. They're just so great. Lucky for me, I hail from Golders Green, which is essentially the home of the bagel.

Things aren't so simple for me here in Nantes. For one thing, the Nantais are pretty keen on baguettes and haven't really got the hang of what a bagel even is. For one thing, they often spell it 'baggel'. Just...no. The only kind available in my local supermarket are a brand called 'Regent's Park' which purport to be bagels but in fact are sorry, soft and soggy excuses for bread.

So I was cheered to discover a cafe near the cathedral which tantalizingly displays a selection of these beautiful baked goods in their window. Shefferville Cafe is named after a town in Ontario, Canada, near the border with Labrador and on the North Shore of Knob lake (how great are THOSE names.) It's small and cozy with a great music playlist -  we all need a bit of Englishman in New York to accompany lunch. There is a good selection of different bagels and some exciting combinations of fillings. I would recommend the Naskapi (bacon, goats cheese, egg, other amazing things). The owner of the shop seemed relentlessly cheerful and asked with what seemed like genuine concern if he had given us too much food.

The only problem: these bagels are on the steep side price wise- around 5 euros to eat in - because they are imported from Leeds. Yes, that's right, Leeds. Still, it's something. Merci Shefferville.

Shefferville Cafe
93 Rue Maréchal Joffre
44000 Nantes