Day 1 in the Office

Monday morning came around and my body, on EST, did not want to get out of bed. I think one of the only things that gives me anxiety in life is being late, I hate it. So I was giving myself ample time to find my way out to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. That meant a 6am wake up call. The weekend had been a whirlwind and not exactly how I envisioned my first few days in Paris but I was really excited to start my new assignment and get settled in my professional life.

I was staying near the Luxembourg Gardens so I hopped on the RER and switched at Chatelet to the RERA taking me out to SGL. I had been warned about commuting in Paris - apparently it can be aggressive and one will take a seat from anyone (child, grandparent, etc). But day 1 was not so bad...to start.

I work outside of Paris in a town that really surprised me as I thought it would be a tiny little village with one main street with the local butcher and boulangerie. But I was wrong. It is bigger than I had expected and it is stunning. Complete with a castle! If I had a family, living there would definitely be an option. And if you are coming to Paris - I highly recommend a visit as a day trip.

The chateau:

Back to my commute. I needed to find the bus next and after going to two different bus stops I could not find the right one and given the language barrier, I could not fully explain to the bus drivers what I needed. Note to self: work on my French! I kept seeing the bus I needed go by but had no idea where it stopped. I started following a street around tracking it and with that, an old French man on a bicyclette ran into me. SERIOUSLY? Could this morning go downhill any faster and now I was more closely approaching the time I should have been in the office. After that shin bruising moment, I finally found the darn bus. I hopped on with the heards, and no one seemed to pay so it must be free...how nice!

Finally....I was at the office. A few minutes late.

I walk out of the station to this each morning, makes the long commute a little better:

I walk by this adorable Creperie everyday and one evening I am stopping to have a Crepes dinner. All of these cute crepes places always makes me think of my mom as she is a fan, can't wait for my fam to visit!