So far so good

Salut! ça va?
Oui, ça va bien. Merci. Et toi?
ça va, merci!

That’s how every conversation starts over here.

But you didn’t come here to read about French conversations, you came here to read about my life in Paris!

I know it has been a while, but I have been veeeeeeery busy. I finished my training a week ago, and so I started working at the Front Desk last Sunday. More on that later.

I have a lot to tell you, but I don’t know where to start. Here’s the plan: I’m putting all the pictures I recently took in this blog post, and just start writing around them. Good?

Here we go.

The list with all the subjects of my training. It was an online course with simulations. So I got to practice all the tasks, like checking in & out, taking payments, (re)assigning rooms, …. The entire package. It was very interesting, but a little lonely. I spent the 2 weeks of my training alone in an office.

An other part of my training were introductions/observations with the other departments. I spent a day with Housekeeping, Individual reservations, GC&E (Groups, Congress & Events) and Restauration. Very interesting, because I followed them in their footsteps during one entire day, so I learned a lot. When I was with Restauration I even got to work the lunch shift, serving guests their lunch. Not that easy, when you’re wearing your Front Desk uniform (dress, jacket & heels)!

But back to the training.

I got lonely, so I took a selfie.

And then, one day this happened:

I broke the table, haha!
Everything still works, so we’re good!

Du pain, du vin et du boursin. (although I keep the wine for the evenings!)
This is my everyday breakfast. Cheeeeeseeeee!

Bonjour! Another bored selfie.

I HAD to buy macarons from Ladurée. Too expensive, but soooo good. Especially the salted caramel ones!

This face speaks for itself.

Packing up my stuff, because i’m moving!
Not far though, just to another room in the hallway.
Apparently a mistake was made when I arrived, so I spent 2 weeks in the wrong room. I have pictures of my new room, you’ll see them later.

Weekend!
I woke up really early, because my weekend starts on friday, and there was construction work being done on the roof, right above my room. SO MUCH FUN!
So I decided to have breakfast in bed with Grey’s Anatomy. Best idea ever.

And time for laundry. I didn’t let it dry enough in the dryer, so I had to put it up in my room. Looked like a laundry jungle.
Oh, and I managed to start the washing machine before I could add any soap. Oops haha! The laundry was clean when it came out, so no problem!

(I am going to add soap next time, mama, don’t you worry!)

Tried this type chocolate. I’m not convinced. Côte d’Or for life!

And then I FINALLY went sightseeing.
I did go on a couple of walks during the week. Walks along the Seine and in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, but I always stayed in ‘my’ area. So it was time for some exploring.

I chose the Sacré Coeur.
Majestic as always.

Does anyone remember those people selling stuff, like mini-Eiffel Towers & keychains?
Well, they changed their tactics!
They now (literally) just grab your arm, wrap a piece of string around your wrist and start to macramé/braid/plait a bracelet. It all happens in less than 5 seconds so before you notice what’s going it’s too late.
I knew that these guys could be convincing, so I was very wary when I got there, and luckily I managed to stay out of their hands. But I did sit there for a while, and I watched them snatch people’s arms.

On my way back I realised that I hadn’t taken any pictures of buildings yet. Such a shame, because the buildings are what makes this city so gorgeous. But when I’m walking in the streets, I just never remember to take any pictures, I’m too busy admiring my surroundings with my mouth wide open.

Seriously.

The longer I’m here, the more fascinated I am. You may think all the buildings look the same, but that’s absolutely not true! The difference is in the details. No 2 buildings are the same.

Here are some pictures of my new room. It’s a lot smaller than the one I was in first, but I quite like that! I do need another cupboard or dresser. I only have a built-in one, and it’s waaaay to small for all my stuff, as you will see.

I have a nice bed & tv setup. I am trying to watch the French news so I know what’s going on, but I usually end up watching a stupid show like The Voice.

This is my desk & fridge area. You see all that stuff on my fridge? Extra cupboard please! we are getting ‘new’ desks and chairs next week. Very good, because I don’t think this desk will be around much longer, it’ really wobbly.

This is the one cupboard I have.
(I just have too much stuff with me)

And then I started working at the Front Desk. I really enjoy it! But it is quite tricky, because you’re dealing with real people, taking real payments, and everything you do can affect the guests. That is quite scary sometimes. The first day I just stood there watching my supervisor. It was all very overwhelming. It did see all of it during my training, but that is not the same as doing it in real life!

The second day I got to do some check-outs by myself (under supervision of course). By now I can do them indepently, and I am very proud of that! I still need help with check-ins, because they are more complicated. Changing rooms, upgrades, HHonors, and so on. But I’m not going to tell you everything about that, that will take too much time and this blog post is already very long!

On my fourth day, there were three interns and only one ‘normal’ person working at the Front Desk. She had to make sure we didn’t screw things up haha 😀 But apparently we managed, and we all got a certificate because she was proud of us, so sweet!

Yes Starbucks, Hela is my real name, good job!

I drink quite a bit Starbucks here! Simply because it is cheaper than getting a coffee in a normal café. (Excuses, excuses).

Last picure, I promise!

The food in the cafetaria may be free, it is not always that tasty. So we get food/take-out a couple of times per week. We discovered this very cheap Chinese place, 2 minutes from the hotel. We all got take-put and than had a little improvised ‘picknick’ in the hallway. This pictures is from today, when I had the leftovers for lunch.

Very tasty!

And with those words we reached the end of this blogpost!

I am making a promise that I will take more pictures, and that I will write again much sooner!

See you soon!

xxx

Bonjour Paris

First weekend in Paris? Check!

So far, I’m loving it here!
(Let’s hope I feel the same way in a month or so.)

I just said goodbye to my parents, they’re on their way back home. We’ve spent an incredible weekend in Paris. But it had to start à la Belgique! Our train was delayed for 45 min. Apparently, the train driver got sick and there was no substitute to be found.
Oh Belgium and your horrible public transportation, I will not miss you!

On my arrival in the hotel, I was welcomed by an other intern, Lucas. He showed me around. I never knew what hotels would like ‘behind the scenes’, so it was quite interesting to see all of that.

Then, I got to see my ‘home’. It’s a small room on the top floor of the hotel. I will probably sweat to death in summer, but the room has everything you need.

 Happy to finally be here!
(Do you see those suitcases? I filled 3 of them and I still don’t have all my stuff here!)

After we dropped my luggage, my parents and I went for a little bit of exploring.
The sun was out!

The Notre Dame and it’s tourists.

Can you spot the Eiffel Tower?

There she is!

That night, I introduced myself Ella-style to my fellow interns. I wanted to take a shower, so grabbed my stuff and headed to the shower. When I closed my door I heard a loud ‘click’. Guess what: I had locked myself out of my room. On my first night here … Heading to the shower, so I wasn’t wearing too many clothes…

I probably didn’t open the lock completely when I entered the room. So when I left my room and closed the door behind me, the lock closed because of the slam. Good job me.

This is the famous lock. Biatch.

Luckily most of the interns were in their rooms, so I could ask them for help. Two of them went downstairs to the reception to get a spare key. The lady that keeps these came back up with them. I will be working with her next week, and this was our first introduction!

Way to go Ella!
Haha.

The next day (this morning) I went for brunch with my parents at Café Madam. I highly recommend this place. It was delicious!

The following pictures are from my room. This way you can imagine where I’m hanging out.

Nothing fancy, but I really like it! It feels like ‘kot’ to me.

Thanks for reading & au revoir!

Au revoir – Goodbye – Tot ziens

(Only 2 more days to go!)

Last Saturday I organised a little goodbye-party. I see my friends very often, but it was really nice to see the Chiro boys & girls. You see each other all the time when you’re part of a Chiro-group. But when you’re no longer a member, that all fades away.

So it was really nice to have them all together!

I want to share the pictures taken by my dad.

Chiroboys in their natural habitat: beer and chips.

 

Cosying up besides the fire.

 

Showing off by picking me up. I wasn’t too sure about it …

Lots of hugs and kisses

Obligatory.

Aren’t we photogenic siblings??

Aannnddd then they decided they want to lift me as well.
Why??

Oh well, still love you girlss.

On Sunday my family came over. As you can see, the weather was nice. Like really nice.

Cousins!
I really like this picture.

Ofcourse I had to include some kitty pictures.
(I will mis him the most, sorry mom)

It ain’t no family party if there ain’t no wine.

Taken at exactly the correct moment. It seems as if I’m not happy about dessert.

Just kidding, it was really good!

And one last picture, cat included!

I had a lot of fun. Seeing people I hadn’t seen in a long time and doing some needed catching up, laughing, drinks and snacks. That’s all I wanted.