La rentrée and travel updates

August is a strange month to be in Paris. I was warned about August and les vacances, when Parisians all pack up their bags and head to the south, or wherever they prefer to holiday. But to actually see such a famous city so (relatively) empty was somewhat hard to believe, even when seeing it with my own eyes. Apparently this is because the French are given five weeks paid holiday each year, so for the past month shops around the city have been closed, the restaurants that are open put out their B-team, and the usually-bustling city simmered down to a quiet dull buzz.

Now it’s la rentrée, or literally, ‘the return’. The city’s residents come back tanned and refreshed, ready to take on a new year of school, work, and the Paris metro. For weeks the city has been plastered with advertisements for school supplies, and as everyone returns to school at the same time, this week my quiet neighborhood has suddenly been flooded with youth.

I can identify with the back-to-school feeling as my job here involves English tutoring, so my work schedule is closely tied with the school schedule. I arrived in Paris in January, just as the winter school term was beginning; this summer I had a very generous seven weeks off for the Olympics and les vacances, and now I am also ‘rentree-ing’ and getting back into the habit of having to go to work five days a week (luckily I work in the afternoon, so I can still sleep in as usual).

So in the spirit of la rentrée, I thought I’d share my plans for the upcoming “semester”:

September-October: Azerbaijan

In a few weeks Azerbaijan will be hosting the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. I’ll be there, in the capital city of Baku, working with the same association as I did in London. I could not be more excited to be working with this fantastic group of people, especially at what is sure to be an memorable event.

October: Bristol, UK

Despite having been together nearly two years, Mike and I have never visited each other’s hometowns. This will change in late October when I head to Bristol for Mike’s oldest brother’s wedding. This will also be the first time I see Mike drive a car…oh, and the first time I meet my fiancé’s family.

November: Belgium, London Paris

I’ll be in London for World Travel Market, my first ever travel industry event. I have business cards being shipped to Paris (sidenote: Zazzle only charged $5 to ship them to France — amazing), am working on a media kit, and will be figuring out which travel bloggers I follow will also be at WTM so we can all finally meet.

Also, since Mike has some time to spend in Europe post-wedding, I’m hoping to squeeze in a small getaway to Belgium, as I’ve really wanted to visit ever since seeing In Bruges. Plus, Belgian whites are my favorite beers and I love frites, so it’ll likely be a three-day carb-loaded feasting extravaganza.

Update: I will no longer be going to London for WTM or Belgium — my mom is coming to visit! She’s never been to Europe before and I couldn’t pass up the chance to treat her to best of Paris. She arrives the same day Mike leaves, and the day my mom goes back to the States my old friend Nat is coming to visit for the weekend — so it will be a busy two weeks of hosting friends and family in Paris, which I am more than happy about.

December: Asia

This is unconfirmed, but likely. I’m a little torn between going home for Christmas and going back to Singapore to see Mike — especially given that New Year’s Eve is his birthday. Singapore will probably win in the end, and I’m thinking Hong Kong for New Year’s Eve (though nothing can top Sydney last year). I already have the time off work, so it’s just a matter of picking a flight and booking it.

As for where I’ll be after New Year’s…that’s an announcement for a separate post.

What are your travel plans for the rest of the year?