Wonderful Christmas time

 

Merry Christmas from Finland! Wherever you are, I hope you're having a great time.

Here's a few things I can tell you about my Christmas:

1. I was so busy the last three weeks at Uni that I didn't really sleep and I felt like a zombie so I still can't quite understand that I'm on holidays, that I took a plane and that I'm in Finland, this all seems so unreal. But I'm slowly getting used to it and I've been sleeping a lot.

2. It feels so good to be here with my family and friends, I didn't realize how much I missed them. I'm super happy and spending Christmas at home with just my family is great.

3. I already miss everyone in Paris too...

4. Traditional Finnish Christmas food is actually quite tasty but looks interesting (see photos below).

5. Mixing a Finnish hot Christmas drink called "glögi" with champagne is a surprisingly good combination.

6. I thought I came to Helsinki not to the North Pole but I'm not sure (see photos below).

7. You can never eat too much chocolate, candy or gingerbread dough.

8. I started listening to Christmas carols in late October and I'll never get tired of it but I'm afraid my family members are soon going crazy.

Christmas lightings in the center of Helsinki. Same style as on the Champs Elysées.






Planning on going out, a smile on my face...



... actually being outside, trying to smile but this is unbearable. A short walk with my mum just to get some air and then back inside!



and this is the sea, right?


 

Baking gingerbread with my brother. :)



a bit burnt (mum's fault) but beautiful!





My dear friend T organized a get together at her new place and made these pastries called "joulutorttu".



 

Christmas decorations and a nice catch up with A and E.






our Christmas tree



I thought we agreed on not buying too many Christmas presents. So it must have been Santa who brought all this!





On Christmas morning we eat this sweet porridge called "riisipuuro", with sugar and cinnamon.





all is ready for the Christmas dinner





 This is called "kinkku"


 

and this is a "perunalaatikko", a sweet potato casserole, my mum's favorite.



And of course I have to share with you my this year's (or every year's) favorite Christmas songs (check from youtube if you want to listen, you should be able to find the Finnish one's too. I promise you'll get into the right Christmas mood if you're not there yet). :)

Emi's Christmas playlist:

Amy Grant: I Need A Silent Night
Dido: Christmas Day
Christina Perri: Merry Christmas Darling
Jars Of Clay: It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
Lea Michele: O Holy Night
Sarah Mc Lachan: Wintersong
Silver Bells
The Christmas Song
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Arja Koriseva: Tule Joulu Kultainen
Katri Helena: Muistojen Kultaamat Joulut
Tomi Metsäketo: Orpojen Joulu
Vesa-Matti Loiri: Sydämeeni Joulun Teen
Tulkoon Joulu

+ me and my dad's favorite, always so funny:
Jope Ruonansuu: Pakollinen Joulu
Too bad you foreigners can't understand because I think this song describes so well the Finnish Christmas traditions. ;)


Enjoy your Christmas and holidays! Love you all,
xoxo: Emi

This is why I live in Paris

When my life is really busy (like right now for example) and I spend my days at school, at work, at gym or at home studying, I sometimes forget that I’m living in Paris. Because I see the same streets and take the same metro lines everyday and I don’t have time to take a walk somewhere else and really enjoy Paris. But when I remind myself, I realize that even thought my studies are difficult and my everyday life is hard, it’s all worth it because I live in Paris, the most beautiful city in the world.

I know it sounds like a cliché, but my favorite place in Paris is Place de Trocadéro. Sitting there in the evening, listening to music and just looking at the illuminated Eiffel Tower makes me relax and feel at home.  And I know that Paris is the place where I’m meant to be. (Except during the busiest tourist season in the summer, going to Trocadéro is everything but relaxing, you have to go there super late if you don’t want to go crazy.)

It had been long time since I had time to go to Trocadéro. M knew this and also how stressed and tired I am right now because of Uni so he took me there last night. And it was as beautiful as always.

 

Sillon kun mun elämä on tosi kiireistä (esim nyt) ja mun päivät kuluu joko koulussa, töissä, jumpassa tai kotona opiskellen, mä välillä unohdan, että mä asun Pariisissa. Koska mä pyörin vaan samoilla kaduilla ja matkustan samoilla metrolinjoilla päivästä toiseen eikä mulla oo aikaa lähteä kävelylle jonnekin muualle ja oikeasti nauttia Pariisista. Mutta kun muistutan itseäni, ymmärrän, että vaikka koulussa on vaikeeta ja vaikka arkielämä täällä on raskasta, niin se kaikki on sen arvoista, koska asun Pariisissa, maailman kauneimmassa kaupungissa.

Tiedän, että tää kuulostaa kliseeltä, mutta mun lempipaikka Pariisissa on Place de Trocadéro. Kun istun siellä illalla, kuuntelen musiikkia ja katselen valaistua Eiffel tornia, rentoudun ja tunnen oloni kotoisaksi.  Ja tiedän, että mun kuuluu olla Pariisissa. (Paitsi kesällä kamalimman turistikauden aikana Trocadérolla ei oo rentouttavaa, sinne täytyy mennä vasta tosi myöhään illalla, jos ei halua tulla hulluksi.)

En ollut pitkään aikaan ehtinyt käydä Trocadérolla. M tiesi sen ja myös miten stressaantunut ja väsynyt oon koulun takia, joten se vei mut Trocadérolle eilen illalla. Ja siellä oli yhtä kaunista kuin aina.

 

 

Before we got to Trocadéro we were walking near the Eiffel Tower. The whole area around the park Champs de Mars was empty and quiet and it was really cold (yeah you in Finland are laughing to my “really cold” but seriously I think the temperature was below zero!).

Me: Oh, looks like the Eiffel Tower is closed already. (it was 10pm)

M: I thought it wouldn’t close that early.

Me: Yeah, maybe not in the summer but it’s so freaking cold now that only crazy people would go up there!

…. We continue walking and notice that another entrance is actually open and that (surprisingly) there is no line.

Me: I’ve never been up to the Eiffel Tower at night time.

M: You wanna go?

…. So we decided to be crazy tourists and took the elevator up to the third floor. And okay it was cold but quelle vue! Seeing Paris with all the lights is breathtaking, the city is amazingly beautiful.  And I felt kind of sad when I looked at the Japanese tourists who were super excited and took like million photos. Because they were just on holidays and tried to make the most of this wonderful experience. But at the same time I felt so happy because I live in Paris and I can climb up to the Eiffel Tower whenever I want to.

And if you’ve ever heard the cliché expression that Paris is the most romantic city in the world, well sometimes that’s true as well. :)

 

Ennen kuin me päästiin Trocadérolle asti, me käveltiin Eiffelin lähellä. Koko alue Champs de Marsin puiston ympärillä oli autio ja hiljainen ja oli tosi kylmä (älkää naurako mun ”tosi kylmälle”, luulen, että meillä oli pakkasta!).

Minä: Eiffel torni näyttäis olevan jo kiinni. (kello kymmenen illalla)

M: Mä luulin, että se olis auki myöhempään.

Minä: Niin no ehkä kesällä, mutta nyt on niin järkyttävän kylmä, että pitäis olla ihan hullu mennäkseen tonne ylös!

…. Me jatketaan kävelemistä ja huomataan, että yksi sisäänkäynti on vielä auki eikä sen edessä (yllättäen) näy jonoa.

Minä: Mä en oo koskaan ollu Eiffel tornissa illalla.

M: Haluutko mennä?

…. Niimpä me päätettiin olla hulluja turisteja ja otettiin hissi ylimpään kerrokseen. Ja okei, siellä oli kylmä, mutta quelle vue! Aivan ihanan näköstä, Pariisi kaikkine valoineen on henkeäsalpaava, ihan uskomattoman kaunis kaupunki. Ja mulle tuli vähän surullinen olo kun näin Japanilaiset turistit, jotka oli ihan innoissaan ja otti ainakin miljoona valokuvaa. Koska ne on täällä vaan lomalla ja yritti siks ottaa kaiken irti tästä upeasta näköalasta. Mutta samalla olin tosi onnellinen, koska asun Pariisissa ja voin kiivetä Eiffel torniin millon vaan haluan.

Ja jos oot koskaan kuullut sanottavan, että Pariisi on muka maailman romanttisin kaupunki, no joskus sekin on totta. :)

 

xoxo: Emi

 

 

Happy Independence Day Finland!

 

Today it's the 6th of December and Finland is 95 years old. As much as I love living in Paris, on days like today I wish I was in Finland. Because in Paris today is of course just an ordinary day. Although my Uni is actually closed today for some reason (not because of Finland's Independence Day) which is cool. So it has been a day off for me too like in Finland and I know I should study but I feel so festive that I can't' (always so easy to come up with excuses for not studying...). But soon it's six o'clock and I can light my candles and start waiting for my Parisian Finnish friends J, A and E to come and celebrate with me. A tradition on Independence Day eve is to watch the "Castle Ball" on TV. It's a presidential Independence Day reception held at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. It is interesting to see who has been invited, if the commentators know them and what kind of fashion creations women are wearing this year. Our new president and his wife are hosting for the first time this year, good luck!

Traditional two long candles in blue and white Iittala candleholders

Some more Finnish design from Iittala

Trying to find "Finnish" food from Paris... Well luckily I had some Finnish bread left and this salmon is Norvegian but whatever. :)



Less than three weeks until Christmas: time to start the "glögi" and "pipari -season

Being from Finland means a lot to me and I'm always proud to say that I'm Finnish. Even if I lived abroad for the rest of my life and learned to speak perfect French, I would never forget my Finnish roots, values or mentality. Paris is my home now and I don't think I will ever move back to Finland but I'm happy and grateful that I grew up there. 95 years ago Finland fought for it's independency and since then it has grown to be a real welfare state, a good and safe place to live in. My foreign friends and other people I've met in Paris generally don't know a lot about Finland but those who know, really seem to appreciate my country. They don't see it as a worthless, freeking cold place somewhere in the North but as a country that has a lot to give for the rest of the Europe. And I've heard that Finnish people are international, intelligent and open-minded which is a great thing. Also, living and studying in Paris for almost three years now has made me appreciate the Finnish school system and the fact that everything is so well organized there, things that I used to take for granted. Compared to Paris, the everyday life in Finland is ridiculously easy.

I don't really miss Finland but I often miss my friends and family. Luckily, as I already told you, my mum was here last week. I don't see her that often, that's why I really enjoy and value the time we spend together. It's always great whe she comes to Paris, I feel like I'm on holidays too. What ever problems or diffculties I've been having, as soon as I'm with my mum I forget about everything (but oddly enough, the relaxed feeling soon disappears after she has left...).



first things first, mum brought me Finnish sweets...



... and a Finnish Cosmo!

Besides all the effective Christmas admiring, we still had time to eat a lot, drink a lot and shop till we dropped. To do something cultural too, we went to Musée d'Orsay to see an exhibition called "L'impressionnisme et la mode". It was interesting and especially the shoes people wore in the 19th century were hilarious.

Musée d'Orsay is built to an old railway station and the building itself is even more impressive than the art collections.



One of my favorite places in Paris: the shoe department at Printemps

These boots that I bought are not from Jimmy Choo but from Eram but still quite beautiful

And my mum bought this lovely bag from Minelli

She also bought a Chanel - jacket from a small boutique in le Marais called Biscote. Now we're like sisters!



 After a long shopping day you just need a glass of rosé, right?




Or some French tapas before going out for dinner



My mum found this restaurant near me called "Le Bistrot des Compères" so we decided to test it and it was great. Delicious food and cosy atmosphere, we recommend it to everyone!


 

And we found some time to relax as well. On Saturday and Sunday I woke up without an alarm, I can't remember the last time I've done that! And we watched two episodes of this Finnish series called "Kotikatu" that my mum has been following forever even though it's actually quite stupid. It's so much fun to watch it together and laugh and comment on how bad it is (and wonder why we still watch it).

I also got confirmed that for the first time in my life, we are going to spend Christmas at home in Helsinki, just our family. Normally we have always been at my grandma's place in the countryside so it's going to be different but I'm really looking forward to it. Two weeks of school ( equals 6 tests and 3 written assignments / presentations) left and then I'll be off to Finland!

xoxo: Emi

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

My mum was in Paris last week. :) She has been here many times but never during Christmas time. I can tell you that in Helsinki the Christmas decorations are beautiful but simple and modest, we have illluminations on our main shopping street and the biggest department store decorates one window in Santa Claus style that children can admire. But it's nothing compared to Paris, that's why my mum wanted to come here (well I guess she also wanted to see me). In Paris Christmas is everywhere and we, the perfect tourists, made the most of it.



Starting from our favorite shop, Sephora in Christmas style. My mum loves Sephora as much as I do so no suprise that once again we came out from the shop with a big bag full of little something we found...

This time we bought mostly Christmas presents, for exemple for me. :) Santa is bringing me the perfume I was hoping for and so that I'd be able to wait until Christmas, the nice salesman gave me a small sample and this bag.  

Galeries Lafayette is amazing this year. One side of it's windows are decorated in "Disney Princesses" -theme with a big shop window for Snow White, Belle, Cinderella and Rapunzel and inside you'll find a big Cinderella's carriage. It's really magic, I was thrilled and I'm sure little girls are going crazy.

The other side of Galeries Lafayette shop windows are decorated by Louis Vuitton. The animations were impressive with a giant dancing panda, drummers, cancan-dancers and much more. In one window they have even created a winter ball with dancing dolls in beautiful dresses.

And the most unbelievable of all, something that amazes me every year: the giant, sparkling Swarovski Christmas three. I wonder how they have managed to hang it up there...

Printemps was not as spectacular as Galeries Lafayette but they had smaller Christmas threes everywhere, decorated in light pink, really beautiful and classy. Their shop window theme is "Ispirations Parisiennes", created by Dior.

We walked from Opéra to Place Vendôme and spotted for example Tiffany's Christmas lights that were so bright and sparkling that I didn't get a good photo. This area is full of luxorious five star hotels so we peeked into some of them and seriously, the entrance lobbies have been transformed into Christmas wonderlands.

Shopping on Saturday was almost impossible. We tried to be early and started from La Défense (I'm so happy I didn't have to work!) but when we got to rue de Rivoli in the afternoon, there we so many people that even walking on the street was a challenge not to mention going into the shops. So we gave up quite soon. But I liked BHV's decorations too.

Paris has really gone crazy, even some metro entrances are decorated. I think that's maybe a little too much..

This is from Belleville where went for dinner

Saturday night we did one more touristic thing: Champs Elysées in Christmas style. It was like being in an amusement park with all the attractions, lights and music. There is a Christmas market where they sell anything you can imagine (related to Christmas or not) and even an ice skating rink.

"La Roue de Paris" at Concorde

In almost every corner you can buy "vin chaud", hot wine that is a bit like Glögi, a Finnish hot drink we drink during Christmas time.

Avenue des Champs Elysées

I decided to have some Christmas decorations on my own too. And what would waiting for Christmas be without an advent calendar (with chocolate of course)...

Happy Christmas time everyone! if you're in Paris and want to do the "absolute Christmas tour", now you know where to go. But remember, wherever you go, you're never alone (exept if you go see the shop windows at 5am like M did...) so be patient and don't even try to do shopping after 3 o'clock in the afternoon. ;)

xoxo: Emi



A weekend with my dearest A

You know what’s the hardest part in living in Paris? It's seeing people come and go. Meeting new people, making new friends all the time and then having to say goodbye. Paris is a place where everyone wants to come but why can’t they stay here? When I first came to Paris and worked as an au pair, I had au pair friends from all over the world. But most of them were in Paris just for six months or one year and then went back to their country to start their studies or whatever. But it was okay back then, even though I knew that I had come to Paris to stay, I understood that for most of my friends, Paris was just a phase, a fun experience, but their life was somewhere else. I spent wonderful time together with those girls and it’s great to see them when they come to Paris for holidays. But yeah, I knew that they were not going to stay, same for all the exchange students or other "gap year in Paris" people I've made friends with. This fall W and G, two of my old aupair friends came back to France to study and that's awesome but soon they will be leaving again...

But it's so much worse when you think that someone is like you. When you think that someone loves Paris as much as you do and is never going to leave. And then suddenly that person decides to move. That happened to me this summer. There used to be me, A, M and T, four foreign girls in Paris. We spent so much time together, sometimes only two or three of us but all four always when we managed to organize our time. Sometimes we didn't have time to see us that often but I still knew that my girls where near me, that I could talk to them or meet up for coffee whenever I wanted. We were all so Parisian, if someone asked us for how long we were going to stay in Paris, we would say that we were not going anywhere, that Paris was our home. I took us four for granted and that's why I was so shocked when A and M decided to leave. A started her studies in Stockholm this fall and M moved back to Hawaii. So now there's only me and T left of us four. I miss us all being together and I feel like a part of me is missing. I often think about one evening this summer when we were at M’s place. We spent hours lying on M’s bed, just talking, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. We didn’t know it back then but that was the last time we were all four together and I don’t know when the next time is going to be.

But this weekend was wonderful because two became three for a couple of days: A came to Paris! I can’t even explain how great it has been to have her back here. And normally I don’t even see T that often because we’re both so busy but this weekend I got to spend a lot of time with her too. That was amazing. And I know I’ll be crying tomorrow when A leaves because A, Paris is not the same without you!

lunch catch up in le Marais

so cute A. And the cheescake was yummy too

girls night

T trying on A's new jacket



Walking around in le Marais



A's French breakfast on Saturday morning

When I came to Paris almost three years ago I didn’t know anyone. And like I said, in the beginning most of the people I met left Paris quite soon. But this year I’ve made many new French friends and got closer with some I already knew. That makes me really happy and I feel like I’m finally finding my place here and getting into the French life.

Examples from this week: (yep I know, I should study more and socialize less…)

Wednesday night I went out with my Finnish friend E and we bumped into this group of really fun French guys.

me and my clone, the other blond Finnish girl who has the same name as me and who also used to live next to me and work at the same place than me.

meeting French guys is easy, right E?

 

Thursday evening I had dinner with S, P and two other French girls. S, it was so nice of you to invite me too, I would love to get to know you better.

P attacking S's apple pie

 

Friday afternoon I met up with S and R, my favorites from my old school (L and L you should have come too!)

And Saturday night I spent a perfect soirée with A,T, M (now I’m talking about the Australian M, not the Hawaiian, don’t get confused with my letters ;)) and the best French people we know.

I'll never let you go

A stole my jacket!



party time!

I’m so grateful to have you all in my life and I’m also really grateful that I make friends easily even though I live in a foreign country. I know it could be a lot more difficult. And all my friends who are not in Paris I miss you and you’re always in my thoughts.

xoxo: Emi

 

Ps. J and M, I know you might have to or want to live somewhere else sometime in the future and I’m already a bit concerned about that. If you ever leave me I don’t know how I would survive.