Paris Bloggers Unite

To think, this time last year paris (im)perfect was barely off the ground and I was not yet ensconced in the blogging community.

Right now I realize that my (very limited) social life would hover near nonexistent if not for blogger meet-ups.

A couple weeks ago, I attended the largest “Tweetup” I’d ever been to (yes, I kind of laughed at the term at first, too – a meetup for people on Twitter. Now it’s a normal part of my vocabulary!)

We took over the back part of a nice cafe in the 6th, our bubbly Anglophone enthusiasm turning the usually discreet cafe into something of a disco (ok, that’s an exaggeration. But you know, we were definitely, um, noticeable).

Paris Bloggers/Tweeters Take Over Another Resto

The more the group grows, the more I think about the power of numbers. When I first moved here, I was stunned at how many times I received withering looks because of my loud laugh. This may be the land of joie de vivre, but I felt my joy was definitely trying to be suppressed.

Come with a whole passel of people who also smile and laugh easily, though, and there’s safety in numbers (but, of course, the looks remain, but directed at everyone!)

I think a lot of expats arrive thinking they do not only want to hang out with other expats. We try to make French friends – sometimes we even do! – which is as it should be. But at a certain point, it’s nice to simply relax with people who understand the unique struggles of living outside your own country.

The danger, of course, is that you might end up hanging out with people only because they speak English – and is that really a reason to spend time with someone?

Fortunately, the Paris bloggers I know happen to be awesome – people I would want to know anyway!

Tanya, honorary Paris blogger poses with mini-cupcakes

I met two more bloggers, Opal and Tanya (who lives in Nice, but is immediately crowned honorary Paris blogger the second she gets here) for cupcakes.

You might remember that I tried the cheesecake, not the cupcakes at Scarlett’s Bakery last time.

Well, in the name of journalistic integrity, I have to confess we were not impressed by the mini-cupcakes. The cake itself was too dense, whereas we were expecting light and fluffy. So in this case, Adam was right – these cupcakes were prettier than they taste. Dommage!

We had a lovely chat, anyway, and the tea was good (all from Palais des Thes).

(I told my friend who I originally went to the Bakery with. She asked the all important question: so good cupcakes/so-so service or good service/so-so cupcake – which wins? Well, we’re going to get cupcakes to go from Cupcakes & Co, eat them in the park next door, then sit down for tea at Scarlett’s. Voila! We can have our cake and eat it, too – all in the neighborhood!)

Anyway, back to the Paris bloggers. My final meetup was with about 15 or so bloggers in a lovely apartment south of Luxembourg Gardens. The kind of place that drives it home once more – yeah, I don’t know if this will ever be my Paris life. I always love a sneak peek, though!

I am back to hibernation mode now.

The temperatures seem to be softening a bit here. I am ready to slough off the awful winter blues, but part of me hesitates. The cold and gray keep me rooted to my apartment, working away.

What will I do when spring comes and we can have meetups along the canal or in some gorgeous park? (There goes my productivity!)

Kasia did a great write-up of the first Tweetup I mentioned.

Tom created a list of everyone’s Paris blog who was in attendance if you want to get hooked on others!