Back in February I made a post about becoming a bit more french. This did not last long. Shortly after the post I returned to California and easily slipped back into my American slippers and carried on munching on jelly sandwiches and donuts.

This time things have become serious.

I`ve been in Paris now since 2nd October and aside from my 2 week stint in the UK at the end of October and start of November I`ll be here pretty much uninterrupted until the end of the year.

And boy is it beginning to show.

2 days ago I was doing my weekly shop in Monoprix and found that when I got to the checkout that I`d already eaten a full size French loaf while walking around the shop. I had to give over the empty paper bag to the checkout girl so she could charge me. I`d eaten THE WHOLE THING while waking about picking up other items.

It turns out this is VERY French.

Not only that but yesterday I took a full 15 minutes choosing a bottle of wine at the newsagents, reading all the labels. I audibly scoffed when I accidentally wondered into the token Australian wine section and picked up a Shiraz by mistake.

On average I`m getting through 3 blocks of cheese per week, just as snack food.

I even started swearing in French under my breath on the train when it was announced over the PA that there would be delays on the journey.

More worryingly I`m even drinking wine at lunch time at work.

I`m interested to see what I do next.

Perhaps I`ll just munch on a caisson and try to invade Spain.

(oh, and btw - the wine that I took ages deciding over, turned out to be rubbish)

I`m now back in Paris after 2 weeks in the UK visiting Merseyside, Wales, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

And a great 2 weeks it was too.

I flew back to Paris on Sunday evening and moved my things into the apartment that I`ll be staying at for only 1 week. Its an amazing place though, one that I specifically requested to stay at, primarily for the view from the balcony:

I am very very pleased with it, actually, thats not quite true, there is a small problem with the apartment, I mean a very small problem. It seems as though the person who decorated it forgot to put in a toilet - until the very last moment.

Yep, this must be the worlds smallest toilet. I can barely sit down in there when the door is closed…

and there is not much air, which is a real problem for me this weekend…..

I plan on going for a curry on Friday night …….

I`ll have to be sure not to commit and accidental suicide on Saturday morning.

OK here it is. I`m a fan of Doctor Who. A big fan. A VERY big fan. Always have been, always will be. I first started watching it when I was 18 months old back in 1980 when Tom Baker was still in charge of the Tardis. Like a real fan I have pretty much all of the merchandise going you could possibly imagine. All the cookie jars, remote control K9s. a replica sonic screw driver (the old one) cast in solid bronze. a quarter scale police box, the list is pretty much endless.

Only just a few moments ago did I finish booking my tickets for the next Gallifrey one convention in LA next February.

So imagine my excitement when I find out that they`ve re-opened the Doctor Who exhibition that is just a few miles up the road from my parents house where I was staying last week.

Very excited indeed. So last Monday I went off and spent the day at Spaceport.

I have been to a good number of Doctor Who exhibitions in the past, some good, some average, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with what this had to offer.

Firstly its not just a Doctor Who exhibition. As the name suggests, and as their website says:

Spaceport is a visitor attraction which takes you on an inspirational journey through space, as you walk through several themed galleries, which all feature a large variety of interactive hands-on exhibits and audio visual experiences.

But to be honest most people ignored most of the other attractions, including the pretty good planetarium show and head straight upstairs to the show piece.

So here are some of the pieces on show:
The Tardis

He’s seen better days ….. K9 too

The gas masks used in The Empy Child and The Doctor Dances.

The Ood

The new Sontaran (they had the old costume there too).

The Cybermen.

And of course, the Daleks.

Its a great display of stuff, pretty much all from the new series, but it does not shy away from the old series and points out that the Daleks first appeared on TV back in 1963 and the cybermen were just a couple of years after. There is also an old Sontaran costume on display next to the new version and an old Cyber helmet from 1967. Although if you are looking for a real mixture of classic series and new series you should look no further than the exhibition in Blackpool.

All in all though, Spaceport was a great experience, the whole thing was 9 quid per person and I would go back tomorrow - particularly if my dad paid for me to get in again