Au Pairs meet famous people too.

Today we drove again into Dusseldorf where H and I took some time to walk around the city. We split a Belgium waffle which is actually eaten like bread. Syrup would only mask the decadence of a true Belgium waffle: soft, with pockets of sweet and covered in powdered sugar. As we pass Kings Ally ("Why is it called Kings Ally?" "Because the stores here are so expensive that only Kings could afford it") and into the center part of town. My jaw drops. There in the front of my eyes is the largest H&M I have ever seen. It was three stories at least of highly fashionable and extremely affordable clothing. "Girl, this is a European brand. You're going to find them everywhere." With that said, I have come to two conclusions. 1) I foresee where my paychecks are going and 2) I may never leave Europe again.

Then we walked over to a sushi restaurant (which is common being that Dusseldorf has the largest population of Japanese in Europe) to wait for her husband and a few business contacts. Apparently, the largest golfing magazine in Japan wanted to do an 11 page spread on her husbands company that would circulate throughout Japan, Europe and the US. I suppose with something that juicy resting on a silver platter, the least you could do is entertain. ("It's really just a bunch of bull shit," he confessed). There was a few German businessmen, the golfing journalist, the head of a leather golf bag company and a high profile fashion photographer who shot for places like GQ, Esquire, Marie Claire and the New York Post. I should also mention that his clientele ranges from popular fashion models to Giorgio Armani.

I actually thought this job might be remotely predictable. Set hours, clean this, play with that... but the truth is that I could end up in the Netherlands by 6 o'clock or shaking the hand of a man who has captured it all. That's actually overwhelming.

I've already fallen in love with German bread, Belgium waffles and Irish butter. I suppose this is the year of living it up. Tomorrow: Friday. I have no idea what we're doing beside eating eis (ice cream!! I know German).