While I wait for Flickr to upload some of the pictures I took today, I'll update about my class on Thursday. I had planned to take pictures here, but when I pulled out my camera to take a picture of the exterior, my battery died. Luckily I plan on going back with my roommates so I'll try to take some pictures next time.
My wine class was held in this incredible store called Lavinia. Lavinia was founded in 1999 with their first store in Madrid, followed by a Barcelona location in 2001, Paris in 2002, and subsequent locations in the Ukraine and Switzerland. The director of the store spoke to us and was so nice. Lavinia was founded with the intention of making wine more accessible to everyone. Their clerks are incredibly well informed, multi-lingual, and super friendly and open to questions. They hold classes and have memberships available.
The Paris location is 1200 square meters! That's almost 4000 square feet! It's three stories, with the lower level housing an enormous wine collection divided by geographic location. There was an entire wall dedicated to my region, Bordeaux. Most of the bottles of Bordeaux were priced between 20€ and 60€ (I bought the second cheapest bottle I could find, which was 9,90€). The shop is kept at exactly 19 degrees Celsius, with controlled humidity levels and a special foundation to keep the rumble of the subway from disturbing the bottles. The more expensive/more fickle bottles of wine are kept in a special "cave" (cellar) that is 14 degrees. Inside the cave I saw the most expensive bottle of wine I've ever encountered: 10 000,00€. That's like a $15,000.00 bottle of wine! AND I saw a bottle of Hennessey that was 30 000,00€! A $45,000 bottle of Hennessey! Insane!
The rez-de-chaussez, or ground floor, has a wall of food and wine pairings. For example there was "tarte aux pommes" (apple tart) and below that they had 3 different wines that would pair well with that dish. Also throughout the store there are little round, colorful tags that denote certain wines that are recommended by the sommeliers, certain "vins bio" (organic wines), and wines that were under 10€ (the yellow tag, which I am a big fan of!). Also on the ground floor they have a tasting area. You buy a prepaid card in denominations ranging from 15€-50€ and you can taste wines! You can taste wines that you may be interested in buying, or you can taste wines you could never afford. For example, a taste (3mm in the glass) of Chateau le Tour will run you 25€, but I saw some you could sample for as little as o,80€.
The first floor (which is the second floor to Americans) housed a collection of spirits. They obviously have far fewer spirits than they had varieties of wine, but I saw things like Glenfidditch, Bacardi, and even Pucker (sick). Also in that area they had several books, every variety of wine glass you could imagine, and a huge collection of carafes. There is also a little cafe-type area on that floor, where you can get food and if you buy a bottle of wine in the store they'll open it for you and you can drink it there free of charge at either their indoor cafe-area or a little terrace outside.
It was a very cool shop, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in wine. I was super intimidated because I don't actually know anything about wine yet, but their entire premise is that they want to be open to everyone and a comfortable environment to ask questions, and it certainly is! It's at metro Madeleine on 3, boulevard de la Madeleine in the 1st.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Double update today. I thought the Pope visit deserved it's own separate entry, so when you finish reading this one don't forget to keep going! I have pictures and video and it was really cool, I wouldn't want you to miss out on it!
On Friday I don't have classes, but I didn't want to waste the day so I woke up and went out to lunch with Vicky and her friend Francois. Francois goes to Georgia State but has been living in France for a bit and was in Paris for a few weeks before he leaves. We met up at Gare du Nord and wandered around a bit trying to figure out where to eat. We're all pretty indecisive but Francois suggested kebap and we all agreed that sounded good.
I didn't take a picture of all of us together, but I obviously took a picture of my lunch.
mmmmm I had a Sandwich Grec Kebap. Do you see ALL THAT FOOD? (EDIT: no you don't, because the blogspot layout cuts off the bread they gave me, plus you can't tell that plate is humongous). That plus a Coca Light was €6.50. I was so full, it was awesome. I could totally go for more of that right about now.
On the way back to the apartment Vicky and I finally decided we needed to find the macarons shop. Oh. My. Gosh. It was beautiful
LOOK AT THAT. How could you not want to eat them all? I exercised some level of restraint and only bought two: coffee and dark chocolate. Did I say OH MY GOSH yet? They were heavenly, incredible, remarkable, there are not enough adjectives. I can see why they are famous. Tragically my two macarons cost €2.44, so they won't be a regular indulgence, but I can't imagine not going back for more. The saleslady hated us, though. We couldn't really communicate the fact that we were still looking and she got pissed. I bought stuff, though! Next time we need to go to the bakery next door, which is also fairly well known. And we found an independent wine shop. So that next block down seems to be a pretty amazing place.
Then I went and saw the Pope.
On the way home I went through the Concorde station, where I am constantly reminded of home/Michigan
I came home from early from seeing the Pope because we had plans to go out. Vicky knows a guy here who is Greek, and one of his friends had a birthday party last night. They told us they would pick us up and drive us home, and the offer of cars was all we needed.
Vicky's friend Nicolas doesn't speak English, only Greek and French. In the car, whenever I would talk to Vicky in English he would yell and me and tell me I could only speak French, otherwise I won't learn the language. But even though he wouldn't let me speak English, he was speaking almost exclusively Greek! They took us out to this really weird/cool bar in the suburbs. It was circus themed! You walked up to the front and paid cover at a ticket booth like you would at a carnival, and then walked through this tented hallway into a big circus tent! There was a dance floor in the middle of the tent and a bar along one side. Nicolas went straight for the dance floor and he won Vicky and I t-shirts. I now have a shirt that says "Don't Stop the Party" (in English) from France haha.
Going out with French speakers was very cool, and everyone seemed helpful. I met some guy (whose name I didn't get) who was a friend of Nicolas that spoke English. He was a total sweetheart because his English was about as good as our French, so we would try to speak French to him and he would try to speak English to us. It was probably the best conversation I had all night. And a guy named Julien tried to teach me a French handshake haha. It involved bumping fists and half hugging and all the normal stuff you would do in the states, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that. I also didn't really learn is so much as just mirror him for a few minutes.
Everyone was incredibly nice, teaching us phrases and helping us to pronounce words. The circus club closed around 2, so then we went back into the city to a bar, only to have that bar close at 3. At that point everyone else was headed on to another bar, but we only stayed long enough to say goodbye. We were all tired, and a certain roommate was dying for food. I didn't get to bed last night until 5, which means I didn't wake up today until noon.
Catacombs probably aren't going to happen this weekend. Also, we were supposed to go buy books, which I mentioned in an earlier entry. The bookstore is closed today because of the Pope! I have homework due on Monday from the book that I don't have, so I've been trying to find classmates on Facebook to borrow the text from, but so far no responses. From the looks of it we're vegging out here and then probably going out again tonight. We may go out with Nicolas and his friends again if they have the room to take us, or we may go to a club near Sacre Coeur. So of my list of weekend to-do's I have completed two already, and it looks like the other two will need to be bumped back for next weekend.
Don't forget to keep reading for the Pope visit!
On Friday I don't have classes, but I didn't want to waste the day so I woke up and went out to lunch with Vicky and her friend Francois. Francois goes to Georgia State but has been living in France for a bit and was in Paris for a few weeks before he leaves. We met up at Gare du Nord and wandered around a bit trying to figure out where to eat. We're all pretty indecisive but Francois suggested kebap and we all agreed that sounded good.
I didn't take a picture of all of us together, but I obviously took a picture of my lunch.
mmmmm I had a Sandwich Grec Kebap. Do you see ALL THAT FOOD? (EDIT: no you don't, because the blogspot layout cuts off the bread they gave me, plus you can't tell that plate is humongous). That plus a Coca Light was €6.50. I was so full, it was awesome. I could totally go for more of that right about now.
On the way back to the apartment Vicky and I finally decided we needed to find the macarons shop. Oh. My. Gosh. It was beautiful
LOOK AT THAT. How could you not want to eat them all? I exercised some level of restraint and only bought two: coffee and dark chocolate. Did I say OH MY GOSH yet? They were heavenly, incredible, remarkable, there are not enough adjectives. I can see why they are famous. Tragically my two macarons cost €2.44, so they won't be a regular indulgence, but I can't imagine not going back for more. The saleslady hated us, though. We couldn't really communicate the fact that we were still looking and she got pissed. I bought stuff, though! Next time we need to go to the bakery next door, which is also fairly well known. And we found an independent wine shop. So that next block down seems to be a pretty amazing place.
Then I went and saw the Pope.
On the way home I went through the Concorde station, where I am constantly reminded of home/Michigan
I came home from early from seeing the Pope because we had plans to go out. Vicky knows a guy here who is Greek, and one of his friends had a birthday party last night. They told us they would pick us up and drive us home, and the offer of cars was all we needed.
Vicky's friend Nicolas doesn't speak English, only Greek and French. In the car, whenever I would talk to Vicky in English he would yell and me and tell me I could only speak French, otherwise I won't learn the language. But even though he wouldn't let me speak English, he was speaking almost exclusively Greek! They took us out to this really weird/cool bar in the suburbs. It was circus themed! You walked up to the front and paid cover at a ticket booth like you would at a carnival, and then walked through this tented hallway into a big circus tent! There was a dance floor in the middle of the tent and a bar along one side. Nicolas went straight for the dance floor and he won Vicky and I t-shirts. I now have a shirt that says "Don't Stop the Party" (in English) from France haha.
Going out with French speakers was very cool, and everyone seemed helpful. I met some guy (whose name I didn't get) who was a friend of Nicolas that spoke English. He was a total sweetheart because his English was about as good as our French, so we would try to speak French to him and he would try to speak English to us. It was probably the best conversation I had all night. And a guy named Julien tried to teach me a French handshake haha. It involved bumping fists and half hugging and all the normal stuff you would do in the states, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that. I also didn't really learn is so much as just mirror him for a few minutes.
Everyone was incredibly nice, teaching us phrases and helping us to pronounce words. The circus club closed around 2, so then we went back into the city to a bar, only to have that bar close at 3. At that point everyone else was headed on to another bar, but we only stayed long enough to say goodbye. We were all tired, and a certain roommate was dying for food. I didn't get to bed last night until 5, which means I didn't wake up today until noon.
Catacombs probably aren't going to happen this weekend. Also, we were supposed to go buy books, which I mentioned in an earlier entry. The bookstore is closed today because of the Pope! I have homework due on Monday from the book that I don't have, so I've been trying to find classmates on Facebook to borrow the text from, but so far no responses. From the looks of it we're vegging out here and then probably going out again tonight. We may go out with Nicolas and his friends again if they have the room to take us, or we may go to a club near Sacre Coeur. So of my list of weekend to-do's I have completed two already, and it looks like the other two will need to be bumped back for next weekend.
Don't forget to keep reading for the Pope visit!
Oh
My
Gosh.
Papal rendez-vous complete.
The Pope was supposed to be headed to Notre Dame between 6:45 and 7, but my roommates had class from 5-7, so I had to go by myself. It takes 30-40 minutes to get from my house to Notre Dame, and the papeaparis website said that the Metros would be running as usual, so I left my apartment at 6. I had planned on taking the 1 line to Hotel de Ville, by school, and just walking down to the Cathedral, but then Jennifer told me the 4 goes to Cite, which is the stop nearest Notre Dame and the 4 is the line I usually take to class so it seemed like a better plan.
The Pope website lied. They closed the station at Cité (which is a really creepy looking stop by the way, and looks even creepier when it's completely deserted) AND the next stop at St. Michel. So everyone was forced off at Odéon, which confused pretty much every person who was trying to see the Pope. So there were huge crowds of confused people all stumbling out onto the street and just stopping and clustering... pretty much the opposite of my idea of fun. I walked down onto St. Germain away from everyone else, pulled out my Paris Practique (a little map book type thing that CEA gave us) and figured out the best way to get to Notre Dame.
I planned on walking to St. Michel and taking the Pont St. Michel (bridge) across there. Of course, once I actually reached the bridge they weren't letting people onto the island there. Notre Dame itself is on an island in the middle of Paris called Île de la Cité, which is only accessible by three bridges on either side (and also the previously mentioned Cité metro stop). St. Michel is the middle bridge, the bridge closest to Notre Dame was completely closed, with no one allowed on it. At this point I just started following the crowds. We walked to the far end of Île de la Cité, since apparently Pont Neuf was the only point of access open at the time. Fun fact: Pont Neuf is called the "new bridge," but is currently the oldest bridge in Paris.
As I was crossing the bridge I got a call from my roommates. When I explained to them that the area was a total madhouse, and that the nearest metro stops were closed and the bridges were closed... well, they weren't quite up for the challenge. It didn't help that while I was on the phone with Vicky I got shoved by someone. The crowds kept going straight, but I decided to follow the water and basically just try to walk to Notre Dame. As I was headed back toward Pont St. Michel I could hear the music from the vespers beginning.
Once I reached Pont St. Michel there were thin areas in the crowds on the bridge, so I found someplace to slip in. I was behind three super short little old ladies, so I had an awesome view. They had screens set up across the river, so I had Notre Dame in front of me to the left, the Seine river below me, and Pope-vision on my right. Obviously, I couldn't understand a thing that was going on inside. They were holding vespers inside the church with the Pope, priests, seminaries, monks and nuns. The acoustics of hearing the chanting and singing from the services inside the church broadcast out into the city was just incredible, I've never experienced anything like that. I took a couple of videos mainly for the effect of the sound, but obviously a YouTube video can't exactly convey how awesome it was.
The whole event was a really interesting mix of worship and spectacle. There were tons of old people with their heads bowed praying, and then obviously throngs of people who were there just to see the Pope. There were several school groups there, too. You could see people holding up signs with their school name and grade and little clusters of students following them. I can't even imagine trying to keep track of a class in a place like that. I also heard more American English there than I have this whole trip, aside from school.
I have TONS of pictures on my Flickr, but I'll try to only post a few on here, since this entry is long already
(EDIT: the blogspot layout cuts off the right side of the pictures, so anywhere it says "screens" there is another screen that you can't see. The full pictures are on Flickr though)
Crowds of people on Pont St. Michel, where I ended up watching
My view: you can see Notre Dame on the left and the screens broadcasting from within the church on the right. Also you can see people taking what must have been an awesome boat tour.
The screens broadcasting. You can also see people out on their balconies watching, but what you can't see is how crowded that road along the Seine was
The Pope actually showed up in this picture! In the others it didn't work because he was wearing white, and the screen just didn't photograph well.
See! Awesome!
And videos!
The first is really short, but you can hear the music and it sounds amazing. If you think it's cool and you want to watch more then check out the second one, which is longer and a bit more comprehensive as far as surroundings go. I tried to give an idea of what was going on so I showed the church, the river, tried (unsuccessfully) to zoom in on the screens, and scanned a little bit of the crowd. The music sounds better in the shorter video though.
PHEW, got all that? I'm so glad that I went. It was a really incredible experience and only served to remind me just how lucky I am to be here.
My
Gosh.
Papal rendez-vous complete.
The Pope was supposed to be headed to Notre Dame between 6:45 and 7, but my roommates had class from 5-7, so I had to go by myself. It takes 30-40 minutes to get from my house to Notre Dame, and the papeaparis website said that the Metros would be running as usual, so I left my apartment at 6. I had planned on taking the 1 line to Hotel de Ville, by school, and just walking down to the Cathedral, but then Jennifer told me the 4 goes to Cite, which is the stop nearest Notre Dame and the 4 is the line I usually take to class so it seemed like a better plan.
The Pope website lied. They closed the station at Cité (which is a really creepy looking stop by the way, and looks even creepier when it's completely deserted) AND the next stop at St. Michel. So everyone was forced off at Odéon, which confused pretty much every person who was trying to see the Pope. So there were huge crowds of confused people all stumbling out onto the street and just stopping and clustering... pretty much the opposite of my idea of fun. I walked down onto St. Germain away from everyone else, pulled out my Paris Practique (a little map book type thing that CEA gave us) and figured out the best way to get to Notre Dame.
I planned on walking to St. Michel and taking the Pont St. Michel (bridge) across there. Of course, once I actually reached the bridge they weren't letting people onto the island there. Notre Dame itself is on an island in the middle of Paris called Île de la Cité, which is only accessible by three bridges on either side (and also the previously mentioned Cité metro stop). St. Michel is the middle bridge, the bridge closest to Notre Dame was completely closed, with no one allowed on it. At this point I just started following the crowds. We walked to the far end of Île de la Cité, since apparently Pont Neuf was the only point of access open at the time. Fun fact: Pont Neuf is called the "new bridge," but is currently the oldest bridge in Paris.
As I was crossing the bridge I got a call from my roommates. When I explained to them that the area was a total madhouse, and that the nearest metro stops were closed and the bridges were closed... well, they weren't quite up for the challenge. It didn't help that while I was on the phone with Vicky I got shoved by someone. The crowds kept going straight, but I decided to follow the water and basically just try to walk to Notre Dame. As I was headed back toward Pont St. Michel I could hear the music from the vespers beginning.
Once I reached Pont St. Michel there were thin areas in the crowds on the bridge, so I found someplace to slip in. I was behind three super short little old ladies, so I had an awesome view. They had screens set up across the river, so I had Notre Dame in front of me to the left, the Seine river below me, and Pope-vision on my right. Obviously, I couldn't understand a thing that was going on inside. They were holding vespers inside the church with the Pope, priests, seminaries, monks and nuns. The acoustics of hearing the chanting and singing from the services inside the church broadcast out into the city was just incredible, I've never experienced anything like that. I took a couple of videos mainly for the effect of the sound, but obviously a YouTube video can't exactly convey how awesome it was.
The whole event was a really interesting mix of worship and spectacle. There were tons of old people with their heads bowed praying, and then obviously throngs of people who were there just to see the Pope. There were several school groups there, too. You could see people holding up signs with their school name and grade and little clusters of students following them. I can't even imagine trying to keep track of a class in a place like that. I also heard more American English there than I have this whole trip, aside from school.
I have TONS of pictures on my Flickr, but I'll try to only post a few on here, since this entry is long already
(EDIT: the blogspot layout cuts off the right side of the pictures, so anywhere it says "screens" there is another screen that you can't see. The full pictures are on Flickr though)
Crowds of people on Pont St. Michel, where I ended up watching
My view: you can see Notre Dame on the left and the screens broadcasting from within the church on the right. Also you can see people taking what must have been an awesome boat tour.
The screens broadcasting. You can also see people out on their balconies watching, but what you can't see is how crowded that road along the Seine was
The Pope actually showed up in this picture! In the others it didn't work because he was wearing white, and the screen just didn't photograph well.
See! Awesome!
And videos!
The first is really short, but you can hear the music and it sounds amazing. If you think it's cool and you want to watch more then check out the second one, which is longer and a bit more comprehensive as far as surroundings go. I tried to give an idea of what was going on so I showed the church, the river, tried (unsuccessfully) to zoom in on the screens, and scanned a little bit of the crowd. The music sounds better in the shorter video though.
PHEW, got all that? I'm so glad that I went. It was a really incredible experience and only served to remind me just how lucky I am to be here.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Today was awesome. I didn't have class until 2, so I slept in until 11:30. The best part about that is the fact that I was the first person to get up at the apartment. I went to wine class, which is awesome. We had a lecture about champagne: how it's made and how it's marketed. Then after class my friend Melanie and I went to the Louvre.
Because we're students we get wonderful magical passes that let us into the museum for FREE! I was so excited about mine, I made Melanie take my picture with it.
My Louvre ID is more official looking than my CEA ID.
Melanie had to sketch the Venus di Milo for her drawing class, and by the time we got to the sculpture itself, it was already 4:50. The museum closes at 6, so I went over to the Ruben's room. I took a few quick pictures out the window on my way.
You know how in the states when a museum closes at 6, that's when they start kicking people out? Yeah, the Louvre isn't like that. They started roping off little rooms around 5:30. As we were trying to find an exit at 5:45 there was already a man mopping and they were roping off the hall with the Venus di Milo.
At that point, Melanie and I were both starving. We walked out away from the museum a bit, but were still in a touristy area. We ended up picking an Italian restaurant. Yep, after visiting probably the most famous museum in France, we went out for Italian. It wasn't too over-priced, either, which is what I expected from this area. I got a HUGE portion of tortelloni with cheese and spinach in a cream sauce and they gave us free bread, which is practically unheard of in Paris. Melanie got something called a "pasta cocktail" (rough translation) which was FOUR different kinds of pasta and sauces, and about a fist-sized portion of each! So she basically got 4 dinners for €13!
On the way home it started to pour, and my cheapy H&M umbrella didn't feel like helping me out. One of the... arm... things? It broke, and kept flipping up and just in general seems to need replacing. The rain (and my incredibly full stomach) didn't stop me from getting dessert though. I got off at the Lamarck stop (which is the one closer to my apartment but with stairs) and so I stopped at a different bakery than usual and picked up an eclair cafe. I prefer the one from my usual baker at the end of my street, but I still ate it all.
If it's still pouring and disgusting tomorrow, though, that may affect my papal visit. Pope events don't really even start until like 4ish, and that's just when the area starts to open. The Popemobile isn't bringing the Pope to Notre Dame until 6:45-7ish, so hopefully the weather will be a bit clearer by then.
Also on the list for this weekend:
Because we're students we get wonderful magical passes that let us into the museum for FREE! I was so excited about mine, I made Melanie take my picture with it.
My Louvre ID is more official looking than my CEA ID.
Melanie had to sketch the Venus di Milo for her drawing class, and by the time we got to the sculpture itself, it was already 4:50. The museum closes at 6, so I went over to the Ruben's room. I took a few quick pictures out the window on my way.
You know how in the states when a museum closes at 6, that's when they start kicking people out? Yeah, the Louvre isn't like that. They started roping off little rooms around 5:30. As we were trying to find an exit at 5:45 there was already a man mopping and they were roping off the hall with the Venus di Milo.
At that point, Melanie and I were both starving. We walked out away from the museum a bit, but were still in a touristy area. We ended up picking an Italian restaurant. Yep, after visiting probably the most famous museum in France, we went out for Italian. It wasn't too over-priced, either, which is what I expected from this area. I got a HUGE portion of tortelloni with cheese and spinach in a cream sauce and they gave us free bread, which is practically unheard of in Paris. Melanie got something called a "pasta cocktail" (rough translation) which was FOUR different kinds of pasta and sauces, and about a fist-sized portion of each! So she basically got 4 dinners for €13!
On the way home it started to pour, and my cheapy H&M umbrella didn't feel like helping me out. One of the... arm... things? It broke, and kept flipping up and just in general seems to need replacing. The rain (and my incredibly full stomach) didn't stop me from getting dessert though. I got off at the Lamarck stop (which is the one closer to my apartment but with stairs) and so I stopped at a different bakery than usual and picked up an eclair cafe. I prefer the one from my usual baker at the end of my street, but I still ate it all.
If it's still pouring and disgusting tomorrow, though, that may affect my papal visit. Pope events don't really even start until like 4ish, and that's just when the area starts to open. The Popemobile isn't bringing the Pope to Notre Dame until 6:45-7ish, so hopefully the weather will be a bit clearer by then.
Also on the list for this weekend:
- I want to go to the catacombs!!! I have wanted to go every time I was in Paris but have yet to actually visit them. Lia said she would go with me, so that should hopefully happen
- We need to go back to Gibert Joseph, because Lia and Vicky's books were sold out last weekend, and I just found out that I need a workbook I didn't know about. Oops.
- Lia and I really want to find Macarons et Chocolat a shop that from the looks of it, appears to be right down the street from us
Sunday, September 7, 2008
So the past few days have been pretty relaxed. I had classes Thursday and Friday. Thursday was my wine class, I'm pretty sure I'm going to love this class. Basically all we talked about on the first day was how to taste wine. Next week we're talking more about terroir. We also were assigned regions for our projects. I'm doing the eastern half of Bordeaux, with an emphasis on sweet wines. My partner is Molly, who happens to be in three of my classes (all but French). I'm thinking a weekend in Bordeaux may be in order, since it is only 2 hours away by train.
Sidenote for those who have expressed an interest in my classes: my Gay class has a blog! It's full of interesting readings and I'm really impressed with the concept and with how well my professor has been making use of it, so if you're interested, Gay Paris CEA.
Friday I had my Expatriate Writing class. I'm excited, but a bit nervous. I have to read the first 3 books of The Ambassadors by Tuesday! Not sure how well that's going to work out for me, especially since we should have had a week to read it. I'm also a bit apprehensive about the creative writing aspect of the course, but we'll see how things pan out.
I had planned on going to the Jeu de Paume on Friday after class, but it was disgusting outside. It was gray and rainy and I just completely lacked any motivation. Which is odd, because you would think a rainy day would be a good day for a museum, but I've never been one to brag about my common sense.
Saturday was beautiful! Lia and Vicky had to go to buy books, so I went with them down to the area near the Sorbonne. Gibert Joseph (the bookstore) was insane! There were so many people, and I hate crowds so it wasn't my favorite experience of the trip, but it was that of an authentic French student. Afterward, the three of us went to McDonalds. Vicky had a Big Mac that she claims tasted exactly like a Big Mac from home, and I had a Royal Deluxe. It's a cheeseburger with mustard. It was good, but oddly enough it was way messier and actually way greasier than a McDonalds cheeseburger at home would have been.
On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. Champion was WAY more busy on Saturday evening than it was on the weekday, I'll probably try to go on weeknights from now on. I did buy real food this time though, instead of just pizzas. So for lunch today I had green peppers, celery, onions, macaroni and tuna fish! Also, I could SO get used to buying a bag of croissants instead of a bag of bread at the grocery store. Even the prepackaged grocery store croissants are good!
Next weekend I think my roommates and I are going to try to see the Pope! He's in Paris on the 12th and 13th before a pilgrimage to Lourdes. I'm sure it will be insane, but we're going to try anyway.
Well, I finished my Gay and my French homework for tomorrow, but I still have 120ish pages of Henry James to trudge through before Tuesday, so I'm off to attempt that. A bientot!
Sidenote for those who have expressed an interest in my classes: my Gay class has a blog! It's full of interesting readings and I'm really impressed with the concept and with how well my professor has been making use of it, so if you're interested, Gay Paris CEA.
Friday I had my Expatriate Writing class. I'm excited, but a bit nervous. I have to read the first 3 books of The Ambassadors by Tuesday! Not sure how well that's going to work out for me, especially since we should have had a week to read it. I'm also a bit apprehensive about the creative writing aspect of the course, but we'll see how things pan out.
I had planned on going to the Jeu de Paume on Friday after class, but it was disgusting outside. It was gray and rainy and I just completely lacked any motivation. Which is odd, because you would think a rainy day would be a good day for a museum, but I've never been one to brag about my common sense.
Saturday was beautiful! Lia and Vicky had to go to buy books, so I went with them down to the area near the Sorbonne. Gibert Joseph (the bookstore) was insane! There were so many people, and I hate crowds so it wasn't my favorite experience of the trip, but it was that of an authentic French student. Afterward, the three of us went to McDonalds. Vicky had a Big Mac that she claims tasted exactly like a Big Mac from home, and I had a Royal Deluxe. It's a cheeseburger with mustard. It was good, but oddly enough it was way messier and actually way greasier than a McDonalds cheeseburger at home would have been.
On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. Champion was WAY more busy on Saturday evening than it was on the weekday, I'll probably try to go on weeknights from now on. I did buy real food this time though, instead of just pizzas. So for lunch today I had green peppers, celery, onions, macaroni and tuna fish! Also, I could SO get used to buying a bag of croissants instead of a bag of bread at the grocery store. Even the prepackaged grocery store croissants are good!
Next weekend I think my roommates and I are going to try to see the Pope! He's in Paris on the 12th and 13th before a pilgrimage to Lourdes. I'm sure it will be insane, but we're going to try anyway.
Well, I finished my Gay and my French homework for tomorrow, but I still have 120ish pages of Henry James to trudge through before Tuesday, so I'm off to attempt that. A bientot!
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