Yesterday was a GREAT day. Seren and I slept in 'til about 11 (we usually have to wake up by 7 or so). We realized that we don't have to PACK every day with activities- it's actually quite healthy to rest. After we woke up we went to the grocery store to buy food for the weekend since everything would be closed sunday. I bought smoked salmon, some meat called copa, salami, green beans, cucumbers, pasta, pizza, nectarines, cheese and of course a fresh baked baguette. We spent the rest of the day hanging around the residence. We even found a way to watch some tv. Yoooolie and Amy joined us later and we bought ice cream and chocolate and just sat and watched more tv and had giggly girl time. It felt like we were just hanging out at home- quite the change from our typical day running around the city.
Today Julie, Amy, Steve and I went to church. Julie knew of a sister church of hers named 'calvary chapel.' The people there were really nice and I actually did understand a lot of the message. I really like the french worship music too, it sounded so nice. After church we decided to swing by starbucks before going home. People back in the states: do NOT take starbucks for granted over there. I will say that one of the first things I do when I get home is go to startbucks where I know they will not only understand my order but also make it correctly! Ok that may sound a bit starbucks snobby and I'm realizing I may be an addict but it was SO gross. It's not like it just wasn't made right....they managed to make the coffee taste bad which was unpleasant. I didn't realize that an ice drink comes room temperature...blech. Ok, enough with the starbucks rant (but when you're paying about 5 dollars for it you'd understand!).
After we got home we did some laundry. After that we made dinner then watched more tv in my room. I just got done doing some homework and I'm debating whether or not to do more....meh maybe. Bon soir!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Montmartre
On Friday Seren, Julie, Amy and I decided to go to Montmartre to see the sights. The metro trip there was an adventure. We started out by missing our stop. When we got to the Gare du Nord it was kind of scary to be honest. I had heard about it not being a good place to be at night alone but I kind of brushed it off. We were there in the day with a group and I was slightly nervous of pick pockets. It's just SO crowded which makes it perfect for people to do so. When we finally got to Montmartre (safely) we found a cute cafe. This was probably the best one yet. I ordered a plate of smoked salmon and un creme. I think it was the best cafe meal yet. After sitting at the cafe for hours (literally) we decided to take the hike to Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur is basically on the highest peak in paris (you may remember saint denis was killed there in montmartre from a previous post). When we finally made it to the top it was well worth it. Not only was Sacre Coeur so pretty, but you got an amazing view of all of paris from up there. After enjoying that for a while we went through some shops yet again. Before going home we realized that the Moulin Rouge was pretty close by. We decided to go there and take some pictures outside before heading home.
At night we went by notre dame to see what there was to do. I ended up going to mcdonalds (I'm so American) and ordering a 'cheese double.' It was nothing short of delicious :) We spent some more time sitting around down there and just talking and enjoying the paris night. At the end of the night everybody split off (some people wanted to leave others stayed). Wellllll the RER (metro) closes at 1 am. That left Seren and I not much time to find the station (that I promise moved...) and catch the metro to avoid paying for a taxi. We finally did it and all was well!
At night we went by notre dame to see what there was to do. I ended up going to mcdonalds (I'm so American) and ordering a 'cheese double.' It was nothing short of delicious :) We spent some more time sitting around down there and just talking and enjoying the paris night. At the end of the night everybody split off (some people wanted to leave others stayed). Wellllll the RER (metro) closes at 1 am. That left Seren and I not much time to find the station (that I promise moved...) and catch the metro to avoid paying for a taxi. We finally did it and all was well!
Medieval Museum
On thursday we had 3 hours of class again (tuesday and thursday are harsh like that). After that prof. Delcourt took us to a medieval museum in cluny. She dropped us off and left. It was then up to us to just roam through the museum and see all we could. To be honest this wasn't exactly my favorite visit. I wasn't too interested in a lot of the artifacts- my mind was on FOOD. After we got done, July, Amy and I went to an italian restaurant where I ate a whole pizza- yuuuum.
Thursdays are like our fridays. We are done with school after class on thursdays then resume monday morning. It gave us a lot of time to go out together as a group and get to know each other better.
Saint Chapelle et La Conciergerie
Last wednesday we went to visit Saint Chapelle and The Conciergerie. Saint Chapelle was really pretty to go through (more of the gothic architecture). Some people are buried there and I think people were held prisoner there as well (can you tell all the visits are just blurring together now? maybe i should just listen better...) After that we went to the Conciergerie- and i definitely remember what that was. Basically if you were ever taken there, you knew you were going to die soon. It's where they kept prisoners before killing them. It was pretty erie to think of how much history was there and how many people were killed there. We go to see the baths and the old prison cells. We even got to go into Marie-Antoinette's cell! That was the coolest part. I just can't get used to how much history there is here.
After that Helene gave us all 10 euros each to go buy lunch. We found a cafe (as always) and I had fries and sausage. After that we went around and did some shopping and sightseeing then retreated to the house exhausted.
After that Helene gave us all 10 euros each to go buy lunch. We found a cafe (as always) and I had fries and sausage. After that we went around and did some shopping and sightseeing then retreated to the house exhausted.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Saint Denis
Yesterday we started off the day with breakfast of course (un croissant et un creme- the usual haha). After that I went to my advanced french class where we learned about Fouquet and discussed the novel. Now that was a lot more like the type of schooling I'm used to. After that class we had a class lectured by prof. Delcourt about Charlemagne. We're reading a book called The Song of Roland and it is really boring. It basically just repeats over and over and puts you to sleep. The bright side is it is in English and that prof. Delcourt seems really nice. After about 3 hours of class it was finally lunch time. Helene made pasta salad (with feta,olives and sundried tomatoes-yummmm), green beans, tomatoes with balsamic and mozzarella, meat, cheese, bread. I see myself mainly blogging about the food here because it's just SO good. It makes sitting through hours of class well worth it. After we stuffed ourselves we set off to go visit a church called Saint Denis. For the program each student is required to give a presentation about places that we visit. My friend Seren and I decided to go first and did it about Saint Denis.
Here's some basic history: The Basalik was built where Saint Denis died. He was a man from Italy that was sent with 2 of his friends to convert the Gauls to Christianity. The king didn't like this and had him decapitated on the highest hill in Paris- Montmartre. Legend has it that he picked up his head and walked six miles preaching a sermon all the way to the place where he finally died. Over the years the church appeared, disappeared and is back again. Hundreds of Kings, Queens, and other nobility are buried there. There was a time where they exude the bodies but now they have brought them back.
So we get to Saint Denis and it is so pretty! I loooove all of this gothic architecture. The stained glass was seriously breathtaking. We walk in and there are graves everywhere inside the church. They come up off the ground and on top of them lies a statue of the person buried below. It was really interesting. It was so cool to see the graves of people that we've learned about in our French classes. We saw were the Louis' and the Henris' are. There is so much history here in France which just continually reminds me of how young the US is.
After we were done exploring the crypts Seren and I stayed in the area to get some sodas. We randomly ran into Julie and Amy and decided to stop at the Camps Elyses on the way back to the MEC. We went to a really expensive chocolate store where we decided to buy a box of chocolates for 1,500 euros, great investment! Ok we did not buy that because we aren't lunatics. Could you believe how expensive that is?? Thats Euros- so lets say about $2,000 for a BOX. No thanks I'm good with my 2.90 euro ice cream we opted for instead (which by the way was about half a kid scoop- I think I'm too used to America's oversized everything). While down there we also saw a double decker bus with men on top partying or something. They were blasting music and there were about 7 police cars all around them. We walked up to where they were driving and just waved and laughed along with them- I snapped a picture of the weird french men and went on. Then all of a sudden it hit me- "l'equipage de francais" was written on the bus...."Oh my goodness you guys it's the french soccer team!!!" It was so cool (and suddenly no longer weird when we realized they weren't just random men). We spent some time trying to stalk the bus and get more pictures but it turns out we don't walk as fast as a car can drive.
It was such a long day and we were happy to get back and watch the finale of the bachelorette on my laptop. OH wait, America made a cool rule that you can't watch any tv shows on your laptop if you're in another country. We were really disappointed and decided to shop for european vacations instead. Any suggestions??
Here's some basic history: The Basalik was built where Saint Denis died. He was a man from Italy that was sent with 2 of his friends to convert the Gauls to Christianity. The king didn't like this and had him decapitated on the highest hill in Paris- Montmartre. Legend has it that he picked up his head and walked six miles preaching a sermon all the way to the place where he finally died. Over the years the church appeared, disappeared and is back again. Hundreds of Kings, Queens, and other nobility are buried there. There was a time where they exude the bodies but now they have brought them back.
So we get to Saint Denis and it is so pretty! I loooove all of this gothic architecture. The stained glass was seriously breathtaking. We walk in and there are graves everywhere inside the church. They come up off the ground and on top of them lies a statue of the person buried below. It was really interesting. It was so cool to see the graves of people that we've learned about in our French classes. We saw were the Louis' and the Henris' are. There is so much history here in France which just continually reminds me of how young the US is.
After we were done exploring the crypts Seren and I stayed in the area to get some sodas. We randomly ran into Julie and Amy and decided to stop at the Camps Elyses on the way back to the MEC. We went to a really expensive chocolate store where we decided to buy a box of chocolates for 1,500 euros, great investment! Ok we did not buy that because we aren't lunatics. Could you believe how expensive that is?? Thats Euros- so lets say about $2,000 for a BOX. No thanks I'm good with my 2.90 euro ice cream we opted for instead (which by the way was about half a kid scoop- I think I'm too used to America's oversized everything). While down there we also saw a double decker bus with men on top partying or something. They were blasting music and there were about 7 police cars all around them. We walked up to where they were driving and just waved and laughed along with them- I snapped a picture of the weird french men and went on. Then all of a sudden it hit me- "l'equipage de francais" was written on the bus...."Oh my goodness you guys it's the french soccer team!!!" It was so cool (and suddenly no longer weird when we realized they weren't just random men). We spent some time trying to stalk the bus and get more pictures but it turns out we don't walk as fast as a car can drive.
It was such a long day and we were happy to get back and watch the finale of the bachelorette on my laptop. OH wait, America made a cool rule that you can't watch any tv shows on your laptop if you're in another country. We were really disappointed and decided to shop for european vacations instead. Any suggestions??
First Day of Class
The first day of class was so great. The class went to have breakfast together at a cafe- a pastry and un creme- YUM. After that we left as a group to go visit Notre Dame. It was so pretty and I was just in awe of all the gothic architecture. We got to climb the tower and see the big bell and the whole city (pictures to come!). The staircase going up the tower was terrible. It was windy and became really narrow and it seemed to never end. It was really dizzying going up and down- good thing it was well worth it at the top. After we were done there we came back to the MEC where we experienced Helene's first cooked meal for us. All I can say is she is the best professor on earth because she can cook like no other! We all were dead silent as we scarfed down our eggplants, salad, corn salad, beet salad, meat, cheese, bread. I really think I gained 5 pounds after eating it all. I barely had room to eat any dinner later I was that full. I could really get used to school being like that every day.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Ticket to Freedom
Today we were all supposed to meet Helene downstairs by 10:00 to get our navi-go passes for the trains that take you all around Paris. We were so excited to get them because now were not so confined to just the cite universitaire! The funnest part was trying to find a tiny portrait of ourselves to put onto the pass to try to bypass the 5 euros needed to just buy them (not to mention the 60 euro fine if you're caught without the photo). We all went to my room and took portraits. Then we went to the computer lab and used the ghetto printers to print the pictures. We had to run the papers through 3 times to get the ink dark enough since it was in black and white. After all that hard work, the people at the front desk told us that our pictures don't work and that we must have colored photos on our card- so stupid. We ended up just going to the RER station and stomaching the 5 euro charge for 16 tiny portraits of ourselves, 15 of which will never be of use to us (at this point we like pinching every euro we have).
For lunch we found this restaurant called Lebanon Paris or something like that which was SO good. I had a shwarma sandwich and baklava. We still needed to do some shopping but we forgot we're in France. Everything thing here closes around 1:00 on Sundays leaving us with nothing to do. We decided to grab our french novels and read some Fouquet in the park.
We cooked dinner for ourselves again and ate on the terrace. Again, nothing too eventful; it's just nice and relaxing before school starts...tomorrow!
For lunch we found this restaurant called Lebanon Paris or something like that which was SO good. I had a shwarma sandwich and baklava. We still needed to do some shopping but we forgot we're in France. Everything thing here closes around 1:00 on Sundays leaving us with nothing to do. We decided to grab our french novels and read some Fouquet in the park.
We cooked dinner for ourselves again and ate on the terrace. Again, nothing too eventful; it's just nice and relaxing before school starts...tomorrow!
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