Weekend!

This has been one of the most interesting weekends in Paris. I said in my last post that I was planning on doing a lot this weekend, and I did. Not only was it completely exhausting, it was thrilling, and fairly adventurous as well.

First things first. I cut my hair. I've had long, curly/wavy hair for the last five years, partly because I love my hair and secondly, because of a very bad haircut I got the last time I cut my hair off. Those who have seen my high school ID card from sophmore year can attest to this.

Well, I'm going to be corny now and do a before/after for those of you who don't have facebook and see what it looks like. I think its quite cute :)

so, like what, seven inches? Maybe more...

Anyway, Friday was the wine museum. We got a tour of the museum, and learned about the history of wine making in France and how wine is made. It was very interesting, but even though he talked slowly, I couldn't understand that much, which made me sad. I'm in France, I feel like I should be some sort of wine connoisseur by now! I've decided that I want to go on a tour of Napa when I get back and go wine testing and actually learn more about how its made and how to go about tasting it because too many times, in the states, people just guzzle it and don't even try to enjoy its nuances, which is something I did get there. We tried five different types of wine, each from a different area of France and a completely different taste. My favorites? Saint Emilion (red wine), Visan Lucéna (white), Saint Aubin (red as well) and my all time favorite that most people thought tasted like cough syrup-- Loin de l'oeil. I LOVE this wine, its a dessert wine, which means it really sweet and has a fruity taste. Yuuummmm...I know what I'm buying :)

I really felt like the wine museum was an exercise in frustration as well though, we would told to smell it and say what it reminded us of...I could think of nothing and thus would say things like almonds...she would grimace after all of my answers haha

Next we went out to Bastille, where there's a huge night life and we walked around and explored.

Saturday was this farmers market called Les Marchs Flottants du Sud Ouest. Basically, all of these people that specialize in food from the South of France(they are all from the South) come up for a weekend in Paris to sell their produce. It was amazing, we got free apples, grapes, and garlic. I bought ice cream that had macaroons in it and wandered around.

One of the best parts of the market was the music. There was a percussion band that played on barrels (I'm not kidding) and were completely wacky and so happy when they played. One of the guys kept jumping on top of the barrels, he was so excited. They made me think a lot of the percussion at CKM, just the movements, noises and stylistic choices they made.

I wanted to start marching or something.

After the market, we wanted to go to the Techno parade. The techno parade is something that happens in the Bastille every year, where everyone comes out to dance in the streets. When I heard this, I was very excited. In San Francisco, there is something callled Love Feast where you basically do that for an entire day.

So, we get to the metro stop and its jammed full of people, you can barely walk. We FINALLY get out(fresh air!!) and are out for about 2 minutes. The first picture, at the beginning of this blog, is interesting because there are a bunch of people on top of the Bastille. I don't know how they got up there though. Here is more people on top of the metro stop. Insanity. Now the next part for people who worry, DO NOT WORRY, nothing dangerous happened and it was all fine. So, don't worry.

So, we have just arrived, when suddenly we hear screaming and people running. ALL toward us. And then we when we breathe in, there is definitely something in the air. And thus we start coughing. We are completely confused and disoriented and then we see the police, chasing crowds of people. It was the police, who were throwing PEPPER BOMBS at the dancers, who thus ran towards everyone. So, we make the (wise) decision and high tail it to a restuarant, where we meet up with more people. Five minutes later, more screaming and people RUN in, bringing with them, of course, the pepper bomb stuff. The air was full of it. Then, when we left the restuarant and were standing outside of it, there was a crazy man with a kitchen knife, screaming. We decided this wasn't that safe, and continued on. It was kinda entertaining though and scary at the same time, to see the riot police chasing in lines, crowds of dancers. The police here are so different than in SF, in SF, nothing like this at all happens, I feel like the French are much more wild and extreme and so are the police. What was more entertaining is that I was describing this to my host family, using words like 'crazy' and 'dangerous' and they just laughed, said that it wasn't, it was just normal, everyone gets excited and it was an adventure. It was, but it was funny to hear it from them. Anyway, we continue on, as the concert has been cancelled and instead go with one of our friends to his friends house, who are french, where we spend a wonderful evening speaking french and eating junk food. This is a picture of that evening , after we had been wandering around, it was an beautiful, peaceful evening, hard to believe what had happened earlier in the evening.

The next day, Sunday, we went to Chartes. Now, I thought I had never been there. Ha, Keck, the teacher who was in charge of the trip I went on in high school, knew how to stuff everything in. I had been here, and reconized the church. This is the church where the veil of Mary is and where I enjoyed playing with the various orange cats hanging around and ate some amazing croissants with my mom and drank some cafecreme. This is a picture with some of my friends, next to the river. Chartes is really really pretty, kinda sad though, I went for the food and we never managed to find any of their specialities. AND they never checked our ticket and it was an expensive one. Ha. Oh well. Well that is an abridged version of a very busy weekend and now a new week has begun. Until next time!

Busy, busy, busy

I m going to have to keep this short because I have THIS MUCH HOMEWORK. No, seriously. The great thing about me being done in October is also the bad thing. I HAVE MIDTERMS COMING UP!

Along with that, a ton of homework, presentations, essays and whatever else you can think of. And in case, dear reader, you forgot, its all in French.

But, some exciting things are going on this weekend. I'm going to the Wine museum, where yes, I will be sampling wine. Now, when I go to a wine store, I ll hopefully know what I'm drinking/what's good. After that, I m going to go to a club. And hopefully, I ll be cutting my hair. heheh

On Saturday, there is a huge market called Les Marches Flottants du Sud Ouest. Basically, all of these people from the South of France are coming up to Paris to sell their produce! And, they are supposed to be really different than the Parisians, so I m looking forward to that. And there's a HUGE techno festival. I m really curious if its anything like lovefest, if it is, I think I m going to really enjoy myself.

Sunday is Chartes. So, lots going on, and in between, I'll hopefully get some homework done. Right? ha, who am I kidding. I don't know how its going to get down, just that it will.

But, to recap on this week. I went and saw the Kooks. For free. At a communist festival. How awesome is that?? It was called Fete de Humanitaire, and goes on every year in Paris. Imagine--hippies, communists, old and young, all mixed together. Very interesting mix. There were a ton of people and we literally had to run to make it on time, but it was completely worth it. Then, we wandered around my district ( at least saw where you DONT want to go at night, there is a good reason, we now know, why Pigalle is NOT GOOD TO GO TO AT NIGHT...nothing happened and we were several, but still, its like the Tenderloin at night. But, we also found about a million overpriced crepe stands, a Starbucks, two McDonalds and numerous other random restaurants. Oh yeah, and tons of Subways. What is with subways in Paris?? I ve found like 6 so for. And pizza huts?? huh? Why would you go there, when you can eat Crepes all day long?

The next day, I went to a Pucce Marche. It was by the dorms where a couple of my friends live. I was actually really disappointed. Paris flea markets are supposed to be legendary, but this one, at least in my opinion, was incredibly disappointing. A lot of the stuff was junk and overpriced. A necklace that I found in the states and own for 15 dollars was being sold(with only one strand) for 40 euro!! AND the women then tried to persuade me why it was worth it!! It was also convenient that there were no price tags on anything. HM.

We also got Galletes, which is a type of crepe. YUm.

AND we found the most amazing ice cream place. EVER. Imagine italian ice cream, the flavors of cherries (fresh) mixing with jam, and dark chocolate. Then, imagine this creamy mix being put into a warm croissant. Yes, that is what I ate. My friend ate ice cream in a wafer, but what made it amazing was the the ice cream was shaped into a flower. I think everyone knows this is the place to go on a Sunday, cause the line was out the door. The name of the place?

Amorino. And personally, I don't think its really an Italian brand, cause most of the shops are in Paris, but there are some in Province, Barcelona and Shanghai.

GO there! eat, and be happy.

And now I must sign out and do all the homework that is so sweetly calling my name.

I made a delicious quiche tonight. It only delicious because I had my kind host brother helping me make it tonight. Otherwise, it would have been very watery, as I wouldn't have realized that cL does not mean L. Whoops.

It was a little salty, but considering my results lately, its amazing. I can't wait to to force, oops I mean ask my host brother help me make something else. There is some left over, lunch tomorrow!!

The next pictures are from a friend's birthday dinner (her name is Sarah too, I finally met some Sarah's in college. In the program, there are three Sarah's, including me, which means its a little confusing lol) We had a lot of fun, the restaurant gave her a brownie with something like a sparkler,(?) I don't know exactly what it was, but it was so cute! And really good, made me think of that dessert place in SF. And I got salmon with pesto sauce and so much butter it melted in my mouth. I've made the decision that the more butter, the better is something. I'm going to be 10 pounds heavier at the end of this. Which is a problem, because all of my work clothes are a perfect fit. Eeee, I ll deal with it when they don't fit.

So, the dessert that is in front of me is a fruit soup. Only a couple people are going to get this reference, but years ago, when I was in the east coast with my family, I got this dessert that was soup made out of fruit. I LOVED it and was never able to find it again. But they had it HEEREE!!! Its called Gazpacho and its Spanish. It actually normally a cold, Mediterranen soup made from fresh veggies, but the French ( and Virginians?) converted it into a cold fruit soup! That's vanilla ice cream inside it. It was really light, the consistancy was between a mousse and a smoothie.

As soon as I got home, I explained this to my host family and they told me that I could buy the veggie version at Monoprix. So today, I went and got some. I'm going to eat it tomorrow. They said its amazing, so we'll see!! As I loved the fruit version, I think I'll like the veggie as well. And continuing on the subject of food, my host brother told me that you can buy Doner in Paris!!! OMG. I'm going Doner searching this week. He said its not as good in Paris as in Germany, but whatever, I haven't had a substitute for a long time, so I'm fine with that. But back to the subject of the restaurant. This is the mural and sculpture work in it. All the pillars had pictures painted on them. Restaurants themselves are pieces of work here.

While dinning out in Paris is normally really expensive, (wahh), the best part about it is(if there is a good part) is that the tax for having a large group doesn't exist. You also don't have to tip, its included in the bill. Every time I've eaten out, we've always been over. I'm so used to SF, and wrangling with people to try try get the extra ten dollars (at least) to cover a bill. At this restaurant, even though the bill was huge, we were more than ten euros over!! We wrote "thank you" in every language we knew and I m sure the waiter looooved us for getting such a huge tip. They were very nice, and kept talking to use, I think we actually "made friends" with a french waiter. Who'd have known it??

And now, by popular demand, pictures of the apartment!! To start with, MY AMAZING VIEW! (from the living room, but heck, I can see it right now, so whatever, its great; the tower is lighting up and all glittery, I can't believe I can watch it right now)

The very cute, very parisian living room.

Yes, the washer is right next

to the fridge. And the bathtub and sink are in separate rooms. The bathroom is very small, but its pretty normal. Next, the fear inspiring, yes, it is that vertically challenging, staircase. oi. I m afraid one of these days I m going to fall and die as a result of not watching my footing.

My bed and--wait-- what's that on the wall? Yes, its camel boxes. Apparently their son did that haha

My scarves, the sink, and my desk!!

The other view is from my room, I can see Montmarte and the people walking around :)

And yes, its a friday night. But, as I'm still not completely better and don't want to do my homework, I m doing this :) Arrgg homework.

Oh, and if you want my address, ask!

Until next time!

And life in Paris begins...

As I write this blog, I look at the time-10:47 on a Thursday night. Why am I not out? I m asking that to myself right now. I took a nap today and felt slightly sick afterwards. Its that in-between don't know if its just exhaustion or something else, so therefore, to avoid actually getting really sick, I m doing nothing tonight. BOo.

Life in Paris has stayed interesting. I went grocery shopping today! I was really excited, I was going to make a baguette pizza. I felt very french walking along the rue with my baguette in hand as I imagined how amazing this was going to be. But, it didn't turn out that great. I can't decide if its the ingredients together or if I am just going to kill myself trying to cook this semester. I think this is going to be one of the hardest things for me living abroad. Yeah yeah, I know, smirk if you want as you read this. Yet cooking is somewhat of a mystery. I cooked in the dorms and I can make desserts(if only I could live off of that ha)but cooking on my own is completely different. I normally cook with others and so if I have a question, I can ask. This is on my own, 3 meals a day deal. And believe me, pasta and cous cous gets old fast.(thats what i made first, turned out amazing, but I had enough for 6 meals. SIX! I was ready to kill myself for having made so much)

And there is this saying the first time you make something, it never turns out the first time very good. Unfortunately, its true ( at least for me). So I m trying a lot of new french recipes right now, and so therefore, nothing is turning out that great. I m so over cooking.

There is a BU cooking class but that s in October. I m going to starve. Or give myself food poisoning in the process. Which is why I m avoiding meat.

Okay, enough ranting about food.

I went to a club on Tuesday, which was a lot of fun. Lucky me, class on Tuesday doesn't start until 3, so I was able to go out. The club was really clean, really nice. Clubs here don't start getting packed until 12 or 1 though. Therefore, people are out MUCH later, which is fun, but also means the metro has stopped running, so you either have to hang around til 5, when it opens, or take a taxi. I think most people choose the first option, but I haven't stayed around yet to find out. A note about French guys at clubs--SKETCH! well, not all, but wow. Thought Americans are bad, they are nothing on the french. And that is where that subject ends.

And now on to the most thrilling aspect of my life here--classes!!

All of my classes are in French. Including my EU econ/politics class. The first class, I understood nothing, second, a bit more. The classes here feel almost like summer school(the horror) because they are compiled into 2 months. Yes, that means when you all are taking midterms, I ll be doing finals, and when you re doing finals, I will have been done for roughly two months. (mwhahah) However, that also means a lot of work has been squished into 2 months. Meaning that each class is 2 1/2 hours long. Meaning I have 5 hours of french language/grammar classes every tuesday and thursday. That was today. Maybe that's why I feel slightly ill.

To be honest though, the teachers are amazing and funny and very nice. The five hours could be so much worse, but instead, can be pretty entertaining. Its the econ class that I m really scared of. How I m going to get through that, I haven't figured out yet.

Saturday is Guignoleries. So excited! And sorry, but no pictures of the apartment are coming yet. Look on facebook. If you can't see them and want to, let me know, and I will post them here. Otherwise, none will be forthcoming.

Versailles Aka the reason the French stormed Bastille

Hello again!!

Yesterday was Versailles. I walked from 10:30 to 5:00. My feet are going to fall off. Anyway, I went to Versailles four years ago and was not impressed. We didn't go to the gardens and the Hall of Mirrors was closed. Basically, all the reasons to go to Versailles. So, not impressive.

Contrary to all my

expectations of the chateau, I really enjoyed it this time. The hall of mirrors was open(Finally!) and was amazing. The room is on one side mirrors and the other side windows. On the ceiling is murals, murals, murals. It really made me think of the Vatican.

Since I was there, they've done a lot of restoration. Anyway, it's pretty amazing now.

I learned this trip that there are three additional estates on Versailles. One of the most interesting ones was the Petite Trianon, where Marie Antoinette lived. She made a little village where peasants could live as well, because she wanted to experience 'peasant life.' There was a private theater where she could act, and picturesque houses for the peasants. I don't know if this is true or not, but people in my group were saying that she had the peasants dye the sheep different colors. How uncomfortable for the sheep.

This was her idea of how peasants lived:

Best part of the village were the animals that lived on the land. There were, and still are rabbits, goats, sheep, roosters, cows, oh my! Nothing dyed though.

Continuing on, next was the gardens next to Versailles. Very French and symmetrical. The bushes were shaped into fleur dis lis, citrus trees arranged into spirals. Here is ANOTHER picture to describe it.

Last, but very much not least--statues. We couldn't resist.

And now, I really have to do homework. Next post I'll add pictures of my host family's home. If I have time, I ll do it later today, if not, till next time!

Food aka Alimentaire

Today for orientation, they told us the subject would be "Dégustation de la Gastronomie Française. In english, this means discussing French food. They failed to mention that we would be eating it as well.

To explain: we walked into the classroom and were greeted by the two interns, wearing aprons that said "Épices" and "Frommage" respectfully. Each held a bottle of wine and gave us a glass. The classroom tables were laden with food! One table was devoted completely to desserts. Yum.... okay anyway, returning to the subject, throughout the 2 hours, the professor explained the differences between marches and supermarches, artisans and mass production.

Artisans are those who specialize in the production of a certain type of food. For example, we were shown two baguettes. One was about 2 feet long and perfectly straight. The other was 2 1/2 feet, curved and slightly browner on one side than the other. Which is better? I thought it would be the perfectly baked one but no. The one that was imperfect made crackly noises when squished, which means that it will taste better. Artisan breads have more personality and though "imperfect" are made by someone that has studied for years to learn how to make bread. Therefore, when looking for the "perfect" bread or cheese, even though it is more expensive, go to the one who specializes in it. This was something I had already known, I do live in SF, but finding people who ONLY specialize in something particular can take time to look for and find. But here, its much easier to find these shops. As I walk from the metro to the apartment, there are soooo many cheese shops, wine shops, chocolate shops(YUM!), and most importantly, pastry shops.

During this program, they continued to give us different types of wine pastries, bread, and cheese, the point being to learn the difference between quality and mass production. I ate SO much.

The next part of the program was wisely thought out. We scavenger hunted through a specific district. The district was Bercy. It's where the National Library is, and where a French television show films. Well, I was watching tv tonight, and I recognized every single spot!! We walked for almost 5 hours, so much fun but barely scratched the surface of the district. Oh and Vincent Cassel was in the one of the advertisements in the district. :) I need to get a picture of this, cause I, once again, forgot my camera.