And Life Goes Back to Normal

Well, I guess how “normal” can life be when one lives in Paris?  No matter how “dull” a regular day is there is always something to be thankful about when one lives in one of the prettiest cities.  But life did go back to rather normal for living in Paris which consisted of going to class, doing homework, roaming around this awesome city that has so much to offer.  Anyways here are some highlights of what happened during the week after going to Nice.

Lundi le 28 novembre:

I bought my train tickets to go to Strasbourg in a few weeks!  I am super excited to check out these Christmas markets and just explore a new area.  I have already been to Strasbourg with my family and the Medinas but that was during summer so checking it out in the winter should be a lot of fun.  I got a letter from a good friend back at Central, Britt.  It was very sweet of her and getting even just a simple letter saying hello brightens up my day.  I had lunch at the CROUs and went to Shelley’s class, we watched a movie and it was interesting.  I then went home and just worked on stuff nothing too exciting.

Mardi le 29 novembre:

Well today I had class and that went fine.  I then ran into Amanda, a girl from the program and we have our afternoon class together and today we were going on a field trip so we hung out before jumping on the metro and meeting up the rest of the class at the museum.  We went to the chocolate museum called Choco Story Museum.  It was really cool getting to learn about the history of chocolate and then get to taste some chocolate of course!  I am definitely taking Maissie here when she comes in February because she will just love it!  Anyways, after class I went home and hung out until I had to go to bénévolat.  After that it was a rather normal night.

Mercredi le 30 novembre:

Test today in phonetics.  Ugh, thought it went alright but since this is a while after it happened and I know the results and they are not as good as I wanted them to be.  But whatever, it is a good thing I am staying here the year so I can practice even more!

Vendredi le 2 décembre:

Well got up kind of late but that is ok I guess.  I had lunch at the CROUs like usual but afterwards I walked down Bld. St. Michel all the way to Notre Dame to check out the Christmas tree and actually go inside since I haven’t been inside since I arrived in Paris in September.  I walked around that area and ended up on Ile St. Louis and stopped at Berthillon’s the best ice cream shop in all of Paris and got a scoop of hazelnut ice cream.  It was so good!  I then was just roaming around this little island and happened upon La Vigie.  I was super excited about that!  It was where my mom used to live when she studied in Paris for a year.  I really wanted to live there and asked if I could but nope they put me elsewhere.  Here are some pictures from my adventures around Notre Dame and whatnot:

Me heading over to Notre Dame (in the background)

I just love this picture it is of la Rive Gauche and there is the St. Michel Fontaine in the middle but you can’t really see it in this picture.

Notre Dame with the Sapin de Noel, it was a beautiful day out

A rose window at Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame de Paris

Behind Notre Dame de Paris

Over at Berthillons, it was all decorated for Christmas

Samedi le 3 décembre:

Today I hung out with Fabrice before he leaves for the holidays.  We went to an Indian restaurant and it was rather good.  We were taking pictures of the food and got yelled at about it.  It was kind of funny.  After lunch we went over to Les Halles which is a big mall like place and walked around for a bit but then I went home.

Dimanche le 4 décembre:

Today I went to a French church that I heard about and it was nice.  But don’t worry there is a story to go with this adventure.  Well it is called l’Église des Ternes and is a very tiny church in the 17^th.  Let me tell you, it is so hard to find!  I was already running late and then I was searching and searching for this church which is really really well hidden.  I was 15 minutes late and thought I could just sneak in and find a seat in the back.  Well how wrong was I.  When I opened the front door it was really noisy and when I stepped in I was right in the sanctuary.  It was chilly outside and warm inside so my glasses started fogging up and I couldn’t see anything.  Of course everyone was staring at me.  I then was looking and looking for a spot in the back and of course the only spots that were open were in the very front of this church.  Then the pastor said hello to me and told me to come on in and sit down as he was standing up front.  So if people weren’t staring at me before they sure as were then!  I was so embarrassed.  I couldn’t even look up at the pastor in the beginning.  It was an interesting experience.  It is a teeny tiny church.  It was cool though because it was in French and I understood most of what they said and after the service people were very friendly and I actually ran into a girl who lives in my foyer!  I then went back to my foyer and am now super torn as to whether I should go to this little French church or the American Church in Paris.  They both have their good things and draw backs.  I then later in the day met up with Meredith and Amanda to work on our project on Bourgogne for Tourisme et Gastronomie. 

Nice is nice

So for starters Nice is pronounced like niece.  Now moving on, the weekend of the 25^th to the 27^th of November I went to Nice, France with my program.  It is in the south of France and just a short ride from the country Monaco and just a little bit longer on the bus and you have made it to Italy.  However, this weekend I just stayed in Nice and it was super nice!  We were blessed with awesome awesome weather!  It could not get much better than this.  It was warm and sunny the entire weekend and well Nice is on the Mediterranean Sea and so a lot of time was spent at the beach.  I had so much getting to know people in my program and wished that it had been earlier in the program because the end is drawing near for a lot of people.  However, it was still a great weekend filled with lots of adventures and hanging out with some really awesome people.

Vendredi le 25 novembre:

Well today I got up and got ready for going to Nice!  I had an early lunch and then met up with Kacey to go to the airport and meet up with Shelley and everyone else in the program.  We got to Orly Ouest in plenty of time and hung out in the airport until we boarded our plane.  It was a quick flight.  We made it to Nice and the warm weather was a breath of fresh air compared to the cold weather Paris is now subjected to since winter is drawing near.  Anyways we took a bus to the city and then walked to our auberge (hostel) and dropped off our stuff to go check out the beach and sunset.

The amazing sunset at the beach in Nice, it was stunning.

Shelley then took us over to Vieux Nice (which means old Nice, so it is the old part of town) and said goodbye and she left us to do our own thing.  I hung out with Amanda, Kacey, Clayton, Heather, and Lily.  Lily left and did her own thing which was fine.  The rest of us found a pizza place and got some really cheap yummy pizza for dinner.  We then decided it would be a good idea to go and eat our pizza on the beach.  It was fun but chilly.

The gang waiting for our pizzas.

On the beach at night, where we ate dinner

We then walked around and headed back to the auberge and played some card games.  Then Clayton had the brilliant idea that we go and get some gelato.  So we ventured out and got ourselves some delicious gelato.

Me enjoying a vanilla and strawberry gelato.  The couple that runs the shop were so cute and nice.

We then walked around town and got really really lost.  We ended up on the other side of town and got really confused as how to get back to the auberge.  It was getting kind of late and so I asked this couple directions and when I first started talking to the lady she gave me this look of like “why are you talking to me and I don’t want to give you money.”  It was kind of amusing because all I wanted was directions; the husband chimed in and told us how to get where we needed to be.  We made it back to the auberge and talked for quite some time and then went to bed.

Samedi le 26 novembre:

So today I got up early despite the fact that I didn’t sleep that well the night before.  I took a shower and the water was FREEZING!! No joke, it was jumping into a bucket of ice water and yes it was warm in Nice but not that warm that one would appreciate a freezing cold shower.  Let me just say I think that was the fastest shower I ever took.  I had breakfast downstairs in the kitchen area and then headed off to the beach with Kacey, Ang, Emily, and Lauren.  The beaches in Nice are all rocks there is no sand but I don’t mind that much. 

The beach at Nice, it was nice and rocky but gorgeous.

Nice and the beach, I could get used to this.

Me at the beach, yes I did put my feet in the Mediterranean Sea

Clayton showed up at the beach and said hello and hung out with us.  We then made our way back to the auberge to meet up with the rest of the group to go to our 3 course lunch.  We went to that and it was delicious!  I really liked the food and it was super filling.  We then went on a walking tower and went up to the château, which isn’t really a château anymore it is just ruins but there are amazing views from this huge hill that you can take an elevator up.

Walking to the château, the elevator is straight ahead

Well we took the elevator up and now I show you through pictures the view because trying to describe it won’t give it justice.  These pictures won’t give the breathtaking views justice but this the best I can do without bringing you here.

Looking onto Nice and the beach and mountains in the background

I just really like this picture with the sun shining through the trees and the water and mountains in the distance

Looking at the Port of Nice

More of the Port of Nice and the mountains in the background

The “château” which is just ruins now

Nice and the mountains in the background

We then walked down instead of taking the elevator down and stopped at a church and then the tour guide left and we were left to do whatever we wanted so I did some shopping with Jaynellen and Kacey and we had a really nice time.

Walking around Vieux Nice, I love the colors of the buildings

Well night time rolled around and Jaynellen, Kacey and I ended up on the beach and went over to the big rocks and hung out there for a while chatting and we decided to head back to the auberge since it was chilly.

Looking at the city from the beach at night

We stopped at the Monoprix and picked up some stuff to snack on since we weren’t that hungry from our huge lunch and then just hung out in the auberge chatting until well, late at night.

Dimanche le 27 novembre:

Today was my last day in Nice.  It was sad to be leaving because I loved going to the beach and the amazing weather that we had!  It was just so much fun!  But vacations have to end.  However I still had time to do some fun stuff and go to the beach one last time.  I got up and was warned that the shower was still freezing so I went to Clayton and Perry’s room and knocked on their door with towel and soap in hand and asked if I could take a shower in their bathroom since well theirs was warmer.  They didn’t mind, and it was a lot warmer than in the girls’ room!  I then had breakfast and waited to meet up with the rest of the group to go to the markets.  I got some really pretty watercolor paintings.  I then walked around Nice with Jaynellen and Kacey and we got some food.  I got a delicious ham panini.  We then ended up at the beach for one last hurray. 

The beach, the water is just so blue!

The beach is just stunning in Nice

Me at the beach, it was just wonderful there

Even saw some sail boats out on the water that is just so amazing blue

Well we had a late afternoon flight, it left at about 5pm and so we got to see a gorgeous sunset from the airplane and it was just so breathtaking.  Then when we were about to land in Paris it was night time and we got to see the city all lit up from above and the Eiffel Tower all lit up too from the airplane which was really cool.  I then took the RER home and didn’t get a ton of work done but oh well.  It was an amazing weekend and was nice to get to see somewhere I’ve never visited.

November pre-Nice continued

Well here is a continuation of what I have been up to before Thanksgiving weekend when I went to Nice.  As usual I will give you the highlights from what happened during these few days. 

Lundi le 14 novembre:

Shelley’s class, homework, dinner, put up some blog entries and nothing much other than that.

Mardi le 15 novembre:

So when I woke up this morning the electricity was not working in my room or my side of the hallway!  It was a pleasant surprise when I got up this morning and tried to turn on the light in the bathroom and it wasn’t working.  (I’m being sarcastic if you can’t tell).  Anyways I got ready for school and left a note for Perrine, my roommate, asking her to tell the people at the front desk because I didn’t have time before going off to school.  I had my language class and got a test back and did rather well so that was exciting (I’m easily pleased lol!).  Anyways I was going to take the bus to the CROUs for lunch but it was going to take forever so I walked and it was freezing!  I thought I was going to turn into a human ice cube!  I thankfully got to take a bus back to school because the wait wasn’t a ridiculous amount.  I got to drink wine in my afternoon class because we were learning about different regions of France and it was fun.  Definitely not something that would ever happen in an American University.  I could very much get used to a class like this.  After class I then went to my bénévolat and helped out a student with his English homework.  We got out early so I went home to work on my presentation for Thursday.  When I got back the electricity was working!  That was awesome!  I ate dinner with Sophia and we chatted for quite some time so I didn’t get as much work done as I wanted but oh well.

Jeudi le 17 novembre:

Well today I had my presentation and that went fine.  It is done and over with so that is good.  After class I went and got some lunch and that was fine.  I had my old people conversation (as I like to call them) and that went well.  I also treated myself to a delicious crumble aux pommes and I was eating it while walking down the street and this random lady said “bonne appétite,” it was rather funny.  Normal people don’t eat while walking down the street but it was too tempting to not nibble on it while heading to the bus stop.  I got home and tried out this new program that I downloaded which allows me to watch French dvds and it worked which was super exciting!  So if you ever plan on going abroad and buying foreign films make sure to download VLC Media Player (the best part is it is free).  Well now that I have given my little promotion for them I guess I will move onto a new day in November.

Vendredi le 18 novembre:

So today I went shopping with Kacey and we went to H&M and I got a warm scarf.  We then walked around a bit and stopped at the fnac where I picked up a movie and then said goodbye because I had to get home to skype with the lovely Allison.  It was fun getting to skype with my friend from Central and just catching up.  I then talked with Maissie on facetime so that was fun.  I eventually had dinner because it was late and I was starving.

Samedi le 19 novembre:

Did grocery shopping today as most Saturday mornings are spent.  As usual, I was sitting on my bed and was working on something and fell asleep.  When I woke up from my nap I got up and decided to go to le Musée l’Orangerie where there are Monet’s waterlilies.  It was rather crowded with rich American tourists but the paintings were just breathtaking.  I could have easily sat there for hours and stared at them.  I then walked around by la Seine and saw a gorgeous sunset (sorry no pictures because I hadn’t received my new camera yet).  It reminded me of how beautiful Paris is.  I walked some more along the Seine and happened upon the Christmas markets on the Champs-Élysées.  I only looked at them briefly because there were so many people!  It was super crowded and I just wanted to go home at that point.  I made it home and ate dinner with Sophia and Alessandro.  Some really nice German girls shared their cake that they made with us.  I then just hung out.

Dimanche le 20 novembre:

Bon anniversaire Maissie!!  In honor of Maissie’s birthday I ate a pain au chocolat that was delicious.  I then went to church in the afternoon and ran into Clayton, a guy from my program, after church at the coffee area.  We talked for a while and then he had to head back to his foyer to work on homework.  I also ran into Stephanie and Mar from church and we walked to the metro together and then I went home and eventually worked on homework.

Lundi le 21 novembre:

Well today I was on cloud 9.  I got my package from my parents with my new camera!!  I was super nervous that I wouldn’t get it in time for Nice however I did and will now be able to take pictures again.  I went to lunch and then went to the Central office for Shelley’s class.  She told us that tomorrow we get to skip classes to go get our carte de séjour which lets us stay in France.  One needs this along with a visa.  I had to go out afterwards and buy a 55 euros stamp and take some wonderful id photos at a photomaton.  After I got all that done I worked on homework and booked my hotel for going to Strasbourg for the Christmas markets!  I was super stoked about that.

Mardi le 22 novembre:

Well today I went off to the immigration office to get my sticker in my passport saying that I can stay in the country and that I don’t have TB.  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  I got there in plenty of time even though I woke up late.  It was like being at the DMV.  I walk up the stairs and there is a HUGE line!  I had to talk to some people at the front desk and they said that I then would have to wait until they called my name.  Let me tell you I am so thankful that my parents named me Amelia because the French can pronounce it and I can understand them when they call my name!  I waited for quite a while and then they called my name and they took me to another room with a ton of people and I had to sit and wait there until a nurse called my name.  So today consisted of a lot of sitting and waiting.  I got weighed and did an eye exam thingy which was kind of funny because I am so used to doing it in English that I started saying some of the letters in English but had to remind myself to say them in French.  I then went back into the waiting room and waited some more.  I then had to get a chest x-ray for TB and that was the most awkward thing ever.  If you want more details you can ask me in person when you see me, it is too awkward to put on here.  Anyways I got my chest x-ray and then had to go and sit and wait some more to talk with a doctor and she asked a bunch of questions and gave me my x-ray.  I now have a souvenir, lol!  After I was done talking with her I had to sit and wait some more and the receptionist called my name and then I got to go back into the first waiting room and wait some more.  I finally got my sticker saying I can stay in France!  I then went home and had some lunch and went to my afternoon class.  I had wine in class again and ate a ton of different types of cakes.  It was delicious.  I then went to bénévolat and then went to Bible Study and was late but that is ok.  It was really good and afterwards they had pie for Thanksgiving!  I got to have pumpkin, apple, and chocolate!  It was all delicious!  When I went home I wasn’t hungry for dinner.

Mercredi le 23 novembre:

Today was a regular day and I went to school and whatnot and that wasn’t super exciting.  I was having major difficulties trying to stay awake in my afternoon class.  I went home on the bus and there were a lot of families.  There was one family with 6 little girls and they were very chatty but super cute!  I also got a Thanksgiving day card from my family and was super excited about that.

Jeudi le 24 novembre:

Happy Thanksgiving!  Or as it is in France, Happy Regular Day (no holiday to celebrate here).  Today I went to class and my old people conversations.  We talked about how we celebrate Christmas in our countries.  It was interesting though because the majority of the students in my group are Asian and don’t celebrate Christmas.  Afterwards I went home and worked on laundry and skyped with the Tobeys and my family who were all together for Thanksgiving.  It was nice.  I then went out to a Mexican restaurant with Ang and Kacey and that was fine, nothing special.  I then went home and went to bed since it was getting late.

So yeah the month of November came and went.

Seeing as I am so far behind I am going to do my best to catch you up on my life before 2012!  When I was first looking back on the month of November it looked like I didn’t do too much and as if my life just consisted of going to school, bénévolat, and other stuff.  But now when I really look at it there was some really cool stuff that I saw and did.  I guess what I am trying to say is that everyone has this idea that studying abroad is all fun all the time and I did too before I arrived here in France but it is still regular life just in a different country, culture, and language…so it is also filled with regular things like going to school, doing homework, going grocery shopping, etc.  So I am going to give you an overview of the month of November because telling every little thing that happened can get rather dull but here are the highlights before going off to Nice.

Vendredi le 4 novembre:

Today I walked around le Jardin de Luxembourg because I had some time to kill before my meeting with Shelley and I came across a pétanque court (which is bocce) and I watched these old men playing (well it was a majority of old men) for about an hour.  It was rather fun to watch because they were getting really serious about it and were pulling out a tape measure and whatnot!  I then had my meeting and afterwards I went to the Rodin Museum with some other people in the program.  It was interesting, unfortunately I didn’t get to go into the gardens because that part was already closed.

Samedi le 5 novembre:

Today I went to Musée Marmottan, which has a lot of Monet paintings and other artists.  It was really cool because they have some Monet paintings there that I think are less well known and so it was cool just seeing more of his artwork.  I went with Kacey and we had a nice time just wandering around the museum.  I also got to Facetime with my family and it was so good to see all their faces!  I miss them but am glad that I am here no matter how difficult it is.

Dimanche le 6 novembre:

Well today I went to the American Church in Paris and really enjoyed it!  It was really nice to feel at home there and I met some really nice girls that are also studying in Paris this semester.  I then went home and just hung out.

Lundi le 7 novembre:

So today I told Shelley that I don’t want to do an internship in the spring.  If I did do one I have no idea where I would want to do it and would then have to spend three days of the week in an office and the other two in classes.  I had decided long before coming to Paris that this year would be my “year of fun” since the past two years I took full loads at school so I could easily study here for the year and still graduate on time and well that doesn’t really sound like fun to me so yeah no internship.  I am not sure yet if I will regret my decision but what is done is done so there is no reason thinking about what could have been.  I also went to go see a play today with my program.  We went to la Comédie Française and saw Andromaque.  Well, I did not enjoy it one bit.  I had no clue what they were talking about because it was like the equivalent of Elizabethan in English but in French and it rhymed and there was no action it was all talking.  So it was really really hard to stay awake towards the end of the play.

Mardi le 8 novembre:

So today was a long day!  I had left my foyer at 8:30am and didn’t get home until 10:30pm.  I had school like usual.  I then went to my bénévolat, that went fine.  I then went to ACP (American Church in Paris) to go to the young adults Bible Study and I was super late because it starts when I am in my bénévolat and is on the other side of the city so it takes a while to get there.  I could not sneak in because there is this squeaky metal spiral stair case that one has to walk down to get into the room and so yeah.  I did enjoy it though even though I was late.  Afterwards I went out to a café with two girls that I had met at church previously.  There are really nice and we had a nice chat.  I finally went home and had a sandwich at like 10:30pm since I was starving and hadn’t eaten since noon.

Vendredi le 11 novembre:

Happy Armistice Day!  Today was a holiday in France so there were no classes but that didn’t affect me because I don’t have classes on Fridays anyways.  I did get to hang out with Fabrice though.  We went to the movie theater and saw “Intouchables.”  It was a really good movie and was a really big hit here in France.  It is kind of like “The Blind Side” but not really.  The only thing that is similar is in seeing the difference between the social classes.  But it was really good nonetheless!  I was also really glad that I had Fabrice there to explain to me the culture references in the movie that everyone else in the movie theater was laughing at.  Also there was a lot of slang that was difficult to understand at times but I could figure out what was going on when I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  We then went to a restaurant called Paradis du Fruit for lunch and I had a really good salad and orange juice.  We then headed over to BHV which is a big store with all kinds of stuff and that was fun to explore.  We then said goodbye and so I went home and did homework.

Samedi le 12 novembre:

Well today I did some shopping around Hôtel de Ville and that was nice.  I picked up some stuff.  It was also such a nice day and I did not want to go back to my foyer so I just explored around that area.  I came across this cool little park area and a paper store that Janine would just love.  I did go into a beautiful cathedral not too far from Centre Pompidou (which I have yet to go into to).  I eventually headed back to my foyer and just hung out around there.

Dimanche le 13 novembre:

I went to ACP and that was really nice.  I met a girl named Lena who is really cool.  I also ran into the two girls that I normally talk with and we decided to go for a walk after church since it was nice out and stopped at a Starbucks (which yes, they do exist here in France).  I got a muffin, it was alright.  We walked around some more and then I partially walked home but got tired so I jumped onto the metro.

A Château, A Prince and A Fairytale

Well on my last day of Toussaints I went to the château, Vaux le Vicomte.  It is a beautiful château and was the inspiration for Versailles.  I really liked it because it isn’t as crowded with tourists as Versailles.  Unfortunately it was a rainy day when I went with Angela but that is ok we still had a nice time.  No there were no princes that I saw at the château but I guess some of the French princes had visited the château, and there were no fairytales but the gardens were very “fairytalesque”.  There isn’t much for me to write about today so I am just going to show you what it was like through some of my favorite pictures.  I took a ton of pictures but putting all of them up would be ridiculous.

Well here is Vaux le Vicomte, of course the dome at the top was under construction so we couldn’t go in it sadly

Looking out onto the gardens

Creepy “life like” animations that they had that would talk and yes the guy does have a squirrel on his shoulder, creepy I know.  (Also squirrel things were everywhere here and I'm not sure why)

Cool kitchen area

An office like room (and if you notice on the wall that is an arm holding the candlestick, interesting to say the least)

At last in the gardens, I love the fall colors.

Me in the gardens at Vaux le Vicomte (it was just breathtaking)

The gardens just went on forever and ever

A bridge that we sadly couldn’t get to  (sorry don't know what happened to the picture when I was adding it) :(

The amazing fall colors!

Looking at the back of the château

The amazing fall colors in the gardens

More of the gardens

Heading back towards the château before heading home  

I had a really nice time despite the rain and loved seeing the amazing fall colors at this gorgeous château, I can now understand why Louis was jealous and built Versailles.  It was a great way to end a nice Toussaints break!

Les Vacances de Toussaints--Partie 2 A Paris

Mercredi le 26 octobre :

Today I got up to go to the Louvre with Kacey and her friend that was visiting.  I did not want to get up and considered just staying in bed but I did get up and got ready to go.  I got to the Louvre bright and early and there was a long line of course so I jumped in line.  It was rather chilly out this morning but it was pretty to see the sun rising.

The sun coming up at the Louvre

Kacey found me in line and then we went in and got our tickets and found her friend that was in town.  We looked around and that was fun but then Kacey and I went to the CROUs for lunch.  We got on to the RER B and were heading the wrong direction so when we heard the name of the first stop we jumped off and got on going the right direction.  We finally got to the CROUs and had some lunch and just chatted for a really long time.  It was such a nice day out that I convinced Kacey to go for a walk with me.  She suggested that we go to the boulangerie where we have gotten other yummy pastries.  It was delicious!  I got a tarte aux framboises that was to die for!  We got our pastries and then went to the Catho to eat there and stop at a bathroom.  Since it was break there was no one at the school so we took the opportunity to take pictures.

The path that I walk down to get to the buildings where foreigners like myself take classes.

The forbidden garden that I have to walk past every day.  Only residents can use it and since I don’t live there I can’t go in.

Where some of my classes are, this is the courtyard.

After hanging out at the Catho, we walked to the métro and went our separate ways to go home.  I went back to my foyer and got to talk with my Dad and Maissie on facebook because my internet was actually working so that was super exciting!  I then just hung out for the rest of the evening at my foyer.

Jeudi le 27 octobre:

Well today wasn’t that exciting of a day.  I got up and got ready for the day.  At lunch time I went to the CROUs like usual and then after lunch I went over to the Sacré-Coeur area to find the hostel that Maissie made a reservation at and to find some of these cheap stores that my Mom was telling me about.  Well I found one of the stores and bought a plate (since I accidentally broke my only plate, I really need a plastic one but they don’t seem to believe in plastic plates over here) and some dish towels.  I then was searching and searching for the hostel that Maissie made a reservation at and could not find it!  I was starting to freak out thinking the worst.  I finally realized that I was looking on the wrong side of the street and just crossed the street and found it right away.  It was definitely a blond moment for me, which I seem to have those often.  Anyways after walking around for a while I went to the métro station and sat down waiting for the next train to arrive.  This lady that was sitting next to me started asking if I could read French, of course she asked me in French.  I said yes (in French of course) and so the lady asked me (in French) if I could read her text message aloud to her since she doesn’t have very good eye sight.  So I read it aloud to her in French and she was very thankful and when the métro arrived we said goodbye and went our separate ways.  It was interesting to say the least, I have never had to do that for anyone before but I didn’t mind.  I then went back home and just hung out there for the rest of the day.  I did do some much needed grocery shopping though so that was good.

Vendredi le 28 octobre:

Not too much to report from today.  It was a rather boring kind of lonely kind of day.  I realized how lonely studying abroad can be.  I did work on some homework but still had a bunch more to do.  I ate another tarte aux framboises and it was delicious!  Other than that nothing too exciting.

Samedi le 29 octobre:

Today I hung out with Fabrice.  It is always fun hanging out with him and always an adventure!  We met up over by St. Michel and just hung out.  We did some shopping and by we, I mean he did some shopping.  It was fun though.  We eventually ended up over by Chatlet les Halles and he showed me the indoor pool there and we then went to this church called St. Eustache.  It was really big and pretty yet very eerie at the same time.

Me and Fabrice (not one of our better pictures but this was the best one from that day)

St. Eustache--cool yet creepy.

We just hung out and had fun.  After we walked around some more we went over to Hôtel de Ville and then walked around some more and eventually jumped onto the métro and said goodbye because he had to head back home.  I went back to my foyer and then just hung out for the rest of the evening working on homework and whatnot.

Dimanche le 30 octobre:

So last night we fell back an hour and I was so confused when I got up because my phone didn’t automatically change so I thought maybe I misunderstood and it would be a different weekend.  But no, it was this weekend that we fell back an hour.  I guess with my cheapo phone you have to change it manually.  Life in Paris, always an adventure.  I just hung out around my foyer in the morning and in the afternoon I went to the American Church in Paris to check it out because the contemporary service is in the afternoon at 1:30pm.  It was interesting/good.  It wasn’t the regular band so it was a bunch of gospel music which was kind of weird but that is alright.  I then hung out after the service at the coffee time but nobody talked to me and so I was rather discouraged by that.  When I went home I talked with my parents since I was really homesick.  Seeing all those families at church really made me miss mine.  I then just worked on homework and had dinner.  Nothing too exciting.

Lundi le 31 octobre:

Well today I got up and had a rather normal day.  I worked on homework and went to the CROUs with Kacey for lunch.  After lunch I went back to my foyer and worked on some more homework and did some laundry which was good because I had nothing clean to wear!  I don’t know how other people in my program go so long without doing laundry!  It is kind of gross when you think about it.  But it isn’t my problem.  There was a Halloween party in the foyer but it was rather lame and so I went back to my room and just hung out before going to bed.

Les Vacances de Toussaints--Partie 1 Chez les Cousins

Vendredi le 21 octobre :

Today I got up and packed my bags for going to Les Sièges to spend a long weekend at the cousins’ house.  I went to a little boulangerie and picked up some cookies to give to the cousins and then sat around my room twiddling my thumbs before heading off to the train station.  So I got to Gare Paris Bercy early, and I knew I wanted to be there early but I got there really really early!  But that is alright.  I knew I had to composter my billet but I had no idea where to do this so I asked a guy that worked there and he said at the yellow box so that is what I did.  But then I was still rather confused because there was a silver box too and said “compostez ici” so I got my billet stamped there too!  I think I did a little too much stamping of my billet but whatever.  The train finally arrived and I got on and headed off to Sens where the train lets off.  The scenery was just gorgeous and it only took about 50 minutes to get there!  When I got off the train Françoise was there waiting for me with Caline.  We then headed to Les Sièges and stopped at a friend’s house along the way to have a café and chat.  We then went to the house and hung out until later in the evening when we went to a different friends’ house for an aperitif.  That was really nice.  We then went back home and had some dinner.  We watched tv and then they went to bed and I facetimed with Maissie until almost midnight!  It was so great being able to talk to her but then I didn’t sleep very well because I was so excited from talking with my wonderful sister. 

Samedi le 22 octobre:

Today I got up kind of early but not super early since I didn’t sleep very well the night before.  I then got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast.  When Françoise saw that my hair was still wet she insisted that I borrow an extra hair dryer that she had this weekend.  I was thankful because I was still sick and didn’t need to be going out with wet hair.  After breakfast and blow drying my hair Françoise and I went to Villeneuve to get some stuff we went to the market and it was freezing standing in line waiting at the meat stand!  It was rather cold out this morning!  We ran into Manu’s dad and Manu’s dad’s twin brother!  That was fun!  We went home after shopping and chatting for lunch.  In the afternoon Manu and I watched the second Lord of the Rings movie, it was in French of course, and happened to be on the tv.  It was rather amusing to hear the characters speaking in French!  But it was still good nonetheless.  After that Manu left to go somewhere and then later Françoise and I went to a friend’s house and Manu was there because he installed a heater thing.  We hung out there for a while and I got to try some cremante (sorry I have no idea how to spell it).  It was really good!  I had one glass with cassiss in it and then had another glass without and I liked them both.  After hanging out for a while we went back to the house and then dropped off Caline at Gilberte’s because we were going to a different friends’ house for dinner and pry wouldn’t be getting back till late.  We had beef fondue in wine and it was really good with potatoes and salad and bread of course!  There was one couple that had a little girl there and she was adorable!  It made me miss the Petry kids a lot and that I could see them.  At dinner I had a delicious glass of rosé and then with dessert which was a homemade tarte aux pommes we had champagne.  It was a nice time but I was super tired since I didn’t sleep well the night before and was still sick which wasn’t making things better.  We finally went home at 1:30am and I went straight to bed.

Dimanche le 23 octobre:

Well today I got up rather late but that is ok because I really needed the sleep.  I watched the final rugby match with Manu and it was France against New Zealand for the World Cup.  Sadly, France lost and came in second place.  We had lunch with Gilberte and then after lunch Manu’s parents came over with Manu’s sister and her husband for an aperitif.  It was a nice time; they mostly talked while I did a bunch of listening and not much talking but my French isn’t that good.  After they left Gilberte went to her house and then we just hung out watching tv the rest of the afternoon.  It was so nice outside and I was really antsy so I wanted to take a walk but wasn’t sure how to ask/tell Françoise that I wanted to go for a walk so I just hung out at the house.  Dinner time rolled around and afterwards we just hung out and then went to bed.

Lundi le 24 octobre:

Today was another nice day in the French countryside.  Françoise and I went shopping in Sens at les marchés and that was fun.  We said hello to some friends of hers that have a stand at the marché.  We then went to the indoor marché and looked around.  There was a lot of food there! 

Inside the indoor marché

We then checked out some stores and I didn’t get anything but Françoise picked up some stuff.  We eventually had lunch and that was really good!  I had a galette which is a type of crêpe and mine had brie cheese in it.  It was delicious!  We of course got a café afterwards and then looked around at some more of the outdoor marchés. 

Françoise is on the left

Anyways we were walking around and my stomach started feeling upset so I told Françoise that I needed a bathroom.  We drove to the grocery store and I stopped in the bathroom there.  We will just leave it at I had an upset stomach and it wasn’t very fun.  I got a hairdryer at the store and then we went home because I started not feeling well again.  I then spent the rest of the afternoon not feeling well.  And of course when Manu got home Françoise had to tell him that I had an upset stomach, ugh so embarrassing.  I just chilled around the house and was so frustrated that I had to get an upset stomach!

Mardi le 25 octobre:

Today was my last day at the cousins’ house.  When I went into the bathroom to go take a shower I saw a huge wasp by the window!  I started silently freaking out!  I thought maybe I could take a shower really quickly but no I couldn’t do it.  I went downstairs and tried to explain to the best of my ability that there was a huge wasp in the bathroom!  Françoise came upstairs and opened the window and out flew the wasp.  Of course it was like it was no big deal.  I was so thankful and then took my shower.  When I went downstairs after getting ready and the huge bug fiasco, Françoise pulls out this huge croque monsieur (it is kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich with ham) and said it was for me to take home for dinner!  It was so sweet of her to do so!  She then made me take the left over rolls that I had been eating for breakfast.  She must think I am not eating enough in Paris or something.  We then went into town to stop at the boulangerie, boucherie at Gilberte’s house.  When we were by the boulangerie I took some pictures of the church across the way.

The church in Les Sièges

We then went back to the house and had some lunch.  Manu and Fred came home for lunch and then said goodbye to me since I was leaving later that afternoon.  Françoise and I just hung out until we had to leave to go to Sens so I could catch my train back to Paris. 

The view from the cousins’ house

We then left for the train station and made it there in plenty of time.  Françoise said goodbye and then left.  I hung out until my train arrived.  On the ride back the scenery was just gorgeous with all the fall colors.  It started to rain and I saw a rainbow on the way back to Paris.  Once I got to Paris I had to take the metro back to my foyer.  I was rather bummed to be back in Paris because I liked being at the cousins’ house where I could just relax and not have to be on my own.  I was super thankful though for the time that I did get to spend at the cousins’ house and I pry won’t be out there again until February when Maissie is in town.