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.

In the In Between

So this week was a week in between two fun weekends.  The previous weekend (or previous blog entry) was a lot of fun because I got to spend it with a familiar face from home.  Then the next weekend (or the next blog entry) I got to spend at my cousins’ house in the countryside for part of Toussaints break.  There isn’t much to report from this week so it will be a brief blog entry and sadly no pictures well because I really had nothing to take pictures of.

Lundi le 17 octobre:

I had Shelley’s class in the afternoon and afterwards I went to a crêperie with Angela and Lauren and I got a really yummy sucre crêpe (sucre means sugar).  I could have easily eaten 10 more of those!  I then went home and went out to the Monoprix to buy some tissues because well I am sick with a little cold and my nose won’t stop running!  I then went to the pharmacie to get some medicine and was trying to explain to the lady that I wanted pills to take but I had no idea how to say “pill” so I was doing hand motions and pry looked ridiculous doing so!  She finally figured out what I wanted and I got some medicine.

Mardi le 18 octobre:

Suffered through my classes today, I made it through though!  I then went to my bénévolat and I didn’t really do much because no one really wanted/needed my help but that is ok it was still fine.  Then afterwards Kacey and I took the métro to Gare Paris-Bercy (I did mention what gare means in a previous blog entry but for those of you that don’t remember it means train station).  I bought my tickets to go visit the cousins this weekend for a nice long weekend far away from Paris in Les Sièges!  I had to buy it from a machine and I will admit I did put it in English but in my defense, I was sick and I did NOT want to misunderstand anything and buy tickets for the wrong day because that would be horrible!  But next time I will do it all in French because it isn’t hard.  I then headed back to the metro with Kacey and we went into the entrance that was closest to the Gare and I scanned my pass and went in and realized that this one did not have the line I wanted to take.  So I then had to leave and go to the further entrance to get to the line I wanted.  I scanned my pass there and it said “déjà validé”!!!  I was sooo upset because it wouldn’t let me in!!  I went to talk to a guy at the counter and he pointed to the right and said something but I had no clue what it was and I was so frazzled and frustrated and tired and I didn’t feel well since I was sick and it was getting late and I just wanted to go home and go to bed!  So I saw this guy coming up and he scanned his pass and I snuck through after him but with one slight problem, my messenger bag got caught in the doors!  I was sooo upset and was on the verge of tears, it was not my proudest moment.  I yanked my bag through and finally made it home.

Mercredi le 19 octobre:

A girl from the foyer, Wen, let me borrow her hair dryer this morning!  I was so excited because I didn’t want to go outside where it was cold with wet hair and make my cold worse!  My nose was already running and I was coughing.  I didn’t need to be making it worse!  It was so nice to use a hair dryer.  I went to class and suffered through yet another day.  During my afternoon class about half way through I could not keep my eyes open to save my life!  It was horrible!  After classes I went home and did homework, had dinner and went to bed.

Jeudi le 20 octobre:

I got up kind of late today and got ready, I got to use the hair dryer again and that was super awesome!  I went to class and had lunch, class seemed to go by rather quickly today.  I then went over to a shopping mall like place near bld. St. Germain and I bought a scarf for 10€!  It was a great deal!  I then went home and did some laundry.  I had dinner with Wen and then we went to the Champs-Elysées because there is a Gap store there and they were having a private sale that Wen had a ticket to.  So we went and it was rather funny because the sale was only 30% off, nothing that spectacular.  It was all too expensive for us even with the sale but it was fun to get out of the foyer.  At this even that they were having there were “bouncers” at the door checking to make sure you had a ticket.  They also were serving free cocktails!!  That was the funniest thing ever!!  I would never see something like that in the States but this is France.  I didn’t get one because well I had just taken some cold medicine and mixing the two is never a good idea.  We looked around and then went back to the foyer and I gave Wen her hair dryer right when we got home.

Weekend with Germaine

Jeudi le 13 octobre:

So I got a text from my Mom saying that Germaine was back in Paris and would like to get together so I texted Germaine telling her that I would like to hang out this weekend.  I was just about to head into my class at 9h00 when I get a text from Germaine asking if I would like to join her at the Jules Vernes restaurant in the Eiffel Tower!  I of course said yes because I wouldn’t want to miss out on an opportunity like that which I will pry never get again!  My class ended at noon and it just seemed to drag on, I couldn’t concentrate to save my life.  I had to be at the restaurant at 13h00 and considered going back to my foyer and getting my camera because I had left it at home that day.  Well when I got to the metro I decided that I wouldn’t go and get it because then I would be late and miss out on this wonderful opportunity.  I would rather enjoy it than miss it because I am trying to get a silly camera!  That means though that sadly I don’t have any pictures from this but that is ok!  So I got there in time and took the special elevator up to the restaurant, it was very cool!  When I got there Germaine, Rene, and Joan were already seated.  I felt very out of place in my jeans but I had no idea when I got up that morning that I would be going to the Jules Vernes for lunch!  The food was definitely a LOT better than whatever I would’ve ended up eating at the CROUs if I hadn’t gone.  It was all so good!  Oh my goodness.  The view was also breath-taking!  There were luckily not very many clouds in the sky, it was such a clear day and was just amazing to see the city from the restaurant!  When we were leaving they also gave each of us a package of Madelines!  Those were really good too!  I then took them on the metro and dropped them off right in front of the Arc de Triomphe.  I had to say goodbye because I had to go back to my foyer and drop off my stuff before going to my bénévolat.  I took the metro back and hung out in my room for a little while and then left an hour before I had to be there.  I thought for some reason that it would take me an hour but it only took me half an hour!  So when I got there I got to help out with the little kids and that was a lot of fun!  There was this one little boy that didn’t want to work and I tried motivating him to work but he just wasn’t having it.  Then it was time for them to go home and the middle schoolers to come.  That went well and I enjoyed working with them again.  I then went home and had dinner with a girl in my foyer, Camille, and we had a nice little chat in French.

Vendredi le 14 octobre:

Today I got up and texted Germaine saying that I would love to hang out and so I took the metro over and met up with Germaine, Kris, and Joan there.  I took them onto the RER C (which is the most complicated one).  Kris and Joan wanted to go to Musée D’Orsay and Germaine wanted to walk around the Luxembourg garden area.  We dropped off Kris and Joan and then Germaine and I continued on our way to St. Sulpice.  I showed her where my school is and we walked through the courtyard.  Then we made our way to the Jardin de Luxembourg and found a spot to sit and talked for about 45 minutes and just enjoyed the sun and watching the Parisians enjoy the park.  We then made our way over to the St. Sulpice area so that she could find a special soap that she has got in this area before.  Also to find the hotel that she stayed in with her daughter when they came to Paris several years back.  We were walking around for quite some time and she was starting to doubt that it was in this area when she saw the store!  She got her soap and was so sweet and got me some soap too.  We then walked down the street and found the hotel!  I took a picture of her in front of the hotel to show her daughter.  It was right down the street from St. Sulpice, which is a church.

   Germaine and me kind of in front of St. Sulpice (building behind the bus).

We then decided to walk over to Boulevard St. Germain and find some food.  We both got a really yummy hot goat cheese salad at Café Mabillon.

The yummy hot goat cheese salad that I got, I could easily eat that several times a week!

We then met up with Joan and Kris at St. Sulpice.  They made it there just fine on the metro!  I was so proud!  They had to ask several people but that is ok!  We then went inside St. Sulpice and looked around and then headed out to walk around and look in some shops.  We stopped at a boulangerie for café and a patisserie.  I got a really yummy tarte aux fraises (which is strawberries).  I got a French version of a café which was an espresso, pry not the best idea seeing as it was getting later in the afternoon but that is ok.  We walked around the area and made it over to Notre Dame which was just gorgeous because the sun was setting and the colors were just breathtaking!  Sadly when we got up to the doors though they had just closed them!  So we didn’t get to go in but I just told them that it is a reason to come back to Paris.  We then found the metro and they got off at their stop and I went home.  I had dinner and then just hung out.

Beautiful Notre Dame de Paris, it was just gorgeous!

Samedi le 15 octobre:

I got up early today so I could go to the hotel where Germaine and her friends were staying for petit déjeuner (which is breakfast or literally translated means little lunch).  I got there half an hour early so I hung out in the lobby since they pry weren’t ready for me and it was rather amusing to watch people come in and out.  It was really enjoyable because the escalator wasn’t working so you had to walk up and when people would get on they would just stand there for a few seconds and realize it wasn’t moving.  It was too funny!!  There was this one lady that was so boulversée (I can’t think of a good way of saying this in English so I just put the French word) by this, she could just not understand why it wasn’t working and stood there for literally a minute wondering what was going on.  She was the funniest to watch!  I got a text from Germaine saying that I should come up so I headed up to the room and dropped off my coat and we then headed to breakfast.  I ate soooo much for breakfast!  Normally I eat half of a half of a baguette (with nutella of course) so I was really full from breakfast!  We hopped onto the metro and headed over to Montmartre to check out the sites there.  It was very crowded as usual but was a lot of fun!  We took the funiculaire up to Sacré Coeur and I got to use my Navigo pass so that was really cool!  It didn’t cost me anything!  We went in and looked around, Germaine took a picture inside and got yelled at because you are not allowed to take pictures, lol!  We then went to la Place du Tertre which is where all the artists are.  I loved all the works because they were all so different!  I lost Germaine, Joan, and Kris but figured I would happen upon them eventually and if not I could just call them. 

A very busy Place du Tertre!

I found Germaine and she texted Joan and Kris and they said they were at a café on the Place.  It was kind of funny because there are a TON of cafés!!  We had no idea which one!  We finally found them and they got ice cream.  Germaine I sat down at a café because we were tired of walking and a waiter came with a menu and seriously never came back (that is how busy it was)!  We at least got a free seat out of it!  We left after 20 minutes and got some ice cream, I got tolberone and it was sooo good!  We then head back to Sacré Coeur and sat on the steps for a while, Joan and Kris found us and then we walked down a really pretty path.

Me and Germaine in front of Sacré Coeur (the tourist with the funny face on the left makes this picture hilarious!)

The path we took down from Sacré Coeur, it was so green and pretty.

We ate a café that had an amazing view of Sacré Coeur and I had a really good Quiche Lorraine.  Then Fabrice met up with us and I introduced him to the ladies.  They thought it was some kind of date or something and I just laughed because Fabrice is just a friend and I had to keep telling them that it was NOT a date!  We took them to the métro and I showed them how to get back to their hotel and then Fabrice and I went shopping.  He got some stuff and we then ended up on the Champs-Elysees and just sat on a bench and talked.  However after a while we left because there was this guy sitting on the bench behind us and was smoking a cigar and I could not stand the smell!  Ugh.  I was glad that I got to hang out with Fabrice because I was sad that Germaine (my little piece of home) was leaving the next day and hanging out with Fabrice is always fun!  We said goodbye and I went back to my foyer.

Dimanche le 16 octobre:

So Germaine left today and I was super super homesick because my little piece of home got on a plane and went back to the land where things are easy, I have friends there, I don’t have to rehearse what I am going to say before I say it, and it is just easy, living abroad can be fun but it is also really challenging.  It is definitely not like when you visit Europe on vacation, living here is sooo very different, you see a lot more of the culture and it isn’t always rainbows and unicorns.  I did go to Parc Monceau with Wen (a girl from the foyer) and she ran a lap around the park while I checked my email.  She then found me and we walked a lap around (yeah I know, I am super lazy and not a runner).  We then went back to the foyer and I was just feeling super down and actually fell asleep while sitting on my bed and when I woke up at 14h30 I got up put on my coat and shoes and just started walking.  It was the most amazing thing ever!  I didn’t pull out a map once.  I just walked and had no idea where I was going or where I would end up.  I walked for 2 hours and enjoyed every minute of it.  I ran across a stamp market and ended up by Pont Alexandre III and les Invalides (where Napoleon is buried). 

Me on Pont Alexandre III (La Tour Eiffel behind)

I crossed the Seine at one point and happened upon the American Church in Paris and have been hearing a lot about this place so I will go and see what it is like next week.  I then crossed the Seine again and found métro stop and got on and went back to my foyer. 

Looking at the Seine and the Eiffel Tower from Pont Alexandre III.

I am very thankful for my time that I got to spend with Germaine!  It was so much fun and it was great to do touristy things with someone that isn't living here, it was just fun and enjoyable!  She spoiled me so much over that weekend and was just such great company to be around!  As she would say a lot “Merci, beaucoup!”



The Beginning of October: Where Did it Go?

Samedi le 1er octobre:

So I got up today with the intentions of not doing very much.  I woke up kind of late and threw a load of laundry in since I decided it was time to finally do some laundry!  I was just chilling in my room not doing much of anything when I get a call from Jeanne Fellowes!  She lives in Paris with her husband and is one the nicest people I have ever met and is so easy to talk to!  Now you may be wondering how do I know Jeanne?  Well, my Mom knows a lady a work whose husband takes care of the mother of Jeanne’s husband.  Yeah, it is one of those kinds of situations lol!  She asked me if I wanted to go to lunch sometime soon and I said why not today?!  So we decided to meet at Café Madeline at 12h30.  My laundry took forever to dry so I was running a little late.  When I get to the bus stop the sign said the bus would arrive in 3 minutes, it then changed and said it would be arriving in 25 minutes!!!  I only had 15 minutes to get there!  I called Jeanne to explain to her that I would be late and that the bus is being stupid today she said that I should hop on the metro at Gare Saint-Lazare and can get there easily.  So I start walking to the train station (which is gare in French for those of you who don’t speak French.).  I get there, hop on and am only 10 minutes late!!  We had a delicious lunch and just talked about all kinds of different things for about an hour and a half.  She then had to go home and prepare a dish for a party she would be attending on Sunday.  I got back to my foyer and got absolutely NOTHING done!  But that is ok.  I had dinner with Wen, a girl from the foyer and then we went out to the Hôtel de Ville area for Nuit Blanche.  Now you may be wondering, what exactly is this Nuit Blanche business?  Well, every year in the month of October there is one night where the city is open ALL night long with special exhibits all around the city.  When we got to the Hôtel de Ville area Wen’s friend met up with us and we decided that we were going to go check out some stuff.  When we got to some of the exhibits we wanted to go see the lines to get in were crazy long!!  You would pretty much be standing in line for 2 hours to see about 5 minutes of something (ok, so I may be exaggerating a bit but it was still a little crazy!).  We didn’t really see too much of anything.  I had a taste for some ice cream and so did Wen’s friend.  We weren’t too far from Ile Saint Louis, which has Berthillon’s, which is the best ice cream in all of Paris!  So we headed over there and got some ice cream.  I got a scoop of framboise (raspberry) sorbet and it was delicious!  So worth every penny!  There was a church that was open and was having an organ concert for Nuit Blanche, we stopped in but didn’t stay too long.  When we were outside the church I got a phone call from Mom and Maissie!  That was a really pleasant surprise!  We talked for a bit but not too long because I was out and didn’t want to be on my phone for too long.  After we were done talking on the phone I looked for Wen and her friend in the church and we decided to leave.  They were going to go see some other stuff but I was rather tired so I took the metro home (and man oh man was it crowded!).

Dimanche le 2 octobre:

Got up today and finished my laundry, attempted to work on homework before eating some lunch but I wasn’t too successful.  After eating some lunch down in the kitchen I headed back up to my room.  I checked my phone when I got into my room and saw that I got a call from a 630 area code.  When I saw that I thought who in carnation is calling me from home at 3:00am their time?!  I listened to the message and it was Germaine!  She had arrived in Paris and was wondering if I wanted to have some dinner with her and her friends!  I was so excited!  I called her back right away and said I would love to have dinner and whatnot!  We decided that the best way would be for me to come to her hotel and we can then find a place to eat from there.  When it was time for me to leave I just hopped on the metro and made it to the stop with no problems whatsoever.  I then found the right street but had some difficulty finding the hotel!  I walked right past it and kept going for quite a while until I realized that I had gone too far.  I turned around and finally found this hotel!  It wasn’t too far from the Eiffel Tower, I was quite impressed!  It is also right across the street from the Statue of Liberty so that was really cool!  I walk into the lobby of the hotel and there is Germaine sitting on a couch waiting.  It was SO NICE to see a familiar face from home!  (Now you may be wondering how I know this lady that is visiting Paris.  Well she is my Mom’s chiropractor and friend and I have known her forever really).  She gave me a big hug and said bonjour!  I didn’t realize how much I missed hugs until I got one because here in France they don’t give hugs, on fait la bise (which is when you give the kisses on the cheeks).  I like doing that too but it is nice to get a hug every once in a while too!  I went up to her room and got to see Renée (who works with Germaine so I know her) and Germaine’s two other friends, Kris and Joan.  They were going on a Trafalgar “whirlwind” tour of France.  I crashed their meeting that they had.  When I was sitting there listening to the lady who will be their tour guide it made me think of the movie “My Life in Ruins.”  It made me laugh.  After the meeting we (being the five of us) walked around to find a restaurant, I knew we were going to have some difficulties finding one open because it was like 5pm and no French person eats at that early of an hour.  Thankfully they aren’t that far from the Eiffel Tower so as we got closer to it there were restaurants that were open for the tourists.  I had a yummy poulet rôti.  Someone ordered pizza and had two left over slices and they were going to ask for a doggie bag for me.  I told them though that from what I have found France doesn’t do doggie bags.  So I took a napkin off of another table and wrapped it up in that (don’t worry it was a paper napkin).  They were exhausted because their flight had just got in earlier that day so I walked them back to their hotel.  I went up to Germaine’s room and got my bag of goodies from my Mom!  It was a rather big bag full of all the things that I asked for.  It was like Christmas morning (which is good because I won’t get a Christmas morning this year).  I had to lug this messenger bag FULL of stuff on a 30 minute metro ride with transfers but I didn’t mind one bit!  When I got back to my foyer I was so giddy and it was so much fun opening up all the goodies that were in the bag!  There were two HUGE jars of Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter (my favorite!).  I was so glad because I was running low on my little jar and most of my dinners consist of a pb&j.  If I haven’t said it enough, THANK YOU SO MUCH Germaine and Renée for carrying my stuff in their suitcases and Mom for putting together everything that I wanted.  I am VERY VERY blessed and thankful to have family and friends back home who are willing to go to such lengths for me!

Lundi le 3 octobre:

Today I had my Central class that Shelley teaches on Monday afternoons.  Ang and I were presenting over an article that we had to read and that went fine.  We went to the CROUs for lunch with Kacey and then did our presentation.  After class I took the bus home but decided to get off at Place de la Concorde and walk up to the Arc de Triomphe and then cut through Parc Monceau to get home.  Well it was a very long and hot walk!  Oh my goodness!  I thought my arms that were carrying my messenger bag and purse were going to fall off!  It was nice but super hot!  I was super tired when I got back but I had to go to Franprix (grocery store) and get some much needed groceries.  I ate dinner alone and realized that I really don’t have any friends and am starting to wonder if I will really ever make friends here.  However, God is always amazing and always reminds me that it is His timing and not mine so I just need to be patient.  It is just hard because back home I have friends to hang out with and can communicate with them easily and here I have to put forth all the efforts and communicate and find things to talk about in a language that I am still learning.

Mardi le 4 octobre:

Had class today which went fine.  Then went to my bénévolat and that was a lot of fun!  I really like working with those kids and I was so nervous beforehand that they would make fun of my French and tear me apart because well let’s be honest they are middle schoolers and don’t live in the nicest neighborhood in Paris.  But it went great!  They were nice and I never felt uncomfortable or anything of that sort.  Still figuring out the friend situation at this point.  Still waiting and hoping that I will find some friends.

Mercredi le 5 octobre:

Had class and that is really it.  More so getting into the hum-drum of life.  There is a saying in French which is “métro, boulot, dodo” which translates into English “metro, work, bed” and today was one of those kind of days but that is ok because then it means I am becoming less touristy and more of a local.

Jeudi le 6 octobre:

Had class today and went to the CROUs for lunch.  It wasn’t very exciting.  But in the evening our program had a wine atelier and that was super fun!  I took the metro and got there in plenty of time.  We had this wine class where we learned about different types of wines and if you learn about them well you have to taste them.  So we tasted four different types of wines.  I really liked all of them but for different reasons.  We tried a white wine, and two red wines (one was Beaujolais and the other was Bourgogne).  We then tried Champagne.  It was so interesting to learn about the different types and to taste test the wines like how the professionals do it.  We took notes on each one and it was just super fascinating.  To say the least I am definitely my parents’ daughter.  I took the metro home and didn’t get back until 21h00 and so I was starving and was in much need of some food in my stomach.  I then just hung out in my room before going to bed.

Vendredi le 7 octobre:

Today I got up really early even though I don’t have classes but that was so that I could talk to my friend Britt.  It was 6am my time but 11pm her time.  It was so great getting to talk to her and see what is going on in her life back at school and whatnot.  We talked for about an hour and then she had to go to bed.  I eventually got ready and just hung out in my room before going to the CROUs for lunch.  I was going to take the bus there and everything was going fine until we get to the stop at Madeline and the bus driver announces that the last stop will be at Place de la Concorde!  That is the next stop and still leaves me far away from the CROUs!  So I got off at Madeline and searched for the closest metro and jumped on.  I was supposed to eat with Kacey but told her to eat without me because it was going to take me a while to get there.  I finally made it to the CROUs and had some lunch.  I then headed back to my foyer and stopped at the post office to check something out for my mom.  I then stopped in this boulangerie called Maison Kayser and got a really yummy chocolate muffin like thing.  It was much needed after a day of transportation not working when I wanted it to!  I was just hanging out in my foyer being bored so I texted Kacey and asked her if she wanted to do something.  We decided to meet at the Louvre at 17h00 and we had a lot of fun and of course it cost us nothing with our Catho student ids!

A painting by Alfred Sisley (I did a project on him in my French class in high school and fell in love with his work ever since).

I know Mom, I was just as surprised as you were when I found out that they had Monet paintings in the Louvre!  I do love his art work though!

The amazing sunset we saw while at the Louvre (yes that is the Eiffel Tower in the background)

So after hanging out in the Louvre for a while we decided it was time to go home.  When I got back to my foyer the director of the foyer said I had a package and I was like “pour moi?!” (“for me?!”) and she said “oui, Amelia Giacovelli.”  I was super excited and surprised!  I was beaming when I opened it up and couldn’t stop smiling.  It was like Christmas morning and was wonderful!  I got a package from my wonderful friends Molly and Shawn back at Central!!  They sent me several little goodies and it made my day!  I also got a very sweet note from my lovely friend Sarah in the package too!  I was admiring all the things that I got when someone knocked on my door.  It was Wen, a girl who lives on the floor above me.  She wanted to talk to me about something and then ended up hanging out in my room.  We colored pictures with the crayons and coloring pages that I just got in my package.  We then played go fish with the lovely Disney princess cards that I got in my package as well!  It was so much teaching her how to play and just hanging out and having fun!  She hung out with me for quite a while and I was starting to get really tired and so was she so she went back to her room.  I then crawled into bed and said goodnight to Paris.

Samedi le 8 octobre:

Today I didn’t too much.  I got up really early so that I could talk with my family on skype but my internet wasn’t working!  That was really dumb and annoying!  I eventually decided to get up and get ready for the day even though I didn’t have any plans.  I went out and bought an umbrella which is a necessity for living in Paris!  I was so excited to finally have an umbrella especially since I needed before and know I will need it throughout the year.  I was going to be super productive and get stuff done but that didn’t really happen.  It was kind of a crummy weather day so I didn’t really want to do much.  My internet was working so I skyped with my cousins Katie and Andrea and their friend.  That was fun and I showed them my room and they got a good laugh out of the Albert Einstein poster on my wall!  It came with the room and I really have no reason to take it down so I just left it up there.  When they saw it they were like what is that a picture of and I replied, “oh that’s Albert Einstein,” like it is no big deal at all.  They had to go and do stuff so we said goodbye.  I then was going to go for a walk around Parc Monceau but got a call from my parents and talked with them on skype.  We talked for a good long while also and then said goodbye.  I then decided it was dinner time and ate dinner with a guy from my foyer.  After dinner I was going to be super productive and get homework seeing as I didn’t get any done during the day.  However, God had other plans.  Wen stopped by my room to talk about some issues she was having and she hung out in my room for a good chunk of time, it was really nice to have someone to talk with!  I was then really tired even though I really hadn’t done much that day and decided it was time for me to go to bed so she went back to her room and I went to sleep.

Dimanche le 9 octobre:

I was planning on getting up super early and doing laundry but that didn’t quite happen.  Instead I decided to be lazy and lay around.  I was just lazing around my room and was starting to get antsy since I didn’t do too much the day before so I decided to go and take a walk.  I walked to the Arc de Triomphe and took some pictures.

The Arc de Triomphe which is only a 20 minute walk from my foyer!

After walking around on the Champs-Élysées for a while I went back to my foyer and cut through Parc Monceau but instead of going out the normal way that I take I went out a different exit and walked around until I found a street name that I recognized.  I did some homework and whatnot, it wasn’t too thrilling but it was a cold and rainy kind of day so I didn’t feel like doing too much.

Lundi le 10 octobre:

Happy Columbus Day! I didn’t have the Central class today so I had a free day which was rather nice! I was going to get up super early and do laundry but that didn’t happen, I did get some grocery shopping done which was good because I needed more food! I went to the CROUs with Kacey for lunch and then afterwards we walked towards the Catho and stopped at a boulangerie down the street from our school and got yummy crumble pommes!

The yummy crumble pommes! C'était délicieuse! 

We went to the Catho to eat it there and it was so nice!  Afterwards we hoped on the bus so I could show Kacey where I found that great deal on postcards.  However, along the way we stopped at Place de la Concorde and checked it out.

Here is Place de la Concorde!   (From left to right)The building in the background on the left is l’Assemblée Nationale, to the right of that is l’Obélisque, to the right of that is the fountain, and to the right of that is the Eiffel Tower.  Yes, I get to go past this every day on the bus when going to school, it is rather cool!



Me being a good tourist, getting a picture at Place de la Concorde.

I showed Kacey where I found the cheap postcards after we were done looking around at Place de la Concorde.  She took the metro home because she had stuff to do and I was going to go home but decided to hop on a bus and go to le Jardin de Tuileries.  I just walked around and took pictures and enjoyed the fall colors.  I also realized that the Louvre is just right across the street from the jardin and that the Musée D’Orsay is right across the Seine!  It really is all so close together!



The fall colors at the Jardin de Tuileries.



The pretty flowers at the Jardin de Tuileries.

After walking around for some time I went back to my foyer did my homework and had some dinner.  Nothing too exciting but that is ok.

Mardi le 11 octobre:

Today I had class but it wasn’t a regular day of classes.  My afternoon class which is Tourisme et Gastronomie had a field trip!  It was so much fun!  We did a walking tour around the quartier and got to try all different yummy treats!  We had some really good chocolate (Maissie I think we should go to those places when you are here, you would like them!), we tried macarons by Pierre Hermé (which I find to be so much better than Ladurée!), we tasted some Spanish ham that was delicious, some bread that was really good at a Maison Kayser boulangerie, and some tapenades and olive oil that were super tasty!  It was so much fun and all the food that we tried was so yummy!  I really didn’t have a favorite thing it was all just so yummy!  I was supposed to go to my bénévolat today with Kacey but we emailed the guy in charge and asked him if we could go on Thursday instead of this week.  That is because our program went to the movie theater and saw “La Nouvelle Guerre des Boutons.”  It was such a cute movie and it wasn’t that hard to understand!  I understood most of what they said but when I didn’t I could understand what was going on by what was happening in the scene.  It was really cute and just a fun movie, it was also just a well made movie.  I am tempted to get it when it comes out on dvd and watch it again to see how much more I understand, it would be a good way to see how much my French has improved.  I then took the metro home and ate dinner and worked on homework.

Mercredi le 12 octobre:

Today was just a regular day; I had class in the morning which went fine.  I really like my phonetics class because it is helping me with my pronunciation!  I then went to the CROUs and had lunch with Kacey and then we went back to the Catho for our afternoon classes.  My afternoon class went fine too!  Once class was done I went home and worked on my homework for jeudi and surprisingly finished it at an early hour of the evening and had some dinner.  I then just hung out in my room before going to sleep.  Not too much to report just a regular day in Paris.