Sorry for the lull

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA lately, a lot has been going on. These past few weeks have been marked by a lot of planning, classes and of course, fun.

This past weekend I was lucky enough to spend with two of my dear friends Colleen and Maggie, both of whom are sorority sisters with me at Michigan. They are also studying in Paris and I got the spend the weekend with them in their apartment cooking and doing some exploring of Paris. I made a visit to Angelina, which is a famous tea place in Paris very similar to Serendipity. They are famous for their hot chocolate so of course I had to get some. It was unlike anything I've ever had before and was similar to drinking melted chocolate. Very very rich but also so yummy. It was the perfect thing for a cold, snowy day.

About two weeks ago the weather finally got nice in Paris. It was high 40s and sunny so my friends Elana and Jackie and I went to the Eiffel Tower. We walked away from the tower and had a great view of everything, plus found a nice patch of grass to take a little nap. Pretty amazing get to have a mid day nap under the Eiffel Tower!

On Friday I made a day trip to Versailles. It was absolutely freezing and the gardens are under construction so unfortunately I didn't get to spend time discovering those but going around the château was amazing. We had a special guided tour and got to see parts of the château that are normally closed. Versailles is truly breathtaking. Each room you go into is as amazing (if not more) than the last. Everything is covered in ornate gold details and the furniture, art works and other accessories of the time have been very well preserved and are included in the tour. Of course, we made a stop in the famous places of Versailles like the Hall of Mirrors. I could spend days just wandering around there, a few hours was hardly enough.

I also had the most delicious desert of my life at a lovely dinner with Hubert and Michele last week. I hadn't had an éclair in France yet and saving up till this one was so worth it. Hubert told me that they used real dark chocolate to make it and even included real gold on the end. No wonder it was so good! I also had laryngitis around this time and for future reference red wine and éclairs make for great home remedies.

That's all from here. March marks the beginning of my travels so there will be lots more to come!

First trip to the Louvre and other things

On Superbowl Sunday I stayed up all night to watch the game. Well, really it was to watch Beyoncé but it was still nice to have a night of American football, beers and wings. That following Monday, classes officially commenced here in Paris and it was a little bit of an adjustment because I kind of forgot I'm here to take classes. All of my classes are in french which makes it hard to follow along all the time but the other students are in a similar situation so we all help each other out.

I've also been taking some drawing classes which I've really enjoyed. Granted, my artistic skills aren't the best but I really enjoy the class. Thursday was a little bit shocking because we had to draw and paint a live nude model and that was definitely not something I was expecting. It was also slightly overwhelming because the other people in the class are advanced and I'm just a beginner. Luckily, my friend Jackie is taking the same class as me and having a friend is very comforting. Here are my paintings from the first two classes!

The highlight of my week though was a trip to the Louvre. It's such an enormous building but I went with my professor for a class so luckily I had a guide. I even got a quick glimpse of the Mona Lisa! We walked through the 19th century Neoclassicism wing, which features some of my favorite artists. I was particularly excited to see David's "Death of Marat" in person and a bunch of Delacroix works, as those are some of my favorites.

After the Louvre my friends Jackie, Elana and I walked around a district called Marais. It houses the Jewish quarter, some great falafel stands and lots of cute little boutiques. We had a little taste of America and had a large brunch at a restaurant which specializes in American food.

I've also been taking long walks around Paris to get and know the city better and the city never ceases to amaze me with it's beauty. Here's a picture of Paris at dusk.

I've also been doing a lot of travel planning. So far I've booked a trip to Rome, Italy during the second week of March and another trip to Geneva, Switzerland the week after that. I will also be going to Versailles and Reims in the coming weekends. I can't wait to see more of both France and Europe!

Paris week 2

Here's an overview of my second week in Paris!

Sunday

My friend Elana and I met up and went on a nice walk around the popular parts of Paris, including the Tuileries, which is a famous garden in Paris filled with statues. I caught my first glimpse of blue skies in Paris and it was absolutely beautiful. We had lunch at a small café and ended the day at Laudrée, which is famous for their macaroons and other pastries. We walked back towards the big feris wheel in Paris and ran into our friend Sam. Even though Paris is a big town, it's still common to bump into people. We ate our treats with a spectacular view of the sun setting over Paris. We then walked to the Eiffel Tower and had a late night bottle of wine under the tower. It definitely didn't feel like real life. 

Monday
Even though classes don't start until next week my program had us do a week of french grammer classes as a little refresher before courses started. After my class ended I walked around the area where my program is with my friends Elana, Jackie and Deanna. It was cold and rainy so we didn't last long and ended up getting a coffee and a crêpe.


Tuesday
My friends Kevin and Jackie and I went to the Grand Lafayette which is the mega mega mega retail store in Paris. I say mega because it's the biggest thing I've ever seen and this is coming from an American! The quality of retail there was insane. Unlike the US, where big department stores offer lower cost options, Grand Lafayette only had designer brands. Prada, Dior and Chanel dominated the store, not to mention the two floors of shoes and another floor of only make up. We instantly became overwhelmed and choose to duck out and into a small café. That night my roommate Chelsea and I met up with a friend of mine from Michigan who lived close by to do some exploring of the Oberkaumpf district of Paris.


Wednesday
I went to the Musée d'Orsay with a group of students from my program and we got a guided tour completely in french. While I couldn't understand everything, I was definitely able to follow along. It was so amazing getting to see the works of Manet, Cézanne and the other impressionists in person. My favorite painting that we saw was definitely Manet's Olympia. Especially considering that picture was the topic of a paper for one of my previous art history classes, seeing it person was truly breath taking.

Thursday
My friends and I went and walked around Montmartre and I had my first Croque Monsieur, which is a popular french dish of ham and melted cheese with a side of salad. After that, we walked through the Red Light district and saw the Moulin Rouge. It's a lot smaller than I expected and it was odd seeing an old building in the midst of modern looking ones. I also went to a McDonald's (called MacDo here). The menu features totally different things than the US and includes french foods like baguettes and macaroons. It's also a lot more expensive than in the states but the food is much better quality.



On Friday I got my hair done, which was the perfect way to end the week. That night, I was treated to a magnificent dinner by Michele and Hubert Varlet, who are the most wonderful couple and have been such a great help to me as I get used to living in Paris.



Overall, things have been really great and I'm very happy with what my life is becoming here. I've made a great group of friends and I'm working on planning some trips with them. As far as classes go, they're listed below and officially start Monday.
-Art and Architecture in France from the Late Gothic to Baroque Period
-Advanced French Grammer
-Paris Museums: History of Art
-History of France
-Two drawing classes at a local university called Académie de la Croix Nivert