Culture!

This past weekend a group of us went out to dinner and found a great seafood restaurant!  I got scallops that were almost as good as the dish I had in NY and the french onion soup was to die for!  We wanted to go out on the town that night so we met up with some friends of a friend and followed them to a tiny bar on a side street in the Bastille district (big nightlife area).  We were met with music coming from an old stereo with blown out speakers and a ton of french hipsters... not quite our scene.  We left to try to find some place that was more to our liking but ended up wandering the streets of Paris into the wee hours, unable to catch a cab.  Along the way though, we met a strange girl named Margot who tagged along for a while... never a dull moment.  On Saturday night Anna and Cara came over and we decided to try cooking in my apartment on the hot plate.  We sauteed vegetables and other than the mess, it was great!  

I have finally sucked it up and experienced some culture here in Paris.  As the past weeks have been filled with just exploring the city (mostly looking for a good place to eat) I have not made time to visit any of Paris' many museums so yesterday, Anna and I decided to go to the Picasso museum.  We were thrilled and met in the Marais (on the right bank of the Seine which is THE trendy place for the young and gay), got lost on the windy streets and arrived at the museum, only to find that it was closed on Tuesdays!  After a bit of shopping and a coffee, we regrouped and decided we would not end the day without a museum visit.  Because we didn't want to brave a museum as big as the Louvre, we decided to go to the Dali museum in Montmatre.  We also got lost trying to that place but after about and hour of wandering through deserted, windy cobblestone streets, we discovered it tucked away in a little courtyard.  I really enjoyed the museum because it exhibited works of Dali that I have not seen (a lot of watercolor reproductions and some sculpture).  Seeing the wide range of art that he produced gave me a greater insight into him as an artist as my previous limited knowledge was restricted to his well know surrealist work.  In addition to works by Dali there were several mannequins displaying clothing inspired by Dali and interesting touch but not one that added to the museum as a whole.  After our brush with Art, Anna and I sat down for a snack at a little cafe that looked out onto a square full of artists selling their wares (mostly uninspiring landscapes painted in a drab color palette).  We decided to only speak french during the meal which was challenging but very good practice.  After this we headed over to Printemps which is an enormous department store (bigger than the Union Square Bloomingdales)... 8 floors of clothing, shoes, handbags, lingerie etc (and this was only the women's building!).  It was so overwhelming, definitely an experience but I prefer the little boutiques tucked away in alleys of Paris to this colossal place.

Anna, Cara and I have bought tickets to Rome for the third weekend in February... we are so excited!!  We have yet to book a Hostel and are working on our itinerary but if anyone has suggestions for us we are open!  Also, my internet is supposed to be up and running today (if i can figure out how to set it up) so I will finally be able to post photos!

    

Always a new adventure

A few days ago Anna and I went up to montmatre to check out Sacre Coeur and that area.  The church was beautiful and had a fantastic view of the city (still working on internet so I still can't post photos) but the interior was nothing compared to Notre Dame.  We wandered down from the church into a seedy area with men who assaulted us to buy bracelets from them.  A majority of the retail establishments in this area sold wedding and formal dresses and clothing out of bins, a different shopping experience from what I had perviously enjoyed in Paris.  We did find a Brasserie refuge with a friendly bartender where we camped out for a few hours, chatting, reading and sketching (something both Anna and I want to improve upon while we are here).

Last night we went back to Montmatre, why you ask?  We found a restaurant in a guidebook that we wanted to try.  It was a little fondu place with a twist.  For 15 euro each, we were served a plate of appetizers, an apertif, cheese fondu and our choice of red or white wine from a baby bottle (rubbery nipple and all).  To sit down at the booth, Anna and Cara had to climb over the table and squeeze in between two other groups of people.  The waiters were a little rough but friendly, the walls were covered in graffiti from the many patrons who visited the spot.  We made friends with a table of people who worked for Disneyland Paris and were invited to visit the park for free and also with a guy and his girlfriends who live in Paris who offered to show us some fun bars whenever we wanted.  It was an exciting evening! 

First Update

I have been waiting to make a post until I had internet at my apartment so that I could upload some photos but as my internet is still not up and running, I have just decided to give a written update sans photographic documentation.

I have been in Paris for over a week now but it seems like ages.  So much has happened (unfortunately improving my French was not included in the events of the week), I will try to start at the beginning.

When I landed in Paris, I was supposed to be met by a shuttle service that would take me to my lodgings for the semester.  There were seven other individuals on my flight that were also apart of my program and were also supposed to be picked up by this company.  After 1 1/2 hours of waiting a lady pulls up in an 8 person van, with the intention of transporting all of us and our luggage for 5 months.  Needless to say, that wasn't happening.  We all packed into the van with 4 people's luggage and the rest of the bags disappeared in another van, hopefully to arrive at the same location as their owners.  When we finally left the airport, our driver pulled over to the side of the road and said her husband was going to drive us the rest of the way (a little sketchy...) so this man gets in and takes off.  After a few minutes of cruising, he turns to the girl sitting next to him and asks her (in French as we have discovered he doesn't speak english) where to go.  This engenders a bit of worry in all of us as most of us have never been to Paris before, we don't have the keys to our housing and our shuttle service is entirely clueless as well.  Well after several hours of circling and a few frantic calls to our onsite director of the program, the driver drops us all off on the side of the road and takes off, leaving Holly, our director, to complete his job for him.  I arrived at my apartment 5 1/2 hours after landing in Paris... phew!  

The adventure does not end there.  Hoping to collapse into bed the moment I arrive, I am faced with a filthy apartment, dirty dishes, and no bedding.  The kitchen consists of a mini-fridge, microwave, and hot-plate.  I can't even unpack because the shelves are coated in dust, there are no hangers and no cleaning supplies.  After being awake for 24hrs strait, all I wanted was to fall into bed.  I took a shower and, as I was drying my hair, to add insult to injury, my hairdryer burned up. 

When I woke up the next morning everything looked rosier.  Because it was sunday, most stores were closed and I had to wait until later in the week to buy everything I needed.  Fortunately I'm now in Paris and there are bigger and better things to do than worry about a little dust in my apartment.  I made some friends on sunday that I have spent the past week with.  Anna is a student at Berkeley as well and we have mutual friends but had never met before now.  Cara and Pat are dating and came to Paris together, Cara goes to U of Arizona and Pat goes to Menlo College.  Sara goes to Eureka college in Illinois.  We have walked around most of Paris, taken a boat trip down the Seine and visited numerous boutiques much to the chagrin of Pat.  

I have attempted to integrate myself into Parisian culture as much as possible and to a certain degree I must say I haven't done a bad job (as long as I don't open my mouth).  Everyone in Paris wears black, unfortunately this has not been a staple in my wardrobe until now but I'm falling in love with the color ( I have already bought a fab black leather jacket and black boots).  Apparently I look so Parisian that several people have asked me for directions on the street!  It has become a game now with Anna and I that when we go out for coffee or something to eat, We try and see how long it will be until the waiter figures out we are American and starts speaking english with us.  The Parisians have a lovely habit of stopping in the afternoon for an hour or so to drink a cafe express (espresso) with friends to people watch and smoke.  I've taken up the coffee sipping activity but held off smoking as of yet.  

Now for some amusing "foreigner" stories.  There is a grocery store in Paris called Ed that is roughly equivalent to a pack-n-save in the states.  You have to bring your own bags or pay 3 centimes per bag.  Well we arrived and totally forgot about bringing extra bags but had been shopping earlier that day so had some shopping bags on hand.  After paying I began packing the bags, fairly full because we had a lot of stuff and only two bags.  As we turn to go, the handles of one bag breaks and it goes crashing to the floor, smashing the two bottles of wine it contained.  The cashier began yelling at me in rapid-fire french, none of which I could understand.  The long line stretching behind us shot looks of exasperation and impatience.  After excessive gesturing we were able to dispose of the bag and its contents in the manner desired of us and escape the store relatively unscathed.

Later on in the week, while shopping at a popular department store called Monoprix, I was at the check-stand and looked over at the "impulse" purchase rack.  Hanging there were a few makeup bags with english sayings on them including "Smile!" "Love!" and my favorite: "Air!"  

We found a fantastic boulangerie/patisserie that is right around the corner from school, everything in there is absolutely fantastic!  I had a quiche that was to die for!  We have been to one other restaurant that was fantastic in the Montparnasse area (which is the old literary haunt).  We have been walking so much trying to see everything that it is hard to stop and pick a place to eat.  There is also a cool irish pub that is by school that we went to one night which had a great vibe.  We haven't been to any clubs or museums yet but all in good time.

Overall I love Paris!  I love the energy and philosophy on life, I love that people are on a mission but are able to sit down and relax.  They love beauty and delicious food and wine!  It is very clean here and most people are very kind (other than a few waiters who refused to bring us our pastries for some reason or another).  Its so amusing that everyone here walks around with baguettes and bouquets of flowers, so cliche yet so french!

Outside my apartment is a farmers market/flea market that opens every thursday and saturday and they sell everything from fresh veggies to flowers to meat, fish and furs.  It is a lively and entertaining scene.  I haven't met anyone in my building but every night my neighbor practices his guitar and vocals, unfortunately it can be a bit lively for 11:30 at night.  

I know I have missed things as every day is filled with some new adventure or little amusement.  I hope to be more consistent in the future, and feel free to send me little emails, I love to hear from home.