the term "tourist" owned

As can happen in a week, lots has happened and Rome feels like a lifetime ago. This past week was fashion week in Paris so every day all over the city was runway show after runway show. On Tuesday, Anna and I were able to acquire tickets to one of these shows (I don't remember the name of the designer now). The event was held inside the Louvre. We had standing tickets but as the all the seats were not full, Anna and I were ushered to the third row. It was so much fun being there at the show with all the fashion people milling around looking stylish, the entire ambiance was cool; the loud music the strange clothing, the emaciated models, the hundreds of photographers. The show lasted no more than 30 minutes but that was plenty of time to get a taste of the high fashion world of Paris. Cara attempted making homemade chocolate chip cookies this night with a make-shift ingredients, they turned out pretty well and they were a nice reminder of home.

On Wednesday I went to the Centre Pompidou with my Art History class. It was a great experience to have lecture in the museum with the artists' paintings and sculptures in front of me. My professor has so much knowledge to share and it is so much easier to comprehend what she has to say about the art when the piece is sitting in front of you and it's in focus.

Thursday, Cara's friend from high school, Dina, arrived so we all went out to dinner together. I thought I ordered scallops for my meal and when my plate arrived, it turned out that I had apparently asked for chicken parmesean... I am still making these novice errors, when will it end!

Friday Prakash flew in so I met him at the airport. It is so much fun to have him here with me so I can share my Parisian lifestyle. We went out to lunch at a great little restaurant where there were no English translations on the menu and the waiter didn't revert to speaking English with me when I tried to order in French. I want to find more places like this in Paris. We then moved Prakash into the apartment that he will be staying while he is visiting. It is a beautiful place with hardwood floors and a real kitchen, and the best part is that it is around the corner from me. That night we invited Anna, Cara and Dina over for dinner and I attempted to make tuna casserole from memory and French ingredients. No one threw up but no one went back for seconds either, I think I may stick to a recipe next time.

On Saturday, Prakash accompanied me on my trip to Brussels with Abroadco. We took an 8am train and were on a tour bus by 10am. We listened to an hour and a half recorded tour of the city while we rode around in a double decker bus (you can't get more touristy than that). We were able to see several parks and the eclectic mix of architecture in the city. There was everything from medieval to art deco to contemporary. I liked that the architecture was different than any other city yet visited in Europe, some parts of the city was very beautiful other parts were unsightly and a significant amount of older building were under renovation. This tour did remind me why I don't pay extra money to take audio tours. After the tour we had a "traditional" Belgian lunch (we were told). I ordered a large white beer, only to be presented with a 1 liter mug of beer (needless to say I didn't finish this). Our appetizer was a fried cheese dish which was comforting in light of the fact that it was freezing outside and we wanted anything to warm us up. My vegetarian meal consisted of a cooked carrot dish with a seemingly Asian flair and soy chicken nuggets. After lunch the group was allowed to split up so Prakash, Anna, Cara, Dina and I went to the chocolate museum where we learned how they make Belgian pralines (chocolate shells filled with chocolate). The presentation was interesting and we got to sample phenomenal chocolate but the rest of the museum was uneventful. After this we went to the modern art museum. The bottom floor was all 20th century art which was all we had time for, it was a fun exhibit. It was set up in semi chronological and thematic order so it was an interesting historical as well as aesthetic exhibit. After this we hit up a chocolate store so we would have something to show for our Belgian visit and then, stopped at the ultimate tourist waffle joint to get Belgian waffles and fries. My waffle was very good, the fries were mediocre and the service was terrible. We met back up with the group in time to travel to the train station. Part of the group was late so we had to run through the train station to try to catch our train, which we still missed (several individuals were stampeded over in the process, Anna being one of them). Never a dull moment with Abroadco. When we got home our little group went to a Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese place for dinner. I ordered pad thai which was palatable (we needed a break).

Sunday Prakash and I dragged ourselves out of bed so we could take advantage of the fact that all the Paris museums were free (due to it being the first Sunday of the month). We went to a brasserie close to Prakash's place for breakfast and then walked to the Rodin museum. It wasn't too cold and there was no rain so we were able to enjoy the garden in addition to the indoor part of the museum. I loved the garden, it was a refreshing venue to enjoy sculpture with a lush green backdrop and no one breathing down your neck. After this we met up with Cara and Dina and went to L'Orangerie, a little impressionist museum in Jardin des Tuileries. The museum was small but had some Cezanne and Matisse which I loved and of course Monet's waterlilies which were beautiful; I was blown away by their size. After this we went to the Marais to eat at a creperie a friend recommended. I ordered a goat cheese, tomato and basil one which blew me away! We wandered around a little more and then went home to relax and do laundry. As I'm sure I have mentioned before, most everything in Paris is closed on Sundays (including eating establishments) so by 9:30 we were hungry and a little worried about where our next meal would come from. We decided to venture into the realm of French delivery and found a Pizza place that was still open and nearby. I was chosen as the individual to make the call and was able to successfully order a pizza entirely in French (a small victory I will cherish)! Needless to say the pizza was terrible but it was a fun experience.