Hey everyone!

I feel terrible for completely neglecting this blog, but I hardly have time to write! (Ok that's a little lie, I obviously have time I just keep forgetting) Now I don't even know where to start, so much has happened! Well for starters it's finally spring, flowers are blooming, the sun comes out to say hello, and the best part, I can wear skirts! (well, I still wear stockings for the windy days) but it's been really nice weather. 

I've been getting better at understanding when French people are talking, my host mom has been very helpful with that, we'll go off speaking in French sometimes and I can usually keep up!

I've been going to a lot of little trips here and there, I've really been trying to explore every (safe) corner of Paris. Last weekend I went to a wine festival, the weekend before that I went on an Amelie tour (I'll need to make a separate post about that! It was so fun!) I've been picnicking with some friends at the Luxembourg gardens, eating fondue, and on Wednesday I went to see a real French ballet. My classes have been really interesting, I really enjoy my art class, we've gone to the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay several times and just this week we went on a walking tour looking at the architecture around the 1st and 2nd arrondissement. I just finished taking midterms this week (by the way the French grading system is SO annoying) so I'm starting to feel a little more relaxed about school. Speaking of which, I have to register for classes back in Tampa today. For SENIOR YEAR. Time is going waaaay too fast. 

Anyway, I've been feeling under the weather today so I haven't done much, but I plan on taking advantage of the last day of my navigo (my monthly metro pass) tomorrow before April starts and going around taking pictures (and guaranteed getting lost haha) 

I hope everyone has a great Friday!

:D

Massive picture post!

It's been a long week and I've been running around everywhere and a lot of times forgetting my camera so here are some pictures now!

Agricultural Fair

So my host mom told me about this expo going on for a few days here in Paris and she said I would like that sort of thing because it had a lot of animals, food and interesting things to look at, and today, I had the chance to go! It was the most amazing place. I went with my new friend Leah and it was so fun! Everyone was so SO sweet, teaching us new French words for types of wine and food and cheeses. It was truly an amazing experience. 
We bought fun flavors of macaroons; ginger and lemon (my new favorite) and salted caramel, raspberry and pistachio. We had all sorts of different wines from every corner of France, from strong reds to sweet (so so sweet) whites. We also sat down to eat at this restaurant called Au Poulet Roti! The waiter was super kind and told us in the 4 years he's been doing this fair, he's loved serving Americans, he says they're always the nicest. We had some Kronnenberg beer and I had a cheese plate and Leah had some rare steak.

It was really interesting to walk around and learn new things about the foods we loved most, ahhh I just wish we had more time to go all around the expo, we only had the chance to go to one pavilion and there were 7!

Adjusting in Paris

So I've been in this magical city for a little over two weeks and I have to say I've adjusted rather quickly. I've gotten used to the metro (I no longer freak out and count stops or make sure I'm on the right color line) I've made lots of friends, and the cold weather (although still a little rough) is no longer a threat. I'm cozy in my room, my host mom is a sweetheart, my roommate (still jet lagged) is pretty nice too.

I'm still a little wary of the language, it's not easy having to explain myself in the few words I do know, but at least I'm trying. Still can't get anywhere past asking for directions or ordering food. But it will all come with time. I've been planning some trips to take on the weekends to take advantage of the time I have here to see the rest of Europe. I'm really excited.

So far I've only had one class, my French language one, which is on a level too difficult for me (reviewing verbs? I've only just started learning them!) so I've asked to switch to a more appropriate level for me. I have an art class in a few hours, and it's a 4 hour class... So I'm a bit nervous because I've never had a class for more than an hour and a half... So that should be interesting.

This week has been nice though, on Sunday I went ice skating in Hotel de Ville with a couple of friends, then saw a street carnival at night. On Monday we had our welcome dinner, which was also very nice because I got to befriend a lot of people from the program that go to the other school. After the dinner we went to a bar (my first bar experience!) it was nice, but I kept worrying about my early class the next day. Maybe once I go on a weekend I'll enjoy it more.

Anyway, I would have made this longer but a lot of details have slipped my mind. I need to get a calendar because I barely know what day it is.

Just came back to my hotel from my home stay!

I'm living with this sweet older woman and her house is full of art, music, sculptures and books. Her house goes up to the 3rd floor where my room and study are. She has an enormous book shelf! It covers the entire walls of the 2nd and 3rd floors. You need a separate ladder to reach the top! It's really something, and she said I can borrow any book whenever I like.

It's a really nice place, and when I arrived she gave me a little tour of the neighborhood. We went to the supermarket nearby (le monoprix) and she bought me cereal and a couple of other things. We also stopped at a fromagerie (a little shop, just for cheese!) and we got a big wedge of brie. She also made me a welcome dinner, some delicious oyster thing and chicken ratatouille. We also had wine and bread while we talked about how much we liked to travel.

She also praised me on my French accent, she says sometimes its difficult to understand other Americans when they try but since I know Spanish the accent is easier to grab. She is really sweet, I'm so glad to finally feel at home here in this strange and foreign land :P

Premier Semaine dans Paris

Bonsoir!
It's now 5:40pm here and I'm exhausted. I've had a long week of walking around getting to know Paris and now it seems like we're old friends. I've really enjoyed my first week here (I got sick :( but I've been taking cold medicine and vitamin C and I've slowly recuperated.) Now for the adventurous parts!

My first Parisian sandwich! (And some pommes vert for breakfast)

 

After a first attempt to see the tower on Sunday (I got lost... shhhh), I found it on Monday. Even though I was still feeling ill, it was well worth it. I met a really nice lady from Mexico as I was taking photos from the side park, and since she spoke Spanish, I was able to easily communicate with someone. So we took photos for each other. The Eiffel Tower is such a beautiful sight up close! I then went across to the Trocadéro to take photos without any trees in the way. 

 Yesterday I went wandering around the 5e arrondissement and window shopped for a bit. I had some pizza for lunch (Mmm 5 fromages!). 

I also passed by a Starbucks and it was so tempting so I got a Chai Latte and sat down and people watched. Then I took the metro back to my hotel for a nap and then went out to a sushi restaurant (bar?) around my hotel.

This morning I stopped at a nice restaurant around 11:30am and I was looking at the outside menu when a guy came out and said hello, and asked me if I'd like to eat there. And I asked in my broken French if they were still serving breakfast and he said "Oui!" He then asked if I'd like to sit in the terrace or inside, and I chose the terrace. I asked for some coffee (I needed to wake up haha) and a croissant and he said they were out but they had Madeleines and I said I'd love one. I used to eat those all the time at home :)

I then took the metro to Saint Michel, (which leads to some bridges around the Notre Dame) which was also a beautiful sight. And since I was around there I decided to look for the Shakespeare and Co bookstore...

I really loved this little bookstore, I had been yearning to go to it since it's always made an appearance in movies (Before Sunset, Midnight in Paris) I went in the other bookshop thinking they were connected but it was for antiques and it smelled like lemongrass (mmh). So I got out and went in to the real entrance and right at the front there were a couple of stacks of books on the floor that said "FREE BOOKS" So I looked in and grabbed one :D I thought that was a really neat souvenir.

Anyway, speaking of Paris and movies, having seen and loved Midnight in Paris, I found a link that had all the landmarks used in the film. This little chapel/church was the one Owen Wilson awaited his vintage cab driver to take him into the past at midnight. I sat down on the steps for a little while (they were wet, eek!) and looked down the street, but no vintage car came :( I guess I would have to wait for midnight haha.

After that I took the metro back to my hotel, but first I stopped by the supermarket on the corner to buy some cheese and crackers. Now I'm back in my room, writing this blog post and going to start packing soon because I'm going to my home stay tomorrow and I'll get to meet my French family and roommate. I'm really excited! :)
A bien tot!

Bon soir Paris!

I've made it to France! This feels like I'm in a very vivid dream, it doesn't feel real at all. My hotel is so nice and cosy, and the receptionist is so nice. (she collects American quarters and we might trade tomorrow haha) I really love it here, even as the cold air chills my bones and dries out my nose and throat, I am living the dream. I need to go study my French right now because it's very terrible! I've been freezing up so badly and just saying random phrases. But I will get the hang of it soon! It'll just take a little longer and I'll be able to order a sandwich without sounding like a 2 year old. Hooray!