Keep Calm, And Carry On

It is now the beginning of my second week here in France!

So my 8:30am classes are going... as predicted.  I hate every second of the morning, but once the class begins, it is actually nice to have the whole entire day to spend in Paris!  Oh... just kidding.  Our schedules were finally finalized and I have French from 8:30-10:30, Phonetics class from 12-1, and then I have to meet with the other students in my program for our History of Art class usually around 2.  Then by 4 or 5 when we are FINALLY done, I am too exhausted to do anything.  UGH.

 

SILVER LINING... I'M IN PARIS!

So I am going to make the most of my time here.  Between French and Phonetics today, my friends and I went to the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookstore.  And because I am a secret nerd, I loved every minute of it!  There is one section dedicated to rare and expensive books, and another side with less rare and less expensive books.  So from that side, I bought a novel called "The Paris Wife", which is a fiction book about Hemingway's wife in Paris in the 1920's.  I used to believe that my favorite period was NYC in the 20's, but after re-watching "Midnight In Paris", I think that Paris is tied!  From Shakespeare & Co., I also bought a nice copy of the French classic, "Le Petit Prince", as well as Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast", because I feel like if there were ever a time for me to read it, it would be in Paris.  We also went to a little used bookstore, where they had books for .20Euros.  I bought a bunch of French Disney books :)

Then for today's site visit, we went to my professor's favorite museum, the "Musee de Carnavalet".  It is basically a museum that commemorates all of the aspects of the "Old Paris".  Georges-Eugene Haussmann was the man in charge of rebuilding Paris in 1860.  Circa the movie's "Les Miserables", the streets there look much different than the streets of Paris now.  He made the streets much wider, and changed the architecture of many buildings, and this museum houses a lot of things such as street signs from the "Old Paris".  Besides having to carry around all of my newly purchased books during my tour of the museum, it was overall a pleasant day :)

Then we ended the afternoon with some gelato from Amorino's.  HINT: A delicious combination in Vanilla with Strawberry and Raspberry. 

And to top off what could have easily have been a bad day, there was a full on orchestra, complete with string bass, in the metro playing some classical French music <3

 

 



When Things Once Again Go Wrong

So as predicted, I knew I would encounter many failures on my trip, but maybe failures is the wrong word for it.  I would prefer to call them "learning experiences".  Because well, if you ever find yourself in Paris with damaged luggage and an iPhone that will not send iMessages, then I have definitely learned what NOT to do. 

 

First things first, if your luggage is damaged, do NOT lug the empty damaged luggage around the city of Paris in the summer heat to find the train that takes you to the airport, while trying to figure out how to purchase a ticket for said train.  Then, under NO circumstances are you to actually get on the train with said empty/broken luggage and actually ride it all the way to the airport.  Then, worst of all, you should definitely NOT find the terminal you arrived in, get special permission from the airport to access said terminal, then proceed to have a conversation with the woman at the terminal.  Because she will tell you that there is a store in Paris that will sell you a new luggage and that all you needed to do was email in a picture of the damages.  And then you will have to lug said luggage back to your house, and once again up 5 flights of stairs.

 

Next, if your iPhone has service, can send texts in France, can access wifi, and can access 3G, DO NOT let the people at the phone store tell you that you don't know what you are talking about.  It is YOUR phone, you know how it is supposed to work.  Then, do NOT let the guy at the first phone store tell you he can't help you and that you need to call a French helpline.  Then most definitely do NOT call that number.  You will not be able to understand what they are saying and will end up after a long time pressing buttons trying to speak with someone, having an extremely unsuccessful conversation in which a man that speaks no English will inevitably hang up on you.  Then, once you go to a different phone store, hoping for nicer customer service, do NOT let them tell you that the problem is with the device itself, and that you need to go to the Apple Store.  Because once you haul your frustrated self across town, Apple will tell you that the problem is with the phone service.  So make sure then to NOT go to a third phone store.  Because they will tell you that they are not a big enough phone store to help you and that you need to go to a phone store with technical support.  Because, WITHOUT A DOUBT you will find yourself back at the EXACT SAME phone store that you started at... Just to find out that the problem is that you have a faulty SIM card and they aren't getting another shipment in until the end of the week  -___-

L'Orangerie

Today our class met super early because museums in Paris are free every first Sunday of the month.  We met at L'Orangerie which is a place they actually used to grow oranges in Paris.  There is this room with Monet murals that are so peaceful and beautiful.  They don't allow you to take pictures, but here is the scene where they go to L'Orangerie in the movie "Midnight In Paris"!

Well, I am off to the airport to bring back my broken suitcase.  They said if I wanted to get reimbursed that I need to bring it in.... But hey it's a few hours out of my day and I'll get back like 200 euros!  Also, I'm pretty sure I live next door to a contraband luggage store on the Boulevard Barbes, the guy offered to give me a huge purple suitcase for 45 euros!  Oh Barbes......



Le Quatre Juillet!!

Listen to this when you read my blog :)

http://8tracks.com/itsleviosa/midnight-in-paris

I bought the movie "Midnight In Paris" from iTunes at the recommendation of my host family.  I've seen it once before but it is so cool to watch it again and be able to recognize where the events in the film are taking place!  I watch it every morning while I get ready for the day haha it really gets me in the Paris mood.

 

But anyways, i's the 4th of July! And Paris is certainly celebrating America's birthday.  So of course we had to join in the fun!... even though we had 8:30 am class the next day.  Yes that's right I am one of the unlucky few who are assigned to 8:30 am class 5 days a week.  Seeing as how I slept through my 4pm class at Michigan last semester, this is going to be interesting.  And the class is at The Sorbonne, so it is really difficult!  We have it for two hours each day, then on Fridays we have an extra hour of Phonetics, where they make us practice our French accents while speaking.  So yeah that is not fun, but I am determined to make the best of the situation!  And take a nap every afternoon.  So after our first day of class, my friend who is in the same class as me and I went to the cutest place at the Jardin du Luxembourg called Angelina's.  Apparently they have the best hot chocolate in the world so we had to try! And it did not disappoint.  

Then for our site visit, we went to the Chateau de Vincennes, which is an old hunting lodge on the perimeter of Paris.  It really was beautiful!  But it didn't have any furniture in it, which I think would have been much cooler than "oh yeah the bed used to go over there!"

Then after a nap, around 11 I met up with my friends at my favorite hangout bar so far called "The Wall" for pre-drinks.  It was super crowded!  So I just kept yelling "Le Quatre Juillet!" (The 4th of July)  There was American music playing and the bartenders were loving it!  They ended up giving us many rounds of free drinks, and they even took some of them with us!  It was so much fun.  Then we went to this club called Duplex, where we (ironically) went to an American themed party.  There were a lot of Americans there, as well as the French.  They were giving out American flags and it was such a good time, and a great way to celebrate the 4th abroad.

 

Then the next day, I did something that I am a little embarrassed to admit... I went to McDonalds!  Which I learned is actually really different from McDonalds in the US.  They have the "McBaguette" and this little packet of sauce made for French fries that they give out.  Also, the French really take their time... I waited in line for a half hour for my food!  Then later that day, my friends and I met up at an absinthe bar where of course we had to try the absinthe.  SO they give you the green drink then light this little sugar cube on top of it on fire!  Then you dump it in and drink.  Absinthe has a serious burn! 

Then we spent the rest of the night drinking wine along the banks of the Seine.  What a picturesque way to end the night!

The next day we spent shopping... for literally the whole entire day!  We went to Laduree and bought the macarons which were delicious!  You get to pick a pretty little box and then choose what flavors you want to go into the box.  Then while walking around we saw a carnival and just happened to catch the CUTEST thing, this little Parisian boy saw the rides and at the top of his lungs screamed "OOH LA LA!!!" It was just adorable.  Then we did more shopping at Zara, the little souvenir shops in Montmartre, and also we went and window shopped in all the expensive stores such as Chanel and Dior.  I was really tempted to fall in Dior like Carrie Bradshaw and have my friend take a picture, but I didn't think they would appreciate that.



Paris Fashion Week 2013

So for the first part of the day today, I was extremely glad to wake up not feeling sick because my host family served me a very rare piece of meat for dinner last night.  Then we visited the Musee de Cluny, which mainly consisted of sculptures.  They are not really my favorite medium of art, but it was still really interesting to learn about them!  Such as how these were the original heads of the statues of the Bishops on the outside walls of Notre Dame.  They were decapitated during the French Revolution as an act of rebellion and then found buried underground in 1977.

Now on to the fun stuff... Paris Fashion Week!! 

Here we are waiting outside of Valentino:)

To celebrate, I went shopping at Zara and purchased a pair of high-waisted shorts as well as a striped top that is very Parisian.  Then my friends and I decided to go to where they were holding the Valentino show, at the "Hotel Salomon de Rothschild".  First we snuck up to the back of the building where they were holding the show.  We actually could see people hanging out on the balcony and smoking!  Also, we could see the couture hanging on racks through the window.

Then towards the front of the building, there were a ton of people and paparazzi trying to take pictures of the celebrities that were arriving.  During the show, we could see inside of the building from afar and there was a life size giraffe and cheetah!  I'm assuming they were stuffed... Not sure what they were there for either.  But the best part of the whole experience to me was after the show.  When everyone was leaving, I actually got to take pictures of a lot of the celebs!  Starstruck is the only word that comes to mind. 

We saw Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue, Grace Coddington, Artistic Director of American Vogue, Olivia Palermo, a bunch of models, and my favorite, Baz Luhrman!! I can't imagine a better person to see in Paris than the man who made me fall in love with it in the first place. 

And of course we saw Valentino himself! I also met a guy who, after chatting for a bit, gave me his business card and told me he was the Department Manager of menswear for Burberry, Paris.  Maybe I'll give him a call!  What a day<3

 

C'est Une Parfait Parisian Jour!

The past 24 hours has been perfect :)

Last night my friends and I grabbed a few bottles of wine and met up at my homestay. We then walked through Montmartre to the top of the city and drank them on the steps of the Sacre Coeur, which has the most amazing view of Paris! And yes, drinking in public is basically legal here.

We spent the time getting to know each other better, and also chatting/mingling with some of the other people visiting Paris. We talked to one group all the way from Australia! Which reminds me that I saw a man wearing a Michigan hat on the metro today! It is a small world.

 

Then today we explored Montmartre a little bit.  We got drinks at this little café where the waiter said if we gave him our number he would give us free drinks... only in Paris! Then we got baguettes and I finally got to see the number one destination that I wanted to visit while in Paris (yes more than the Eiffel Tower)... The Moulin Rouge! We didn't get to go inside because it is 240 euros per ticket but just seeing made me so happy! It is my absolute favorite movie, and I can pretty much recite every word.  And then I of course visited the gift shop where I bought a set of "Moulin Rouge Paris" engraved shot glasses, a little Moulin Rouge box and also some red lipstick that says Moulin Rouge on it!  It says it is the same one used by the dancers, so I guess this is as close as I will get to being one of them haha

Today was also day one of my History of Art class site visits.  Today we learned about Notre Dame and we also got to visit the Saint Chapelle and learn about it at the same time.  The program I am in is so cool, each week we meet in the classroom Mondays, then the rest of the week we actually meet at the places that we are reading about! My professor is amazing as well.  He told us we can call him Howard, and since the French do not pronounce H's, it sounds like "Oward" haha so I spent the day practicing saying it in my French accent (which is getting pretty good).  But Howard is just so passionate, knowledgeable, and engaging with everything he is talking about that it makes the "studying" part while being abroad a bit easier.