Paris in the daylight

This morning Claire and I ate a delightful breakfast with Madame Richer and Martin. Then we were off to the American Church of Paris with some of our friends! We made it there after a very successful trip on the metro. I must say Claire and I are extremely skilled when it comes to navigating a city. The American Church of Paris is really beautiful, and the sermon was very good. It was so great to not only be in a church but also in a place where the people seemed so familiar. After church we ate lunch and then headed to the Eiffel tower of course! After our morning excursions Claire and I decided to go to a hot yoga class. It was so much fun! The class was packed and of course in french, but it felt great! I think I am going to become a member at the studio. Afterwards we walked around the city some more, and now we are wiped out. Bonsoir!

quote from 'Paris to the Moon': " We love Paris not out of "nostalgia" but because we love the look of light on things. as opposed to the look of light from things, the world reduced to images radiating from screens. Paris was the site of the most beautiful commonplace civilization there has ever been: cafes, brasseries, parks, lemon on trays, dappled light on bourgeois boulevards, department stores with skylights, and windows like doors everywhere you look."

finally... Paris!!

Today was so wonderful! We woke up and ate the most amazing french brunch, with an assortment of croissants, cheese, crepes, yogurt, honey, pain au chocolate, café au lait, lattes, chocolat chaud and every type of bread one could ask for, So after brunch, we waddled to the train station (la gare) and took the TGV ( a very high speed train) from Cannes to Paris. It was about a five hour train ride through France, and it was absolutely beautiful. I just looked out the window for five hours, I could not take my eyes off of this beautiful country. It was really great because we went up the coast and then straight up through the country. When we left the coast the sun was shining and it was about 40 degrees, but as we traveled through the country it looked like seasons were changing because we went from the sunny beach to a winter wonderland and then arrived in Paris where it is cold but there is no snow. The city is so beautiful! I was speechless in the taxi from the train station to my home stay. My friend Claire and I are living in the 17th arrondisement with Madame and Monsieur Richet. The Richets are awesome! And their apartment is incredible. It is on the top floor and very spacious, I was shocked! Their apartment is so beautiful, although it kind of feels like a museum, but I really like it!. Also we are about 2-3 miles from the Eiffel Tower and about a mile from the Arc de Trompe and Champs des Elysees! The Richets are a retired couple and they have four older children who are married and have their own children. The Richets have 10 grandchildren. One of their grandchildren, Martin, is spending the night tonight, He is seven years old and so much fun! When we arrived, Claire and I settled into our lovely room, and then the Richets served us a wonderful four course french meal! The Richet’s speak a little bit on English, which is wonderful because Claire and I need to practice our french! So Claire and I are finally here! Oh and we have internet! It really could not get much better.

-- I am appropriately reading a book titled, 'Paris to the Moon' by Adam Gopnik. It is a lovely book on an American family living in Paris at the end of the 20th century. Anyways my quote from of the day from this book is, " There are two kinds of travelers. There is the kind who goes to see what there is to see and sees it, and the kind who has an image in his head and goes out to accomplish it. The first visitor has an easier time, but I think the second visitor sees more. He is constantly comparing what he sees to what he wants, so he sees with his mind, and maybe even with his heart, or tries to. If his peripheral vision gets diminished--so that he quite literally sometimes can't see what's coming at him from the suburbs of the place he looks at--his struggle to adjust the country he looks at to the country he has inside him at least keeps him looking. It sometimes blurs, and sometimes sharpens, his eye. My head was filled with pictures of Paris, mostly black and white, and I wanted to be in them."

To market, to market

So I have noticed that the French are extremely fond of strolling. Yes, everyday people just very leisurely walk down the beach. I on the other hand, along with other foreigners are easily spotted because we are power walking or running with our headphones on. However, on Sunday when the open- air fresh market opens from 8 a.m.-1, the french walk faster than I have ever seen anyone move! They are serious about getting their fresh food. It is so funny! So after I was nearly trampled at the fresh market because I could not make a decision as to what kind of cheese I wanted, I went to the artist’s market. It was beautiful because all the artists set up their stands in a little park right next to the ocean. There is a variety of things from antiques to paintings, old records and movie posters, jewelry and more… it was lovely! Sunday was excellent because it really gave me some time for much needed rest, relaxation and reading! Another thing that I love watching here is all the dogs. I know that is weird, but everyone here has a dog. All the dogs just stroll along like they are humans, and they greet other dogs as they pass, but they pay humans little attention. Very few of the dogs are on leashes. I am telling you if anyone needs advice about dogs that misbehave talk to the french, because I believe they have the secret to dog training. Also, it is so funny to see owners talk to their dogs in french, I don’t know why but french dogs are just hilarious!

"The Golden Corner"

Saturday we made our way to Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze. Each city was absolutely beautiful, I felt like I was on a movie set. The city of Monaco is about as large as NYC’s Central Park. Both Monaco and Monte Carlo are the cleanest cities I have ever seen. The principality of Monaco is known as “the golden corner” of France, and it really is, In Monte Carlo the sidewalks are marble! In Monaco, we went to the cathedrale that holds Grace Kelly’s tomb. We also visited the Grimaldi Palace. The city is built on the side of a mountain and looks as if just rose out of the sea. We walked in and out of the shops, oh and here is an example of life in Monaco. So we walked into a little sweets shop and the women offered us a sample of what we thought was cake soaked in some short of sugar syrup, we were shocked to discover that the cake was soaked in Grand Marnier. So after our shot of Grand Marnier at 10:30 in the morning we made our way around the rest of the city, to Les Jardins Exotiques and then to a very interesting aquarium and oceanography museum, Oh and we ended our time in Monaco in a little chocolate shop in which I bought a bar of chocolate that was 99% cocoa, the darkest chocolate bar I have ever had! In Monte Carlo we went to the famous Grand Casino. These towns really felt like Disney World for the extremely rich and famous. Claire and I decided we could even buy a postcard, the post cards were 5 euros! Haha. Anyways after we left Monte Carlo and Monaco we trekked upwards towards the old roman city of Eze. Eze is a little village on top of a mountain. We stopped a perfume factory which was pretty cool and then we had to walk 20 minutes up to the village because cars are not allowed to take the roads up to the little village. It was a beautiful village and very medieval.

the man in the iron mask

Today was absolutely beautiful! It was at least 60 degrees, there were people laying out on the beaches, in speedos and very small bikinis of course. Everyone was outside today, in the center of the town there were tons of bacci (sp?) ball games going on, and chess as well. The town was so alive today, I don't know if it was because of the weather or the fact that it is Friday. After class we took a ferry to the Isle de St. Maguerite. On this island is Fort Royal, the prison where the infamous "man in the iron mask" was held. There are at least 60 suggestions about who was actually behind the mask, the first and most widely believed idea is that the prisoner was Louis XIV's twin brother. Supposedly, King Louis did not want anyone to see his brothers face because he wanted the throne to himself. However, that is just an idea. And interestingly enough, the mask was not iron but velvet. I am still not sure why he was called "the man in the iron mask." The island is about 20 minutes off the coast of Cannes.After a few hours of exploring the fort and the beautiful island we returned back to shore. Where I think that I ate the best meal of my entire life, and it lasted about 4 hours. So that was my day. Tomorrow I am headed to Eze and Monaco!

after a few days in cannes

Cannes is really nice, but quite small. I think around 80,000 people live here. Which is great because most everyone is very friendly and patient with us. We are at an international university right now, and there are alot of people from different countries here, which is really cool. Most of them can speak english, however eveyone is encouraged to speak french to one another which is really fun. I am in class in the morning for three hours, which flies by because everyone really wants to learn the language as much as possible. My professor is really nice, and very funny, he is definately a stereotypical frenchman. However he is not rude, but extremly sarcastic! This weekend we are headed to Monaco on Saturday and I think we will go to Provence on Sunday. It is nice to be able to relax. We have all afternoon to walk around the city or sit on the beach. The beach is amazing, and so beautiful. Claire and I are trying to enjoy it as much as possible. We had amazing crepes yesterday, she had one with nutella and I got one with apricots and Grand Marnier, yum! We love it here, but are extremly anxious to get to Paris!

the beginning

We arrived in London quite smoothly, Claire and I were seated next
to one another on the flight which was nice. London was amazing, I
want to live there, I loved it so much! We stayed in a hotel in South
Kensington which was really cool. Claire and I did all the tourist
sites but I think my favorite was most time was the afternoon we spent
in Notting Hill and Holland Park. We just had lunch and walked around,
it was much quieter and very lovely. We also went to alot of the parks
which was really fun as well. Oh and we got to see WICKED!!! which was
amazing!!! I am so happy that I got to see it, most of you know I have
been dying to. So London=great! Leaving London=complete crisis!
To make a long story short, we all, all 75 people in our group,
were forced to pay for our extra bags. I know we have to do that in
America, BUT we were only allowed to have 50lbs or 23 kilos, which for
most people was one bag. Because we had been in London for more than
24 hours, we were no longer considered international travelers, and
therefore we had to pay 8.88 pounds per additional kilo of luggage.
Well the exchange rate it terrible and Claire and I of course have
100lbs of luggages each ( 2 bags) so we either had to pay the very
high bill of we were being sent back to America (this happened to
everyone). Unfortunately, Claire and I were the last ones to go
through this process.So after a breakdown, and hundreds of dollars
lost, Claire and I sprinted ( I mean as fast as we could ) through
Heathrow airport, and we were the last ones to board the flight.
We made it to Nice, which was a beautiful flight because there were
no clouds in the sky, but when were made of course our luggage did
not! So we waited a day and a half and then finally received our
luggage. Needless to say, everyone on the trip is extremly bitter
towards British Airlines right now.
Now I am in Cannes, which is beautiful! We are staying across the
street from the Mediterranean which is the bluest water I have ever
seen. Also Cannes it wonderful because it is surrouned by Mountains
and the Mediterranean. The city itself it very Mediterranean, we
havent had much time to explore yet but what I have seen so far is
lovely. This Saturday, we are going to Provence which I am really
looking forward to. We are in Cannes 'til the 26th and then we are on
our way to Paris January 27th.
It is so fun to be surrouned by everything French. It has been
difficult as well trying to speak. However, I understand many things
but when someone speaks to me I panic a little. But each day it gets
better. Claire and I are trying to speak to each other as much as we
can in French.
We have had a really great time togeter, I am so thankful that she
is here. It would be very hard if she was not.