Busy Busy Bee

This week has been crazy busy, and I have barely had time to sleep and do homework, never mind blogging.  On Tuesday, I went to a comedy show with a group from my school and we saw How to Become Parisian in One Hour.  The show is performed by a Parisian who lived in America for a while and then came back to Paris and noticed the extreme differences in culture.  During the show, he exaggerates a lot of the stereotypes of Americans and Parisians, and makes fun of both cultures.  He teaches Americans how to act on the Metro, in a cab, in a restaurant, in a club, and various other scenarios.  His impersonations are hilarious, and we were laughing non-stop through the entire show.  I had so much fun and it was great to do something different for the night.  

Yesterday, I got an email from the director of the Paris American Academy which is the school I spent two weeks at last summer for an intensive fashion program.  He has several connections in the fashion industry and he told me that he had a fashion show in the afternoon that needed dressers.  He needed a few people so I brought three of my roommates to the show to help dress the models.  We arrived a few hours before the show started, so we hung out backstage and watched the models getting their hair and makeup done.  There were some other girls from the PAA there to dress as well, so we spent most of the time getting to know each other and bonding over our annoyance of all the waiting.  Once we began to dress the models for the show, it was more fun and exciting.  We each had a few looks that we were in charge of, so we helped a few different models each.  Some were really friendly and talked to me a lot, but others were pretty snobby and just dressed themselves.  It turned out that the show wasn't a typical runway show, but it was a cocktail party that the models had to stand around at.  It was two hours long and we had to wait until it was over to help undress the models.  We were so bored and hungry, but the models had it much worse.  The event was in a courtyard and it was freezing and rainy out.  The girls were wearing barely anything, and one of them ended up having a really bad reaction.  She came in shaking and freezing and just sat in a chair crying with her head in her hands for almost an hour.  Everyone was bundling her in coats and giving her coffee to warm up.  I felt really bad for her because she was clearly over tired and freezing.  She ended up calling someone for a ride and leaving early.  

After the show was over and we had helped undress the models and hang all of the clothes back up, all the dressers decided to go out to eat because we were starving.  We found a cute little Thai food restaurant and I ordered pork dumplings and fried rice.  For dessert, I got coconut and dark chocolate ice cream that came with a cute little umbrella in it.  We really like these two girls from Iceland that were in the program, so we got their numbers and plan to hang out with them again.  It was really fun meeting girls from another school and going out to dinner with new people.  

Today, I had class in the morning and then had to go to the Louvre again for my art history class.  It has been rainy and and cold all week so walking everywhere has been less than enjoyable.  Tonight I'm definitely staying in and I'm going to start packing because I am going to London with a few friends tomorrow night.  I am so excited to go someplace new and to see all of the famous sites in London.  I am also excited to hear English for an entire weekend and to know that if we get lost, we can just ask someone for directions and we will actually be able to understand their response!

Mont St Michel

Yesterday I went to Mont St Michel with four girls from my program.  We met at the train station in Paris at 8:45 am and took a two hour train ride to Rennes.  Then, we took an hour bus ride from Rennes to Mount St Michel.  Even though it took forever to get there, it was definitely worth it.  I was so excited to finally go to the island that I had first learned about from my French teacher in 6th grade.  It looked so cool as we approached it from the distance on the land bridge that connects it to the mainland.  We got off the bus and took a bunch of pictures in front of the whole island before we started exploring.  Once we got inside the main entrance, I was amazed at how many shops and restaurants there were on the windy street that you couldn't even see from the land bridge.  There was much more to do than I expected, and there were a lot of people walking around.  

Since we had been traveling all morning, we decided to find a restaurant for lunch.  We ate at a cute little place with one waiter and the slowest service I have ever experienced... even in France.  I ordered a leg of duck which seems to be all I eat here because I am in love with it.  For dessert, we wanted to try something different, so a couple of us ordered different desserts with "Normanie apples" in them.  As I took my first bite of my sundae, I soon found out that this means the apples are covered in hard alcohol.  The taste was so strong and absolutely not what I was expecting.  I was able to eat all of the whipped cream on top and some of the ice cream that managed to escape being drowned in the alcohol, but it was a struggle to find salvageable areas.  The sundae was huge, so everyone at the table helped a little with finishing it, mostly because they all wanted to try it.  We got some good pictures of the disgusted faces made when trying the first bite.  Now I know never to order anything "Normandie" ever again.  At least it was a learning experience :)

After lunch, we made our way up the winding alley and the thousands of steps to the Abbey at the top.  The view was amazing of the ocean and all the sand stretched out from all sides since it was low tide.  The Abbey was huge and there were so many different rooms to see and little tunnels and doors to explore.  We walked all around, and looked at the views from all the different outside areas.  Then, we took a different way down that lead us around the outside to a pretty walkway through the trees.  

We only had about four hours to spend on the actual island because of all the traveling that we had to do to get there and back and the times of the trains and buses.  Because of this, we had to leave right after we finished walking around the Abbey to head back for the bus.  When we arrived back in Rennes, we had an hour and a half until our train back to Paris, so we found a place to eat dinner.  I had a chocolat chaud and a Croque Monsieur, my other go-to meal here.  It was exactly what I needed after the disastrous lunch dessert and it left me full and happy for my two hour train ride home.   I didn't get back to my apartment until about 11:30 pm, so it was a really long day but it was so much fun and definitely worth it!

Ladurée

Today I went to the Louvre again for my art history class.  We spent an hour and a half looking at several of the neoclassical paintings that we have been discussing in class over the past few weeks.  It was crazy to see how large these paintings really are because you can't get an idea of their actual size when they are in a powerpoint.  Some were so big that they stretched floor to ceiling, which is at least ten or eleven feet.  I can't even imagine the amount of time that it would have taken to paint these giant scenes with such detail.  Being an artist back then must have been their whole existence, because they couldn't have had time for much more.  

On the way out of the Louvre, we stopped at the Ladurée store to buy some macaroons.  The decorations were adorable and the whole store was set up beautifully.  There were several different colors and flavors of macaroons in a glass case and I picked four.  The store is expensive, but you are paying for the name when you go more so than the actual pastries.  I decided to get chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, and caramel.  

I had the raspberry and the vanilla ones after dinner and they were so good :)  Saving the rest for tomorrow... can't wait!

Musée Cognacq-Jay

Today my Haute Couture class was at the musée Cognacq-Jay in the Marais (the Jewish neighborhood).  This museum was created to show the collection of Ernest Cognacq and his wife Marie-Louise Jay.  They were they creators of one of the first department stores in Paris, but they were fascinated with the 16th century and the court of Versailles.  They amassed a large collection of 16th century pieces that they donated to the state when they died.  This trip was so much more interesting than my museum trip with my art history class because I love the period of Marie Antoinette and I love seeing the way they lived in that era.  I also love my teacher and the way that he makes everything fun.  Every story he told us about the paintings or the furniture was interesting and entertaining, so I enjoyed the whole trip.  We saw several paintings, sculptures, china pieces, and lots of furniture from the times of Louis the 15th and 16th.  My favorite part was seeing Marie Antoinette's bed and learning more about her personality as Queen.  

Patissier

Today was my early class, so I have been up since 7 am.  I thought I would never have to see that time of day after high school, but now I do twice a week.  I haven't felt that good all day, so naturally I wasn't in the mood to cook dinner tonight.  Neither was my roommate Kathryn, so we decided to go to our favorite little cafe in our neighborhood.  We both got croque monsieurs avec des frites and they were delicious.  I ate the whole thing because I was starving and I even ate the french fries which I normally don't do because they were perfect and not greasy at all.   After dinner, we went across the street to the little patisserie and I got a raspberry tart with a creme brulee like whipped topping.  It was wrapped up so cute and I protected it like a newborn on the way home because I was terrified that it would get squished.  Once I successfully captured it on camera, I scarfed it down in two minutes.  It was as all french food is... delicious.  

Je deteste lundi

Every day I wake up with my sheets half off the bed and my comforter on the floor.  I don't know what is wrong with these beds but this never happens to me at home.  The mattress is gross and stained so I would love it if my sheets would stay in place so I didn't have to wake up on the bare mattress all the time.  

This weekend was rather uneventful.  I was so tired from our adventures on Thursday night that I stayed in all day on Friday and relaxed.  On Saturday, I finally met up with my friend from high school who is studying at another school in Paris for the semester.  We met at Notre Dame and then walked over to the Pompidou Center to find a place to eat.  We decided to get a pasta dish and a croque monsieur to split.  The food was delicious and it was fun to hang out with someone from home for a change.  

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping because I was in desperate need of food, and then I spent the rest of the night doing homework :(  

Today, I had my Haute Couture class which is always the highlight of my week.  My teacher just makes us laugh the entire time and it is the only class where I actually enjoy what we are learning about.  He told me I looked very "wise" today when he was taking attendance and I guess it was because I had my glasses.  He smirks at everything so I never know if he's making fun of us or not, but I decided to take it as a complement.

After my classes, I came home with Kathryn and Chelsea.  We stopped in this adorable patisserie on the way home to buy bread and I fell in love with the place.  It is down the street from our apartment, but it just opened a week or two ago and I haven't been in it yet.  It is much cuter and more modern than most of the little patisseries, and it reminded me of an upscale bakery at home.  The deserts looked amazing and they were all displayed perfectly in the glass cases.  I have done my best to stay away from these places because I know how dangerous they can be, but now that there is one right down the street, I might just have to give in to temptation.

For dinner I made little sandwiches with avocado and cheese in the toaster oven.  I am so excited that I decided to buy avocados because I absolutely love them; they are all I ate this summer.  While I was cooking, I got to watch the sun set out of our kitchen window.  Sometimes at night, we can see the light from the top of the Eiffel Tour spinning through the sky from this window.  I love our apartment and our view so much.  

7am - 3am

Yesterday was the longest day ever.  I had to wake up at 7 for my 9:15 Com class because I usually leave an hour of travel time to get to class just in case something goes wrong with the metro.  After class, I went to the Louvre because there were some paintings that I had to look at for my Haute Couture class assignment.  It was weird how confident I felt going to one of the largest tourist destinations all by myself.  Usually I would feel so self conscious and nervous walking into a place with so many people by myself.  At home, I never would have gone by myself and I would have been so nervous about getting lost or not being able to find the paintings that I needed to see.  I love how confident this city is making me.  I feel so secure walking around and taking the metro by myself.  I have become more confident in my directional skills and my ability to function in unfamiliar places when I'm alone.  I went into the Louvre all by myself and found the area where the paintings were for my class.  It took much less time to look at everything than I expected because it was early and there weren't as many people there as usual.  When I was done, I had two hours before my next class, so I called my roommate Kathryn to meet for lunch.

We met at a place by school that had reasonable prices and a good lunch menu.  We sat outside and I ordered a leg of duck while she got at caesar salad.  Our meals were both really good and we had fun people watching and hanging out at a restaurant like the French do.   When were done, I had to hurry back to the metro because I had to be at the Musée Delacroix by 2.  It took a little while to find, but I still ended up being a half an hour early so I just sat in the courtyard and read my book.  I love this city... and my kindle :)  The museum lesson was kind of boring because the paintings weren't anything I like, and we stood around taking notes the whole time.  I am learning a lot more about art and different techniques with this class though, even though I don't really like it.  

After class, my roommate Laura and I went to a fancy café with a few girls from class and I ordered chocolat chaud (hot chocolate).  It was amazing, like drinking straight melted chocolate.  It came in a cute little pitcher with whipped cream on the side so I could pour and scoop myself.  It was too expensive for my liking, but I guess it's all about the experience.  

Then, last night, we went out to a club with all our roommates and our two friends from school.  We went to Club Mix which is an international club that is free for students on Thursdays.  When you get inside, you tell them which country you are from and they give you a sticker to wear of your country flag.  It was so much fun to dance with all my friends and the music was really good.  As my first experience at a club, I would say it went much better than expected.  I seriously think I'm becoming a different person here, but that's not such a bad thing.  I don't ever want to go home!