The Grande Finalé

The last week of CEA Paris was jam packed. I spent most of it studying for finals, doing daily readings, writing papers and doing a project. On Monday, I went to L'as du Fallafel to do my Culture project. We were to pick a place in Paris and observe how different people use the space. I picked this famous spot in the Jewish district in the Marais because it is always hustling and bustling. I sat there for about an hour before class and interviewed someone that worked there.

Lavina

That day in Wine class we had a walking tour of the city. He showed us to famous restaurants and other wine bars. After walking for about two hours, he took us to the largest alcohol store in Europe. It's called Lavina and it was extremely fancy. It's about 4 stories and he took us to the restaurant in it. We all sat at a table and he ordered a different glass of wine for everyone, and told us a lot about each one. He told us that store is losing money because their rent is out the roof and they jack up the prices on everything. After that, we walked to a famous chocolate store and he let us pick out what seemed like 50 Chocolates that they had that fit into a box. We went back to his wine bar and he gave us a glass of wine that goes with chocolate. We are very lucky to have such a generous teacher, because I know CEA is not paying for all that he's given us!

Le Pause

That night we walked to a really good restaurant that was in the Let's Go Europe book. The book never lets us down! Thanks Mom and Dad. Joanna and I got this oriental salad that had delicious chicken and then rice/sushi rolls in it. The restaurant was called Pause Café and it was packed!

Monet Water Lilies

Thursday night was the CEA goodbye meal at a huge Mosque. Strangely, the Mosque has a restaurant in it. They served us cous cous with this vegetable broth and our choice of meat. I got sausage and it was really good. They also gave us some kind of hot tea and then our choice of all these arabic desserts. It was basically everyone's last night in Paris except us, so we were sad we couldn't go out with all of our friends due to the massive amount of homework we had on Friday.
I woke up really early to study for my test and finish my final paper. It was such a relief to finish both. Joanna and I went to a really fresh and cheap sandwich shop for lunch (also from

Dinner at Mosque

the book). When I thought about taking a wine class in Paris, I was not picturing filling up an entire blue book for the final exam. My hand had not experienced that kind of a work out since I took APUSH! I did really well on the exam (better than everyone else) so I was happy!

After the exam, Joanna and I went with a few of my classmates to L'orangerie to see Monet's water lilies. I've been wanting to go back since we went on our first trip to Paris. I retook the same picture 7 years later! We walked around the Tullerie gardens in the rain for a while which he hadn't gotten to do yet. That night we went to Ô Chateaux to have some wine and watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. It was a neat place to watch it! When France came on, we all cheered! We met my teacher's fiancé, who is from Mississippi who had just come from the states. We were envisioning her to be this America turned Parisian woman because Olivier was born and raised in Paris. However, she was wearing cowboy boots and looked as American as you can get.

Sacre Coeur

On Saturday we went back to the Columbian restaurant which served as our breakfast, lunch and dinner for the day. On Sunday, we went to Sacre Coeur. I would not recommend going there on a weekend, it was jam packed. That night we went to a pizza place from the book with some CEA friends.
Monday came we said Bientôt to Paris. We woke up and dropped off our luggage at CEA and headed to the train station. After an easy ride, we made it to Interlaken. We met a girl who goes to Princeton, her mom and grandmother who were traveling
On the train. They made for nice company on the ride!

Olympics

Loire Valley Failure

Last Friday a bunch of us from CEA wanted went to a Lebanese restaurant for lunch. We ate outside in the street and it was nice to have some tubouli and hummus! I was starting to have withdrawals due to how much I was eating earlier this summer. The meal was topped off by some baklava. Yum. After, we took the metro to the Galleries Lafayette shopping mall. It was not a very pleasant Parisian place to shop. It seemed like an Orange Park mall of Paris. This was near the famous Café de Fleur, where Belle Epoque artists used to frequent. We got their famous hot chocolate. It was SO GOOD. We haven't made it to Angelina's yet, but after this I don't know of we need to.

That night we went to ô chateau, my teachers wine bar. All of the people who work there are really nice and get to know you. They tell you everything about the glass of wine you choose and the prices are very reasonable. We ended up staying until close, and the group of us who was there went to a secret underground bar called The Ballroom. It was funny to be there with my teacher. When we got home, Joanna set her alarm for us to wake up at 6, because the bus for the Loire Valley left at 7:30 and the stop was really far away. Our roommates we already asleep so we figured they had set their alarms too. Well, no one in our apartment woke up until 9. Joanna's phone volume was not up loud enough so none of us heard the alarm. I kick myself for not setting mine. After being really upset for missing the bus and being told there was no way we could meet the group, we finally cut our losses and planned the rest of the weekend.

One of my roommates, Myrah has researched an authentic Columbian restaurant in Paris. She moved to the U.S. two years ago from Columbia to go to College in DC. She says it is impossible to find cooking like she has at home in Columbia in the US. We went for dinner and it was delicious. We had no idea what anything was, so Myrah ordered for us. We ordered this whole platter with empandas, some sort of beef, types of potatoes, and lot of different plantain type things. The best part of the meal was the juice that Colombians drink. It is fruit blended in different flavors and ice so it is thick like a smoothie! Myrah picked her favorite "Lulo" flavor. Lulo is a type of fruit in Columbia. It was great to finally have a smoothie type drink. It was really refreshing. We have found that all the French cafés generally have the same menus. I never realized this before in our other visits. I have eaten so many French salads that it is nice to find some ethnic restaurants here.

Paris Plage

Lulo

Sunday, we went to check out the "Paris Plages." They were set up along the Seine for the second part of the summer so that people who can't afford to go on vacation to the beach can still have a beach experience. I don't know how they get all that sand down there! We got some food at a stand and a beer, and we ate it in the sand. It was all really cheap for once. It felt so good to feel the sun. It has rained so much! We walked up and down the beach from start to finish. They had really cool chairs and bean bad looking things set up in some areas. They also had a kids beach playground type area with a sandcastle building station, mist areas, fuss ball tables, clowns giving away balloons and book rental places. We stopped and got some ice cream and it was so good. I got green tea and macaroon flavored. We read for a little bit on the beach.
After we went home and met our friends for dinner who had been at the Loire Valley on Saturday and Sunday. They said that it had been really nice so get out of the city for a night. That was the part I was really jealous of. They also said the goat cheese farm was cool and the river cruise, but other than that it had been castle overload.

Week 3

Breakfast In American Blueberry Pancakes

B.I.A veggie omelet + hash-browns

We have been using Sundays in Paris as a day of rest. The weeks are so busy, so it is nice to have a break. My roommates and I went to a famous restaurant called "Breakfast in America" which is pretty self explanatory. We haven't really had a breakfast here, I buy yogurt from the supermarche and have a banana, so we were excited to get real breakfast food. It did not disappoint, as we all got an obscene amount of food. Later, I went on a much needed run around my neighbornood. I ran along the Seine and it was perfect running weather. It was in the upper 60's and beautiful.

Running bridges on the Seine

Monday consisted of dealing with the mysterious rash that Joanna discovered on my back when I was changing. It was very scary, but it turned out to be from an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin I had gotten from strep throat. My body seems to be rejecting the Parisian lifestyle. Thankfully, CEA is extremely helpful when this happens. They made me a dermatologist appointment for that afternoon, which unfortunately was not an "at-home" visit. It was difficult finding the office, because I had to take the RER, which I hadn't taken before and their stations are much more confusing than the simple metro. I also found out that French doctor's offices do not have reception desks when you walk in, so I was very confused on what room I should go in and if I was even in the right place. Luckily, after waiting in something that looked like a waiting room, the dermatologist came and got me and she was really nice. It was another experience of the French-English language difference, but in the end I think we understood each other. 

Much to my liking, we finally went to the famous falafel place that everyone had been telling us about for dinner after class. A Jewish part of Paris called Rue de Rosiers is famous for the dozens of falafel joints it has, and we went to the "best" one. I had never had a falafel before and it was right up my ally. It was fried falafels (hummus sort of fried balls) + cabbage + lettuce + taziki sauce in a pita. Yummy. Joanna and I went shopping the next morning in the area before class, and I got another one for lunch :)

I am doing my culture project on this place, where I am going to interview the men that work there, observe the people that go there and learn their story. Plus, it is an excuse to get more falafels. After dinner there on Monday night, we enjoyed the first sunny night we had seen in a long time, and walked to the famous Berthillon ice cream place by the Notre Dame. It was my first ice cream in Paris. I have not seen as many gelatto places this trip as I remember seeing in our previous visits. It lived up to its reputation as the best ice cream in Paris. I got chocolate and Hazelnut. MMM. We ate it sitting along the Seine, and then discovered that it was not too far to walk home from the Notre Dame. 

Tuesday night we went on the boat tour of the city which CEA had given us tickets for. We went with a group of about 10 of us which was fun. We went on the 10:30 boat tour so that we could see the city at night (it doesn't get dark until 10:30 here!) 

Boat Cruise

Wednesday we did not have culture class in order to work on our midterm essays, which meant we would get out from class at 3:30 instead of 6:30. We used this time to go to the Pompidou which is almost right next door to CEA. It is really hard to visit museums because we are in class during the hours they are open on Mon-Thurs, and the weekends haven't allowed the time. The first weekend I was sick, last weekend was Bastille Day, and this weekend we are going to the Loire Valley. Joanna and I have decided to stay in our apartment in Paris a few extra days, as CEA allows us to do this for about 20 euros a night, because we feel like there is still so much we haven't had time to do. We are supposed to be out next Saturday, but I think we are going to stay until our reservations in Interlaken on Tuesday night. I am really excited to not have classes so we can fill the days up with activities. 

The Pompidou was cool to go to. I have always wanted to visit it since I did a 7th grade French project on it. I enjoyed the building's architecture better than the art inside of it. The view from the building was incredible. Standing on the edge like that was very scary because the concrete blocks I am standing on kept coming loose. We went with some CEA classmates and then to a crepe place after for dinner. 

Bastille Day

Louis Vuitton exhibit

This weekend was one for the books! On Friday, Joanna and I went to the Louvre L'arts Decoratives part museum. It is the fashion/textile etc. museum of the Louvre. We were happy about getting in free for being students in Paris, and not having to wait in the mile long line for the real Louvre. They were having a Marc Jacobs/Louis Vuitton exhibit, which was really cool. We ate at really cool organic restaurant by the Louvre.

Salad at French Organic Restaurant

Just shopping with Kelly..

After, Joanna and I decided to walk down Rue d'Honore, a long street that has about every high end store on it, along with Zara, etc. I remember going into that Zara with our family! After walking around for about three hours, we really wanted to find this store Collette that Leigh had recommended to us. We asked about 10 people for an hour because we knew it was on the street. Finally, we found it. It reminded us of a upscale Urban Outfitters, and it had a cafe on the bottom with coke bottles designed by Karl Langerfeld, the designer of Chanel. We were about to leave, when I spotted Kelly Ripa with her husband, Mark Consuelos. My heart was racing because she cracks me up and I have always loved her. I grabbed Joanna and told her I was going to go say hi, and Joanna was too afraid to go. Un-characteristically of me, I went up to her and said "Hi Kelly! I am a big fan would you mind getting a picture with me?" Joanna walked over towards us and said hi and we all started having a conversation. She told us she was here for 48 hours for the Madonna concert, and that it was nice to have a vacation without her 3 kids. We told her we were studying in Paris and she thought that was really cool, asking how our french was going. Also, she asked us where we were from! The whole time I was shaking. I don't think I've ever met a famous person like that. And it didn't help that I have always been obsessed with her and watch Regis and Kelly as much as I can because of her wit. Anyways, Joanna and I were on cloud nine for a few hours after. It was a great day. It was very relaxing spending the day just the two of us, because we have been in a large group for a lot of the trip. When we got home, we did laundry at our laundry mat downstairs. Surprisingly, we figured on how to work it in French, and it felt so good to have clean sheets. I felt like I was living in the 60s thought.

Baby Bottles..

That night, some friends of ours invited us a nice restaurant for dinner. They had made reservations, and we haven't been to a nice-ish meal since we got to Paris. Still, Joanna and did not want to spend the  26 euros on the set dinner + drinks, so we picked up sandwiches before so we could get a small appetizer at dinner and ate them in the laundry mat. The dinner was really nice and the restaurant was really swanky. After, we went to a bar where they serve drinks in baby bottles, and every drink is named after a Disney character. They gave us dry erase boards and said if we can draw our character the drink was named after that we wanted, they would give us 4 euros off the drink. They also had a variety of games to play at the table, and we played a fun game of UNO. Not the typical bar experience, so it was very amusing. For Bastille day, almost every arrondissement has something called the "Fireman's Ball," which is basically a big party put on at the fire stations to raise money. We followed the loud music we heard, and found one. I was surprised that they allowed this to go on, because it was outside and I am sure very disturbing to the neighbors. It was really fun and different because it would be shut down by the police in a second if it was in America...

Now for Bastille Day! We slept in on Saturday, which was nice. We met a big group of CEA people and ate lunch by the Eiffel Tower. I've found that I really don't like to be in big groups of people, especially at meals.. But anyways, we got to the Eiffel Tower lawn at about 6 or 7 pm, and found a really good spot right dab in the middle. The weather was SO nice, which was a great surprise because the weather had said it was a 90% chance of rain all night. We had not seen sunny skies in what seemed like forever. We sat on the lawn until 11 when the fireworks started. I think they had an 80's theme, because the tower had a huge disco ball hanging from it, there were disco balls set up around the lawn, and all they played was 80's music during the show. We all thought it was funny that it was almost all American 80's music. The fireworks show was amazing, lasting 30 minutes. It was so pretty and I kept thinking how lucky I was to be standing there watching fireworks behind the Eiffel Tower. I will never forget it! The only downside was that it was freezing the whole time we were sitting there, but we were glad it wasn't raining. After, we were all really tired and did not feel up to enduring the Fireman's Ball round 2. We took the jam packed metro home, and enjoyed a great nights sleep and sleeping in.

Happy Bastille Day!

Week #2 cont.

The rest of the week days consisted of trying to fit as much as we could in before and after class, and trying to stay warm and dry!!! The temperatures have been only reaching 70 degrees, and the rain will not stop.
Wednesday I went on a run from out apartment to the Bastille and it was beautiful. I found that the Seine river is right next to the monument, so I ran along there for a little bit.

Run

That day in class we visited the Père Lachaise cemetery in culture class. I was shocked at how peaceful and beautiful the cemetery was. The tombstones were so elaborate, unlike the plain headstones most have in America. We saw Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, and Jim Morrison's grave.

The next morning I had to prepare for a big presentation that I had to give for my wine class. However, doing home work is not so bad when you are sitting in a little cafe with a croissant and cafe creme...I signed up to be the first to give mine on the first day, so I was really nervous. My teacher had helped me the past couple of days so that really helped. I really like him!!! He is a French man born and raised in Paris and engaged to an American girl. He wrote a book, "Things French People Like," and I am going to read it soon. Anyways, my presentation was on "bold wine marketing." Basically, I had to find bold ways wineries had marketed their wine. It mostly consisted of controversial labeling (the French love to put political satire on their wine, considering recent wine laws) and making fun of the way California winerys promote their wine.. I showed a short "documentary" that I found that a Napa Valley vineyard created, which consisted of piano music, babies, mothers, puppies and grapes..While it was playing, My teacher asked if anyone was crying yet. I am glad I got my project over with and my teacher did a really good job.
That night we went to a really neat bar that had been strongly recommended to us by Leigh and her friends called the Andy Wahloo. It was very small and I think we were the only Americans there, which made it really interesting. The decoration was Moroccan and they had a woman DJ.

Week #2

Mon-Thursday seems to be primarily filled with classes. It is nice that it doesn't start until one, so we have time to do last minute readings and homework in the morning. This Monday morning was a little rough, as I hadn't left my bed in 48 hours. Luckily, I was feeling so much better at the start of the week. Joanna and I woke up early for breakfast and homework. I got some freshly squeezed pomplemousse juice with a yummy croissant. It felt good on my throat and was nice to eat my first meal in two days. I was worn out after my culture class went on a field trip in class to an area of Paris that was predominantly the "blacks and browns" of races. It was quite the experience, and terrifying. We were definitely exposed to a different part of Paris culture.

Tuesday was a long but great day, complete with two wine and cheese tastings! Our wine class met at my teachers wine bar Ô Chateaux. It was really cool, maybe because the owner is our attractive, young wine teacher or because I've never experienced a wine bar before. Anyways, our class tried about seven half glasses of wine of all different types. Not a bad day in the classroom.

mid wine tasting

That night, we had a cheese tasting activity at CEA after class. There were about 10 different types of cheese. We broke up into "teams" of cheeses, each learning how to cut the cheeses we had and the history/characteristics. We then put all the cheeses on the table and each group presented their cheese. Then we got to dig in! They got the best bread from the best patisserie and had some wine they described too.
By the end of the day, I was ready to never eat again. But I can't complain!

CEA cheese tasting

downstairs at O chateaux

First weekend in Paris

This weekend did not turn out as we had planned, as I contracted strep throat on Saturday. However, we did get one adventure in before the strep really set it. Leigh had recommended we go to one of her favorite flee markets. We road the metro all the way to the last stop on the 4 line to Port de Clignancourt. When Joanna, Raul and two friends from CEA got there, we stopped for my first crepe of the trip for lunch (I got fromage et oeuf). Then we set off to find the market. After going through some seedy people selling fake purses, sunglasses, t shirts etc, we kept following Leigh's directions until we found what seemed like an oasis from the loud rap music. There was store after store with antiques, vintage fur, jewelry, art, and a lot of vintage designer purses. It was cool to image French women in the 20s wearing/owning these pieces. I purchased these vintage earrings. It was a cool place! Joanna wants to go back to bring more euros :) so she can get a purse.

Being sick was also an interesting experience in itself. In Paris, they still do at home visits from the doctor. CEA helped me get in touch with a doctor that they said would speak English. However, that was no the case. After I got many calls where a French speaking man was babbling words I could not understand, I finally got "ouvre la port tout suite!!!" .. He had been waiting in our apartment hallway for some time.. Oops. Then he came up to our apartment, black bag and everything, speaking no English. Luckily, he had a translator on his iPhone that he would speak French into and it would spell out sentences in English that I could read. At one time the sentence read that I had Angina, but I told him that was not the case and he said he was mistaken with his translation and that it was really strep throat.. It was an interesting doctors appt. The next step in dealing with medical differences from the US was finding a pharmacy that was open to I could get my prescriptions. Joanna came with me for about a 20 minute walk to go to one we found online, even though there are about 10 within a one mile radius of our apartment. We successfully got the amoxicillin and acetometaphin and made it back to the apartment. Also, we both watched Midnight in Paris for the first time, and it was very good! Hopefully this week will be full of recovery and I can get out of the apartment!

my purchase!

Vendredi

Last night we went to an American - ish bar that was recommended by Leigh's Vanderbilt friends. It was called the Frog and the Princess, and it played humorous American pop classics.
Today we ended up sleeping a lot later than we had planned. We woke up and a group of us (our CEA friends + roommates + Erin and Paige from USC) went to the Supermarche and got supplies worthy for a picnic under the Eiffel tower; a couple baguettes, salami, ham, Brie, goat cheese, blue cheese and champagne. It sprinkled a little bit on us, but

not enough to make us relocate. Next we decided to tackle the Champs élysées, which was super super crowded. And it downpoured. Not a good combination. Also, we experienced 10 year old gypsy girls try to do their tricks on us. They started circling our picnic looking at our cameras/phone, that were visible with their "petitions" in hand.. Erin and Paige started screaming for them to get away and we all joined in (ended up making a scene sort of.. oops) and clutched our belongings as they tried to put the petitions on top of our valuables.
After we went into H&M and Zara where I came across some good finds. It's great that the whole month of July everything is "solde" which means on sale, due to a government mandate.

We met some new friends from CEA and went to a restaurant that one of their friends recommended called "Moose Bar." It was a Canadian bar/restaurant which is different. It was also described on the website as a "sports bar," which you don't find too many of in Paris.

Our friends Erin and Paige left today to move onto Barcelona. Their luck was starting to change! Apparently, someone had seen the little girls do their iphone trick, and had chased them down. Erin and Paige had no idea that someone had done this, but somehow the guy was able to get back one of the phones from the girls and contacted Erin through e-mail. They met him at a synagog and returned the phone. 

Luxembourg gardens

On Thursday morning, Joanna and I Woke up early to run in the Luxembourg gardens. After four metro line changes, we finally made it to the gardens. They were beautiful and filled with runners and wanderers. It was very calming and quiet because it was early in the morning. I managed to take a lot of pictures with my phone during my "run." They even had tennis courts!

Settling In

I already feel like I have been living the Parian life for quite a while. CEA helped us get out month long metro passes, and I actually found that using the Paris metro is pretty simple. That is quite an accomplishment for me as I am directionally challenged.

 (no glamour shot this time)

On Monday night, Joanna and I met two of our friends from USC for dinner at one of the dozens of cafés in front of the Bastille again. As we were walking to greet them, they were so upset. Two 10 year old gypsy girls had come up and put flyers on their table. They started speaking weird French to Paige and Erin, who both who don't speak a lick. Within 15 seconds the 10 year olds had left, taking their flyers and the two iPhones they had sitting in front of them on the table. It was their first day in Europe and they are planning on going from hostel to hostel for five weeks. Needless to say, it was a a dramatic night dealing with them. Luckily they had our apartment and computers to sort some things out.
The last two days have been filled with orientation at CEA. The bus tour was actually very informative. It was good to get a run down of the general areas the big monuments are.
We went out with a big group of friends last night. A mix of CEA guys and girls and then our two friends from USC. We spent most of the night wandering around. Need to plan better the next time we go.

Non existent 4th of July

Today we celebrated the 4th of July with our first day of classes. I am in awe by the style of teaching and how passionate my teachers are about teaching us and making an impression. My wine teacher is a young, cute guy who owns the biggest wine bar in Paris, O chateau. We will be going to it a couple times throughout the class. Our culture class is also very interesting. At the end of class, our prof took us to people watch at the hotel de ville, a huge beautiful building with fountains. We were told to observe the people around and remember to discuss tomorrow. It sounds trivial, but our teacher seems to take the simplest things and make them very intellectual.
We just finished dinner at a pizza place with some of the other students from the program. Going to bed early tonight as we had a late night if getting lost after going out last night.
Bon quatre de Juliet!

Nous arrivons!

After a sleepless 7 and a half hour flight through the "night" that we did not get to have, Joanna and I arrive in Paris. Two Parisian CEA employees are waiting for us when we exit, and we join a few other girls to go to CEA headquarters. Dad, a " Big Van " was our transportation.
First stop was CEA headquarters to meet some more helpful, nice employees. We then were taken to our apartment, which is nicer than I could ask for! Considering some of the questionable living situations our family seems to run into in this country (bed bugs infesting my sheets, monstrous sized flies (Susan), this is like living in the Ritz.
They gave us the day to regroup and sleep, so that it what we are doing. We Already put a dent in the amount of ground we will cover this trip, walking around our hood for about 3 hours . After that, we were all anxious to get back to get some much needed sleep, as we were zombies the whole walk back. meal + 27 hours up + bierre + long wanderous walks = dead.
Here is a picture of my salade de la mer. C'est très Bonne!

Also, we have been reading up on our arrondissement which is Bastille, which seems like it has a lot to offer.
À bientot!