I could not resist taking this picture tonight...It's a bit hard to see, but this scene was so Parisian with the little old car along a bridge over the Seine...all with the Eiffel Tower in the background!

Nothing out of the ordinary happened today, but I feel as though my night run is worth commenting on. Around 7:30 p.m. I took a nice run along the Seine, by Notre Dame, and around Île Saint-Louis. I had a great view of the Eiffel Tower for a portion of the run, and I eventually stumbled up the Hôtel de Ville; it was so beautiful with its sparkles and ice rink! You just never know what you'll find in Paris! As a side note, I also just finished watching the movie, A Midnight in Paris. I had no idea what it was about, but honestly, this movie is amazing!! If you have ever been to Paris it is a must see! Although, I think I disagree that Paris is more beautiful in the rain. However, I have only experienced Paris in the very cold rain, so maybe my opinion will change during the spring and summer months...

Today I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow over all of Paris! I was hoping it would stay around for the day so I could see the Eiffel Tower in the snow, but it melted pretty quickly. Anyway, today was a rather ordinary day in Paris. I had grammar and phonetic classes and did some homework in between. Getting very excited for our weekend of couch surfing in Germany! And to my yia-yia, I am so happy you saw Les Mis again! 

Get ready for a long post, so much has happened over the past few days! I ended my last post (before my tribute to my amazing, lovable puppy) with my beautiful day under the sun along the Seine. Wednesday was a super busy day! I had a doctor's appointment to get a bill of health in order to sign up for a yoga class (which of course I couldn't enroll in because the times conflict with my classes) then went to my grammar class. Afterwards, I grabbed a quick lunch and headed to art history. That class is still definitely a challenge, but I am starting to gain a better appreciation for art. I guess I was frustrated when my professor continuously shot down people's opinions of art work, but that was because I did not truly know what art history is. She explained that art history is using the context of the piece of artwork such as the time period in which it was painted, the reason for creating it, excerpts written by the painter, etc. to analyze the meaning behind the painting. I suppose from this perspective there is a correct interpretation of the painting. Anyway, after art history I had training for my internship as a tutor, and then saw the movie Renoir for my film class. The movie was actually great. It tells the story of the last few years of Renoir's life and the inspiration he got from his final muse, Catherine Hessling. Thursday I had grammar class and then my first film class during which we had a discussion about Renoir. I had additional training for my tutoring job, and then went back to the Cité to relax. Friday I found a great café with amazing tea by Notre Dame and had my first phonetics class. For a half hour I listened to myself repeat the same words and sentences over and over, yet my accent didn't sound any better by the end. You think your French accent is somewhat decent until you are forced to speak in front of a professor who corrects every word you say. Regardless, I am really excited to work on my accent...the less American I sound the better! Friday night I skyped with Alisha (my friend from home who is studying abroad in Sweden), and I booked a trip to visit her. I also booked a trip to Edinburgh with her! Saturday my two friends and I spent hours planning trips to London and Germany...yes this weekend I am off to Frankfurt, Germany! We then took a break from trip planning and grabbed dinner at St. Michel. We were planning a night on the town, but the snow made us want to stay warm inside for the night. The snow continued to fall all day; the snowflakes looked perfect, but they didn't stick. I spent today (Sunday) exploring more of the Louvre with my friends, one of which is from Sweden! We visited the Mona Lisa of course and Napoleon III's Apartments in the Louvre. These rooms are a must see; they are stunning! 

Lacey "Charlotte" Lainas

September 14, 2002-February 21, 2013

Always loved. The best poochie a family could ever ask for. 

My past few days in Paris have been going pretty well. The weather has been beautiful so I've been spending a lot of time outside! Sunday I had a nice long run by the Eiffel Tower and then continued running in surrounding neighborhoods and actually ended up getting lost. I eventually found my way back, and I didn't really mind because it was so nice out! I spent the rest of the day catching up on homework and relaxing. Monday I had Sorbonne class in the morning, and then had lunch with friends. We made our way to Place St-Michel to buy another text book, and then our friend from Germany took us to get some delicious ice cream on Île Saint-Louis. We strolled along the Seine under the sun with a perfect view of Notre Dame while eating our ice cream...you could say it was a perfect day. Mom, Dad, and Karen, get excited! Anyway, afterwards we hit up the grocery store and cooked a communal stir fry dinner. Today I had class, and then our friend from Germany took us to a delicious noodle restaurant (she knows all the best restaurants in Paris apparently). We walked to the Latin Quarter to pick up yet another text book...the third one for the same class...and then I had an interview and was hired to be an English tutor for French engineering students. 

This morning was actually sunny so I headed over to  St. Chapelle, a gothic chapel in the heart of Paris.  Sainte-Chapelle was built for Louis IX and dates back to 1248. The "Holy Chapel" is part of a large palace, now called La Conciergerie. If you ever get a chance to visit this beautiful place make sure it's on a sunny day! When you climb the spiral staircase you will gasp out loud. Don't bother taking pictures though, you will be disappointed by how little they capture. Today I also visited the Musée d'Orsay, one of the most popular museums in Paris. It is home to the Impressionist paintings of Monet, Manet, Cézanne, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, etc. It also houses the work of van Gogh. I enjoyed this museum more than the Louvre. It was much less overwhelming! 

St. Chapelle; no picture does this beauty justice. 

 Inside the Pathéon

Victor Hugo

Yesterday (Friday) was a great day because it was my dad's birthday! Happy birthday, Dad. Got the weird picture of you at the office (MDR aka LOL) and the one of K and Mike. Yesterday I also had Sorbonne class and then sat in a café in the Latin Q for a bit. Afterwards, I paid homage to some of the world's most famous people in the Pathéon...Voltaire, Hugo, the Curies, and many more. Afterwards I went shopping in the marais. The narrow cobblestone streets are filled with boutique after boutique. The key is finding the ones in your price range. The area is home to chic clothes and lots of crafty and funky jewelry. I had lots of fun :) Afterwards, I headed home to cook dinner and chill out. My friend and I then headed over to the Italian house for an anti love party, but it was full so we went dancing at a  Spanish bar in Place St. Michel. I had some great sangria, and we had a blast! For the first night the sky was clear and the temperature was not freezing. 

Happy birthday, Dad!! 

Bonne St. Valentin! From what I've noticed Valentine's Day does not seem quite as popular in Paris as it is in the US, but nonetheless, I treated myself to the biggest chocolate meringue I have ever seen in my life; I could not pass it up. It was literally the size of my head. Anyway, this morning was our first class for the Sorbonne. It's lundi-vendredi from 10-12, and it seems like it will be okay. I understand almost everything the professor was talking about, and we had conversations and gave oral introductions of one another. We also took a test just to ensure we were placed in the right level...it would have been fine if I had the ability to remember every verb ending in every mood and tense. Anyway, after class we grabbed lunch at a delicious café and headed to our phonetics test. It was pouring and windy, and we had a little trouble finding the building, but eventually we got there. I had a hard time getting over the perfect view of that massive church that was right next door to us...what's that church again? Ohh right, Notre Dame! It's still pretty crazy that Notre Dame is an every-day landmark people pass on their way to work. After waiting a while to take our test, we realized there was a problem with the time of our class, so a bit of a fiasco ensued, but it was eventually figured out. Afterwards I sat at a café and enjoyed part of my meringue with a cup of tea then headed over to the Sorbonne to register for my yoga class. Now, if you've been keeping up with my blog you'll know that I've had little to no luck with registering for classes. So why should this time be any different? Well, it wasn't. The yoga class is full, and the majority of the other sports classes I would have considered taking were in the morning when we have other classes. So I'm going to join a yoga studio instead. Anyway, now I'm just relaxing and debating about going for a run in the cold rain...my bed is looking much more appealing though. Tonight we have plans for happy hour! À demain! 

What an exciting day for France...it was the début of Les Mis: The Movie!! No, I didn't go see it; I know, shocking. Honestly, I think it's coming out in English here anyway. But I'm sure I'll see it at least once just to say I saw it in Paris. Anyway, today we had breakfast in America...literally. In the Jewish Quarter there is a restaurant called Breakfast in America. Our group wanted some "real" coffee so we ventured back to the US. The owner of this restaurant is from CT, thus the Connecticut-named omelet on the menu. I don't drink coffee, though, so it didn't matter much to me, but I have had a pretty bad cold the past few days so I figured that was a good enough excuse to splurge on an Obama milkshake (a chocolate and peanut butter flavored slice of heaven). It was delicious, but didn't help my cold much because I gave in to purchasing some drugs at the pharmacy. Honestly, those pharmacists could sell an American ANYTHING and get away with it. I really had no idea what they were giving me. I just pointed to my nose and throat, and they handed me some pills and a nasal spray. The pills are actually ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine, so nothing to worry about, but honestly buying meds in a foreign country is definitely somewhat sketchy, especially because it's so weird to have pharmacists who are like doctors. Anyway, although I gave into the meds I'm feeling much better and am ready to start at the Sorbonne tomorrow (and take yet another test, this time phonetics). 

Today was also our second art history class.We had a nice discussion about the language of art and whether or not a singular reality exists (I of course argued against this idea). Anyway, I also gave my presentation on the Italian Futurist painter, Carrà. Afterwards I headed back to La Cité and ran some errands. I bought some feta and fresh veggies to make the famous Lainas feta bake we discovered in Greece...haven't had that in over a year! 

Soooooo today we went back to Paris 4 for our first philosophy class! Yayyy...I was actually pretty excited for a class with French students. Of course the first class assignment was a test. We had to analyze a passage in English and then answer French and English questions about it. I thought it was somewhat difficult, so I don't know how the French students were taking it. Anyway, after class we introduced ourselves to the professor, a New Yorker, and he said this class isn't for us. His goal of the class is to help French students with their English translation skills and that we probably wouldn't benefit from taking it. We are all pretty bummed about it. There is a chance we still may be taking the class, but we are now also debating about enrolling in a Great Britain civilization course as well. I'm also still working on registering for a yoga class...yes a legitimate 1.5 hour yoga class at the Sorbonne...I know, you're jealous. Anyway, we also got our placement levels for our Sorbonne grammar/phonetic classes which begin on Thursday. I'm a bit nervous b/c I think they placed me in a higher level than I anticipated. Guess I'll find out soon enough. As of sight seeing, I'm trying to plan a ski trip...but none of my friends here ski. But nonetheless, if anyone has any recommendations on places to ski (there are so many of them) let me know. 

Today was Monica's last day in Paris. We all headed to a boulangerie for breakfast, and her friends went to Versailles for the day. Monica spent the day with her friend Tissem, and I went back to bed for a while. When I woke up, I attempted to do laundry. It's 5 Euro per load in our building, and you have to use powder detergent. I had no idea how much to use or how to work the machine, but I must have done something right because my laundry came out pretty clean. For the remainder of the day, I worked on my art history presentation and skyped with family and friends. I didn't want to leave our building today because it was  cold and nowing a bit...although not nearly as much as it has back home. 

Trip to Florence is officially booked!

Sacré-Coeur

View of Paris from Sacré-Coeur

Montmartre

Monica and I started our day off with a great tour of Montmartre, a hill in the north of Paris. It is a cute town with narrow cobblestone streets and small antiquated houses. It was once home to may famous artists such as Monet and van Gogh. It is also the site of famous movies such as Amélie. The tour ended at Sacré-Coeur, located at the highest point of Montmartre. While it is a huge tourist attraction and was flooded with people, it was a sight to see! We shopped around in the area for a bit and got some delicious macaroons and chocolate and then headed back to La Cité. We hung out for a bit then headed to Place Denfert-Rochereau to buy some fresh foods for dinner. After dinner we met up with Monica's friends who are also visiting Paris for the weekend and saw La Tour Eiffel lit up and took a ride on La Grande Roue de Paris—the huge ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde. We then walked up the Champs-Élysées and saw the Arc. It was a bit chilly this morning, but we finally saw the sun today! I guess I shouldn't be complaining, though...Nemo could be here! 

Monica's First Day in Paris!

We started off our day with a stop at our local Boulangerie and a trip to the top of la Tour Eiffel. It was the best day we've had in Paris thus far—bright, sunny, and cloudless. We barely had to wait in line and had an amazing view of all of Paris. From here we headed to Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, the Panthéon, the Luxembourg Gardens, and the Louvre. This was my (and Monica's) first trip to the Louvre, and it was overwhelming to say the least. After taking in it's vastness, we stood in the lobby area for a bit just taking it all in. The museum is huge, and the building itself should be a work of art. From the marble floors to the ornate gold ceilings, this is a must see stop in Paris. We of course saw the Mona Lisa and some other famous works of art, but we spent the rest of our time with the Medieval and Egyptian exhibits. This was all we could handle for one day...there is just way too much to see! From here we headed back to La Cité to cook some dinner and go out with friends for a night in Paris. 

On Thursday, we once again headed to Paris 4 to register for some classes with French students...but of course the office we needed to consult was closed. We did however find a philosophy class we are very interested in taking. I also found a yoga class at the Sorbonne...hmmm, I hope that works out!! Afterwards, we got Nutella crêpes and headed to Carrefour, a cheap grocery store to stock up on food. Later that night, some UConn students sat in the audience of a French TV show (which was apparently pretty cool...they are stars now!), but I headed into the Latin Quarter to do some more exploring. I ended up at Notre Dame and stayed for the mass. I then met up with Hannah WEITZMAN at a café across the street and enjoyed a nice view of the church. 2013 marks the 850th anniversary of Notre Dame so the city is setting up for some celebrations and renovations of the church and bells. Around 9:00 we met up with some other students and climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to see Paris lit up! It was beautiful! And around 11:00 Monica (my BFF from UConn; also a nutrition major and Endurance runner) arrived in Paris for her weekend visit from Grenada. 

A nice Wednesday in Paris! Today we attempted to register for classes at Paris 4...and if you know anything about the French university system this is very difficult...especially if you can't fluently speak French. The French are a bit behind the US in using the internet so class enrollment occurs at the university. First, we attempted to navigate Paris 4's website to find a list of classes in specific departments. Once we successfully found course listings, we got super frustrated b/c the majority of them conflict with our morning Sorbonne classes. We found a great philosophy class taught twice a week...once in French and once in English...but of course it conflicted with our other classes. Anyway, we took a long métro ride to the campus which was actually pretty cool. It was very modern, and a lot of construction was taking place. Anyway, so because we had no idea where to go we asked a group of French college students for some help. They also had no idea which way to send us (but I think it was because they didn't understand what we were asking, although I thought our French was quite clear)! So we wandered around the campus and eventually found a cafeteria and another building that looked important so we went in. We started to ask a woman at the front desk about talking to the secrétaire of the English department, and at first, it seemed like we were getting somewhere, but we quickly realized we were in the wrong place because she thought we were trying to move into the dorms...turns out it was a residence hall. Luckily, she pointed us in the right direction (our conversation was almost all in French so we were quite proud with our progress), and we found the offices of the departments. But of course, because it's France, the one office we needed was closed...guess we will try again tomorrow. From here we rushed to our first art history class. Our professor is a British and French artist who is very passionate and vibrant while discussing art. To say the least, this class will definitely be interesting. I haven't taken anything but a science class in a while, and this is a big change...

Jardin Palais du Luxembourg

L'Arc de Triomphe 

 

Today was another super busy day! I went running around La Cité, but it started hailing/raining...gotta love that unpredictable French weather. This morning we also had our appointments to register for classes...that was stressful! Because my Sorbonne classes are Monday-Friday in the mornings, I couldn't register for any science classes at Université Pierre et Marie Curie; they all interfered with my other classes. I was pretty upset about that, because I was really looking forward to anatomy and physiology in French. Anyway, I will hopefully be enrolling in another class at Paris 4 this week. After our class registration appointments we grabbed some lunch at a café in the area and walked around. Eventually we made it to the Latin Quarter and Place Saint-Michel. We went in a lot of small shops and talked with many owners...they really enjoy speaking French with us. They usually can tell we are Americans from the moment we say "bonjour" so they tend to slow down their speaking pace and help us to understand what they're saying. Most of them are interested in why we are in Paris and how long we are staying. We also stopped at a Starbucks because Hannah WEITZMAN (the French capitalize last names, which we find very amsuing) was in the mood for an American drink. From there we headed to Denfert-Rochereau, a cute shopping area we went to a few days ago. We visited the Greek market and got some delicious food for dinner! We bought dolmades, spanakopita (not better than Yia-Yia's of course), tzatziki, pita, and hummus. I spoke to the Greek owners in French and explained that I am Greek. They asked if I had ever been to Greece and where my family was from. We were speaking French, English, and Greek all together! They also gave us a great French phonetics lesson! We will definitely be heading back there. When we got back to La Cité we relaxed and enjoyed our dinner. I will be spending the rest of my night deciphering French class schedules and course descriptions. Au revoir pour maintenant! 

Today we explored the neighborhood around la Cité; there are some cute streets and boulangeries, mais  it's pretty residential. Nonetheless, it's wonderful to have a boulangerie and pâtisserie down la rue. After exploring the area, we practice some French and headed off to the Sorbonne to take our placement exams. The exam was extremely difficult and included grammar, reading comprehension, listening, and an oral interview. We will find out what Sorbonne classes we will be taking later in the week. After a bit of a stressful afternoon, we continued to explore the Latin Quarter. This area is beautiful and is characterized by stone churches and boulevards, small cafés, and shops. I bought a new scarf and had hot chocolate! We stopped by the Panthéon, a beautiful former église and we walked around le jardin du Luxembourg. While it was beautiful, I am excited to see it in the spring. Afterwards, we headed back to la Cité and cooked dinner. I won't have pictures from today for a few more days...stay tuned! 

After dinner, we spontaneously decided to check out l'Arc de Triomphe around 9:30 pm. While we were one le métro, we passed by la Tour Effiel, and it was bright and beautiful! We took the métro directly to l'Arc de Triomphe, and there it was, right in front of us! Unfortunately it was too late to climb to the top, but we went beneath it and saw the tomb of the unknown solider. From there, we went shopping on  Avenue des Champs-Élysées. 

Marais-The Jewish Quarter

 

Falafel!

Je voudrais pain au chocolat s'il vous plâit!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Today we slept in because we stayed up late and were super tired. I worked on my blog and edited some pictures this morning, and then we all headed into Marais and Ménilmontant, also known as the Jewish Quarter. As the French name implies, the area was a marsh/swamp before it was converted into farmland. It was once home to aristocrats and their mansions. It is now a trendy area with quaint shops, bookstores, and cafés, and cobblestone streets. Because it was cold and cloudy and we were quite tired, we didn't plan to see any of the major landmarks such as Bastille ou Place des Vosges, mais we did go to what is supposedly the most popular place to get falafel...and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted! It was falafel topped with spices and veggies in a toasted pita...yummmmy!! We also walked around, and I got my first pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) from a pâtisserie. Afterwards, we came back to la Cité and explored the campus. We found a pool and a workout room...success!!

 View from the cruise on La Seine

Tofu!!

Notre Dame 

La Tour Eiffel à Minuit (at midnight)

Today was a great and busy day in Paris! I woke up around 6:00 am and went for a run around le Parc Montsouris and le Cité Internationale. Our campus has 40 houses, each for students from a different country. Each house looks as if it were in that country, so the architecture of each building is different. After my run I took a very cold shower and had some breakfast with other students from UConn in our dorms. We then ventured on the RER for the first time (a super fast métro) to visit the closest Monoprix, a Paris superstore with food, cleaning, and cooking supplies. Afterwards, we walked around the area; it is full of cute shops and open-air markets (marchés de plein air) with fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood. There were even shops selling fresh, homemade pasta and sauces! We also stopped in a small Greek shop (shout out to mon père), and the owners were so nice! I then stopped at my first boulangerie and purchased a fresh baguette! The bakery smelled amazing, and I couldn't get over how many different kinds of breads and pastries there were. After our shopping excursion we had a meeting about classes with our advisor and then took a cruise on La Seine. It was a bit cloudy and rained intermittently, but it was beautiful. We saw the tour eiffel for the first time, and it is most definitely a sight to see! Unfortunately the wind was so rough on the boat that we were a bit more preoccupied with keeping our fingers from freezing than staring at the tour eiffel. Nonetheless, it was a great first sight. We also saw Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Bastille, and many other buildings and famous landmarks. Afterwards, we went to Conforama, a store similar to Bed, Bath, and Beyond (I finally found a tea mug!). We then went back to the le Cité to drop our goods off and headed to our first true dinner in Paris. We went to dinner at L'Hydophobe; a small delicious restaurant. They had vegetarian options (woot woot) and amazing wine! I also tried some of the cheese, which was great (although my morals were a bit confused). We also ate so much fresh baguette (an endless supply) and the dessert was an apple-filled crêpe with ice cream and a hazlenut/caramel sauce...yes, it was as amazing as it sounds. I ate so much, but we did so much walking throughout the day that I didn't feel overly full. After diner, we hit up another grocery store where I found tofu! And then we headed to " downtown Paris" for a night on the town. While we had wanted to do a lot of exploring, we only got to see the tour eiffel. Once we got there, we were so mesmerized that we kept staring at it and tried to take pictures of every angle. We also kept staying a bit longer to see the lights flash (the lights flash on the hour for five minutes and flash at different speeds; we stared at them for the full five minutes each time and tried to decipher the patterns of the flashes). Seeing the tour eiffel made me feel as though I had truly arrived in Paris; it is a sight I have been waiting to see for years. It is massive and beautiful and no pictures do it justice; this is a must see at some point in your lifetime. After seeing the tour eiffel at midnight, we headed back to la Cité; however, we tried to experiment using the public transportation by challenging ourselves and taking a different route home...that was interesting, but we definitely know how le métro and the RER work now. Overall, it was a great first night on the town, and I am excited for the weeks to come!   

Fun Facts...

LOL= MDR mort de rire (dying of laughter)

OMG= OMD oh mon dieu (oh my God)  

I have officially arrived in Paris! Our flight left JFK around 10:00 pm, and we landed at Charles de Gaulle around 10:00 am. We were wandering around the airport for a bit after we picked up our luggage looking for our advisors, but we eventually found them. We are also being filmed for MICEFA, so a camera man follows us around everywhere. From the airport we headed to La Cité, where we are living. It's beautiful on the outside; there are several buildings on the campus, each for students from different countries. Our rooms are singles, but they are, well, interesting...And the bathrooms and kitchens on each floor are also interesting...But I had my first trip to the grocery store, a small market down the block. I found quinoa, almond milk, and lots of fresh fruits, veggies, and baguette. I also had my first experience on Paris public transportation. It's cloudy and raining but in the fifties. Tomorrow we have a cruise down la Seine and a dinner.