Trip to Florence is officially booked!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
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!
Friday, February 8, 2013
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.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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...
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
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