On Monday, we started the day with class and then headed to Luxembourg Gardens for lunch. After lunch, we headed to St. Chappelle for a tour with Edith. Even though the church was under restoration, it was still pretty cool to see. Lots of stained glass windows and history to go with it. After St. Chapelle we walked two feet next door to the Consiergerie for a way long tour. The consiergerie is an old prison where Marie Antoinette was held, so that was pretty cool to see her cell. Monday night, Chanie and I headed up to Montmarte and walked around for a while while eating crepes :).
Tuesday: During class today we headed to a language lab type thing to do some different exercises using the French computers and getting use to French resources. It was pretty much pouring down rain all day, but after afternoon class, Jessie and I still made time for the Pantheon. We saw the crypts and walked around there until they kicked us out at 6:20 pm (apparently you shouldn't stay past closing time..woops.) Also today, the lady in my French class from Ireland told me I should take a year off from school and study in France because my French is really good. I said no. I love Paris, and I love learning the language and things here, but I think after a while, I would get sick of it. We've been here just shy of two weeks, and I think a month is a perfect time for a visit. Enough time to see everything, but not too long that you get bored.
Wednesday: After class, Jessie and I headed up to the top of the Arc De Triumph. I hadn't seen it up close yet because we went the day when I sprained my ankle and was in way to much pain to walk up there. When we got there, we figured out that as students we could get up to the top for free, so we took full advantage of that and started climbing... (pictures to come.) After that, we headed towards the Musee d'armee (Army Museum) and found some lunch and gelato for Jessie's birthday. Apparently, it was the best birthday Gelato she's ever had! After the museum, I headed home (I was only 45 minutes late for dinner) to find the elevator in our building broken. So I proceeded to climb eight flights of winding stairs. After a great dinner and conversation, I fell asleep and slept through the night AND got to sleep in Thursday morning.
Thursday: Ascension day. No class. No alarm. What a beautiful Day. The sun even tried to come out for a little bit. Then it got sick of trying and went away again. Cloudy and 50s again. I headed to Bastille this morning to walk around after getting up at 10 am. I stumbled, rather accidentally, upon a rather large "market". I can't even describe it. They had EVERYTHING. It was rather like Wal-mart, but outside and many of the same stands. I found some lunch there (some crepe type thing with egg, cheese and sausage.) and found some presents for people. I made a quick stop back at the apartment, and headed for the Catacombs. I suppose I should have checked to see if they were open first. They're closed on national holidays. AKA today. So I headed back to tourist row around Notre Dame and St. Michel in search of that one present I haven't seen again. I found all the other presents I needed, but not the one I was looking for. Maybe I will settle for a little different version of it.. Or keep looking. Rest of today includes doing my reaction paper for tomorrow for class, my reaction for Monday, and preparing my expose for Tuesday. Lots of French work.. You know, procrastinating in Paris is much more fun and easier than in Iowa.
Cultural Differences this week:
The high school/ college kids here don't work while they are in school. School is their job, and because it is free, they don't need to work. This gives them extra time to pick up things like smoking or just to go out. Maybe they are on to something (not the smoking, but the having time to hang out.)
TV shows start at random times. AKA 8:45. Who starts a TV shows at 845? Evidently it is because they have the news until then, so thats when the shows start. And they we think they do not have as many commercials as we do during hows (so our host says they don't), but i think they have more. As a marketing major, I LOVE watching their commercials and looking at the advertisements.
They eat chocolate cake without drinking milk with it. Isn't this a sin? If your'e eating warm cake don't you need milk? They don't just drink a glass of milk, so when I asked for one with my cake, my host thought I was nuts and I had to explain that we just drink straight, cold milk.
Musicians are everywhere. In the metro station, outside the metro station, and in the metro. I head THE WORST EVER alto sax and trumpet duo. It was brutal. And the amp was basically in my ear.
On the flip side, they don't press you for money. They play and then walk around with a cup asking for money, but they don't get in your face about it
There is absolutely no emphasis on sports here. Schools do not have sports teams, and the majority of people seem that they could not care less about sports.
Country Pride. Vanessa pointed it out in Germany and I've now seen it true here as well. Parisins do not walk around in clothing proclaiming where they are from. Where as in the states, we were shirts that say, USA or IOWA, or WISCONSIN, etc, they do not. Vanessa told me she would NEVER where something that said Germany/Deutschland on it. NEVER.
And the last thing, which sort of bugs me,
They don't walk on the right hand side of the road. In the US, you keep to right of a sidewalk and pass on the left. Yeah, that rule doesn't exist here so you always do the awkward side step thing before passing people.
Thanks for the details! You're right--warm cake DEFINITELY needs cold milk.
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