Paris On A Student's Budget

Au Revoir

2010-01-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

It's been great, Paris, but now it's time to go.
I had a wonderful time walking around your streets in the rain last night, wandering down the Seine and then taking a nice little walk down rue Bonaparte, past Laudrée and the jardins de luxembourg, and then back home again.

It really is home here now, and I feel like I'm leaving my neighborhood, my apartment, and my boulangerie just as much as I did when I left Santa Monica 5 months ago (well, minus the boulangerie bit). To top it off, I catch myself thinking in French and then translating to English more often than I'd like to admit.

There are two new lovely ladies living in this apt now, and as I told them all the little "tricks of the trade," I could already tell I'm going to miss this place. I feel like I'm handing over my child to new mothers, and I just want to take her back!

But I have one last semester to finish before I can return to Paris again, I just hope she still remembers what a good time we had together.

Almost finished

2010-01-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

As I'm almost done with the semester, I hope to get some figures up for some of you who've been asking me how much money I spent. I can tell you your best bet for right now is to look up my daily totals that I wrote at the end of each entry up until the 20th of November. This should give you a vague idea of the cost of living in Paris. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with some other calculations that will give everyone a good idea of the "total cost" for a trip like the one I just had.

My best advice to all of you students is:
1. get used to eating lots of pasta!
2. don't deprive yourselves of pastries and baguettes, they are some of the most delicious and cheap things you can find
3. when traveling, make sure you take lots of trains and take advantage of your youth -- anyone under 26 usually gets a huge discount on trains. there's also no baggage limit on trains and the most you'll ever have to wait to get on one is 30 minutes (Eurostar). That's right, no train to the airport, no huge security line.
4. always show your student card everywhere!!! In london, you can get discounts at clothing stores and even the mac store - in Paris, I've gotten discounts and freebees from everywhere from the louvre to Mc Donalds. Sometimes it's just that easy.
5. Items to bring with you: chapstick, makeup, tampons (cardboard applicators seem to be normal in Paris), a towel, sharpies, long underwear/ stockings. Everything else you could probably buy here at a decent price, though bringing stuff you already own clearly saves you money.

Back in Paris!

2010-01-05T04:31:00.000-08:00

Back in Paris with T minus 2 weeks until this semester ends. I've got 35 pages of French to write and not nearly enough coffee! Luckily I've got a trip to Dijon on Friday to look forward to. I also got some holiday love from the Greenwoods (my family in Orangeburg, NY) that's been lifting my spirits.

Today I pay my last rent installment and then I'm done with all bills! Thursday is my last day of class, too. Things are starting to finish themselves up nicely - now if only I could get my papers to finish as easily...

New Years Eve!

2009-12-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a lovely shopping trip with Sophie and we each came back with new outfits for new years! I actually got 2 dresses because, as Sophie said, "When will you be back in London again?" With my student discounts, total damages were only 63 pounds (about 100 dollars) for 2 party dresses, so it could have been a lot worse. Plus I'll always remember this trip by the 3 dresses I have now bought under the guidance of Sophia and her other friends from fashion school - a much better souvenir of my journey than a mug with big ben on it.

Tonight the big house party kicks off so we've got some cleaning to do around the house before we slip into our new outfits and ring in the new year!

Happy new year everyone!

London Take 2

2009-12-28T14:37:00.000-08:00

As of last night, I'm back in London with Sophie! She just turned 21, so in celebration we ordered in some great indian food, went shopping, and saw Sherlock Holmes. It was awesome! Tomorrow we're shopping in Camden and grabbing drinks with Quincy later in the evening. Then Wednesday we've got plans to go to a bar called 'Cheapskates' with Bonnie for their student night. Then of course Thursday is New Years and the girls are planning a house party. Thank God we'll have a weekend to recover and finish up all the schoolwork we still need to do!

I'm very busy but I'll try to keep the updates coming. It's almost a new year!

2009-12-25T01:48:00.000-08:00

Woke up to a great Naruto chapter that fullfilled hopes I had been holding onto for quite some time now! One of my favorite characters that was bound to never return to the page has just come back -- the best christmas gift ever! Sarah is still asleep so I'm off to explore a bit on my own. Then we're going to have a large christmas meal and come back to the hotel to skype with the family!

Merry American Christmas everyone!

fröhliche Weihnachten!

2009-12-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

fröhliche Weihnachten from Germany! I've been having a wonderful white christmas with Quincz and can't wait to tell you about all the fun we've been having and the beautiful things we've seen. There are also quite a few hilarious stories involving things like liverwurst and misunderstandings through the language barrier, but I really am having a great time.

Today is christmas in Germany (they celebrate on the 24th) so Quincy and I picked up some groceries earlier and are planning a quiet night in with some MTV (the only English language channel in our hotel). I wish you all a very merry christmas! Sending lots of love your way!

Munich day 1

2009-12-21T03:18:00.001-08:00

I am right now in Burger King, the land of free internet in Munich, enjoying my 1 EUR coke zero and free internet which is allowing me to write a brief blog entry about my first day in Munich.

After 3 hours of delays in Paris, we finally took off and landed in Munich. The 3 hour wait was really not that terrible. The first hour of delays was in the gate, so I got to take advantage of the playstation system set up in the terminal. Then, once we got on the plane, there was a problem with a group of Japanese tourists, and even though every flight attendant was fluent in at least 5 languages, none of them spoke a word of Japanese. So I stepped up and decided to help sort them out. Apparently they had gotten confused about how the seating worked, and luckily I hadn't forgotten so much Japanese that I lost comand of my numbers, so I organized the tourists successfully.

On the flight, I got a free German beer, sat back, and napped until we landed in a white Munich! I knew I was in the right place because when I exited the airport to find myself already in the middle of a huge christmas market. Wurst, beer, craft booths, ice skating, everything! I walked through the market on my way to the S-Bahn which took me into the city center and to my hotel.

The hotel is gorgeous -- and to top it off, while I was checking in, the receptionist put out a plate of cookies and told me to "help yourself anytime!" Seriously?!?! I don't know if this is a Christmas tradition or if they do this year round, but I love it!

I settled into my hotel before I got a visit from Al, my australian friend that I met in brussels, who invited me out to tour the city and have some good german food and beer at the haufbrahaus. I wanted to go to this beer hall and figured it would be a good place to kick off my trip. After a quick tour of the city, we toured the Haufbrahaus which deserves a good 15 minute walk around itself. There are 3 levels, a beer garden, lots of good german bands, and women carrying huge glasses of beer in beermaid outfits! When the music gets good, the men start banging their steins on the table and singing along. Amazing!

We ended up finding two seats on a long bench on the first level, which is the most casual/ least formal part of the building. I grabed a liter (the smallest they sell it!) of the Haufbrahaus original (you got to start somewhere) and a plate of german sausages. The beer was so good, but with the huge glass stein, it was so heavy! How do these women cary 8 of these in one hand!?

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly talking about our travels, what we've been up to since Brussels, and quoting 'Bloodsport' back and forth more and more as the steins got less and less full. When we finally left, we found ourselves in the middle of a huge pile of snow. It was snowing! After a significant amount of snowball fights, we went to grab some more drinks at the local "Australian bar" where I learned that no Australian in his right mind would ever drink fosters. We then headed next door to the Irish bar where karaoke was in full force. Yes folks, I found an Irish pub with Karaoke. It was the mecca of all irish pubs.

After some time there, we went in search of a bar near my hotel, called "the Gap" but we found it closed. So we decided we would go to sleep and see eachother at another time.

I woke up this morning at around 11am and still love munich -- everything is covered in snow! Can't wait for Quincy's arrival!

Oh it's magic, you know

2009-12-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight was my last in Paris for two weeks, but it was also one of my favorites.

It started out with a Christmas concert featuring an organ, a children's choir, and lots of great christmas music. Then we went to a café where I had a vin chaud and warmed up before getting in line to check out ice skates. The hotel de ville has a free ice skating rink, and you can rent a pair of skates for 5 EUR if you don't happen to have your own. Not too bad! We hung out and skated for a while until the frostbite started to set in, at which point we decided to walk over to Au Pied du Cochon for a bowl of the naughty stuff: the BEST french onion soup in Paris. It tates like butter and the cheese baked on top could be a meal in and of itself.

We quickly sat ourselves down, ordered a pair of bowls and gorged. Feeling warm and full, we went for a walk through the snow-covered louvre, down the seine, into the latin quarter, past the Fontaine St. Michel, and Notre Dame before heading home to a warm apt and a cold glass of beer.

What a perfect night.
Germany tomorrow!

Travel Plans

2009-12-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe it, but it's been snowing in Paris. Everything is covered in a light powder and the Christmas markets are out. There's an ice skating rink at the Hotel de Ville that I'm planning to go to tomorrow, and a whole bunch of arcades are set up all along Bastille (so I can get my button mashing fix).

It's also been snowing in Germany, where I will be this Sunday! I arrive around noon, take the 45 minute train to the hotel, check in, and then plan to meet up with one of the guys I met on my trip to Brussels. Although he's Australian, he's been in Europe for a long time now and knows Munich pretty well. He's going to be there Sunday as well and offered to show me around the city. Exciting!

Then Sarah is set to arrive on Monday and the two of us are bound to have fun making snow balls, snow men, and snow angels like the little kids we really are. I haven't planned out much more than that for Munich, but I know whatever we do it will be fun, so I'm just keeping myself open.

Then on the 26th, it's a flight back to Paris where I'll get to meet up with my friend Bailey, who will be visiting from London. Bailey always seems to be doing something fun, so I'm sure whatever we do will be awesome. After a nice visit, I have a day to do my laundry and pack for london. Sophie turned 21 while I've been in Paris, so I can't wait to see her and celebrate her birthday as well as New Years with some champagne, fois gras, and delicious French cheese that I'll be putting into one giant suitcase.

And then, I'm going to Dijon on Jan 8th. Just a little cherry on top. Sure to be an exciting few weeks, I'll try to keep you updated.

Queen

2009-12-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

This week is Taylor, my roommate's, last week in Paris. To make sure she gives the city it's proper goodbye, tonight we're heading over to ladies night at Queen, a popular bar/ dance club on the Champs Elysées. Queen really does ladies night right: free entry, a makeover, and 5 cosmos for anyone without a Y chromosome. Lucky us!

Learning to drive

2009-12-13T05:09:00.001-08:00

Today I learned what driving is really like. I could have watched as much anime as I wanted, read as many theoretical books, talked to as many professionals as were out there, and I still wouldn't have learned what I learned today.

Today I learned to see the road differently. I learned to see the road as something that I don't need to follow, but something that I can use. Instead of looking at where I am, I look at where I'm going to be, where I want to be, and how to get there by using the road but not necessarily by following it.

I learned how to pick my own path out of the track that's been given me, to manipulate the road to my own needs. It was a whole new way of seeing things. I saw my own eyes change.

I learned how to push the engines to their limits, stop my foot from hovering over the break, how to keep pushing harder and faster against all possible logic, how to not let the speed get in the way of my path, how to use that speed to make my path better.

I learned that the worst thing that can happen is that you spin out, recover, and start again. It's not that bad. And you learn from it.

I learned what it feels like to have a guy pass you and how to take that frustration and turn it into something valuable. I learned to copy his lines, to drive behind him and figure out his secret.

I learned what it feels like to pass someone and know that you took the right path. Know that you didn't get caught up in the moment and follow the mistakes they made. Know that you don't conform so easily, that you're not that malleable.

Just hours earlier, I had seen a baby cow that was born that morning, I had seen the eyes of a little boy open wide with curiosity as I showed him my house in Santa Monica on GoogleMaps, I had screamed out my lungs across la Loire and heard my echo call me back, but nothing compared to this experience that changed how I now see driving and changed how I see the world.

Greetings from Bourgogne

2009-12-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have eaten more in the past 24 hours than I have eaten in the past 2 weeks in Paris, I think. It's so relaxing, but I do worry about fitting into my clothes by the end of the weekend!

Tonight we ate fois gras and are planning to set up a Christmas tree. It also snowed for about 1 minute! Apparently snow will be arriving on Sunday with the Christmas market. YAY!

Bad day turned good

2009-12-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today started off pretty shitty but ended amazingly well!

I overslept, and in a hurry to get to school on time, I accidentally left my sandwich on the metro! I was really bummed because it was in one of my cute tupperware containers and I really wanted to take it home as a souvenir. However, I got a kick out of thinking of the Parisian police finding this sandwich and stopping the entire ligne 4 because of a "paquet suspet."

But my day got much better when I found out my French test was postponed until Monday. After class I had coffee with a French friend and got to catch up on our lives (we hadn't seen each other for a year and a half!). It was really great to see this friend, and I even got invited to spend a weekend in Burgundy! I really can't say no -- he has a car and is willing to drive me down on thursday night, after my photo exhibition -- how do you say no to that?

To top it all off, when I came home, I found my sandwich waiting for me! I guess I had never taken it out of the apt at all!

Maybe it's the coffee, maybe it's the sandwich, maybe it's burgundy, I don't know -- but things feel pretty damn awesome right now despite the hellish amounts of work I have to do for school!

Onward and outward!

Back in Paris (again!)

2009-12-07T02:16:00.000-08:00

Got in this morning and I'm already back at school! Such is the life of a student abroad.

This weekend was amazing -- I got to hang out with old friends, make new friends, dye my hair, drink amazingly delicious beer, and go shopping (there was a LOT of good shopping in Camden, as my Aunt Vickie had properly forewarned me). I absolutely love my friend, Sophia's, flatmates: Bonnie and Dani. The four of us really bonded and had some great times together. Staying with Sophie meant we could cook for ourselves a lot, and we took advantage of her amazing kitchen to do things we haven't done since high school: make brownies!

But aside from chilling in the flat, we got to go out quite a bit and show off the new outfits we had gotten shopping at vintage markets in Camden and at London's famous Topshop, where both Bonnie and Dani work. Hanging out in London's pub scene, I met some great people and had a lot of laughs. The nightlife is quite fun. :) I'll post pictures soon.

I'm thinking of going back for New Years, and possibly forever. But until then, I have to finish up some schoolwork and go to Munich. I know, it's a rough life.

Joyeuese Noel

2009-12-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

The hotel de ville has more sparkles than a drag queen's eyelids.
It is December first, 6pm, and the city is already in Christmas frenzy.

How do I know this? Well since I'm traveling so much this month, I've decided to forgo the usual unlimited monthly metro pass for the "carnet" (a pack of 10 tickets). That means I have to use the metro less than 50 times this month in order for me to save money. So I've been walking a lot. And tonight, on my walk home, I saw this city become one giant disco ball.

Only 2 more days until London!!!

Christmas in Paris does bring better food, though. Vin chaud anyone? It's pretty much the best alternative to apple cider I've found anywhere.

back in paris

2009-11-30T08:00:00.001-08:00

I'm back in Paris and feeling exhausted but also pretty karaoké deprived. Although I want to do some singing tonight, I can tell I'm probably going to watch a movie, drink some tea, and crash. Singing along should be enough of an apératif for the karaoké to follow in the next couple of days.

In Brussels, I got my friend Sarah a pack of belgian chocolates, so now the new project is figuring out how to ship these to her. My instinct says "bubble wrap" but I somehow doubt that would be successful. According to the Aussi boys, I think "like a bloke" and I do "bloke-y things." I have a sneaking suspicion this bubble wrap idea is another one of those times... Only one way to find out, though!

Now the only thing left to do is make sure I don't contract a deadly illness before this weekend's london trip to see Sophia and Sarah. Both seem to have awesome things planned for me, but I haven't even really thought about it that much. I'm just excited to get there and check everything out.

2009-11-29T13:04:00.001-08:00

Despite having somehow lost 3 articles of clothing somewhere in this city, I'm so sad to leave. I've met such great people, had such a fun time, and I am dreading the return back to Paris. There've been late nights of snowball fights, bar brawls, dancing on stages, battling for kababs, and of course lots of drinking and loads of other things I couldn't even remember if I tried. There've been great days christmas markets, yummy waffels, chocolate factories, and grabbing what the Aussi boys call "a greaser."

Tonight I said goodbye to this city with a waffle, some fries, and a series of trappist beers. I didn't even know how good beer could be until I came here.

Tonight I did a tasting of 4 trappists: Westmalle (dubbel), Orval, Trappistes Rochefort 10, Chimay. I'll try to report my findings to you once I have more time.

Goodbye Brussels, hello again Paris.
Can't wait for London.

Brussels day 2

2009-11-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

Don't have much time to write, but wanted to check in.

Having a great time in Brussels meeting a lot of great people from around the world and going to lots of interesting bars. Right now I'm hanging out 3 Australian guys who work in design, two Canadians, and a girl from Jersey. We're going out tonight and then the plan is to make breakfast together in the morning (there's a kitchen in the hostel).

Interesting things about Brussels:

The numbers here are different than in Paris. Instead of "soixante-dix" they say "septante." It's kind of annoying because I swear I couldn't understand how much my dress cost the other day until I looked at the little screen. (The dress is a cute grey little thing that I got at HandM. I got a belt, too. And a necklace. Hey -- it was you guys who told me to shop a little!).

The appropriate response to "Merci" is "s'il vous plaît" and not "je vous en pris" like it is in Paris. This really throws me off guard everytime I say "thank you" and someone says something that I thought meant, "please."

Brussels!

2009-11-27T00:21:00.001-08:00

Arrived in Brussels.

It's beautiful, everything is decorated for Christmas and people prefer speaking English than French. Every other store is a bar or a chocolate shop. The streets are wide, clean, and manageable. Not overcrowed to the point where I take an elbow or a briefcase to the stomach every 3 seconds like I do in Paris. To top this off, there's an actual breakfast menu at McDonalds. That's right. Hot hashbrowns. Not just croissants, not just muffins. Actual breakfast. Pancakes. Egg McMuffins. Everything. I love it, though it does make me miss Ray's quite a bit.

Why didn't I study abroad here? Can I switch now? Or at least spend every weekend here?

I've been equipped with a map, but it seems almost unnecessary since there's no way to get lost here -- everything leads to the center.

Right now I'm staring a beautiful building called, "Bourse" and about to head into some reading and relaxation. I really don't want to spend a lot of time on my computer here, so this may be my last update for a couple days.

Ménilmontant

2009-11-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Had a marvelous day walking around the 11th with Philippe and Nathan. We were later joined by others, some new friends, some old friends, and some complete strangers. I really like this neighborhood. Everyone was so nice to me. The guys working construction by the metro even stopped their crane in mid-lift for me just so I could get a perfect shot. In this way, even the construction didn't bother me. In some ways, it reminded me of home, and seemed to go all too well with the soundtrack on my ipod.

It's amazing how music can change your mood. I may struggle to get out of bed for half an hour, but the moment "It's my life" comes on, I'm literally twirling and skipping down to the metro. Everything is amazing. My mind clears of any extraneous thoughts, and I get to live. And living is pretty awesome. Bon Jovi was --shocker-- absolutely right. It is my life, after all.

Some highlights of the afternoon included getting crowned a princess, crowned a pompier (fire fighter), and sliding down a steep hill on a bright red chair in front of a sign that said, "le bon plaisir." It couldn't have been more appropriate.

After drinking a nice cold beer at lunch, I finished printing a lot of photos for my expo coming up. I felt very accomplished to see them all formally framed and nice looking.

Finally, I met up with Sam for a night of Thanksgiving (0r as the French say, "Sanksgeeveen"). We chowed down on all the traditional favorites: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn bread, stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce. Of course, the real star of the evening was the pumpkin pie. Mhmm pumkin.

Now I'm packing up my bag for what is sure to be an awesome weekend in Bruxelles. Before I leave, I just wanted to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. I have a lot for which to be thankful and a lot of people in my life who deserve my biggest thanks. So thank you. :)

Café Delmas!

2009-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

Went to a café with some new French friends after class -- we grabbed coffee at a very chic café on rue mouffetard. Loved the ambiance there, great vibe. Everyone is kind, and for the first time the waiters smiled real smiles. One even winked ;) Got to love a good French clin d'oeil.

I almost wish life could have a soundtrack -- like speakers could follow me everywhere so I could dance around to "Pour some sugar on me" without having to hold on to my ipod while everyone around me stares and wonders what crazy american song I'm listening to. I've considered bringing speakers on the metro at times -- I mean, the performers do it and then ask for money -- what if I put on even better music for free? Could you really say no to blasting "Rocket" on the ligne 4?

Now I'm prepping for what is sure to be a crazy night of karaoké. Then it's photo class tomorrow, Thanksgiving dinner with Sam, and a good night's sleep before the crazy awesome time that is sure to be my weekend in Bruxelles! Bring on the moules, frites, and bière!

A very Amélie-style walk followed by some retail therapy

2009-11-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

After doing my homework, I realized that I needed to buy 2 more books before the end of the semester. Considering that this weekend I'll be in Bruxelles, and next weekend I'll be in Londres, I decided to bite the bullet and buy them now. Luckily these are my last two books for the semester, so I wont have to worry about shelling out any more cash -- or worse, filling up my bags on the way home with books.

I was initially going to take the metro, but I had put on what I thought was a very cute outfit, the weather was nice for the first time in days, and I really didn't want to make that hellish transfer at Châtelet, so I walked. It's been a while since I've gotten to go on these long walks with no time schedule. It reminded me of when I was in high school and I would walk home every day. It was on those walks that I wrote my best essays, my best poems, my best prose. I worked out everything in my head and was simultaneously inspired by the world around me. I can't say I wrote an essay or a poem on this walk, but it was a similar feeling. I put in my écouteurs (earphones), put on some Whitesnake, and zoned out.

I felt so Amélie-like. Usually when I walk around, I have a direction, I walk quickly and swerve in and out of people like boxer dodging attacks. Today I meandered. When I saw a homeless man, I stopped and gave him one of my twixes. When I saw tourists, I didn't roll my eyes and act all upset that they were clogging up the streets -- instead, I smiled at all of them, and offered to take a picture of each and every one who was struggling to get both themselves and Notre Dame into the tiny little frame of their point-and-shoot held at an armslength away. I'd like to think that I helped make these people's trips more memorable and enjoyable. If not that, at least their photos came out better.

What inspired me to go on a quest of good-doing instead of sulking? I don't know. I think the christmas air has something to do with it. Everyone's setting up -- all the big displays are finally up. The Champs Elysée is ridiculous (it's like disneyland but with hot cider and hot wine) and the giant christmas tree was getting installed in front of Notre Dame as I walked by today. Even the hotel de ville is getting decorated as if it were a suburban house in California -- christmas lights and all.

But christmas didn't just inspire me to lighten up and be kind to people, it also inspired me to do what christmas is intended to inspire all women to do: shop. As soon as I peeked into the store, i realized it was a bad idea. As great as retail therapy feels, I realized that my be-kind-to-others therapy was a lot more cost effective. I did get a pair of over-the-knee boots that I enjoy, but 35 EUR is a lot to spend. I suppose I could have done worse and accidentally stepped into the Louis Vitton store, but nonetheless, I will not be going into another store any time soon!

Anyway, the boots are very cute and I'll try to post photos soon.

Now I'm back at home, sinking into some reading with a glass of wine.

Karaoké take 2

2009-11-22T16:33:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would try another karaoké place tonight, but I ended up not being able to find it. So instead I went back to Rive Droite and was pleasantly surprised to find a very small audience. Phew I thought, I can try some of the harder songs with out pressure. It was great. The DJ remembered me, my name, made me feel right at home. When I signed up for the song I sang last night, he told me he was glad I was going to sing it again.

Somewhere in between Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline, a group of men came in and sat down at a long table. They asked me if I was alone and suggested I come join them. I figured my French could use the practice (they were talking really quickly and really casually). The boys were from Nice, except one who's been living in NY and another who is 1/2 Italian. They were all really nice to me about my singing, even the girls who eventually came about 30 minutes later. I got along really well with one of the girls. We kind of had a heart-to-heart, "girl talk" if you will, in French and it was really nice to hear what she had to say.

All of the people, except and handful, were REALLY good singers. At one point, the DJ put on hallelujah, tried singing the first verse, gave up, and handed it to some random kid wearing clothes that would have him stereotyped as a "thug" in the US. I did not expect to hear the beautiful voice that came out of this man. It was so inspiring.

Popular hits of the night included, "I'm Yours" and "Mercy" as well as "I can show you the world" in French.

I know I'm still not a great singer, and that I butcher many a note, but this is way too fun, and everyone is so nice. Hopefully I'll get better and then it won't only be fun for me :) Though the DJ told me to stop apologizing before I sing... maybe that means I'm getting better?

Brussels

2009-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

I kind of need to get out of Paris, so I decided to spontaneously buy tickets to Brussels this weekend. I'll be going from Friday the 27th until Monday (morning) the 30thThe train tickets ended up being too cheap to say no to: 87 EUR round trip? At the last minute? It was kind of a no brainer. And it was all made possible by my loving family and their generous birthday presents! Thanks, guys!

I plan on eating lots of chocolate and waffles, moules frites (mussels and fries), and drinking some beer that was brewed by monks. This seems to be a big trend in Belguim, every beer seems to be the product of on abbayé or another.

After that weekend, I'll be here during the week doing some school work and then leaving on the 3rd (at night) to go to London to see my friends Sophie and Sarah. All in all, these next two weeks seem to be full of fun trips. I'll be sure to take tons of photos.

Crazy

2009-11-21T17:05:00.001-08:00

Dear friends and family,

I am sorry to have concerned you with my last post. My rupture with this city was in no way supposed to make you worry that I was going to launch myself off of the seine. I am simply no longer in love with Paris.

On the contrary, I've found a new love: singing. I went to karaoké (the french spelling) tonight and sang in public for the first time in my life. As someone who only lip-synchs even to happy birthday, this was a big deal. I sang a Pasty Cline song, written by the great Willie Nelson:

Crazy, crazy for feelin' so lonely
Yes I'm crazy, crazy for feelin' so blue.
I knew, you'd love me as long as you wanted.
And then someday,
You'd leave me for somebody new.
Worry, why do I let myself worry,
Wonderin', what in the world did I do?
Crazy, for thinkin'
That my love could hold you.
I'm crazy for tryin,
And crazy for cryin',
And I'm crazy for lovin you.
Crazy, for thinkin'
That my love could hold you.
I'm crazy for tryin'
And crazy for cryin'
And I'm crazy for lov-ovin you.

I was terrified, but as I let my fears and butterflies go, I got to sing my heart. As a dancer, I usually experience this feeling in a different way. This was very refreshing.

I'll be looking for other places to sing in Paris. Edith Piaf did ok for herself and I don't think she liked this place much either.

In other news, I miss pancakes. With maple syrup.

Love note

2009-11-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Paris,

I realize we started off with such great promise. I was romanced by you, and felt all of the great hope that most lovers have when the first begin a relationship.

But now I realize how cruel you are, and your streets no longer make me sigh. Instead I feel like throwing up.

I'm sorry but it's over. I hate you. You can now go ruin someone else's life.

Sincerely,
Emily

Tuileries and the mediathéque at the Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaisme

2009-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

Photo class started at the jardin de tuileries, the giant gardens right behind the louvre. We continued our assignment on "statues" and were assigned a new homework assignment: create a story.

During the lunch break, Philippe took some students to Paris Photo, one of the premier photo exhibitions in the world. The student price is still expensive at 7 EUR, so I decided not to try and cram my visit into the 2 hour period before photolab. Instead I went to the mediathéque (media libaray) at the Musée d'art et d'histoire de judaisme to gather some more material for my multicultural France class.

After spending some time with some DVDs, I went to photolab where I worked on my self portraits. Then I got to interview Nancy Vermes as part of my interview project for my Multicultural France class.

After school, I caught up with Jay who just finished visiting with Richard, who just got back from his trip to the US. He was really jetlagged, so we just said hi before he took off to catch up on much needed Zzzs.

Jay and I got some delicious greek sandwiches and fries and finished the night with a simpson's episode.

Tomorrow: Paris photo!

Total Damages today:
1 baguette: 90 centimes
1 sandwich and fries: 4,50
2 bottles of wine: 4,30

Louvre

2009-11-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

Went to class.

Then went to the Louvre with Jay.

Chili with crème fraiche for dinner.

Life in Paris is just that awesome.

Total Damages today:
1 baguette: 90 centimes
1 drink and 8 cookies: 75 centimes
1 bottle of champagne (Algeria just beat Egypt!): 1,38

"Day Off"

2009-11-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

Ah morning. I wake up and walk down to Biatrix with Taylor, stopping by Franprix on the way home to pick up some tomatoes at an unbeatable price, 2 potatoes, and a bottle of orange juice. Baguette in hand, I am ready to start what was supposed to be my day off.

First, I went into school where I had a chat with the director of study abroad from CMC, one of my school's sister colleges. It made me realize how much I would love her job. In the past three weeks, this woman has been everywhere, trailing her poor husband behind her. God I'm jealous. I asked her what her background was, and she told me that after studying abroad in Paris, she joined the Peace Corps and taught English in Africa. I'm starting to think I should listen to my mother and at least look at the Peace Corps application...

After thinking about my dream job, I picked up a snack and headed to Philippe's photo studio to shoot my self portrait. It was a large and arduous struggle with the flash, the lighting, my make-up, the props, and the tripod, but I think I ended up with some decent photos. Floriane, my photoshop teacher and fashion guru, told me that she liked some of the shots -- that made me feel pretty acomplished.

After photo, I ran back to school where I had a meeting with my professor. After that, I ran upstairs to finish some reading before taking an RER to the cité universitaire where Natalie, our activities director, was cooking up some maccaroni. This dinner was a little like the first dinner I had at the cité -- it's supposed to be part socializing with French students, part language exchange (the French students are studying English, we study French). I was really lucky because the people I met and got along with last time were there again, and we got to talk a bit more. They are absolutely hilarious. One of the girls was talking about men who were hitting on her and said something that roughly translates to, "I think he only wanted two very specific parts of our bodies to be come friends that night." Another girl looks at her and sarcastically responds, "your hands?" I swear I rarely laugh so hard.

By the end of the night, we all caught the RER home together, exchanged emails, and exchanged the traditional kisses on the cheek ("on a fait la bise"). It's nice to know that there are some French students who I get along well with, and who feel comfortable enough with me to let me into their circle. Hopefully I'll get to know them a little better as time goes on.

Now I'm exhausted (what a "day off") and need to sleep, but alas there is more Balzac to attend to!

Total Damages today:
groceries (4 tomatoes, 2 large potatoes, 1 bottle orange juice): 1,72
1 baguette: 85 centimes
madeleines: 1,15

Why is it STUDY abroad, again?

2009-11-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, the lovely Monday. Oh Monday, I really missed the amount of schoolwork you brought into my life last week. I really enjoy waking up at 8am to buy books and then read them before my 4.5 hour chunk of class time between 1:30 and 6pm. Oh wait. I don't.

Still, there is something to enjoy about Monday in Paris. Since most everything shuts down on Sunday (except certain parts of the Marais), Monday mornings are like the awaking of a city that was on temporary hibernation. It's a rebirth of sorts, where the city comes alive again. The boulangeries bustle at 7am, the metros run every 2 minutes, and I don't feel unusual stationing myself for 3 hours on a park bench with a copy of Césaire's "discours sur le colonialism" and a chocolate pastry.

At 10 am today, I waited outside Gibert Joseph to pick up this little sliver of a book (at the ridiculous price of 5 euros) and an "occasion" copy of 3 short story's by my favorite French author: Gustave Flaubert.

I've been in love with Flaubert ever since I picked up an ancient copy of Madame Bovary. I remember my Aunt Bibi thumbing through the pages before stopping upon her favorite passage in the book, which has now become my own favorite passage. Even in English, the man wrote to my heart. Every word I uncovered from the yellowed and dirty pages of my book seemed like a pearl that ready to pop out of an oyster. I drenched myself in his writing and delved into the life of this woman, Emma Bovary, who I felt I already knew.

Needless to say, this novel is the reason I decided to take a literature class in Paris. Up until this point, I've just been gritting my teeth and bearing the Balzac until I could finally put my hands around my very own French copy of Madame Bovary. Just holding this book makes me want to go to a café and sip something warm while I sink into a wicker chair. Schoolwork has never made me this excited.

Of course, it's not just about Bovary. My teacher wants us to read other short stories by Flaubert -- hence the trip to GJ this morning. I hope I enjoy them as much as Madame Bovary, but to tell the truth, I'm not exactly ready to gobble them up. Nonetheless, I got the 3 stories for 1,3o -- less than my cost of food for the day -- so if they nourish my soul half as much as Madame Bovary has, I'll be very happy.

Class was, well class. But I got some good errands done, too. I reserved Jay and my spots at "Susan's place" for Thanksgiving. Susan's Place is a traditional American restaurant that does a big Thanksgiving dinner. We're both going to miss the holiday and our families, so we decided we might as well not miss out on the food as well! We're expecting much turkey, stuffing, and pies!

I also got sort of raked into coming into school again tomorrow to meet the head of study abroad programs from CMC. I didn't want to go (it's my day off from school and I already had scheduled 2 meetings with professors), but they made it sound like such a big deal that I couldn't say no. Hopefully it will be a simple meeting accompanied by coffee and cake. :) Afterwards, as I mentioned, I have to go into the photo lab to do a self portrait (I'll post pics later) and then meet with my French teacher in the afternoon. Yikes! Some "day off" this is!

All in all, I had a nice day. Now I'm going to do some work like a good student!

Total damages today:

2 books: 6,40 EUR
1 baguette, 1 chocolate pastry: 2,10

2009-11-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

Total Damages today:

milkshake at quick: 1 EUR
1 panaché and cookies: 1,03 EUR
dinner: 2 EUR

The missing blogs

2009-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Paper: turned in.

So, aside from schoolwork, here's what I've been up to for the past few days:

Sarah arrived on Monday morning. I met her at the train station with a baguette and the customary "Bienvenue à Paris!" She looked very European in a green trench coat and black suede boots, a fact that made me realize that I, too, looked pretty European. Sarah called my outfit, "French," though I think I looked more like a flight attendant. I wore long black boots, a leather mini, black sweater with a silk bow tied around my neck, my new grey blazer, and the new hat, pinned into my hair. This is something I'd never wear in LA, but something that felt very natural here.

After dropping off her stuff and eating some baguette and cheese, I took Sarah to Notre Dame de Paris where I dropped her off before running to class. That night in front of Notre Dame, I ran into my roommate, Taylor, and the two of us waited to meet Sarah before returning home. Sarah was starved for something hot and delicious, so I took her to my local pita shop for some pita and frites. Yum! We got to talk a lot about our abroad experiences -- it was really nice to hear about England.

We returned home to plan out our trip to Versailles. I don't have class on Tuesdays, so we thought it would be the perfect time to go. As round trip tickets are about 6 EUR, you really want to make a day out of your trip to Versailles. As we later figured out, we could have even brought lunch with us (they have a complementary bag check, if you want to bring food).

After getting off to somewhat of a late start, we arrived in Versailles at 10am. After some negotiating with the ticket guys, Sarah and I got in for free and trotted along to the entry to the chateau with our Rick Steeves guidebook in hand. We noticed we were not the only tourists accompanied by mr. steeves.

On our way into the building, we noticed there was some random modern art on display amoung the golden gates and cobblestone courtyards. We were not superfans, especially in this setting.

We began our tour with the aid of Rick Steeves, but ended up just following the pack of tourists with audio guides and took in the sites ourselves. Points of interest in the castle: the hall of mirrors, the room of war and room of peace on either end, the king and queen's chambers, the gambling room. There's also quite a large gallery of wall-sized paintings of battles which chronicle Napolian's rise from Emperor to General, as well as some interesting things from Louis-Phillipe's era, but Sarah and I were mostly interested in the extravagance that was Louis and Marie Antoinette.

Sarah and I spent a lot of time redecorating our dream houses -- the decorating at Versailles was incredible. I loved the wallpaper and the draperies. Not to mention the chandeliers and chairs.

We were lucky and didn't get any rain, so we followed up our chateau tour with a jaunt about the gardens. Lets just say we got a workout -- these gardens are HUGE! We decided to head over to the domaine de Marie Antoinette for a tour of her little playhouse and gardens (we got in for free yet again). I was surprised to find that I prefered this part of our visit to the Chateau. The cottage was gorgeous -- pretty luxerious for a cottage -- and all of the great artifacts were on full display. My favorite room was (surprise surprise) the kitchen, which still had all the brass cookware on display.

After a visit to the cottage, we explored the gardens. We began at the "temple of love," cracked a few jokes, and headed on to the Queen's hamlet. It was pretty clear why Marie Antoinette had spent so much money making this fully functional imitation farm village and why her subjects became so enraged with her because of it. The place was clearly a playland. The best words Sarah and I could come up with were: "mini golf." It was that fake, that quaint, and that adorable.

We enjoyed walking around amoung the swans, the overwhelming adorableness, and the beautiful scenery.

At around 3, we got pretty hungry and barely made it back to the metro without a snack from the nearby mc donalds. We snagged baguettes and chowed down before hitting up the musée carnavalet before closing. The museum is free and packed full of incredible art and artifacts from the middle ages, to the revolution, to modern art. We enjoyed not only the art, but the building itself, which is an old hotel particulier.

After the musée, we hit up the best french onion soup place in Paris: Au Pied du Chochon. A pot of the good cheesy mess costs about 7 EUR, but is more than I could ever eat. I will definitely be going back here. The restaurant is also 24 hours, so you can go whenever you want -- this is a big deal as the Mc Donalds here aren't even 24 hours!

During our trip to the latin quarter, I took Sarah to a place I was sure she would remember: the latin corner. I had orignially heard about this place from Sam, but I was still unprepared for the experience. Sarah and I arrived at 8:30 for happy hour and the bar seemed normal enough, except that bras were hanging from the ceiling and every waiter was wearing a shirt that said, "fuck me?" on the back.

We ordered our drinks and expected to meet up with Sarah's friends later, so we took our time. At 9:30, however, something changed. We were handed sparklers, the euro-beat started blasting, and the waiters started taking off their clothes! Sarah and I couldn't help but laugh as they were wearing Calvin Klein underpants -- only in Europe! We witnessed was was surely the batchelorette of the night recieve a very creative drink (and lap dance) from one of the bar tenders and then decided we'd had enough man-butt for one night.

Wednesday began with a quick walk around the Luxembourg gardens, some croissants for breakfast, and a tour of the quartier montparnasse. I then left Sarah while I went to school for a couple hours and met up with her again just in time to hit the louvre. Being a holiday (armastice day) we only had enough time to catch the Venus de Milo and the Jacconde, though I encouraged Sarah to return on Thursday morning since our tickets were free. Post-louvre, we went to Montmartre and hit up the moulin rouge, the café deux moulins (from Amélie), Sacre Coeur, and a crêpe stand.

Thursday morning meant photo class, so I took Sarah to the Louvre and headed off to a critique. I met Sarah later for lunch where we had falafels at the best falafel place: l'as du falafel on rue des rosiers. YUM. I then sent her off to the Eiffel tower where she was to meet Jay who was just coming back from Brussels. I love the my friends and my boyfriend get along so well -- I'm sure they had a good time touring the tour together.

Friday was move-in day for Jay, and while I was touring Saint Denis for my sociology class, Jay made himself right at home in a cute little apt. in the 11th. :D

Today we've been relaxing together while I finished up some work.

Total Damages Saturday:
1 banana nutella crêpe: 3,50
1 baguette: ,90
3 frozen pizzas: 1,50

Photos are up at http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/
I'll post to blog soon.

Papers and Sarah and Tourism eat up my life!

2009-11-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

I've been very busy with school and my friend Sarah, who recently visited me in Paris. Together we visited Versailles, the Louvre, le musée carnavalet, and had a lot of great laughs. I'll certainly update with pictures when I finish this last paper.

Here are my expenses for the past couple of days:

baguette: 85 centimes
sandwich and fries: 5
best french onion soup in Paris: 7
1 pint of beer at latin corner: 4
1 round trip metro to Versailles: 6
1 baguette: 85 centimes
1 chocolate bar and 1 espresso: 1,30
2 bottles of wine: 2,70
1 palmier: 80
1 nutella banana crepe in montmartre: 4,50
1 falafel: 5
1 baguette: 85 centimes
1 orange juice and 1 apple: 75 centimes

London here I come

2009-11-09T03:29:00.001-08:00

Just bought roundtrip train tickets to london for 87 euros! Being under 26 really has its advantages.

Birthday Night and back to the grind

2009-11-08T13:17:00.001-08:00

Saturday was a great birthday!

Jay and I began our day slowly, cleaning up after the birthday festivities from the night before. We had some leftover "birthday cake" (an AMAZINGly delicious fruit tart that Jay bought me from a bakery) and headed out. Stop one: printing out Jay's train and hostel information for his trip to Brussels this week. Stop 2: the greek sandwich shop. Stop 3: the mall.

That's right, ladies. I am not only lucky enough to have a boyfriend who buys me cute clothes for my birthday, but one who is willing to tag along with me as I ooh and ahh and try on every other item I see. It was such a great present -- a day inside and away from the rain, looking at all the christmas displays and coming home with some great new clothes. I got a blazer (I've been wanting one of these for so long and this one is PERFECT -- it fits perfectly, it's warm, and stylish!) and a hat (another thing that is as much useful as it is pretty). Here are some pics of me wearing my new clothes:

Wearing the blazer and hat

Blazer buttoned up with the scarf my mom sent --
a much more equestrian look that goes great with my boots.

After our shopping excursion, we came back home where I got a great phone call from my dad and mom, wishing me a happy birthday. It was so nice to hear their voices.

Jay and I then took off to celebrate with dinner at Léon de Bruxelles, a chain restaurant that functions like the Olive Garden or Chilis, but specialises in mussels and belgian beer. The TVA (the group that controls the tax on restaurants in France) just lowered the taxes, which means all of the restaurants are lowering their prices (tax is included in pretty much everything in Paris). For our dining purposes, this meant we could have a bucket of mussels each, unlimited french fries, and 2 pints of beer for under 15 EUR per person. We were won over by the deal, but were even more impressed with the quality of the food and service we recieved. The mussels were amazing and I really enjoyed the beer (the first of many of the night). The servers were attentive and kind. We'd definitely go back again! They also do unlimited mussels on Sunday nights!

We returned home for a bottle of wine before heading out to the latin quarter to celebrate at a couple of bars. We found a great bar called, 'the madmaker' and got prime seats at the bar where bartenders juggled and flipped drinks like circus performers. The inside of the bar looked like a pirate ship and they had quite a variety of beers on tap. Jay and I samped as many as we could, but still decided that Guinness could not be beat. The bar was offering car bombs at 5 EUR, so we took the plunge before going to another local bar where I got myself a birthday pint.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

In the morning, I said goodbye to Jay as he got aboard his train to Brussels. As sad as I was to see him go, he'll only be gone for 5 days and I consoled myself thinking about how romantic it was to blow kisses through the window of a train. Something so vintage about it.

Today I've been trying to catch up on homework before Sarah comes this week. I have a lot of work to do, but c'est la vie! For dinner, Taylor and I made indian food: curried chicken breasts with veggies, chickpeas, and basmatti rice for 4,50 a person. This could easily feed 4 people, though. We have leftovers -- it was delicious!

I've been thinking about how to spend my birthday money, and I think I might want to buy a ticket to london to see Sophie sometime in December. If I plan it right, I can stay for 4 nights and pay only 85 eur for a round trip ticket. Waiting on some dates from Soph and Jay before I buy anything.

Total Damages Saturday:
1 greek sandwich: 5 EUR
1 dinner at Léon (pint of beer included): 15 EUR
2 demi-pints, 1 car bomb, 1 pint: 22 EUR

Total Damages Sunday:
1 baguette: 85 centimes
food for dinner (2 chicken breasts, 2 jars curry, 1 jar mixed veggies, 1 jar chickpeas, 1 packet basmatti rice / 2 people): 4,50

Check out the lastest pictures here: http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Birthday Tomorrow

2009-11-06T07:16:00.001-08:00

With my birthday approaching, I've gotten a lot of mail from my family back home. It's really nice to hear from you guys and I'm glad you've been enjoying the blog. Sorry I've not been keeping up with the daily updates and photo uploads as I should be, but with midterms next week, time is slowly slipping away.

That being said, I'd like to update you guys a bit:
Today Jay and I went down to the arc de triomphe and the champs elysees. I must say, I like the window shopping a lot more when I have my boyfriend on my arm. It's much more relaxing and I didn't even mind the tourists as much as I did when I went that first time by myself.

The arc was amazing -- we walked under the street and under the arc in order to see the tomb of the unknown french soldier as well as the amazing arc itself. It's part war memorial, part declaration of power, part artistic beauty -- these three seemingly incompatible elements came together perfectly in this giant chunk of rock which sits firmly at the center of some of the biggest parisian avenues.

I shelpped Jay along to see some of the shopping along our walk back home -- he enjoyed the car dealerships while I stared into Cartier's sparkling windows. We passed by the Ritz, Chanel, and Dolce, before we headed to the Opera Garnier, and finaly back home.

Tonight is my birthday celebration with some of my friends from school, so I've got get ready. I'll upload some photos when I get a chance!

Total damages yesterday and today:
2 baguettes at biatrix: 1,70
3 baguettes at biatrix for birthday celebration: 2,55
2 wheels of cheese, 2 bottles of wine for birthday celebration: 7,50
2 bags of crackers for birthday celebration: 2 EUR
1 bottle of champagne for birthday celebration: 1,33 EUR

Chinese food on rue de la mairie

2009-11-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

My day was mostly full of boring food stuff until I returned home to a hungry boyfriend craving chinese food. I'd been longing to eat at one of the local Chinese places for a while now, so we decided to go and have a early dinner.

We scouted out many restaurants and ultimately just chose one that looked good and had a decent price menu (3 courses for 7,50). We sat down, began figuring out our menu, and began.

It was truly a feast -- the food just kept coming. For 60 cents you can get these ENORMOUS pork buns (I can't even describe to you how big they are) so of course we each had to try one. Then after that came our appetizers. Jay got a shrimp springroll which was garnished with beautiful mint. I went for the chicken egg rolls which were perfect. For entrées, Jay got a chicken and black mushrooms dish while I went for chicken in curry. By the time we finished that, we were already exploading and unbuttoning our jeans, but then came in the desert: chinese nugat. It was actually really good -- the consistancy was like a caramel chew with peanuts inside, but it had the nugat flavor. Very tasty.

Lessons learned: We could probably get 2 buns each and be full. or just go for a simple entrée. Still it's nice to know there's a place that will stuff us to the brim for under 8 EUR a piece.

Total damages today:
1 apple, 1 coissant, 1 apple pastry: 1,90 EUR
dinner: 8,20 EUR

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles

2009-11-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

It's been rainy and my face hasn't come out of the book for much.

Today, Jay and I spent some good quality lazy time indoors and away from the rain. We stocked up on baguette to keep our bellies full but didn't leave again until I had to go to school for a meeting. After that, it was almost time for dinner, so we grabbed some ingredients to make a mean mac and cheese using french products that I've come to adore: butter, crème fraiche, and cheeeeese. We paired our beastly portions of mac and cheese with some salads in a balsamic mustard vinagrette because we've been getting kind of behind on the veggies.

Jay approves of our mac and cheese.
That's Glee we're watching in the background.

We also metro-ed down to the Eiffel Tower to see the light show, got caught in some downpours, and ended up dripping wet on our way back. The tower was beautiful, though, glowing in a blue with it's bi-hourly light show providing entertainment.

Total Damages today:
baguette: 85 centimes
mac and cheese making materials: 3,35 EUR
1 head of lettuce: 80 centimes

Getting Back to the Grind

2009-11-02T00:02:00.000-08:00

Mondays are usually not my favorite days and, with the additional "fun" of now paying both my rent and my monthy metro card on a Monday, I could do without this weekday whose greek or latin origins must have something to do with the "god of social responsibilities."

It's not just that Monday means you have to make sure you have all your work together, organized, and ready to go, it means you actually have to mentally prepare to see it all go. I pay my rent and pass navigo in cash (unfortunatly this is the easiest way to do it, but I always get receipts) and it almost physically hurts me to see the large wad of freshly pressed cash leave my fingers and pay for something that I can't eat or wear. Even though I've budgeted these espenses, it feels like SO much money.

Luckily, my boyfriend knows how to deal with "a case of the mondays" and had a baguette ready to go when I got home (best surprise ever!). We went to a supermarket and picked up some hachis parmentier (the French equivalent of shepard's pie) for dinner and curled up warmly by the glowing laptop.

Jay had a much more interesting day than I did, so I suggest you read his blog where he shows pictures from his walk down to notre dame:
http://championofithica.blogspot.com/

The christmas feeling is really setting in here -- I'll let you know when the big lights come out.

Total damages today:
1 chocolate bar at school: 80 centimes
1 hachis parmentier: 2,74 EUR
1 passe navigo (grrr, I hate that I need this now that it's cold): 56 EUR

Last Day in Venice and the return to Paris!

2009-10-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday night continued:

After DoMac, I picked up a quicky slice of farcita at Arte della Pizza and returned back to our favorite little wine brewer where we snagged up a bottle of cold proseco (sparkling wine). Jay's back was hurting after the long day walking on the islands, so we just walked to the next-door bar for a pair of pints. I sampled Gunisses' "Harp" lager and was very pleasantly surprised.

We decided to make it an early night and hit up the rialto fish markets the next day.

Damages:
pizza: 2 EUR
1/2 liter of prosecco: 1,25
1 pint of harp: 4,50

After a great breakfast, we headed down to see some fishy action. Wow. Venice does not dissapoint on the seafood. They had everything -- some were even still alive. From squid ink to eel to tuna larger than our bed, we were visually treated to some of the most beautiful catches of the day.

We walked along home in search of some souvenirs to take back. At first I thought I wanted a mask, but when faced with a starting price of 15 EUR, I quickly reconsidered and thought a picture would do just fine. I'll spend my money on a great last dinner tonight, a sachet of italian spices to bring back to my famiglia, and a couple post cards to send back home.

Jay's been really captivated by the murano glass and he picked up a wine stopper for about 15 EUR at a glass place.

My "souvenir" tasted great tonight. At 16,50 I couldn't have done better -- a piece of lasagne I'll never forget, a couple of glasses of real italian wine, and a baked slice of breaded pork chop that couldn't have been more of a "comfort food" unless it was baked by paula dean herself.

Our night took us to an italian kareoke bar where a pair of mojitos wet my whistle as we listened to the italians' tribute to america's finest: christina agulera, britney spears, no doubt, and madonna. We also got to hear some italian tunes.

Damages:
1 hamburger and coke at DoMac: 1,40
three course meal and glasses of wine: 16,50
2 mojitos at the italian kareoke bar: 8,00

We woke up early and walked down to check out of our hotel when the unthinkable happened -- we were locked in the building and no one was to be found at the so-called 24 hour lobby. We looked like inmates, banging on the door for help from the outside. The woman who runs the neighbooring restaurant walked by and laughed at us, mumbling something in Italian. 15 minutes later, the lobby guys wandered back in and looked surprised that we were so anxious to leave (it's not like we had a flight to catch or anything...).

After that, all was well -- we got on our 2,50 EUR bus, went to our airport, waited in lines, flew to Zurich, and flew back to Paris where we caught our RER back to my poor lonely apt. We also got a lot done today: we went to the apt agency handling Jay's apt and got forms signed and squared away. He'll be living in the 11th district (right next to my district) if all continues as well as it has been with this landlord.

We finished the night with a walk around the gardens of luxembourg, down St. Michel to Notre Dame, and some supermarket pick-ups. I've been craving the chili so I picked up a good stock. Jay grabbed a baguette, some sodas, and some champagne.

Now there was something else I was supposed to do... oh right, homework.... about that...
I'll get back to you all when I un-glue my face from my book.

Total damages today:
1 bus ticket: 2,50 EUR
1 RER ticket: 8,50 EUR
4 potatoes and 2 mega cans of chili: 4,71 EUR
2 cans of corn and 1 jar of bolegnese sauce: 1,79

Murano, Burano, and Torcello

2009-10-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Continued:

After MacDo, we went in search of the vaporettos that would be taking us to Murano, Burano, and Torcello Thursday. Jay took many pictures while I meandered in and out of local shops in search of some local flavors to bring back home.

Jay headed back to the room while I went in search of local wines to accompany our dinner for the evening. I came up shorthanded and settled on 2 pints of beer when suddenly, on my way back to the apt, I saw a place offering the impossible: wines by the liter?! at less than 3 EUR? some less than two?

I walked inside and asked the adorable man to explain how this worked. Basically, he brews a large variety of local wines (he had at least 12 spouts). He sells his wine by the liter and even provides you with a plastic bottle should you not have your own. Since cork screws are not carry-on standard on the airplanes these days, we have been unable to taste local wines outside of the bars until now. I excitedly grabbed a liter of cab sav at 1,80 and told the man that we would likely be back.

I came back to the room, woke jay up, and the two of us went out for pizza at -- you guessed it -- arte della pizza. We just haven't found a single better or cheaper place on the island, and this one is walking distance from us. We went for an automno pizza this time, something that the chefs suggested to us which I can only imagine means "autumn." It was fantastic. Fresh veggies all over and drenched in mozzarella cheese, topped with spicy salame. We could barely finish the pizza but left the room happy and looking for excitement. We noted a karaoke bar earlier in the day, so we headed down.

After getting lost, getting found, and finding the place, we ended up as happy campers with a pair of 4 EUR mojitos -- made strong with tons of fresh mint thanks to the friendly bar tender. This area was really lively for venice -- a couple bars in the area were really cooking with locals. We tried another where we got a pair of 1/2 pints of the italian beer, Nastros, for 2,20.

On our way back, we almost got lost yet again, but we ran into another lost and english speaking couple, so together we ended up finding our route. We talked for a while and had a few laughs before heading back home.

Cheers to a great night!

Total Damages wednesday (post MacDo):
2 cans of beer, 1 liter of wine: 90 centimes + 1,80 centimes
2 scoops gelato: 1,70
1 box fettuccine: 1,05

Thursday: To the Islands!

VENICE ON A BUDGET TIP:
A one way boat trip to any of the other islands (Murano, Burano, Torcello), costs 6,50 per person. One way. This means a round trip to one single island will cost you about 13 EUR. This is ridiculous. However, if you shell out only 3 EUR more, you can obtain an unlimited 12 hour pass which lets you ride the waves between all three islands and venice as much as you want. Jay and I devoted 12 hours of our thursday to doing just this.

We got off at Murono first, knowing that the glass blowing demos start early and end at about noon. After we stepped off the boat, we were immediately greeted by glass blowers who ushered us into their studio for a demonstration. It cost us 2 EUR, but it was absolutely worth it.

We watched the master hands of a man who's been blowing glass at murono for 45 years now as he turned chuncks of molten yellow goo into beautiful vases and elegant horses in mere seconds. Literally, seconds. It was like magic.

We spent the rest of our time in Murono touring the glass shops where gorgeous glass chandeliers and goblets cast colored shadows on the ground.

We took off from Murono to Burono, a lesser known island a little bit further from Venice. To characterize Burono for you: Murono has glass, Burono has lace. Lace is EVERYWHERE in Burono, and where it isn't being sold, it's being made, or covering tables, windows, etc... We got to tour a shop where we got to see a woman making lace in the tradition of Burono women. It's actually the most complicated thing ever. It takes them like 2 months to make a napkin.

Basically, there are 7 stitches in traditional lace, and each Burono woman specializes in one stitch. After receiving a design, each woman will contribute her piece and the hand it over to the next woman.

Burono is actually my favorite of the islands. It was just so beautiful -- the houses were painted such vibrant colors and the waters were so beautiful.

I picked up a little lace-embroidered napkin filled with lavender from a family of burono lace makers for a special someone back home.

Next we went on to Torcetto, where there were much less people and the atmosphere was much more "old world". It was a nice place to mellow out, walk around, and relax. We took our time with the boat rides home, too, taking the long way home on an open-air boat that let us take in all the sights, sounds, and smells. We wanted the most out of our 16 EUR after all!

Now we're putting in a quicky at MacDo to tell you all we made it back alive. Tonight it's back in Venice for some great fun before our last day tomorrow! Ciao!

Total damages so far Thursday:
Vaporetto tickets: 16 EUR
Glass demo: 2 EUR
1 burger at MacDo: 1 EUR

More Venice updates!

2009-10-28T04:42:00.001-07:00

After yesterday's lunch at micky D's, Jay went back to the apt. to crash while I took the camera back out for some touring of the windy streets. I returned home with a massive canoli in hand to wake up my sleepy boyfriend just in time for dinner at Arte della Pizza.

This was another local spot suggested to us by the same guide that lead us to Da Lucca e Fred, and we were once again not disapointed. As we entered this little hole in the wall of a pizzaria, we were once again in a 'locals only' type atmosphere, where only one of the 3 staff members could speak to us in English. She helped us choose a pizza (a huge one for only 4,50 EUR!) and we took in all the gorgeous smells as we waited for them to cook it for us.

We took our pizza back to the hotel where we ate it with some wine we bought at the supermarket earlier and then finished the meal off with the enormous canoli. We then took to the streets. First a pub where I sampled the local italian beer, then a wine bar for 1 EUR house wine.

Total damages tuesday continued:
1 canoli: ,89 EUR
1/2 pizza, 1 beer, 1 cup of house wine: 7, 50

Today (after filling up on an epic breakfast of course) we took to the streets yet again, and walked around the canals aimlessly, doing some shopping and taking tons of pictures. We stopped at a local bakery for more canolis (only 90 centimes each! Take that, Bravo Pizzaria in Santa Monica!).

Now we're pausing breifly at DoMac for some internet and resting. More updates later!

Total damages Wed:
1 chocolate canoli of the gods: 90 centimes

You can check out some of the point-and-shoot photos we've been taking here:
http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/
You'll have to wait until our return to Paris in order to view the DSLR photos since I'll want to develop them at the photo studio first :)

Greetings from Venice!

2009-10-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

I've been away from the blog for a few days for 1 very important reason: we're in VENICE!!!

We don't have internet at the Hotel, but we decided to bite the bullet and spend an hour at Mc Donalds for the sake of informing everyone that we're alive and well!

We got into venice at around 7:30 on Sunday, and after consulting with the travel authorities, decided our best option would be to take the bus into Venice and then walk about 200 yards to our hotel. The bus, unlike the water transport, is very cheap (only 3 EUR) but only gets you so far onto the island. Lucky for us, our hotel was really close to the bus terminal and was located on a main road, so would have no trouble finding the place.

Driving into venice at night feels like flying into neverneverland. There's such a disneyland quality about the place: everything seems too beautiful to be real, too perfectly crafted to look like the magical place that it is. In a strange way, Venice seems to be it's own simulacre, an imitation of itself. Perhaps I feel this way because I've only seen places like this in movies or in theme parks where the beauty is, and can only be, a set. The art directors and themepark designers must have done a good job because (even now) I often find myself thinking that XYZ building looks like a repilica of the building that was actually replicating the one I just saw. Confusing, right?

I'll get back to telling you about our first night...

Upon arrival, we noticed that the city was pretty alive for a Sunday night. In Paris, most things are closed on Sundy, so we were pleased to find a pizzaria open right near by. We each grabbed a HUGE slice (I got mushrooms and proccuto for 2 EUR) and began to walk around. Venice is just gorgeous.

We finished the night with a cone of gelato each. Only 1 EUR/ scoop!? Wow. The gelato here is really cheap. Actually, all the food seemed really cheap, and yet -- it's not. It just shows you how espensive Paris is when food at 2/3 to 1/2 the price of Paris food is still pricey. I find myself lusting after every 1,50 - 2 EUR slice of pizza and gelato stands offering 3 scoops at 2,50 (the price of 1 scoop at the cheap places in Paris).

After a good walk, we took our exhausted and full-bellied selves back to our little hotel. It's actually quite perfect. It's perfectly located with many great shops and eateries around. They speak english at the front desk, serve breakfast starting at 8am, and even gave us a map (in english!) of things to do in venice. The room is also gorgeous -- easily bigger than my room in Paris with a gorgeous view. Sharing the bathroom and shower with the other 4 rooms on our floor seemed like it might become a bit bothersome, but it has been perfectly fine. I haven't even seen any of the other guests on our floor.

Total Damages Sunday:
RER to airport: 8,50 EUR
Bus to venice: 3 EUR
1 slice of pizza: 2 EUR
1 scoop of gelato: 1 EUR

We woke up early to the sounds of church bells and hurried down to the continental breakfast. Wow. What a spread! We wern't expecting much seeing as we had booked this place as a "budget" hotel (actually cheaper than the hostel!), but we were surprised to find our continental breakfast included: 2 slices of bread, full spread of meat and cheese, huge pot of whatever hot beverage you select, fresh juices, nutella, cereal, yogurt, jam, crackers, butter, and honey.

Our day began with a trip down to ponte rialto and the rialto fish markets where we got lost on purpose in the little windy streets.We made our way down tot he piazzale s. marco for a tour of the tourists, some live music, and a great view of the ocean. We then went down to the arsenal and the "military zone" before we found our way back to the hotel through a maze of winding streets.

We found our pizzara of choice closed on mondays and thus went back to the little place by our hotel to grab a slice and some gelato before taking a necessary afternoon nap. I grabbed a margarhita and 2 scoops of gelato (1,50 the slice, 1,90 the two scoops). YUM.

We woke up just in time to go to our "big spender" dinner. We wanted to go to a place where the locals go, and after consulting our guidebook, decided we would grab the set menu at Da Lucca e Fred where the local atmosphere was coupled with excellent seafood. It was important to us to try the local seafood, since the fish markets have taught us that everything is pretty damn fresh around here. We grabbed a set menu of salad, clam spaghetti, and fried calamari and shrimp (13,50 each). There were also some fried anchovies thrown in there; I still can't bring myself to eat a fish's head, so my plate ended up looking rather morbid, covered in little heads. We added on a liter of house wine for 6 EUR to split. I was more than full afterwards.

We went for a night walk, stopped back at da lucca for a glass of wine at the bar, and then wentto another local bar for a glass of white wine (1 EUR a glass!) and some guns and roses on the télé. A great night.

Total damages monday:
pizza margarita: 1,50
2 scoops of gelato: 1,90
dinner and wine: 16,50
1 glass of red 1,50
1 glass of white 1,50

Today we filled up on breakfast and went back town to the pl. s. marco, determined to actually wait in line and go inside the basillica today. Our plan worked -- we arrived just before it opened at 9:45 and made it inside. We did the free tour, enjoying the view, the architecture, the paintings, everything!

We walked along the water and through some streets before coming across another giant church. We went inside and cooled off underneath the giant dome (it's actually been quite hot here -- only down to 16 degrees C even at night!)

Now we're hanging out at mc donalds for an hour or so, resting our feet and checking up on the outside world. Our plans for tonight include pizza, wine, and venitian masks! See you all at our next mc donald's visit!

Total damages so far tuesday:
2 hamburgers at MacDo with a side of internet: 2 EUR

Starting to upload the point-and-shoot photos to the photobucket. The DSLR photos will have to wait until we get back to Paris where I can develop them in the photo lab with Floriane :)
http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Le Timbre

2009-10-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

You know, just hangin' out with Christopher Wright,
head (and only) chef at Le Timbre.
Just your average Saturday night. Oh wait...

Oh Le Timbre, how can I express my love for thee?

Seriously though, how do I describe in words the fantastic experience of my sensations while eating Christopher Wright's delicious take on French cuisine? Quite the impossible task, and sadly, I do not have photos to illustrate the beauty of the food before I inhaled it. However, I will give a brief rundown of the experience and highly recommend that you dine at Le Timbre during your next trip to Paris. Student or not, this is one not to miss -- and at 30 EUR for 3 courses at dinner, you can't get a cheaper, and dare I say better, michelin rated restaurant.

Le Timbre is exactly what it's name suggests: a small postage stamp- sized dinning room with a kitchen big enough only for 2 people. Luckily, there are only 2 people in this kitchen that opens up into the dining hall: one of them is Christopher Wright himself, the head and only chef at le timbre, the other is the dishwasher. The third member of the Le Timbre crew is the hard working hostess/ waitress who manages 24 customers all at once.

You have to make reservations to even get seen at Le Timbre due to its size, and we made ours for Saturday night at 9:30 pm. Upon arrival, we scooted snuggly into the table selected for us. We were offered an appératif of champagne which we couldn't refuse. Sipping on our champagne, we got to sneak a peak at what the diners around us were having. I heard the woman next to me raving over something that looked and smelled delicious, and I was sold before I even saw the menu.

The menu came out and as we looked over the wide and tempting selections, the waitress translated it into English and announced the specials.

The menu at Le Timbre tonight.

Jay and I made a pact to order different things and sample each other's dishes. Here's what we ordered:

Jay's selections:
Effeuille de haddock aux endives
Magret de canard, choucroute de navets
Queielles de chocolat, crème au jasmin
My selections:
Croustillant de hure de chochon aux capres
Plat du jour: confit du canard aux lentiles
Millefeuille du timbre

Jay said his favorite dish was the haddock, and I have to say, it tasted (in the words of barbara streisand) "like buttah." I have a really hard time pinpointing my favorite dish, but I remember that the confit du canard slid right off the bones, tasted like heaven, and made me feel like I could eat nothing else for the rest of my life that tasted so good. Ok, so perhaps I did have a favorite. But the millefeuille and croustillant were also delicious.

We each took a glass of wine that the hostess/ waitress recomended to us to accompany our dinner. 2 hours later, we were a pair of full and satisfied customers. I even told Jay that we should come back for lunch sometime, when the price goes down to an even more managable 20 EUR/ meal. We congratulated Mr. Wright for a meal well done and thanked him profusely for making our night. I'm sure he was exhausted, but he even let us take photos with him.

Jay with an exhausted Christopher Wright --
the endurance on this guy is amazing!

We left 85 EUR on the table tonight, though our bill came to 82 EUR. That's two three-course meals at a michelin rated restaurant, with 2 glasses of champagne and 2 glasses of wine. I know this is not quite "budget" food, but for the quality of the meal, I would have paid easily twice as much. I will remember this meal forever.

Total damages today:
greek pita sandwich and french fries: 5 EUR
dinner at le timbre, 1 glass of champagne, 1 glass of wine: 45 EUR

JAY'S HERE!

2009-10-23T12:40:00.001-07:00

Jay arrived today!

I surprised him with a huge spread of French delights: brie, chevre, cold cuts, 2 baguettes from biatrix, 4 croissants, nutella, bananas, jam, beer and champagne.

After chowing down and taking an epic nap, we went out for a night walk and returned to the apt to finish off the rest of my chili and potatoes. I introduced Jay, the biggest fan of sour cream, to the beauty that is crème fraiche, and I think he enjoyed it.

We're off to bed now, expecting an early morning tomorrow full of exploration and a wonderful dinner at le timbre. I'm about the happiest girl in the world right now. Updates of big smiles to follow!

Total Damages today:
4 croissants: 2,00 EUR
2 bananas: 40 centimes
2 baguettes from biatrix: 1,70

Jay arrives tomorrow!

2009-10-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Morning at photo class. I read over the midterm and chomp
on a cookie while Philippe uses my camera to explain something.

Looking exhausted as Philippe explains depth of field.

I had my last class before the break today and it went really well. Floriane helped me edit my Salon du chocolat photos and I was so impressed with how delicious I could make everything look with just a few tricks. I also got to edit the portrait I took of Chai and begin edits on other photos. During our break, Floriane showed us some of her photography and my jaw hit the floor -- she's really an artist. I hope that some of her talent rubs off on me!

Philippe took photos of me at the Hotel Sully in the Marais.
Notice my giant fuzzy "statement scarf."

Anyway, my project for the break is an autoportrait, and I haven't figured out what to do yet. All I know is that I really love this class.

I'm getting so excited for Jay's visit -- he arrives tomorrow and I can't wait to do all the fun parisian things I've come to love with my very own love. Paris is such a romanic city -- couples even make the metro look like the bridal suite at a hotel. It's impossible not to miss your special someone when you're in this city alone, and I'm so happy he'll be here soon to share it with me. After two days of settling in and stuffing ourselves full of those last few baguettes, we'll be headed off to the 2nd most romantic city I can think of: Venice! I'm SO excited!

On a budget note, I've realized that my last grocery run was probably unnecessary (or at least too close to my departure for Venice) because I have so much left to eat! I'm going to get on this right away and chow down on some chili and potatoes with crème fresh -- my new favorite automne dish.

Total Damages today:
1 coissant: ,95 centimes

"Loosing my religion," Multiculutral Marais, and dinner aux Penguins

2009-10-21T13:48:00.001-07:00

I've been a bad, bad blogger. Clearly I have been swallowed up by "mes études" lately and have neglected sharing the wonderful banalities of life in Paris. Here are some joyous tidbits of my life for those of you still crazy enough to follow along:

Tuesday:
After meeting with my professor for my class, la france multiculturelle, I created a series of questions to ask locals in le marais when I set out on my quest for interviewees. I decided to start my interviews with the chinese community.

Clearly, I did not realize how difficult my assignment was going to be. I thought the biggest problem would be my french, not theirs, but almost every local I spoke to didn't want to answer my questions because they did not feel they could speak to me in French. True or just a brilliant strategy to avoid talking to a silly american student, I was about ready to cry until a young woman offered to answer my questions by email. I haven't gotten a reply yet, but I have hope.

After such a lack of sucess with the chinese community, I decided to head to a place where I at least culturally identified with the group of people I was going to interview: the jewish community on rue des rosiers! This turned out much more successful, though it posed problems of it's own.

I stopped first oustide the famous l'as du falafel, where I saw 3 young men talking among themselves (it was only 10 am at this point, so the long lines had not yet formed). I introduced myself to the men, and asked if they could help. Much more warm and welcoming than the chinese community, they at least looked at my paper before giving me an excuse: they didn't want to talk about their lives, their childhoods in particular. Desperate for an interviewee at this point, I told them that they didn't need to answer every question, and I wouldn't even take notes, let alone record their voices. This satisfied the youngest of them, Chai, who agreed to have a conversation with me about his experiences in France.

A young Israeli from Tel Aviv, he learned to speak French working at the falafel stand: "avant d'arriver ici, je ne savais dire que 2 mots en français. Ils étaient falafel et shwarma." (Before ariving here, I only knew 2 words in french. They were falafel and shwarma.) Chai gave me a lot of good information about the young israeli community in the Marais and shocked me by saying that he preferred the falafels here at l'as du falafel over the falafels in Israel.

Feeling grateful for the excellent material (I even got a portrait of him with my camera), I bought myself a falafel and hung out with the staff.

Wednesday:

On the way to school today I listened to a French man butcher some American songs on the Metro. I was treated to "loosing my religion" and some other sounds that sounded less like English and more like moaning. I mean, the French have such great music, why did he feel the need to sing American songs? I wondered why this man was getting so much money from old women for singing words I know he himself did not understand. But then, I thought, perhaps he was wiser than me, knowing that French might prefer English songs in the comforting sounds of their own familiar accent. Still, I wanted to let him know that I really didn't believe anyone would call him "da spahs koh-boy" (the space cowboy) or "da gangs her off lahf" (the gangster of love).

The rest of my day was pretty academically spent until 6pm when I got the chance to go to dinner with some French students at a restaurant called "les penguins". The dinner was great -- quiche, steak, and apple pie -- all I ever wanted after an exhausting school day. I also really connected with about 4 of the girls, so we exchanged numbers and email addresses. One of the girls goes to high school in my neighborhood, so it would be very easy to meet up.

I'm now exhausted and contemplating crashing but have so much left to do before photoclass tomorrow!

Total Damages Tuesday and Wednesday:
falafel: 5 EUR
cookies: 1,01 EUR
2 chocolate bars with noisettes to share with my class for my "exposé" on chocolat: 1,50 EUR

Nothing exciting has been happening... yet

2009-10-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

These past two days have been full of boring school stuff that no one wants to read about. I have even been slacking on the cooking (I've cheated and made sandwiches and gone to the RESTO U).

On the bright side, I've been rather productive and even printed out some maps of Venice for the upcoming trip!

Jay arrives soon!!!

Total damages for the past two days:
1 baguette at Biatrix: 85 centimes
1 baguette at Biatrix: 85 centimes
1 dinner at Resto U: 2,90

Paris gets cold/ I warm up

2009-10-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Fall has finally arrived in Paris which gives the Parisians an excuse to do 2 things:

1. Begin selling Christmas products in stores (really guys?! Is Christmas that big a deal in Paris that you need 2 months to prepare? Well, I guess you don't have the intermittent holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving, so I'll cut you some slack...)

2. Go shopping for cold weather clothes.

Today I participated in the later. I went for an afternoon walk after finishing my homework, got caught in the rain, and ended up in the foule (crowd) walking in between Zara and H&M on the rue de rivoli.

I've been in the market for some winter items ever since I thought my fingers were going to freeze off last Thursday, when I went to Montmartre with my photo class and was unprepared for the sudden change into fall weather. I have a decent supply of gloves, 2 real scarves, and 1 hat, but the Parisians do the fall/winter style so well, I thought I could really update my look with some parisians must haves.

I am not that great with fashion, but for those of you that desperately want to know what a stylish Parisian is wearing this fall, I will give you a brief list of the "must haves."

1. the boyfriend blazer
2. the faux leather jacket (preferably zip-up) in brown or black
3. a good pair of boots
4. the skinny jean (they call it "slim" here)
5. the statement scarf (these range from plaid to woven, small to chunky, but no parisian leaves the apt without a scarf. if she's not wearing it, check her purse)

Rocking the boots, leather jacket, and the statement scarf.

The boyfriend blazer, skinny jeans, and boots
(and probably a scarf in the bag).

I got myself "the statement scarf." It's huge, comfy, and warmmm. It's so big that when I wear it, it not only covers my neck, but my ears and some of my chin, too. At three times the length of my couch, this thing means business. I didn't mind shelling out the 14,95 EUR (which is actually a bargin for this type of scarf) for something I knew I would use all semester. By the time I left the store, all the other scarves of the same style were grabbed off of the shelves by other deal-seaking parisians.

Having already gotten the pair of slim jeans at a boutique in montmartre, I am now only in the market for the boyfriend blazer and a beret-style hat. No one wears the beret in Paris (except very classy old women and tourists), but there are more casual looking knit versions of the beret that look very chic. Many girls will wear them low on the head, with their hair tucked into the cap.

Here are some celebrities wearing the hat.

The Parisians tend to keep it a little more subtle than this,
sticking to caps in blacks and browns.

Feeling that the scarf was enough for one day, I decided to warm myself up using other tactics. I went to ED and Franprix and bought some comfort food. You can get a huge can of chili con carne for around 2 EUR at pretty much any supermarket, but my favorite kind comes from Franprix, where they attach a little pouch of chili seasoning. It makes me feel more like I'm cooking. I like to add in some corn and canned beans, too, as the chili is a little to thick for me as it comes. I add a little crème fraiche and serve it next to a boiled potato -- perfection!

Total damages today:

ED groceries (1 bucket of crème fraiche, 1 bottle of cab sav, 1 kg of pasta): 3,99 EUR
Franprix groceries (1 packet of salami, 6 potatoes, 2 tomatoes, 1 can of red beans, 1 can of chili con carne): 5,32 EUR
1 scarf at Zara: 15 EUR

Salon du chocolat: Best 12 EUR I've ever spent

2009-10-16T13:24:00.001-07:00

I am exhausted and the happiest I have been on this trip yet!
I just spent one of the best days ever at the Salon du chocolat, where I had some life changing experiences that I will share with you all when I am better rested and have some photos uploaded to illustrate my thoughts.

Here's a little preview for you guys. Note: None of these photos have been photoshop-ed. Their beauty is entirely credited to the amazing artists who created these masterpieces that I was lucky enough to capture on film.

The theme of this year's salon: l'opéra et la musique

Gorgeous creation by pastry chef at le bristol, Laurent Jeannin.

Meet Michel Roth, head chef at Le Ritz:

Meet the fois gras prepared by Michel for yours truly:

Meet angle two of fois gras:

Meet a piece of china from the Ritz:

More pictures on my Flickr Page.

Total Damages on this most wonderful of days:
1 baguette from Biatrix: 85 centimes
1 ticket to the Salon du Chocolat: 12 EUR

Photo class goes to Montmartre

2009-10-15T13:07:00.001-07:00

As usual, photos and updates to trickle in slowly.

Total damages today:
baguette: 80 centimes
apple: 44 centimes

Don't buy your chapstick in Paris

2009-10-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

It took me way too long today to find a chapstick that cost less than 2 EUR a tube. Moral of the story: pick up a pair for a buck in LA before attempting to find something with which to brave the dry cold air in Paris.

In other news, I made a reservation at Le Timbre today. Jay and I will be dining there the 24th of October -- look for updates!

Coming soon:
tomorrow my photo class heads to Montmartre
Friday morning I head out to the salon du chocolat
Jay arrives the 23rd!

Total Damages today:
chapstick: 1,39
baguette: 80 centimes

Hunger strikes!

2009-10-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I woke up today incredibly hungry for something. Maybe it was a french pastry. Maybe it was knowledge. I didn't know what I was craving, so I fed myself a little of both (ok, a lot of both).

We needed some new salt in the apartment, so I walked down to G20 to grab a huge thing of it for 42 centimes. I took the walk back on rue des archives and enjoyed the many chocolate shops getting ready for the Salon du chocolat this weeknd -- I'm getting so excited!

Getting my chocolate appetite up, I knew I wasn't going to be able to do my homework without a little something sweet in my belly, so I picked up a "drop" at Béatrix for 1,25. Yum.

I came home and finished up some homework, cooked up a little real food for lunch (spaghetti with spinach), and headed out the door towards the Musée d'art et d'histoire de judaisme just around the corner.

This cute museum is free for those of us under 26 years old and includes an amazing library. For my class, 'la france multiculturelle,' my teacher suggested that I read up on the formation of the jewish community in my neighborhood (le marais). The libarian handed me a stack of books and I went to work.

On the way out, the receptionist informed me that I could participate in a walking tour of the Marais on just the subject I was researching. It's the 20th of Oct (a Tuesday that I have no classes) and seemed just about perfect except for the 7 EUR pricetag. I'm going to talk to Sarah Lawrence and see if they can reimburse me for the tour as it does play a part in my studies. :: fingers crossed ::

I then went to a very productive meeting with Mme. R-G which I followed up with a nice walk home. My sweet tooth was acting up again, so I decided to try a French candy bar: Lion. I bought 5 since it cost the same as buying 2. My verdict: veeeeery sweet. Almost like a really thick twix with extra crackle. Perfect for a 'petit faim' but definitely not something I could handle all the time.

I just finished my Lion bar when I came across Gibert Joseph and had a 'doh' moment -- I remembered I needed to buy YET ANOTHER book for one of my classes. I detest these expenses even though I know they are still cheaper than in the US. I just think, 'how many laudrée macorons could I have bought with all that money that is going towards much less delicious stacks of paper!?' I was pleasantly surprised this time that my book cost less than even 1 macoron: a mere 80 centimes bought me an "occasion" version of Balsac's Le Chef d'oeuvre inconnu.

I came home and cooked up a spinach and goat cheese fritatta. The french butter just made it SO good. I saved the other half for tomorrow and finished up my dinner with some banana and chocolate chocolate chip ice cream (do you see a chocolate pattern here?).

Total Damages today:
salt: 42 centimes
drop: 1,25
lion chocolate bars: 1,70
book for class: 80 centimes

G20 by St. Paul

2009-10-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

After lots of classes, I returned home to 2 fried eggs (in gorgeous french butter, of course) and a sausage. I also picked up some stuff at that G20 by St. Paul. Got 12 rolls of toilet paper for 1,55 and that HUGE bucket of faux-nutella for 1,34.

Total Damages today:
1 baguette from biatrix: 85 centimes
toilet paper: 75 centimes
bucket of nutella: 1,34
course reader for "la france multiculturelle": 7 EUR

Karate at the hôtel de ville and swans on the Seine

2009-10-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you've figured her out, Paris throws you a curve ball.

After waking up early this morning to a mad homework and cookie snacking session, I decided it was time to get out of the apt. I am in Paris after all. Good thing I live in the heart of the city -- dragging my little lazy butt downstairs and the 2 blocks it takes to get to hôtel de ville was about all I thought I could handle. However, as the story usually goes with my walks into the city, I was seduced by everything that was happening around me, and decided to spend the afternoon as a flâneur.

I brought along my camera, and boy was I glad I did. There's clearly always something happening in Paris. Today a festival to stop some disease I had never heard of brought out a full group of brazilian musicians and dancers as well as a karate demonstration. The brazilian drums were beating so wildly as the karate demonstration went on, it almost felt like taiko.

Karate demo.
Brazilian band on stage.

I stayed and listened to the music long enough to decide that I was going to see what else was happening near by. I crossed the bridge to île st. louis where I saw a great crowd of street performers. I almost squeezed my way past the spectators to see what the fuss was about until I saw an even more amazing sight -- swans! On the Seine! I had to go over and take pictures. It was pure magic.
I enjoyed many other sights along the way, too. The smells, colors, and sounds here are amazing. The art of spectating is well rewarded with interesting people, shops, and skylines everywhere.

Some chocolates I found in a window on île st. louis.
They reminded me of Sarah's chocolates.

City of wine.

The light purple + green combo is one of my favorites here.
There's something so Marie Antoinette about it.

My mom sometimes asks me if I go see films. To this I reply, "Why would I ever need to see a movie when I have the whole city to watch for free? Paris is my cinema!"

Interesting people watching by the Seine.

Large scale poster art on the river.

The only bad thing about city watching is that, between the long walks and windows full of chocolates and pastries, you tend to work up an appetite. I satisfied mine with a baguette from biatrix accompanied by the last of my first wheel of brie and some blackberry jam. Yum.

Some budget tips for the day: some of the more expensive supermarkets can surprise you with randomly inexpensive items!
Today I found out that there is an even cheaper brand of fake nutella than the one I've been buying at Franprix! Surprisingly, they only sell it at a store that is usually more expensive (G20). However, they don't sell it at all of the G20s, so I didn't know this was available until I went into the G20 at St. Paul. G20 also has this brand of products called 'ep' that is as cheap as, if not cheaper than dia (ED's brand) but they don't always have 'ep' products at every store. From now on, I'm going to check out this G20 in the St. Paul area for nutella and some other cheap-er items.

Total Damages today:
baguette from biatrix: 85 centimes

Dinner last night

2009-10-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, perhaps I was inspired by the giant pots of n'importe quoi at the fête des vendanges yesterday, but I decided to make myself a huge pot of yum for dinner.

The rice beginning to soak up the ratatouille juices in the pan.

Ingredients for "pseudo-jambalaya à l'étudiant":
2 sausages
1 pack of 2 minute rice (I used mediterranian flavored)
leftovers from can of ratatouille (about 1.5 - 2 cups)
couple spoonfuls of canned corn

makes: 2 large servings or 3 medium sized servings.

Instructions:
1. brown sausage in large pan until amost cooked through
2. remove sausage from pan and place on a cutting board. While you cut up the sausage into smaller pieces, put the ratatouille, and corn on the pan to warm up. Follow instructions for 2 minute rice in the microwave, but leave slightly undercooked.
3. Once ratatouille and corn look warmed, throw the sausage in the pot. Throw the rice in on top and let the rice and sausage finish to cook in the ratatouille juices.
4. Once the sauce has reduced/ thickened to desired consistancy, serve yourself and enjoy.

The finished product, steaming hot next to a Stella.

Total price fo the whole pan was 2.02 EUR. And I only ate 1/2 of it. What a delicious way to end a foodie day. This has been my favorite use of the ratatouille yet.

"Ça coûte seulement un sourire"

2009-10-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

The sign for the festival (la fête des vendanges),
hanging out under Sacre Coeur.

As I found out today at the fête de vendanges in Montmartre, having no money to spend on expensive cheeses does not stop one from being able to sample them.

Example conversation:
"Madamoiselle, est-ce que vous voulez goûter quelque chose de magnifique?"
(Miss, would you like to taste something wonderful?)
"Oui, bien sur, mais je n'ai pas de l'argent."
(Yes, of course, but I don't have money.)
"Ne vous inquietez pas, ca coûte seulement un sourire. Pour moi, ça suffit."
(Don't worry, it only costs you a smile. That is enough for me.)

Then this man handed me 8 or 9 samples of crazy expensive cheeses from pays basque. He told me he wanted to send me on a "voyage" to where he grew up. I must say, based on his cheese, he must have had a fabulous childhood.

But it wasn't just this man, many other people were happy to serve me samples of their expensive cheeses, even after (and sometimes especially after) I told them I couldn't afford it. It's almost like they got more out of watching me enjoy something that they've worked so hard on, than they would have gotten out of my euros. There's something still so magical about Montmartre, and I think this is definitely part of it.

The beginning of the line of vendors (see the pointy, white tents).

The festival today also included a section that was intentionally free to visitors. Metro, a company under the same ownership as Carrefour and Walmart, put on a series of free dégustations. You better believe I took advantage of every single tasting I could.

I started with the olive oils, which were very interesting. I didn't know that they varried so much in taste. Some of them had more of a kick than others, while some tasted quite sweet. After learning how to taste-test olive oil (which is much different than taste-testing wine), I moved on to the epices (spices) and sirops.

Some premium olive oils waiting to be tasted.

The sirops bar, unsurprisingly crowded.

In case you haven't heard, the French LOVE their sirop. It goes in almost anything, or often by itself, and comes in almost every flavor imaginable. I tired some unusal ones (like ginger, and green bananas), and some classic ones (like hazelnut, and crême de cassis).

For wines, they were offering 2 reds (a bordeaux and a cotes du rhones) and 1 white, which I sampled along side some fresh baked breads. I felt like a princess, sipping my wine on a beautiful day in Montmartre, listening to a couple sing "La Bohème" in the background.

The final dégustation was THE BEST. Metro had a professional chef come and cook up some meals, giving out tips on how to turn up the "wow" factor. I tried her risotto and nearly died. It was so delicious. Watching her tend to the risotto was like watching a mother care after her child -- she never slipped up, her spatula work was like art. I really do believe French cuisine is an artform. This was my museum.

I continued my stroll about Montmartre, checking out all the local wineries and their offerings for the day as well as the amazing cheese and sausage stands that were kind enough to offer me free samples all the time. The fruit places were very kind, too. I tried some great apples and even found some bananas at only 89 centimes the kilo (of course I had to buy 1/2 a kilo).

Local wineries pour glasses of champagne.

Tourteaux fromages that the vendors were calling, "cheesecake."

A vendor heating up some raclette.

Escargots for sale.

Some of my favorite stands were the candy shops -- I expected to see all of the gorgeous macarons and gorgeous chocolate confections, but I had no idea how beautiful the multicoloured sugar candy could be.

Gorgeously colored rope candies.

The pistachio nougat looked amazing.

A child's dream.

An adult's dream: the macaron bar

I also enjoyed the giant sized pans in which vendors were cooking everything from sausage to cheesy potatoes. I've never seen pans so huge, but the smells the omitted were unparalleled as well. If the crowd wasn't packed together like sardines, I could have just stayed there smelling these concotions for hours.

I journeyed around the butte for a while, looking at local artists as well. I really wish Jay could have been here -- it was just such a great day with such amazing food.

I returned home and decided I would stock up on some cheese (clearly I was inspired) and butter. I also got myself 12 eggs, hoping that this would supplement the other day's grocery trip sufficiently.

I adore France -- this place seems to be a permanent celebration of everything I love in life, and I can already tell it will be a hard transition back to the United States in January. Until then, I am going to soak in all the cheese this body will let me!

more photos at: http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Total Damages this morning:
3 bananas: 53 centimes
1 huge wheel of brie: 2,92 EUR
1 stick of chevre: 1,24 EUR
1 block of butter: 1,19 EUR
12 eggs: 1,75 EUR

Alicia visits: a 3 hour crash course on Paris

2009-10-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

So I picked up Alicia at the gare de l'est after having picked up a morning baguette with some jam and brie.

Alicia wanted to see Paris with me for 3 hours before her friend Lucy arrived, so I did my best to take her walking around the part of the city I've come to love. After showing her my apartment and the local places I frequent, I took her down Beaubourg until we hit the Seine and Notre Dame. Alicia's reaction really pleased me as it reminded me how I had felt merely 1 1/2 months ago. Notre Dame has become such an essential part of my skyline now, it was nice to be reminded how truely lucky I am.

We continued the walk down into the St. Michel area and dipped breifly into the tip of the latin quarter. I showed Alicia some places she could grab a huge 3 course meal for 9 - 22 EUR with some excellent people watching and then brought her to Ile st. louis for a tour of the ice cream lines.

We continued back across the Seine for a mini-tour of le marais that took us to rue des rosiers, bustling with the sounds of falafel stands and their proprietors beconning us to come inside. Swayed by a free sample, we ended up going to one and had the BEST FALAFEL IN PARIS. I realize now why they charge 5 EUR for these. It is so much more than a falafel. There's cabbage, and grilled eggplant, and hummus, and cilantro, and tomatoes, and this amazing red sauce and probably about 10 falafels all wrapped in a delicious pita. Wow.

Alicia: "What is that red stuff he is putting on it?" Me: "Deliciousness"

The guy lurking behind us in the blue shirt is the proprietor, who not only gave us a free sample but saved us the two seats right in front of the store. Prime seating real-estate in Paris.

After sitting with our massive falafels and doing some people watching, we headed down to the rue rambuteau and the centre pompidou. I took Alicia up to the top of the centre pompidou (for free - yay for being 26 and younger!) and took in the view. It was kind of a foggy day, but you really can't beat the skyline here.

Alicia on the 4th floor open-air terrace at the centre pompidou.

After dropping Alicia off with her friend Lucy, I returned home to the apt to finish up some homework and crash. Naps are amazing.

À demain, Paris!

Total damages today:
baguette: 80 centimes
falafel of my dreams: 5 EUR

The Power of Photoshop

2009-10-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

I needed to start a new entry for this series of photos that I'm particularly proud of:

Before:
After:WAY after:

That's right, guys. Never need to buy wrinkle cream again. I got your back.

Père Lachaise

2009-10-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

So I woke up super early this morning to snag a baguette at Biatrix (they open at 7am and I had to be at Metro Père Lachaise by 9am). I quickly fixed myself 2 sandwiches that fit nicely in my new tupperware along side some apple slices and Italian white grapes.

At Père Lachaise, my photo class met up with Philippe who proved himself to be even crazier than the last time we saw him. For example, Philippe saw a poster that said "Finet Art" and noticed that the marble behind it was cracking. He thought it would be a great photo to show words that said, "fine art" in front of a clearly damaged background. Instead of doing this in photoshop, Philippe got a pair of sissors out of his pocket and then wedged the T off of this poor person's building. He says, "See! I don't even need photoshop! I photoshop in real life! And no one will know the 'T' is at my house when they go looking for it!"

Example 2: Philippe opened up the top of a grave to look inside. Seriously, he lifted up the top part of the grave to get a closer look at the dead family 6 feet under. I was almost hoping the zombie attack would provide appropriate Karma.

Needless to say, I love my photography teacher.

Some beautifully destroyed flowers on graves at the entrance to Père Lachaise.

A statue overlooks a family tomb.

Philippe showed us some great spots in the cemetary. We first stopped at a tomb dedicated to two brothers who died together due to a large fall. Their sculpted bodies seemed to cry out in agony as they clutched eachother's hands atop the tomb. The bronze that once was has now turned a seafoam green that couldn't have looked more immortal next to the fall leaves, whose transition into old age was marked by their loss, rather than gain, of colour.

Brother #1

We continued on to the most famous resident at Père Lachaise (no, not Jim Morrison): Oscar Wilde. I took the risk of contracting every STD known to man and kissed the tomb. Philippe thought I looked very cute and insisted on taking a video of me puckering up. I settled for a picture. "Here lies the greates man that ever lived." How could I not give him a farewell kiss?

The man in the background taking photos is none other than the Philippe Vermès.

After wiping the disease-ridden lipstick off of my face, I noticed a cat hanging out by a grave and some other interesting sculptures by tombs. Philippe wanted to take us to another legendary grave that is famous because the man's crotch has been touched by so many people it has returned to it's shiny bronze colour. I guess the legend goes that the way in which this man died caused him to die with an errection, so many people make pilgrimage to his grave to give the thing a final rub.

After leaving the cemetary, running back to school for a meeting, scarfing down lunch, and returning to Philippe's studio, I finally got to work on some of my photos. There's so much to do! I can't say I've altered any of these to the point of being "done" (and certainly I haven't even gotten around to the Père Lachaise photos yet), but I'm very much enjoying myself in the process. For your viewing pleasure:

Tomorrow I'm going to meet Alicia at her train staion and pick up some lunch! Got tons of homework to do, an apt to find, and a city to fall in love with all over again.

Totally damages today:
baguette from biatrix: 85 centimes

Falafel and Classes and Tupperware, oh my!

2009-10-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning early enough to hit up the marché edgar quinet before class. The marché is conveniently situated right by my school but is only open until 14h (2 pm) so I hadn't had the opportunity to go down there yet. I have to say, I was really impressed.

Not only were the typical fruit and veggy stands gorgeously displayed, but their produce was surprisingly reasonably priced. I found a vendor with apples for 1 EUR a kilo -- a very good deal! The closer you stay to Raspail, the cheaper (and the closer you get to la tour montparnasse, the more expensive it gets, generally).

The market also had many other gorgeous things on display -- I saw many butchers with whole rabbits and whole ducks on display. I know this may gross out some of the weak-of-stomach, but to me it was beautifully French in a way that I had yet to see in Paris up until this point. The seafood stands also had some exotic products on display -- I really thought that the rays looked gorgeous and I have to remind myself to try eating ray while in Paris.

The markets also have many clothing vendors, so you could really do all your shopping here. Various stands also prepare hot food. Massive pailla pans filled with seafood make the place smell amazing despite all the fresh camembert being sold. I found myself a lebanese stand and got a falafel for 3,50 (very reasonable). I got to chat with the man who runs the stand, too, and was pleased to find out he works a market on Thursdays at Bastille, which is much closer to my neighborhood.

Eating my falafel behind some of the stands at the Marché Edgar Quinet.

Trying to pose with the enormous falafel. "Hi mom!"

My falafel was AMAZING. Quite possibly the most delicious falafel I've ever had. And it was enormous. I couldn't even eat the apple I bought.

My classes went well today and I followed them up with a Tutorat with my professor for "La France Multiculturelle." We discussed what I would want to do for a final project and came up with this idea: I'm going to take advantage of living in such a multicultural quartier and conduct a series of interviews with people who live here or run businesses here (1 interview per week). I'm going to try to interview a different type of person (varying age, gender, ethnicity, etc...) every time and follow up each interview by compiling the information into a written "portrait" of that person. I'm also planning on tying this in with my photo class by taking visual portraits of those who I interview as well. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll have some nice memories and new friends. :)

I walked home and stopped at a store on St. Michel along the way. I love looking arround this store because it specializes in "fin de séries" (end of the series) items, thus there are some great things a very low prices. Sometimes there's lots of wine, other times, it's shoes, other times dishes. Today I found some tupperware with cute french writing and little drawings on it. I haven't been eating ice cream fast enough to satisfy my immediate tupperware needs, so I got a set of 2 for 1,50. I figured I can take them home with me after the trip as little soveniers.

I returned home to a satisfying glass of wine and a long list of homework to get started on. It's raining cats and dogs here, so that shouldn't be a problem!

Total Damages today:
1 falafel: 3,50 EUR
1 apple: 20 centimes
2 tupperware boxes: 1,50
1 bottle of faux-rangina: 55 centimes

Practical business

2009-10-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

So, after heading down to the 15th to try and sign up for the Bruges and Brussels trip, I found out they filled all their spots (I should have known that the price was way too good to have spots still open). I gave them my number and email address, though, and told them to let me know if something else opened up. I think that even if I don't go, it wont be that big of a deal. I can always go with Jay in the coming months or spend the money on something else -- like 10 EUR tickets to La Bohème and a nice dinner for my birthday.

In other news, I'm getting really excited for visits from some people:
1. Alicia is coming this weekend and I hope to eat French onion soup with her.
2. Jay is coming on the 23rd and then we are going to Venice for a week for vacation.
3. Sarah Quincy might be coming for the first week in November to visit for a couple days!

We've also made some progress on the apt hunt for Jay. We found a place literally a street down from me that looks really nice. We put in a request to the renting agency and are hoping to hear favorable news! It would be so convenient to have our 2 places so close together. Trying not to get my hopes up, but it would sure be nice to have this nailed down.

On the food end of things, I made myself quite the pasta dish -- grilled up a sausage, cut up 1/2 of a tomato, mixed in some canned spinach, topped it all off with some pasta and tomato basil sauce. Easy, delicious, and perfect with a cup of cab sav.

I finished off the night with a walk down to the Seine and pont neuf where I saw one of the largest rats I've ever seen.

To clear things up for my mother, and anyone else interested in my academic schedule, I am taking the following classes:

Français II (An advanced French language course that is required by the SLC program)
"La france multiculturelle" (Sociology class about, well, France's multicultural history)
"Les grands romans" (Lit class: we read balzac and flaubert)
Photography with P. Vermès at his atelier at bastille

Total damages today:
0,00 EUR!

Lundi: grocery expedition round 2

2009-10-05T13:56:00.001-07:00

Having finished off the chicken breasts, almost all of that jar of pasta sauce, 1/2 of the brie wheel and the final bits of cucumber, I decided it was time to schedule in "grocery shopping take 2." It was cold and rainy this morning, but I made the trek to Biatrix and then to my local supermarkets to stock the fridge.

Having learned that the chicken breasts, though delicious, were kind of pricey when I could get a full prepared meal at the Resto U for 2,90 without lifting a finger, I opted for the cheapest meat that wasn't meant to go straight into the microwave: sausages. I also opted for a lot of canned veggies this time -- though I really enjoy having fresh tomatoes on hand, I really don't want to prepare my own spinach or corn. Canned veggies are cheap here, and they last for a long time so you don't have to worry too much about the "date limite." I grabbed 2 fresh bananas, a jar of berry jam, and some sauce basilic for when my current pasta sauce runs dry. I got all of this for under 6 EUR.

My trip to Franprix was just to fill in the blanks: a 2 EUR bucket of chocolate ice cream (to fill in the sweet spot) and a microwaveable sachet of medeterranean rice for 1 EUR (I thought this would go well with some corn, ratatouille, and sausage).

While there, I eyed the tomme but resisted. I also noticed some massive cans of tuna (which I thought could make some mean tuna melts with my tomatoes, brie and baguette) and a jar of chili (which would be so great with a dolop of crême fraiche). I might return to supplement this grocery trip with these items.

Estimated time until grocery trip "round three": 14 - 18 days. First person to guess the date on the nose wins a crappy Eiffel Tower key-chain.

Tonight I assembled some of my groceries with some other groceries I still have from my last trip and created the most amazing dessert I've ever made at a very friendly price: under 83 centimes.

Directions to the do-it-yourself nutella banana crêpe with chocolate ice cream:

1. take out your pre-made crêpe and cover it generously in your faux nutella

2. pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds before cutting thin slices of banana onto the nutella covered surface.
3. back in the microwave for 10 seconds.
4. fold the crêpe up on itself and top with some chocolate ice cream.
Voilà -- a gorgeous crêpe for less than 1/6th of the price at a restaurant.

Tomorrow I have no class but I've got some plans to go to the 15th and sign up for the Bruges and Brussels trip. I've also got a bit of reading to do. Alicia is comming this weekend to see her friend, but I'm hoping to grab a french onion soup with her at au pied du cochon!

Total damages today:
Groceries at ED: 5,98 EUR
Groceries at Franprix: 3,03 EUR
Baguette at biatrix: 85 centimes
Hot chocolat during the coffee break at school: 40 centimes

Photo Shoot at the Eiffel Tower

2009-10-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Petit déjeuner du jour:

After buying some tomatoes, grapes, and some tea cookies at Franprix, I got myself ready to take some photos for my photography class. This week's assignment: take a picture of the Eiffel tower that isn't boring. This is much harder than it sounds.

I met my friend Zoe, who is also in photo class with me, at the Eiffel Tower at 3. We took turns being eachother's models and critics. I think I got some pretty good shots at the end of it all. I'll want to photoshop them before posting -- I'm only showing you some of the raw photos now. This means the photos look really gray and dull because I made every effort to keep the bright sun from washing everything out. I promise you, this was a beautiful day! Come this Friday, I'll have lots of polished photos to update!

I came home starving (I'd gotten up late so I'd only managed to eat some tea cookies, some grapes, and faux-rangina), so I prepared myself a feast of pasta with grilled chicken in tomato sauce, tomatoes and cucumbers in pesto and balsamic, and a massive bowl of ratatouille.

Today was a big homework day, but I've managed to get it all done.

Next projects:
1. find Jay a 2 month sublet
2. buy trip to Bruges and Brussels

Total damages today:
groceries (4 tomatoes at 1EUR a kilo, grapes at 1,29 a kilo, and bag 'o' tea cookies at 1,29 EUR): 2,26 EUR

2009-10-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Déjeuner du jour:

Grilled chicken breast in parisonastudentsbudget marinade,
served over pasta with extra marinade sauce,
cucumber salad with balsamic on the side.

Total damages:
1 baguette: 80 centimes
2 bottles of faux champagne: 2,66 EUR

Le Parc de Seaux and une soirée de salsa

2009-10-02T15:44:00.001-07:00

The morning began with a jaunt about the neighborhood. I had read that the marché des enfants rouges was having a little fête today and tomorrow, so I walked over and sure enough, there were dégustations galore. There was a boulangère, a fromagère, a boucherie and a caviste. Pretty much everything you'd expect from France but all right outside my favorite market and all handing out free samples.

After helping myself to some Tomme that couldn't have been more delicious or expensive (38 EUR the kilogram! yikes!), some gormet saucisson sec and a bit of wine, I bought a chocolate covered palmier from an adorable man who assured me that I wouldn't get fat from the monstrosity of a pastry he handed me for a mere 1,50 EUR. I don't know what this man was thinking; the thing does not have any indication of being good for you. Picture warm, buttery pastry dough, covered in sugar, and covered in chocolate. It was pure deliciousness and the perfect petit dejeuner.

I walked through the quartier a little bit before grabbing a hot baguette for the road on my way to the Parc de Seaux. Seaux is a sub-urb of Paris (a banlieue) that is built around a very gorgeous chateau and even more gorgeous gardens. This was the chateau built immediately before Versailles, and the gardens do not dissapoint. The Chateau is in "zone 3," so the regular metro pass doesn't cover the trip - luckily SLC payed for our aller-retours.

After arriving at the chateau, we walked around inside the gorgeous 18th century building. I felt like a real princess -- everything was lined in gold. The view from the chateau was even more impressive. The french doors on the first floor opened up to a view of an enormous series of gardens "à la française."

The nice thing about the chateau is that it is not only a museum and historical monument, it is a public parc. Ironically, many things that were originally built for the aristocrats are now public establishments for the rich and poor alike. Anyway, the residents of Seaux were out and about on the grounds playing sports, having picnics and walking their dogs.

After a jaunt about the gardens, Natalie, Tanya and I stopped at a café for some chocolat chaud and a nice view of the gardens. It's been beautiful out lately and today was no different.

I returned home and got ready for a night at Pachanga, the salsa club I had heard about. I was kind of sceptacle, but the entry fees were not very expensive (only 8 EUR) and came with a drink, so I figured I could just enjoy a beverage if worst came to worst.

I did not just enjoy my beverage.

When I got there, they were having a lesson and I jumped right in. I was really excited to see so many people out and about. It was kind of hard to understand everything the teacher was saying since the steps are obviously called different things in French, but I just did my best watching and following the guys.

Everything was going great until the lesson finished and someone asked me to dance. He started dancing and it was completely different than anything I'd ever seen before. I tried to ask in my best French, "What is that you're doing?"

Apparently, most people in Paris dance a type of salsa that is rarely danced in LA. They call it "cuban salsa" here (go figure that speaking the language was not going to be my only problem for the evening). I asked the man next to me what they call the type of salsa that the teacher was just teaching, and he told me that they call it "puerto rican salsa" here. Apparently, they only teach the kind of salsa that I do on Friday nights. I got in the habbit of introducing myself as, "Hi! I'm Emily and I only dance puerto rican salsa."

Luckily there were some guys there who also danced puerto rican and were happy to dance with me. I did try cuban a couple of times, and it was ok -- I'm just stubborn I guess. I like to know what I'm doing before I do it.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with my evening at Pachanga. It's a real nice place even if you don't like dancing. There are lots of tables and the food looked really good (one of the few places that serves mexican food in Paris). You can get a full meal for 22 EUR and the meals that include drinks start at 27 EUR. The drinks are a bit pricey on their own (8-10 EUR) but you get one (or two) included with an entry fee of 8 (or 14) EUR.

The music was good, the people were nice (espeically the staff), and I am really starting to feel like I've found my crowd in Paris.

Total Damages:
1 palmier dipped in chocolate: 1,50 EUR
1 baguette: ,90 EUR
bottle of faux-rangina: ,81 EUR
entry, dance lesson, and drink (the first place I've seen that serves margaritas) to Pachanga: 8 EUR

1er cours de photo et une soirée avec quelques français

2009-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Je suis allée à Belleville dans le 20e.
J'ai pris des photos.
J'ai bien mangé.
J'ai rencontré quelques jeunes français.
Je suis très fatiguée.

Today Phillip met us at a café called, "aux folies" in Belleville. The café was lively, filled with people who Phillip called, "bobos," and looked like the kind of café that really buzzes at night. However, we were at the café at 9am because the light was better, the coffee was cheaper, and the area was bustling with more locals than tourists. After scarfing down the coissants and other sweet treats that Phillip brought for us, we took off our lens caps and headed out.

Just behind the café was a magical ally filled with graffiti, collage, mozaics and very interesting people. It was like someone had dedicated this place to artists and let them run wild. Phillip was very insistant that we take pictures of everything, he even started conversations with random people just so we could get in a get a shot.

I took some pictures with backgrounds that looked like they belonged in high fashion magazines. Every wall was another canvas -- it was just gorgeous. We then hiked our way into a huge junkyard where some homeless people lived and some artists had set up studios. We met one artist who takes pictures of people on the metro with his cell phone and then makes elaborate sculptures of them.

The junkyard itself was a piece of art, too. The walls were filled with graffiti in vibrant colors and the ground was part garden, part assemblage. Phillip took pictures of us all jumping in front of a graffiti-ed wall and I felt like we were in some sort of movie. This place was unreal.

We left the artsy section and moved on to the more yuppy side of town for a great view of all of Paris and a walk through some gardens. Philip is hilarious -- he just flat out asks people if he can take their pictures. This one woman told him that she didn't want her picture taken but happily offered up her child to our lenses.

After a fabulous trip to a quartier I probably wouldn't have visited or even known about otherwise, I headed home to scarf down a crêpe with egg, brie, salami, tomatoes and mustard vinagrette. Yum. Then it was back to the studio for my photoshop lab.

I hesitate to even post the pictures I took in class today as I improved them greatly in the "labo." I feel like an evil genius. My labo teacher retouches for fashion magazines and I really did not know I could make my photos look so much better in post. We layered colors, removed blemishes -- I even did an excersize where I removed all the cracks off of a cracking clay sclupture from a photo I took today. It's amazing how you can make an average looking photo look fantastic with just a few tricks. I will never throw away a gray-toned, bland-looking photo again. Vive la photoshop!

After Labo, I headed down to the Cité Universitaire (the student dorms in Paris) for a night of "tex mex" dinner with some parisian students. I met a good handful of people that I really liked -- they go to a university called "Charles V" that specialises in English. Many of them are studying exactly what I study but the other way around. It gave us a lot to talk about.

I have learned of a salsa club in Paris from one of the Charles V girls, and I was very excited to here that many other Parisians dance salsa. Definitely want to check it out!

Tomorrow I have a trip to a chateau and Saturday is La nuit blanche (a great big all night party all over Paris, but particularly in my neighborhood; "la nuit blanche" means "all nighter" in French). Then I have homework!

Paris is crazy, but I'm loving every second.

Photos from today will come in this Friday when I have them photoshopped to satisfaction!

Total Damages today:
0,00 EUR

Le vieil accordéoniste

2009-09-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

On the metro this morning, an elderly man and his accordion got on the ligne 4 at Cité. His frail fingers lifted up in anticipation of the first note and then hopped magically along the pegs and keyboard like young dancers. His choice of songs was perhaps cliché, though I prefer to call it classic. Something inside me longed to burst into tears as his wrinkled eyelids closed for Edith Piaf.

He didn't stop playing or ask for money until St. Placide when a woman pressed a 1 EUR coin into his hand before two policemen escorted him off the train. When I walked up the stairs at Vavin, I could still see their hands coaxing the frail elbows of the still-smiling man off the car, waiting for him to put away the accordion that made him come alive. As I made my way to the top of the stairs, the skies were gray.

I thought of the accordionist's lingering smile and hopeful melodies but I felt that a world where an old man got punished for a 1 EUR coin was not "la vie en rose."

Paris is still a mystery to me. Part romance, part tradgedy, she's like the girlfriend you could never figure out, the Emma Bovary of cities. I may never understand her.

______________

Budget tips for the day:

I packed a lunch to-go today. Just picked up a fresh baguette and filled up tupperware with some goodies: brie, salami, jam, cucumbers, grapes.

A good way to save money on tupperware containers is to reuse the containers from ice cream. The tupperware here is really expensive -- like 4 - 9 EUR per box. Why not just buy the ice cream for 2 EUR (or 4 EUR if you want the expensive kind) and get the tupperware for free at the end?

Total Damages today:
Salami package: 1,10 EUR
Fresh baguette from the wednesday boulangerie (Biatrix is closed on wednesdays): 80 centimes
hefty bag of red grapes (at 1,29 the kilo): 74 centimes
month of october on the navigo: 56 EUR

Mardi gras!

2009-09-29T10:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, it's not really fat Tuesday, but it is Tuesday and I did make some amazing food today (on the cheap, of course).

This morning I got a French wake up call from Madame R-G wanting to change our apt. time to earlier in the afternoon. I stumbled to remember my French in my sleepy haze and stumbled out of bed with just as little ease. I decided to wake myself up with a little walk down to the local ED where I picked up a six pack of eggs and some mustard to keep on stash. Now that I'm going full force with this cooking at home thing, I figured I should have some of the "basics."

I came home, got myself all cleaned up, and began to prepare lunch. I remembered the delicious crêpes salées I had at the farmer's market by the grove in LA and wanted to duplicate one of my favorites. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:
1 ready-made crêpe (you can get a pack of 12 for 90 centimes at Franprix)
2 eggs (you can get a pack of 6 at ED for 1,19 or a pack of 12 for 1,89)
1 tomato (my 2 kg bucket cost me 1,49 at ED)
some slices of brie (2,99 for the wheel at ED)
olive oil
dijon mustard

Preparation:
1. Cut up tomatoes and put in a hot frying pan with some olive oil. When cooked to desired consistency, add 2 beaten eggs and cook as if an omelet or frittata.
2. While eggs and tomatoes are cooking, spread some mustard on the crêpe. Distribute slices of cheese evenly on crêpe. Toss into the microwave for 20 seconds.
3. When eggs are done cooking, take crêpe out of the microwave and put the omelet on the crêpe. Season with salt and pepper before rolling the crêpe up on the omelet like a burrito.

Bon Appétit!

I think that crêpe didn't stand a chance. I've rarely gobbled up anything so fast. I was very satisfied -- very filling meal. It was so cheap too. Let's do the math: the whole thing cost less than 80 centimes.

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I began preparations for tonight's dinner. I wanted to marinate my chicken breast but didn't want to break out fancy (and expensive) spices in order to do so. I now present to you the "paris on a student's budget marinade."

Directions:
Turn a plastic bag inside out and rest the chicken breast on the bag. Rub dijon mustard all over the chicken generously. Ground pepper over each side. Turn the plastic bag inside out again so that the chicken is now on the inside of the baggy. Pour some balsamic vinegar on the chicken. Seal the baggy. Throw in the fridge.

After inventing my very own cheapo marinade, I headed over to pay rent for October and have my first "tutorat" with Madame R-G. Looking for a little snack for the road back, I grabbed a pack of the famous "petit ecolier" cookies for 87 centimes at franprix.

Remembering the chicken marinading in the fridge, I grabbed a 12 pack of Stella bottles, hoping that the beer would pair well with the chicken. Since the beer here is cheaper than most sodas, I didn't feel bad opting for what would be a "special occation" beverage in the US. And since Stella is a belgian beer, it was also one of the cheapest beers on the shelf -- 1/2 the price of a six pack of bud!

I took my beer home and began preparing my meal. Boy was it a feast. The cheapo marinade turned out better than I expected. The balsamic gave the chicken a sweet and glazed taste while the mustard gave it a little bite. I paired my chicken with some ratatouille that I got from a can, peas, and a stella -- I was surprised at how large of a meal it ended up being.

How to make the chicken:
Before cooking: prepare some extra marinade mixture in a separate bowl (just mix some mustard, oil, balsamic, and pepper together).
Heat up some oil in a frying pan. When you see steam, add butter. When the butter begins to bubble and turn brown, add the chicken. Sear both sides before coating generously with extra marinade. Cover with lid and cook for 6 minutes on each side or until done.

It was so delicious. Do I need to mention butter again?

The chicken cost about 1,10 per breast, the ratatouille was 89 centimes for the jar but I only used about 1/4 of it (and still couldn't finish it), the peas were 70 centimes and I used maybe 1/6 of the jar. In short, the meal cost: 1,44 EUR. If you include the stella, we're up to a massive 1,86. I'm still under the Resto U price and enjoying every minute of it.

I've also been craving Tomme ever since that salad at le parc aux cerfs. They have it at Franprix. It's only days now until I cave.

On a side note, I've been thinking of going to Bruges and Brussels on a side trip for the weekend of the 17th and 18th. This student's international club offers discounted (and I mean discounted) student trips. It will cost 100 EUR including travel, lodging, a guide for both cities, all museum entrance fees, and breakfast. I have to decide before Oct. 9th. What do you guys think?

Total Damages Today:
6 eggs: 1,19 EUR
jar of mustard: 50 centimes
cookies: 87 centimes
12 pack of stella beer: 4,98 EUR

First day of offical classes

2009-09-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

I got to sleep in today and decided to celebrate the occasion with a hot-out-of-the-oven baguette from Biatrix. The man in front of me asked for his baguette in English and got one of the cold ones. I asked in French and got a fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette. Coincidence? I think not.

I then made myself a little sandwich of pesto, tomatoes, cucumbers, and melted brie that I packed into my bag for lunch later. I must say, there is nothing better than a sandwich on fresh bread. The sandwich must have cost less than a euro in total, but tasted like a million bucks. Upon arrival at school, I grabbed a can of cola light from the local ED and went into the computer room to print out my homework for the day.

My first class was "La France Multiculturelle" with M. Mongo-Mbussa. He was incredible. I've never seen a professor get so passionate about a subject that he actually breaks a sweat and has to pause in order to get out a tissue.

After class, I snagged a free coffe and cookie with Natalie, the activies director, and chatted about possible extra curriculars during the semester. I'm hoping to be able to work with kids somehow, doing volunteer work or something of the sort. M. Mongo-Mbussa says he might be able to put me in touch with someone he knows who works at a ZEP.

Finally I got to see a familiar face when we reunited with M. R-G for the offical start of our French class. She is as adorable as ever. I have my first "Tutorat" with her tomorrow and I am very excited!

I finished the eveing with a walk home and a pit stop at Gibert Joseph to pick up some of the reading materials for my classes.

Tonight's dinner brought back an old favorite: the ever cheap and ever satisfying pasta with tomato sauce alongside a tomato and cumcumber salad with pesto and balsamic. Dessert? The rest of the baguette in some delicious faux-nutella.

Total Damages today:

Baguette at Biatrix: ,85 EUR
Cola Light: 19 centimes
Lined paper for notes: 2,79 EUR
2 books for "la france multiculturelle": 9,70 EUR

Slowly coming in with the pictures

2009-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Since blogger has not been nice to me on the uploading photos end, I've opened up another photo account to get the photos up ASAP. For the most impatient of you, here's the link:

http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Enjoy. The pictures are a mix of nice camera pictures and point-and-shoot pictures. I'll try and post them to their corresponding blog post asap.

Le Parc aux Cerfs and the walk back

2009-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

So I'll preface this post by informing all of you that Blogger is being evil and not letting me post pictures right now, so I can't show you all the gorgeous photos that I took yesterday and today until their system gets unclogged or I find a better way to upload photos.

That being said....

It was a beautiful day in Paris. So beautiful that I wore a sundress. Word on the street is that this will be the kindest winter in Paris yet -- they expect the sun to stay out until December. Wishful thinking or not, this brief optimism turned Paris into a sea of smiling sunbathing hopefuls stocking up on what could be the last few summer rays.

I, too, wanted my share of sun exposure, so I went over to the jardin de luxembourg to hang out with Balzac for 30 minutes before my lunch at the Parc aux Cerfs on rue Vavin. The jardin was gorgeous -- they were having a "honey festival" and it was like the sweetness rubbed off on all the parisians around me. Everyone was so happy -- it's funny how the sun can do that to you.

When it was time to go to the Parc aux Cerfs, I gathered up my appetite and met my group at the door. The Parc aux Cerfs is a great little place on rue Vavin that, like La Closerie de Lilas and Le Selet, was frequented by artists and writers when Montparnasse was where you went to be an artist or writer. The Parc aux Cerfs remembers it's custom of letting its talented customers pay via painting or drawing by letting its current customers draw on the paper tablecloths (except, we don't get exempt from paying). Luckily SLC was paying for our food today (a 35 EUR meal was a nice way to end orientation), so we were able to indulge like the artists of another age.

The first course was a choice between a cucumber soup with goat cheese, a tomme (a type of cheese) and candied cranberry salad, or a poached salmon. I chose the Tomme salad and was very happy. I think this was actualy my favorite course, though I didn't get a picture of how beautiful the cheese was displayed before I gobbled the whole thing up.

Next came the plat: a choice of chicken, salmon or duck. I chose le canard and was very pleased. The sauce was a lavendar sauce, but had a sweet citris like tang to it that enriched both the duck and the mound of snap peas it was sitting on. I must say, the French really know how to cook a duck. Maybe they put it in butter -- who knows -- but it melts in your mouth.

For dessert, we could have a berry dish, a orange crême brulée or a chocolate molten cake with salted caramel ice cream. Being torn between the chocolate cake and the crême brulée, I remembered that I didn't have an oven and should probably eat cake at every opportunity I get. Plus, it sounded to perfect with the glass of red wine I was having. I was not dissapointed.

I must say that the crême brulée looked very good, too, though. It was not a little dinky thing like I've found at most restaurants. It was pretty sizable. I would try it should I ever go back to le Parc aux cerfs.

The meal finished, like any good French meal, with a café. I took mine décaf, not wanting to be wired for the rest of the beautiful afternoon.

Taking advantage of the clear skies, I walked home via a slightly different route today. I wanted to go to the île st. louis, which is the island on the Seine next to the île de la cité (the one with Notre Dame and all the fancy stuff). My new route took me along the Seine and gave me an incredible view -- all the parisians were out on the seine like it was a beach. What a great idea for a cheap lunch, I thought, noticing a couple sharing a picnic on the left bank.

Being as hot as it was, I wasn't surpised to find that many parisians were out looking for ice cream, but I had no idea how many of them would wait in ridiculously long lines for what seemed to be the most popular ice cream label on the île. Many cafés and stores boasted this label on the canapies and I noticed that the ones who did not serve this type of ice cream had literally no customers.

The ice cream seemed kind of pricey to me at 2 EUR a boule (scoop), but for the ice cream connoisseur, this could be the best deal of a lifetime. I think that's about the same price as a coldstones in the US, right? The prices also get cheaper if you buy larger quantities, so if you really like the stuff, it might fit well into a student's budget.

My trip to the cute little island was a great, but I found an even more exciting pitstop on the other side of the river -- a flea market! It was like all of the 4th was having a yard sale right along the Seine. I looked around for a while and talked to some French people before asking someone how often this happens. Apparently, for one sunday a month, you can pick up someone else's parisan treasures on the cheap! A great idea for souveniers. They also have cheap clothes and anything else you might expect at a yard sale. I highly reccomend it.

I finally got my full belly and tired feet home at about 5pm, and began to work on my homework. Classes start tomorrow!

Total Damages today:
0,00 EUR!

L'opéra Garnier, les champs elysées, and le marais!

2009-09-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about my neighborhood is that I'm pretty damn close to everything. Even by foot.

Money-saving tip of the day: don't spend money on a movie ticket when the city is your théâtre!

I woke up this morning, put on some walking shoes, and trekked the couple blocks down to the gorgeous opéra garnier. The air was crisp, but the sun was out, so the golden angels adorning the enormous rooftop glistened like a royal crown. Although it was only 9 am, the tourists were already out and about. I suppose I blended right in, taking out my camera and snapping a few shots.
I continued on to tourist spot number 2: the Riz. Surrounded by Cartier, Chanel, and Tiffany's, the Riz fits right in. It even has a red carpet. I think the doormen felt bad for me and the way that I was longingly looking into the lobby like a starving child because they waved at me and said the very polite, "bonjour madamoiselle." I took out my camera and snapped a picture so that they knew I was merely a tourist and they didn't actually have to open the door for me.

I walked by the Westin and D&G on my way to the Place de la Condorde. I think I have found the money hole of Paris. It's funny that just a couple streets down I walked past a homeless man sleeping next to the ED, and here there are thousands of dollars being spent on one handbag.

Walking along the very useful street Rivoli, I came across the place de la concorde. While the photos look gorgeous, we have to remember that this is the place where everyone was guillotined all those years ago. I looked down at the Madeleine as Napoleon had remodeled it, and the place de la concorde itself, noticing how fabulous a landscape for monuments it is. Facing the Madeleine from the opposite side of the place, the Madeleine fits in seamlessly with the two symmetrical buildings along side the Place de la Concorde. Standing in front of the Madeleine, the flatness of the Place allows you to see all of Paris' tall monuments, peaking out above the skyline.

After my fix of skyline, I went down the jardin that leads to the acclaimed champs elysées. I started humming to myself as I walked along the tree-lined pathway feeling the crisp autumn breeze rustle the leaves on the ground, which are just beginning to change color.

Then a startling thing happened -- as I crossed the line from the garden area to the land of shopping heaven, the tourists multiplied, jumped out of nowhere, and flooded the streets. It was like an adult disneyland! I don't think that my neighborhood is devoid of tourists (I live so close to the centre pompidou, after all), but this place made my neighborhood look like the "locals only" side of the beach. Where did all these people come from, I thought.

I looked at the street, too, and noticed that the traffic was terrible. Partially due to the fact that taxis scour the streets like tigers waiting to feast on the weak.

I did my duty and went into Sephora, walked to the end of the street, and took a picture of the arc de triomphe. At this point, I was not willing to walk through the sea of tourists on my way back to la concorde, so I took the metro home.

After a delicious (I don't think that word even does the meal justice) piece of brie, apple, and nutella crêpe, I got the idea to start my photo project. M. Vermès wants us to "get to know our neighborhoods" through photography, so I decided to get myself lost in the 3rd, and the Marais (since I really want that to be considered part of my neighborhood. It sounds more chic saying "I live in the Marais" than "I live in the 3rd," even though technically I think that "marais" means marsh or swampland since the area used to be the marshes of the Seine. Anyway, since everything got paved over for the residences of the noblesse in the 18th century, "le Marais" has sounded very chic).

My journey to get lost in my own neighborhood took a very bad turn when I realized I was on a street I know well: rue de rosiers. However, I noticed something different about this street. I usually come down at nighttime, during the week, so I failed to notice that this street was basically a "jewish street." Being saturday morning, most everything was closed, and almost every sign was written in Hebrew as well as French.

As I passed the falafal joints and the delis (all of whom boast the "best pastrami in paris") I felt compelled to take pictures of this very distinct part of my neighborhood. There was gafilta fish in many a window, often next to Manischewitz brand anything. I loved the labels -- first English, then French, then sometimes Hebrew.

After my tour of the best jewish bakeries in town, I cruised down by St. Paul, which is said to be the "center" of the marais (though who really knows -- supposedly it's the triangle made by the hotel de ville, republique, and place de la bastille -- but everyday I get asked by other lost souls, "is this the Marais?"). Center or not, the area around St. Paul is adorable with lots of cute vendors, markets, and chocolatiers.

I was really enjoying how multicultural my neighborhood was -- not only is there this rue de rosiers, but we have a very established chinese community. I've come across a couple japanese stores with people who actually speak japanese working inside them (this is a big deal) as well as brazilian market places, and lebanese markets. This was such a relief from the Champs Elysées.

As I cruised back up toward the 3rd, I stumbled upon the Marché des Enfants Rouges. I wanted to scream in delight! I had forgotten that this wonderful marketplace was in my neighborhood. Basically you take this back-alley-type street off of rue de bretagne and end up in the mecca of all outdoor street markets. It's like the farmers market in Santa Monica multiplied by 10 and plus wine!

I couldn't stay long and many of the eateries were closing up shop for the day anyway, but I shot some pictures while taking in the delicious smells of all the international and gorgeous cuisines around me. The marché is not just a bunch of eateries though, there are local vendors who sell produce, international products, specialty items, flowers, etc... Just fabulous. I can't wait to go with Jay and grab at seat at one of the many canopied picnic benches to enjoy an afternoon of great dining, great people watching, and great community.

Feeling so proud that my little community had this great big gemstone at its heart, I decided not to take myself home quite yet. I cruised down to the local park by Square du Temple for some more people watching and photos. When I got there, I discovered that the park was more full than usual. In fact there were big white tents all around the park, with lots of teenagers waiting in long lines.

What is this, you ask? What else could this be: they were waiting in line to get their comic books signed. They have comic books in France? Yes they do! And they are gorgeous -- pretty much works of art from the very limited glances I got of these kids' new purchases.

On my way home, I passed a bike with wheels that looked like a Salvador Dali painting (we're talking tires that literally melted into the pavement) and palmiers that really were the size of elephant ears. I dropped off the camera and did my afternoon shopping:

1 ENORMOUS bottle of balsamic vinegar (gotta stock up): 1,99 EUR
1 extra bottle of cab sav: 1,79 EUR
1 kg of pasta (the first one lasted me all month, I think it's a pretty good deal): ,91 EUR

I remembered that I wanted to write my name and the date on my food so I could keep better track of how far my budget was stretching, but I also remembered that they don't seel sharpies in France (I remember when Jay's friend, Richard, came to visit us in the US, he bought almost 30 sharpies). Luckily, there is an Office Depot right accross from my apt, and I figured they would have permanent markers. They did -- but the only come in packs of 4. Tant pis -- I guess I can color coordinate my labels now.

Pack of permanent markers: 2,01 EUR

After talking with my mommy for a bit, I made some dinner. Tonight I had an old favorite: tomatoes and cucumbers (this time with pesto and balsamic), and a heaping bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce. I finished off the first bottle of cab sav and sat down to a delicious feast.

After eating, I got a call from Davis, one of the 2 boys on our program, saying that some of the kids from the program were getting together at Jessica's apt. Since Jessica lives literally 2 blocks down the road from me, I headed over post dinner. We all had a great time just chatting and listening to old music. Unfortunately, we never made it out of the apt. as planned, so I didn't get to meet any more French people that night.

However, I had a great day exploring the city and meeting new people from the program.

Total Damages:
1 bottle of balsamic vinegar: 1,99 EUR
1 extra bottle of cab sav: 1,79 EUR
1 kg of pasta : ,91 EUR
Pack of permanent markers: 2,01 EUR

Better butter

2009-09-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've discovered why I love French cooking so much (and perhaps why the French love cooking): butter. The butter here is amazing -- I just made myself some chicken in a beurre blanc that I'm sure I could have never made at home. The chicken came out perfect, oozing with the brie I stuffed it with, and I wondered why I ever thought that butter was "the enemy." It is certainly not. The butter here tastes like someone forced two butter sticks into one -- it is such a silky and luxurious taste that after my meal, I feel like I've already had dessert.

It's not a greasy taste like the one I've always found in American butter, it's much more rich. It's like a stick of cream. Cream that makes ordinary chicken taste like ... well ... butter. In short, if I had all the money in the world, I would have all my butter imported from France. It's that good.

I think I'll like cooking at home quite a bit! I'm trying to pair these butter-licous meals with something somewhat more acidic to cut down on the heavy and bloated feeling often associated with butter. Tonight I've done tomatoes and peas in a balsamic with a red wine, but I think a simple vinegarette on some salad would suffice. I'm thinking of getting a huge bottle of balsamic tomorrow since I've almost already gone through the little bottle in the cabinet, and the balsamic can make a mean vinegarette when mixed with some olive oil and dijon mustard.

Today's lunch was also quite a feast. I cut open some of the baguette so it lay on a plate open-faced. I coated each side in some berry jam, covered that with thinly sliced apples, and covered that with some brie slices. Off into the microwave it went for 20 seconds where it became an oozing delicious concoction for my taste buds before I headed down the street to the centre pompidou for the exhibition, "elles."

Out of my groceries, I've so far used:
1. 3 tomatoes
2. the baguette
3. 1/5 of the cucumber
4. 1 chicken breast
5. 1 apple
6. 1/8 brie wheel

Tentative list of supplementary groceries for tomorrow:
1. balsamic or vinegarette (roughly 2 EUR at ED)
2. more butter? (roughly 1 EUR at ED)
3. more of this ridiculously cheap and delicious cab sav? (1,69 at ED)

I'm loving the gastronomy here. I feel like a princess even though I'm eating some of the cheapest foods around. Good thing I like cheese, wine and bread!

I think it will be pretty hard to adjust back to American life. Many times I've thought, 'I could really use a bagel right now' but then realized I would still take the fresh baguette smothered in goat cheese over the bagel any day. When I think that I would like some Yogurtland right about now, I see the nutella across my desk and think again. I know that food will be relatively cheaper in the US -- certainly restaurants are -- but I'll miss the few things that are so accessible here. Until then, I'm trying to frequent the boulangeries as long as I can, hoping that they will spring up in America one of these days. I suggest the same to any student in Paris.

Easy and cheap meals I've found to be incredibly satisfying:
Baguette and Cheese
Do-it-yourself nutella crêpes
Apples (they come in season in the fall/ winter) with cheee or nutella
tomatoes (they come in season in the summer/ fall) and cucumber with vinegar
Pain au chocolat with a banana
Petit beurre crackers and jam (or cheese, or nutella...)
Tomatoes and Mozzarella (only ,60 EUR/ ball at Carrefour or ,90 EUR at Monoprix)

I feel like all the above are good ways to save a little money here while still living what would be an expensive lifestyle in the US. I bet you all of those meals cost more on average than they do here. For the vegetarians, living like this is pretty easy. For us carnivores, we have to learn where to invest our pretty penny.

Total Damages today:
0,00 EUR!

Last weekend before classes start

2009-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

After a long nights sleep, I woke up and prepared myself some breakfast that I made with the baguette I stashed from last night's dinner at CROUS and some jam. I had a cup of fauxrangina with it and felt ready to take on the world.

Today we finished our 2 part series of lectures on the formation of Paris, its architecture, art, etc... I remember learning this when I was in Mme. Saigal's class , but it feels so much more authentic now that I'm here. When Mme. Moll mentioned the various walls that defined the territory of Paris throughout history, I remember that I had not quite understood this in Mme. Saigal's class. However, now I know those streets that mark the walls. I know the buildings that expanded them, too. I feel like history is so much more interactive here, and it is so much more engaging!

For lunch I had the other half of the pizza that I got at CROUS last night, as well as a banana from the local Franprix. Since I wanted to start cooking some real food at home instead of relying on CROUS all the time, I bit the bullet and did some real grocery shopping after my french class with Mme R-G.

I bought what I thought would last me at least the weekend and perhaps a few days after that. If it only lasts me until Sunday morning, I still saved money in comparison to eating at the RESTO U.

At ED, I got:
3 chicken breasts (3,41 EUR -- meat is SO expensive here!)
2 gala apples (only ,26 EUR there, not too bad)
a kilo of tomatoes (1,49 EUR was pretty good)
a cucumber (,50 centimes, pretty decent)
a huge wheel of brie (SO cheap here, only 2,99 EUR)
canned ratatouille (I had to try it for 89 centimes)
cab. sav. (1,79 EUR -- it's pretty good -- I'm drinking it now!)

At Franprix, I got the desserts for the weekend:
1 container of generic nutella: 1,15 EUR (which is less than half the price for the same size of nutella, and it takes the same)
1 package of 12 crêpes: ,91 EUR

Basically I can make 12 nutella crêpes for the price of one on the street! They will also be good for crêpes salées (salty crêpes) -- eggs and brie sounds good to me!

I also stopped at Biatrix for a baguette to complete the meal (I just spent 13 EUR on food, so I thought "what's another 85 centimes?").

I came home to the apt and dipped into the nutella with some baguette because I just couldn't resist. I felt I needed to do some laundry before actually making dinner, so I put in a load, cleaned up the room, and began to put the pasta to boil.

Tonight's dinner:
dessert: nutella
entrée: tomatoes and cucumber in balsamic with ground pepper
plat: spaghetti with peas in marinara
boisson: cab sav

I'm falling more and more in love with this place every day. I can't wait for Jay to get here!

Total damages today:
banana at Franprix: 26 centimes
Groceries at ED: 10,99 EUR
Groceries at Franprix: 2,06 EUR
Baguette at Biatrix: 85 centimes

Bibliotheque st. Genevieve

2009-09-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today we took a tour of one of Paris' largest public libraries, Bibilotheque St. Genevieve. The library is enormous but has certain inconvenient differences from American libraries.

1. You can't check out books. Apparently some of the documents and books are really old and they don't want you to ever take anything out of the library. Some libraries do let you check out certain books for very short periods of time (less than 3 weeks), but you have to pay a membership or be enrolled in the institution that supports that specific library. And since the public libraries are extremely well stocked, the alternative libraries often do not have such depth.

2. When you leave the library, you have to tell them how long you'll be gone. 20 minutes? 1 hour? permanently? Apparently you only get one 1 hour break per day, after that, you have to permanently exit the library. Scary, huh?

3. You can't search for the books yourself. You have to tell the librarian, via computers in the library, what book you want. Then you wait 20 minutes, walk up to the counter where the books are waiting for you, and bring them to where ever you can sit. When you're done with the books, you have to bring them to a different counter.

4. They open at 10 am. Seriously? What if I want to work at night? Or in the morning?

I feel like I've been spoiled with the Honnald-Mudd library. I will try out this library and hope for the best, but this is one of the first things that I haven't liked about "the French way of doing things."

After getting my library card, swinging into French class for some more Jaques Brel and fun times with Mme. R-G, and a delicious (though expensive) 3 fromages sandwich, I got to hear a presentation on 2 of the courses that really interested me. I absolutely loved the second professor, who's course ("La France multiculturelle") will cover not only franco-africain and franco-arabe cultures (which the French typically concentrate on), but other multicultural communities in Paris (such as the franco-chinois and franco-portugeuse communities). He was so enthusiastic and seems to be very passionate about this subject.

After listening to his presentation, I went down the rue saint michel to Gibert Joseph to pick up some books for the lit. class that I'm going to take this semester. The class focuses on 2 "grands romans": La peau de chargrin (Balzac) and Madame Bovary (Flaubert). I snagged used copies of both for 2,40 EUR a piece and realized this was probably the least amount of money I've ever spent on the reading materials for a French class. In the US, the import fees jack the books up to 14 bucks a piece (at minimum). Here, a new copy of a classic is about 5 EUR (7.50 USD) and the used ones run under 3 EUR a pop.

I finished my day with a trip to CROUS, where I got a pizza, salad, watermelon, and an overly full belly for 2,90. I met a Taiwanese boy who was studying French and Photography at the universities here and we talked briefly (in French) about learning French as a second language.

My walk home was as beautiful as ever. The Seine is a beast of beauty, Hotel de Ville glows like nothing else, and the smell of nutella crepes fills the air.

Total Damages:

3 Fromages sandwich: 3,90 EUR
2 books for class: 3,80 EUR
dinner at CROUS: 2,90 EUR

Spéos and the Opéra Bastille

2009-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today I visited the other photo atelier, Spéos, and was disappointed to discover that they make all students start with a non-digital, black and white camera. And they have class on Friday. I'm thinking Vermès is looking better and better.

After an afternoon French class, our group got a private tour of the Opéra Bastille. I am still in shock of how utterly fantastic this tour was. When we arrived, we descended down 6 stories and arrived at the bottom of the theater's massive elevator which is in charge of bringing up and down any and all sets for upcoming shows. The first thing I saw when we walked through the doors was the set for La Bohème.

I don't know how to say how happy I was. I got to walk around on the set for La Bohème. Me. Pretty much a dream.

We saw many other fabulous things as well (the Opéra Bastille is HUGE!). They even make all their own props, costumes, sets, etc... right on site, so we got to see some of the crazy things in progress. I did not know that such amazing things could be done with styrophome.

When we finally stepped out into the seating area, I plopped myself down in a seat that I thought was assez bon only to hear a huge gasp come from the mouth of our adorable and hilarious guide. "Madame la Présidente!" he says as he reaches for my hand. Apparently I had chosen the seat in the Opéra where the President sits. My butt has touched the same seat cushon as President Sarkozy (I don't know if I should be proud, amused, or disgusted by this...).

Feeling pretty proud of myself for having such expensive taste, I went and bought myself some really dirt cheap fruit and veggies to add to my dinner for the night.

For dinner:
entrée: tomato with oil and vinegar
plat: spaghetti with bolognese sause
dessert: tiramisu gelatto (and 1 petit ecolier cookie)

Total Damages today:

kinder bar for petit déjeuner en route: ,80 EUR
Orangina: ,80 EUR
Petit Ecolier cookies: ,80 EUR
Apple: ,14 EUR
Tomato: ,17 EUR

Visit to Vermès!

2009-09-21T13:06:00.001-07:00

Today after French class, I went to a photography atelier called Vermès with 3 other girls to meet Phillip Vermès himself and discuss studying photography at his studio. He checked out Jay's camera, gave me a thumbs up, and gave us our first "theme" to start thinking about: our neighborhoods. I already have so many good ideas of where to find things that would make good pictures in my neighborhood and I'm glad that this gives me a reason to explore a little bit more.

Vermès is also much closer to my place than Reid Hall (Vermès is right by Opéra Bastille while Reid hall is on blvd. du montparnasse), and since class is on Thursday mornings with flexible lab times (I get to choose whenever I want to go in), it may turn out to be the superior studio to Spéos, the other photo atelier that we're visiting tomorrow.

M. Vermès was an interesting character himself. He took pictures of all of our ears with his super-mega-awesome-high-powered digital camera and his clothing made him look like someone who just walked out of Venice beach. Come to think of it, the whole studio looks like it could comfortably fit on the boardwalk.

On my way home, I picked up some "groceries" (just some pasta sause with meat to add to my spaghetti, some tiramisu gelato for one of these nights, and a soft drink) and made myself a delicious meal. As I sat by the window, I finished my French homework for the evening and decided to walk down to Reid Hall to print it out.

The walk down St. Michel is amazing, and the detour I took through les jardins de luxembourg was incredible. What a place for a picnic! The place itself is gorgeous and the people watching can't be beat. They even have lounge-style chairs -- it's like they know I want to get comfortable. I've decided that I will come back down here with a baguette and fixings one of these days, maybe I can convice Sam and her French friends to go with me.

In the middle of my super leisurely dinner at the Resto U (pasta, steak, green beans, salad, bread, raspberry tart), a man who appeared to be in his late 30s came and sat across from me. I think he could tell I was American because I was reading some information in a guidebook when he sat down. He was really cordial and explained a lot of things about Paris that he thought were amusing. It wasn't until 1/2 way through the conversation that I realized he didn't have any fingers on his left hand. I was absolutely impressed that he was cutting his steak, eating his apple, and explaining things with his fingerless hand so naturally that I had not even noticed there was anything different about it. More shocking was that when went our separate ways, I had learned nothing about the man's life, what he does for a living, how he lost his fingers, or even his name, but I felt I still had had a great conversation. I think that's the amazing thing about parisians -- they don't talk about themselves that much but still manage to be interesting in a world that is built on "profile pages."

I walked home, enjoying the hot parisian air (I have no idea why it is still this hot here -- I can't even wear pants at noon without breaking a sweat) and found that I didn't even want to dip into that gelato yet. A walk home in Paris was enough of a dessert.

Total Damages:

Pain au chocolat for breakfast from the boulangerie by my school: 1 EUR
"groceries": 3,45 EUR
dinner at CROUS: 3,45 EUR

I'm back!

2009-09-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

We were all told it was raining in the south, so when we arrived to a crystal clear morning in AIX, we tore off our rainboots and slapped on our ballerines that we brought in spite of our instructor's warnings. After checking into our cute hotel, Artéa, we walked past la rotonde and took the famous cours mirabeau into town.

After visiting a museum about AIX's history, we walked around the quartier, learning about AIX's architecture and visiting some of its museums, churches, and historical landmarks. Being the weekend of patrimoine (the days when the French allow public access at no charge to a lot of typically closed cultural attractions), we were lucky to see many things that we might not have been ordinarily given access to. For example, we got to go inside the salle des mariages at the Hotel de Ville and see where probably 10s of 1,000s of couples got hitched.

We were not so lucky, however, that the expected rain returned and left many of us quivering in our little ballerines. Luckily, one of the cloitres we visited had installed roofing so that we could stay dry while we listened to a wonderful guide inform us about the history of the cloitre's diverse columns.

One of the best ways to avoid the rain was our visit to the most visited "expo" in France this year: Picasso/ Cezanne. Not surprisingly, the exhibit was pretty crowded, but absolutely gorgeous. I never realized how much Picasso admired Cezanne until I saw the paintings side by side. I recommend this to anyone in AIX!

Feeling kind of soggy and definitely hungry, we returned to the hotel to prepare for our dinner (payed for by SLC) at la bastide du cours. The food was definitely a step up from what I've been eating normally -- a salad with typical fixings from provence, a chicken with a tomato sauce and potatoes, and a rich chocolate cake with an espresso for dessert. Amazing. I wish I had taken better pictures!

That night I slept like a log before our 7 am wakeup call and our 8am petit déjeuner. I know that the French petit déjeuner isn't as "meal"-like as an American breakfast, but I want to clear up the misconception that just because the French breakfast is not typically cooked it is somehow smaller or inferior. It is not. I have to say I have never been so full after a complimentary breakfast at a hotel. Coissant, baguette, two jams, a hot beverage that comes with an extra pot, fruit, yogurt, orange juice and sometimes cheese and meat, too. What a way to start the day!

Although it was raining, we toured AIX some more, stopping by various indoor sights and 1 outdoor market where local farmers sold their very best. I couldn't help but buy some herbes de provence from an adorable man who wore a hearing aid and kept telling me that he also made spices for pizzas. My friend, Pia, got some herbed goat cheese free of charge from yet another kind AIX local.

We continued our exploration of AIX, noticing that this weekend there was a big "fête" going on and many cyclists were launching themselves off of ramps and onto a giant soft landing mat. I enjoyed the Michael Jackson and other American music before exploring some beautiful gardens outside the building that currently holds a photography exposition on Picasso.

For my hour of free time, I returned to the hotel and munched on my breakfast leftovers. This is when I came to the conclusion that French butter is the best butter in the world. It's like someone put twice the butter in the same amount of butter we usually use.

We decided to go to Cassis and Marseille now that the sun had come out again, so we all filed into a rented bus and headed down to the coast. We stopped at Cassis first and I knew I had found my favorite place. I felt right at home with the marina, the beautiful coasts, and the fortresses and castles above head in the mountains. Every restaurant looked delicious and every stretch of beach looked gorgeous. I'm coming back and bringing Jay whenever I get the chance!

Having only enough time to jump into the water and walk around the town, we left Cassis hungry for more. When we arrived in Marseille, we headed first to an expo of some of Marseille's museums' collected pieces and followed our visit up with a short free Opera concert in the sculpture room.

Marseille was full of all sorts of cool things. The graffiti was even cute. It was one of those cities where everyone hangs their clothes outside on clotheslines, each building is painted a different pastel colour, and no one looks like their in a hurry to get anywhere.

After walking around the ports for a while, we headed back to AIX for dinner at Chez Laurette -- I would highly recommend this place. The food was delicious. We had a tarte salée, followed by salmon with pesto (or lasagne with generous helpings of cheese for the vegetarians), and a simply delicious tiramisu for dessert. Wow. They also kept the carafe's of wine coming. A fabulous evening to be in AIX.

The next morning, I woke up for a petit dejeuner with all the fixings. I think I may marry French hot chocolate. How do they make it so delicious?

I stashed away some bread and butter for our early bus ride out of AIX and up into the small little town of St. Remy, where Van Gogh spent much of his time in a mental house that was converted from a monastery.

Our first stop in St. Rémy was at some very old structures that used to serve as an entrance into the city. Now they are basically just old ruins on the side of the closest thing to a freeway you'll find near St. Rémy. Luckily, we were able to walk from these old ruins across the street to the mental institution where Van Gogh stayed many years ago.

Walking up to the building, you can see a lot of things that show up frequently in Van Gogh's work. It was really cool to compare the real thing to the artist's interpretation. I always thought that Van Gogh's painting style reflected his craziness (and some of it does), but after seeing some of the trees in St. Rémy, I realized they look exactly the same as they do in his paintings.

We went inside the building to discover another cloitre, as the building used to be a monastery. All throughout the corridors were paintings by current patients who, like Van Gogh, found an outlet through art. There was some very cool work.

Upstairs, we explored the room that is believed to be Van Gogh's bedroom at the time he stayed there. Not a bad place to be cooped up in -- the view was fantastic. While in the room, we met another visitor who had brought along his little puppy! The puppy was adorable and his little face reminded me so much of my Aunt Barbara's little doggy.

After exploring the gardens, we headed into the main part of the village for some walking and lunch. St. Rémy is just as cute as is it's size would have you believe and I found that despite it's twisty streets, it was impossible to get lost. Every store was so cute and so distinct, you would remember exactly where everything was within 30 minutes of walking around.

We were lucky, too, because many musicians were staked out in front of the Hotel de Ville and various other places with in the city, giving free concerts to us travelers. After a nice lunch with some jazz in the background, we hopped back on the bus and headed for Avignon.

When we de-boarded, I was really anxious to go to the pont d'avignon and dance, but our guide did not seem interested in the bridge and informed us that "on n'y danse pas." Our guide was less interested in the children's song and more interested in the heart of Avignon as it used to be a papal city filled with abbeys and monasteries.

We entered the city which seemed to be built of stone and were immediately struct by the pure size of everything around us. It was massive! It wasn't just vertical mass either -- the buildings were wide and built like castels, with huge and elaborate facades but very few windows.

We checked out the main cathedral wich seemed to be a beast of a buiding, especially up close. The cathedral had some very interesting things inside of it, too. Most notably, there were 2 crypts for former popes. Each crypt seemed to be a mini cathedral, white and massive.

We wandered into the rest of the city and looked at architecture that spanned the ages. We learned, too, that the city has a large Jewish population as the city protected them and alowed them to practice their religion there when it was dangerous to do so elswhere.

After a long tour through the old papal town, we slept like babies on the train back to Paris. I arrived hungry and went over to the local Franprix for an easy microwave dinner.

Total expenses this weekend:

bottle of wine from Monoprix in AIX: 3,50 EUR
2 sachets of herbes de provence (yes, mom, you're getting one): 2 EUR each = 4 EUR
1 beer in Saint Rémy: ,79 EUR
Microwave lasagna from Franprix for my lazy dinner tonight: 1,70 EUR

Le SUD

2009-09-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the south of France with my program for a couple days -- so no updates until I get back.

Yesterday's damages were:

Pain au chocolat: ,90 EUR
Grapes and 2 chassons pomme: 2,01 EUR
Baguette from Biatrix (to make my lunch for the train ride today): ,85 EUR
Mozzarella ball (to make my lunch for the train ride today): ,89 EUR

French class day 2: already exhausted!

2009-09-16T13:26:00.001-07:00

Today's French class lesson consisted of an exercise on accents, reading Camus' acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, and listening to Jacques Brel (my French teacher adooores Jacques Brel). After feeling exhausted and ready to sip a hot chocolate and take a nap, I ran over the the resto u for some salad, sausage, veggies, mashed potatoes, and a raspberry tart thinking that a full stomach would wake me up. It did.... until the Art History professor showed us slides of some of the art we will see this weekend in Provence. When the lights went down, my eyelids got exponentially heavier.

After class, I hit up some supermarchés to grab some ingredients for the caprese salads that Taylor and I were planning to make. 1 kg of tomatoes for 1 EUR is not too bad....

When I start feeling more rested, I'll update with some more interesting information, but I don't think I'm going to be doing much before Friday morning when we leave for AIX, Marseille, Cassis, Saint-Rémy, and Avignon.

Total Damages today:

Breakfast of Madeleines: ,80 EUR
Lunch at Resto U: 2,90 EUR
1 kg tomatoes: 1 EUR
Pesto: 1,53 EUR
Mozzarella balls: ,89 EUR each (I bought 2 = 1,78 EUR)

1st Day of French Class

2009-09-15T11:46:00.001-07:00

This morning I got up at 7, did my morning routine, and was out the door just before nine so that I could be ready to buy another 1,33 EUR bottle of champagne at the grocery store right when the doors open. Mimosas anyone? I could really get used to this...

When it got close to 10, I decided to take my refreshed and bundled up self out to the Cimetiere du Montparnasse and hung out with the late great writers, photographers, and philosophers who rest there. On Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre's grave, there were so many little notes that people had written about how much these two people had changed their lives. Considering that it rained last night, these must have all come from this morning -- that means before 10am when I arrived there. I thought about how many people might have written such notes over a lifetime and it boggled my mind.

After my jaunt about the cimetiere, I met my program for lunch at the Resto U, curtosy of SLC. We went into a different dining room today, and I didn't like it quite as much as the one I usually frequent, but there were a lot more chairs and the deserts and salads were relatively the same.

After a delicious raspberry tart and a quick walk back to Reid Hall, I began my first day of French class with my new French teacher, Mme Roland-Gosselin. She is extremely French. We began the class with a dictation, and she had us go up to the chalkboard in front of the class to write it. If you have never been in a classroom outside of the US, this appears to be cruel and unusual punishment. However, Mme Roland-Gosselin is a sweetheart -- this is just how they do things in France, apparently. I love that since she hasn't quite learned all of our names yet, she calls us all "mon chéri" or variations of the sort.

Mme Roland-Gosselin informed us that we must have a classeur à anneaux, so I went over to Gibert-Joseph to get one. Let me take the time to inform you, in case you didn't know and don't want to look like the dumb confused American when you ask a salesperson for help like I did, that 3 ring binders in France do not exist. They have 4 rings. And you wouldn't want a 3 ring binder here anyway because the hole punchers punch 4 holes. If you wanted to bring any school supplies with you to France, think again!

Feeling much more educated, I left Gibert-Joseph with the 3,80 EUR binder and headed down towards the Seine. I've enjoyed walking when I have the time, since it is very easy and much more beautiful that the Metro. The street Saint Michel (where Gibert-Joseph is) leads me right to the Seine where I hook a right, walk till I hit Notre Dame, hook a left and walk all the way down to my apartment. Easy, right?

When I got back home, I did my French homework and made some dinner. I'm feeling pretty exhausted now because, even though I didn't walk that much today, I did get up pretty early. I think I might call it a night. Tomorrow brings more of Mme Roland-Gosselin and a presentation about our upcoming trip to le sud (the south of France)!

Total damages:
1 bottle of Champagne: 1,33 EUR
1 binder (4 rings): 3,80 EUR

Monday Night Walk

2009-09-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

I just got back from one of the most gorgeous nights in Paris yet! I walked down Rambuteau till it became another street and met up with Place des Voges. After strolling around the gardens and taking mental pictures of the great Brasseries in the area, I took a deep breath of the delicious smells and continued down to Opéra Bastille. The building is massive and made even more breathtaking by the beautiful canal right next to it.

I have to say that Canal St. Martin is probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in Paris at night. The end of it carries the metro 1 boarding zone and lights up the canal below. All alongside the canal are gorgeous boats docked next to beautiful gardens (Jardins de l'Arsenal). It looked like one of those places where people get married -- everything was lined with ivy, there were beautiful flowers everywhere, and the water was glistening.

From above the canal and gardens, one can hop across a open bridge and stand in the middle of a sparkling Paris. I couldn't help but think that I had stumbled across the perfect place to eat my GOUTU sandwich. I have to retract my previous statement of doubt about the sandwich -- it is a very good sandwich, and the perfect size for a light dinner. However, it is still probably not financially practical to make a regular habit of chowing down on these mini-wiches.

As I was enjoying my wonderful Parisian night, it started to spontaneously downpour. So I got my trusty umbrella out, treked over to the metro, and cruised the 2 minute ride home.

When Jay comes, I can't wait to take him to the Canal and have a proper picnic. :)

Lundi -- J'ai fait du shopping

2009-09-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

Before I left for France I got some very generous donations to the "keep Emily chic" fund from both my mother and grandmother with instructions that these donations were best to be spent on the latest French fashions. Being the frugal girl that I am, I had yet to spend more that 7,50 EUR of this money on clothes, keeping it handy for a rainy day, a nice meal, or maybe just keeping it out of the hands of the stores at les Galeries Lafayette who are known to eat large sums of money without warning.

Well last night I got a careful reminder from my mother that I had such a sum of money and that perhaps I should do some shopping. I didn't have any classes today, so I made myself a little shopping time slot in the assortment of various other activities I wanted to accomplish. I began the day with a trip over to some of the local vendors, finding little that I hadn't already seen. Next I went down to boulevard du Montparnasse thinking that I could snag myself some lunch at the Resto U after a trip to les Galeries.

To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the Galeries Lafayette. It was just like every other mall except everything was more expensive. I was even charged 50 centimes to use the toilets, which were just as crappy as the ones in the metro! I advise you all to pee before you go.

Feeling disappointed, I walked down the boulevard to CROUS and had a huge meal of steak, frites, salad, baguette, and a big hunk of cheese. I know some of you may be wondering why I passed up delicious French desserts for a hunk of cheese. All I have to say to you is, it was a hunk of cheese. I couldn't finish the whole thing so I tucked the baguette into my purse and took off to revisit Montmartre.

Unlike at les Galeries, I had great success at the little boutiques on the sidestreets in Montmartre. I don't know if it's because I've lost weight doing all this walking, or if it's because I'm actually built more like a French woman, but the clothes actually fit me better here. I even got a pair of the very chic "skinny jean," something that never fits me right in the states (I have very long legs, so I always flood them and look like Steave Urkle). The best thing about the clothes here is that I noticed my clothing size is for the most part the same as my shoe size: 40. How easy is that?

These are the jeans hanging out on my bright blue couch --->

The boutiques in Montmartre aren't that expensive either (not cheap, but a decent bargain when we're talking Paris). Sweaters were going at 10 to 15 EUR a pop for anything not-cashmere, and I got myself a nice, wool, red peacoat that I absolutely adore for only 23 EUR (about 35 dollars). The punk/ military look seems to be very "in" here, and both the jacket and the skinny jeans reflect that style in a very subtle way.

Feeling that 38 Euros out the door was enough shopping damage to satisfy my mother for one day, I decided to trek back from Montmartre via rue des martyrs, a "long" street ("long" being very relative as nothing is really that long in Paris) which goes from the 18e to the 9e. I felt very epic making the same journey as Saint Denis supposedly made, even though I wasn't headless or immortal. Most of the street felt pretty old world, except for the Carrefour which installed itself about half way down the street. There were chocolatiers and patisseries, antique dealers and ateliers -- I think if I had just gotten beheaded, I would have liked to walk down such a wonderful street as well (though I realize Saint Denis was beheaded before such a street existed).

When I made it to the bottom, I wandered about the 9e a little bit, remembering that GOUTU, the 1 EUR sandwich shop, was in the 9e. When I found it, they were just closing but I managed to get myself a sandwich for later: turkey, coleslaw, and curry. To be honest, I don't know if it was worth my 2 EUR -- it's pretty much as small as the dinner-roll sized baguette we get at Resto U. For only 90 more centimes, I could have gotten a full meal and seat right next to my school. I'm still intrigued by the sandwich (perhaps it is delicious) but I don't think I will frequent GOUTU as often as I thought I might have.

I walked home via my normal route along the Seine, spotting lovers and venders and musicians everywhere. The streets really smell delicious here at around 1-2 pm, I've noticed.

The day is still young -- only 5:46pm here -- so I may just put on my new jacket and flâner. My dinner is really portable after all -- pocket size, you might say!

Total damages:
Using the bathroom at les Galeries Lafayette: ,50 EUR
Lunch at CROUS: 2,90 EUR
Skinny Jeans and Red Jacket: 37.98 EUR total including taxes
Sandwich at Goutu: 2 EUR

L'exploration de Montmartre

2009-09-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today began with morning jaunt about the neighborhood. One of the fabulous things about living close to the "jewish district" is that many things are open on Sunday so long as you know where to go. After picking up my baguette at Biatrix, I took a stroll down one of these streets with many open-les-dimanches markets and took note.

A baguette and some cheese in hand, I meandered my way to the subway in hopes of beginning today's scheduled tour of Montmartre a little bit early by myself. The last time I went to Montmartre, I had gotten off at "Anvers," but my tour was scheduled to start just outside of "Lamarck-Caulaincourt" so I decided to explore that area more.

Once I arrived, I realized that this metro, while being a slightly less direct route to Sacre Coeur, was a better metro stop for Montmartre because it began already some ways up the hill. That's right, you can walk down to Sacre Coeur.

Walking around the area just about the Metro stop, I noticed some stores I wanted to visit once they reopened, as well as some beautiful homes, streets, and scenery. Montmartre is probably as close to a "village" as I've seen in Paris yet and everything really reflects that village "charm." After picnic-ing on a park bench and then returning to the metro stop, I finally met up with my group and ascended the steps to the street "villa leandre" where we caught a glimpse of what an older Montmartre might have looked like. Our guide, Natalie, informed us that Monmartre is relatively new to Paris, and prior to its inclusion, Montmartre was a little village filled with potagers and abbeys. Villa Leandre is one of the only streets left in Paris (and Montmartre) with stone laden streets and almost every building is a house (as opposed to an apartment).

At the end of the street, there is a dead end and some stairs that lead to a park on the way to the Place Dalida. The park features a statue of Saint Denis, carrying his head as legend said he did on the day of his execution all throughout Montmartre. Some say that the "martre" part of "montmartre" comes from the word "martyr."

When we exited the park, we stood on the place dalida, facing the famous bust of the beautiful singer. Continuing up (and then down) the rue de saules, you can see some of Montmartre's old agricultural history: vineyards. The abbeys sold a lot of land to people who were looking to take advantage of Monmartre's unique taxing situation: since Montmartre was virtually in Paris, but technically not subject to Paris' tax on wine, the wine business in Montmartre was very lucrative. It was so much cheaper to drink in Montmartre that many Parisians frequented the taverns in Montmartre every time they wanted to drink which, as we all know, lead to the creation of many cabarets and Montmartre's reputation as a district of illicit pleasures.

In fact, at the end this vineyard on rue de saules, one can see the only remaining Caberet in Paris: "Au Lapin Agile." Unlike many other cabarets that have since been converted into restaurants and cafés, Au Lapin Agile still maintains its regular program.

We continued our journey seeing all of Montmartre's "musts" at the "butte" (at the top of and alongside the hill that is Montmartre): the museum of Montmartre, the moulin de la galette, the old city center, the Dali museum, l'Eglise Saint Pièrre, Sacre Coeur, la bateau-lavoir, etc...

When we began to descend, we passed the théâtre de la ville, the rue des martyrs, and the deux moulins (from Amélie). At the end, we ended up at the Moulin Rouge, which in the bright daylight looks unfortunately far less glamorous and bohemian that it does in my dreams. It's even wedged in between a "Quick" (France's Mc Donalds) and a modern 3-story nightclub. If you continue your way down the street, you'll happen by the erotica museum (this used to be a red-light district, after all).

I returned home to a glass of red and a pasta with pork, corn, and basil tomato sauce. Mhmm delicious Paris.

Total damages:
Baguette: ,85 EUR

The Perfect Saturday Night in Paris

2009-09-12T12:36:00.001-07:00

I woke up at around 12:30 today (which is pretty early when you consider that I went to bed at 6am), cleaned up the mess of clothes I left on the floor last night, poured myself a nice glass of orange juice and informed my parents that I was alive.

When Taylor woke up at around 2:30, we decided to pick up some groceries, make lunch, and catch up with eachother's lives. After a jaunt down to Biatrix for the usual 85 centimes Baguette Parisienne, we hopped over to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for omelettes and other things we wanted to have around the apt. We stocked up on corn, peas, tomatoes, and motzzarella (which is only 90 centimes here for a large ball, I love Paris!). Our huge bags of groceries came to only 13 EUR and Taylor picked up the tab since I got the laundry detergent, draino, and the previous round of groceries. After finishing our baguette en route as usual, we came home to make a huge lunch. I was in charge of food prep and Taylor prepared the omlettes in the pan. I think we've mastered the art of cooking in a small kitchen.

We set our beautiful lunches out on the table in my room, right next to the window that looks out onto rue Michel le Comte. It was a beautiful day and the breeze trickled in through the window. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon after a long Friday night. We took advantage of our beautiful surroundings and ate as if we were 2 parisiennes sitting at a local brasserie or café just down the street: we took our time and ate for 2 hours.

After feeling incredibly satisfied, I decided to take the newly draino-ed shower drain for a spin and was very, VERY satisfied that my shower did not turn into a foot bath.

Taylor was getting ready to go to a concert and I desperately wanted to take a walk along the Seine, so I skyped a bit with Jay before throwing on an echarpe and taking to the streets. I grabbed Jay's camera in hopes of capturing a few good shots.

I first trotted down to the Seine and walked along the side of the street closest to the river. Even though it was almost 7:30, the sun was just starting to set and the water looked beautiful. I hiked my way down past the local artists until I happened upon the Louvre, where the crystal pyramid was sparkling in the sunset. Pure magic surrounded me as I began to hear a cello out of one corridor. As I wandered around the Louvre's courtyard, I noticed that each corridor seemed to house the music of a different musician. I heard opera singers, a clarinet, and a cello all playing different tunes from different eras but they all seemed to combine into a magical melody that could have never come out so beautiful had it been planned.

Standing in the center of this virtual orchestra of street musicians, I looked toward the fountain and noticed that I wasn't the only one feeling the magic. Two parisians on velibs shared one of the most romantic moments I have seen thus far on my trip. To be honest, I was kind of jealous of how perfectly they looked in that instant -- just two lovers on bicycles sharing a kiss in front of a gorgeous fountain as a symphony surrounds the courtyard -- their bicycle tires even matched up.

But it wasn't before long that the sun set, the lovers parted, and a man took off his shoes, rolled up his pants, and jumped feet first into the fountain. One second the city is full of romance, the next, it's full of feet. I love Paris, I thought for the 1000th time.

The sun was coming down, so I decided to head back home. As I walked home, I was greeted by the cutest little face in a window of a store: a little kitty! He was so friendly -- just came right up to the window and stuck his little face out. I played some little games with him for a little while since I felt kind of bad that the poor thing was locked up in a store all by himself all night, but then another kitty came up to him and I realized he wasn't all alone.

I continued my walk home but stopped at the rue du rambuteau to get a little snack. When I saw that I could snag a banana nutella crêpe for only 3,50 EUR, I had made up my mind. It was as fresh, oozing, and delicious as anyone could have ever hoped for. I love Paris, I thought again.

I decided to follow the sound of some music down another street where I found some street performers playing a duet on what looked like a home-made marimba. I sat down with my handful of extacy and took in more of the Parisian magic. I had music, a crêpe and the centre pompidou behind me: how can Los Angeles even compare? All I need is to get my boyfriend up here and then you'll never get me to leave!

After my mini concert and excellent dessert, I saw a Monop' (Monoprix's little convenience store) and decided to hop in for some pictures. I saw the Sirop and was enticed by the colors, so I began snapping some photos with Jay's camera until a man in a security suit came up to me and said in a very serious French voice that I was prohibited from taking photos. I apologized profusely in my best French, saying that I wasn't from here and so I didn't know the rules. I thought about it for a second and realized that I really didn't know the rules. Apparently, it's perfectly acceptable to bathe in the fountains at the Louvre and drink in public but I can't take a photo in a convenience store? Tant pis! A little slap on the wrist for being a silly tourist is probably pretty good for me and now I've learned that I shouldn't just assume I can take pictures where ever I want. At least they let me keep the shots. :)

Feeling that my big camera faux pas was probably a sign to end the night, I walked back to the apt for a glass of Cola Light from a bottle that I bought at ED a few days ago. I look out my window and see the parisians out to play but feel totally satisfied having gone to my own concert at the Louvre, having tasted my parisian delicacy, and having gotten in trouble the Monop' police. Who could ask for anything more?

See my photo albums for more photos of today:

Fickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42113654@N07/
Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/Paris#
and http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/ParisOnAStudentSBudget#

Total Damage today:
Baguette: ,85 EUR
Crepe: 3,50 EUR

I am alive!

2009-09-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

This entry is dedicated to my mother, who, bless her heart, was terribly worried that I didn't put in a blog entry asap.

Yesterday I went to eat at resto U (CROUS) and loved it. Truly fabulous. They are on "points" system there so you can choose whatever items you want so long as they add up to 6 points, and if you go over 6 the extra point costs you a mere ,55 EUR. Staying within 6 points is very easy. For example, a plate from the salad bar is 1 point, fruit is one point, tarts are 2 points, a piece of ham is 1 point, yogurt is 1 point, the "plat du jour" is four points, the regular plat is 3 points, bread is complimentary, and the water is plentiful. I want to take a moment to assure my mother that I even ate my veggies. The plat du jour was a big plate of ratatouille, rice with corn, and salmon to which I also added a salad and fruit. See mom, not just bread!

After Resto U, I had a meeting with the director of the SLC program about what classes I'm going to take etc... Then I bought some draino (called desTop here) and laundry detergent, returned home for a brief bite, lost my keys, found my keys, and went to a concert at Sainte Chapelle. Sainte Chapelle is really interesting because it is surrounded by la prefecture de la police so that you can't actually get in the church unless you pass through security (even just to visit). After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, we were finally in. Sainte Chapelle was absolutely beautiful (even though it was very much under restorations). We listened to a string group followed by a children's chorus that sent chills down my spine (it was very much like les choristes). I very much enjoyed both the location and the music.

I finished the night up by hanging out at Sam's new apt. in the 9th. She has a truly beautiful place and had a couple of girlfriends over to catch up, eat some snacks, and listen to some music. It was really nice to see Sam again, meet her friends/ coworkers, and learn a lot about Paris. It was well worth the $2.oo I probably spent in phone calls trying to figure out which way to turn once I got off the metro (thanks for putting up with me, Sam). :)

Total Damages:

Lunch at CROUS: 2,90 EUR
Draino + Detergent: 5,52 EUR

Night walk

2009-09-10T12:02:00.001-07:00

I made a short little night walk down to TATI and some other local shops before I came home for dinner. On my way I happened across a very cute street with lots of Asian (mostly Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai) restaurants and 1 truly American shop: a bagel café that had a full stock of peanut butter and bisquick. Let me say one thing: these products are EXTREMELY expensive in France and completely defeat the point of living in another country (in my opinion), but I did enjoy that the American food was placed amoung other foreign or "exotic" restaurants as I believe it should be in France.

I returned to the apt. for a dinner that included no products with American labels: spaghetti with basil tomato sauce, an end of yesterday's baguette, a glass of wine, and lunch's chocolate cake (heated up in the microwave, yum!) for dessert. All products of the fabulous F.R.A.N.C.E. Quite a good day for my gastronomical senses, if I do say so myself.

I just got a text from Samouille and hope that I'll get to see her tonight. If not -- definitely one of these days we'll have to cross paths. I'm so glad there are wonderful Pomona grads in Paris to make me feel more "at home."

Pictures to come

Plans for tomorrow:
1. Sleep in
2. Check out CROUS
3. Consultation with Monique (the "directrice") about the classes I want to take
4. Ramen for dinner before a concert at Saint Chapelle (6:15-9:00)
5. Maybe rendre visite à Sam?

L'orientation: 3eme jour

2009-09-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

I didn't have to be at school until 10:30 today, so I decided to clear things up with the bank. It didn't quite work out that way -- they told me I still needed a mailbox at mon domicile (my residence) -- but I figured out a plan that will keep my money safe and sound until my landlord and the building manager have a coffee and decide to hand me a mailbox key. We decided that I would withdraw my money and close the account until I receive a mailbox, at which point I will re-open the account (complicated, I know).

Then I went to Reid Hall where we learned about our carte de sejour (yay! another fee!), how to use French computers (it's difficult), and various tips on "good maners" in France.

For lunch I went to Pomme du Pain for their 4,95 lunch special with 1 girl and 1 boy from my program. The special includes 1 sandwich (today was "le lyonnais"), 1 drink, and 1 dessert (today was chocolate cake). 5 EUR was not bad for a complete, delicious meal and a place to sit down on blvd. du montparnasse, but I think I'll start going to the Resto U (C.R.O.U.S.) since we'll have more time for lunch in the future.

The Resto U system is very handy -- I haven't been yet, but it's basically a cafeteria system for students in Paris. It costs about 2,90 EUR for a meal (about as much as a sandwich from a cart) but you get entrée, plat et dessert (and probably some beverages, too, I imagine). The one by our school is open for dinner, too, so if I like it, I may go there a lot.

After our class on "French manners" let out, I went with 3 other students to a librairie (bookstore) on the other side of les jardins de luxembourg: Gibert Joseph. Much cheaper than the neighboring Monoprix and other tourist traps, this librairie is close enough to la Sorbonne that it knows it needs to keep it's prices down for us students. I snagged an "agenda," or pocket calendar, for 2,89 EUR.

Before heading back home, I walked through les jardins and around St. Suplice for a while, just to take in the sights. I'm really so impressed by all the architecture here.

A couple metro stops later and I was back at the local ED to pick up an apple at ,48 EUR.

Perhaps I will go out again tonight? I still have my chocolate cake from lunch to devour...

Total Damages today:

1 lunch at pomme du pain: 5 EUR
1 agenda: 2,89 EUR
1 pomme (apple): 0,48 EUR

L'orientation: 2eme jour

2009-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

As I sit here and write my entry for the day, I realize there are 2 great things about being a étudiante pauvre à Paris.

1. We are forced to live similarly to Parisiens; we cannot go out every night and are thus forced to find the little gems in the city that offer free leisure or inexpensive delicacies. In other words, we are forced to stay away from the tourist traps (say goodbye to virtually every corner bistro as they are at least 10 EUR more expensive than the places most parisiens frequent).

2. Since we cannot afford to stuff our faces silly with extravagant French meals, that glass of wine goes a long way.

For example, for lunch today I had a 1/2 baguette from a boulangerie around my school (52 centimes) and had the other half for dinner tonight with some meat and tomatoes from my fridge. I covered the meat with some tomato sauce and basil (99 centimes for the jar) that I bought at the ED around the corner. My verre de vin blanc hit me like a ton of bricks.

Around 15 h (aka 3pm), the Université treated us to some coffee, tea, and chocolat chaud at "Select" in the 6e (boulevard du montparnasse). The café was absolutely adorable and even had a cat who occupied one of the booths below his portrait that was inscribed, "chat d'or: Micky." I chose a chocolat chaud (made the French way) which was absolutely delicious.

Le Select is a great little place to go and visit as it, like many other cafés on boulevard du montparnasse, played a crucial role in the everyday lives of parisian painters back in the days when painters could still afford to live in Paris (even though they still could not eat in Paris). When the painters couldn't afford a meal, they would often paint the restaurant something in exchange. Le Select still has many paintings on the wall to refelct this history. One can find many other cafés and restaurants on the block that still maintain this policy for some painters.

<--- Micky

In other less fabulous news, I took my first examen today. There was a section on dictation that made me very glad to have taken Christelle's phonetics class at Pomona (FR105). I think I'll leave it at that.

Damages today:

Baguette: 0,52 EUR
Tomato sauce: 0,99 EUR
Cola Light: 0,37 EUR

1st Day of Orientation!

2009-09-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm EXHAUSTED but a lot of good things happened today.

1. I got a cell phone that I pay for in DOLLARS for -- yes, dollars! Instead of a regular pre-paid card, the phone is basically a "short-term" plan that only charges you for the minutes you use during the time you indicate that you need to use the phone. All incoming calls (while I'm in France) are free, and all outgoing calls to other students who have the same plan (pretty much everyone on the Sarah Lawrence program buys this phone) are also free. Local calls are also cheaper than they would be on pre-paid cards and the whole phone plus sim cost me a mere 25 dollars. That's right, folks, DOLLARS.
I set it up so that it charges my Wells Fargo account and converts all Euros into dollars prices -- and since the telephone company is an American company, there are not extra fees for international charges! I'm glad there's one company out there who's target is poor study abroad students.
How can they do this for so cheap you ask? Well the sim cards are used, so you're really only paying for the service and not the hardware (you don't get to keep the sim). But since the company is based in the US, when I leave Paris, all I have to do is ship off the sim card from Los Angeles.

2. I may have worked out the issue with the bank. I wrote the "Conseiller des particuliers" a quick email regarding my lack of a boite de lettres offing an alternative that the people at Sarah Lawrence suggested to me. I hope this works out :: crosses fingers ::

3. Free breakfast! Yes, I ate 2 croissants because really how can you waste them?

4. I ate French macaroons! Pistache (wow) and nutella (oh my god). Pia (another French student from Scripps) arrived last night and today we stopped by a cute little patisserie by the school for lunch. The macaroons just asked to be eaten, so we split a box of 4.

5. The director of the SLC program, Monique, is quite possibly the cutest person in Paris.

6. Free samples of wine and meats and cheeses at Monoprix = win!

Total Damage today:

2 Macaroons and 1 can of Orangina at the patisserie: 3,80 EUR
1 pair of ballet flats (I swear I had no idea it would still be summer here): 7,50 EUR

Now all I need is a pair of sandals for the côte d'azur and I'll be set for every season (I really should have listened to my mother and tucked along an extra pair).

Exhausted

2009-09-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

Orientation starts tomorrow.

I took Jay's camera out for a walk today and came up with this. It just says "Paris" to me.

For more, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42113654@N07/

Total damages today:

Une baguette de la tradition: 1,05 EUR

Le Loyer

2009-09-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

I just paid rent for the first time in my life! What a fabulous milestone!

An afternoon at la Tour Eiffel et l'école militaire

2009-09-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Woke up at noon and got going around 2. Taylor and I headed over to the local boulangerie for a fresh baguette with the intention of heading over the Tour Eiffel for a picnic with 2 other friends. Except when we walked over to the local fromagère, we noticed that he, like many other stores in Paris, was closed on Sunday. We thought that the Monoprix would be open, so we walked down there, but it was closed, too. When we were looking at the city map to figure out where to head next, out of nowhere came a flash mob of roller-bladers folled by ambulences and police men. There must have been 3,000 of them!

In fact there were about 3,000, or so the man who explained the situation to us estimated. He told us that the group sometimes reaches 10,000 bladers and that they regularly skate from the Bastille all around Paris every Sunday. Apparently the French police has a special division for police officers on roller-blades and they, along with ambulances, and police vehicles, escort this massive group every week. We were so excited and decided that we would have to try this before leaving Paris.

We hopped on the subway, having already eaten our baguette (oops!), and headed toward the Tour Eiffel. When we got off the subway, it was already in plain sight -- a massive beast sticking out of the trees. We let out our usual girlish screams before preceding to the tower's base.

It was a beautiful day in Paris, and so we headed out the lawn to enjoy the sun and sights. On our way, however, we were bombarded by about 30 Parisians dressed in what seemed to be body armour. They were passing out nerf guns and pulled us over, asking if we wanted to join in their game. I decided to stay with our bags and take photos but encouraged Taylor to take part in the fun! She jumped right in and seemed to have a blast! Nerf guns under the Eiffel Tower? Only in Paris.

We finally met up with the 2 other girls and hung out for a while at the park just in front of the tower. We were slightly uncomfortable with the sheer number of couples publicly displaying their affection (and perhaps procreating? sometimes it looked that intense), but we understood that this was a beautiful day in Paris and romance was in the air -- there were even 4 couples getting married.

At the end of the day, we saw a group of cyclists coming into the lawn who said that they just finished a charity ride all the way from London. Two of them were on a bicycle-built-for-two and came dressed as batman and robin. We congratulated them as they popped open a bottle of champagne in front of the Tower.

The evening came to a close as Taylor and I returned to our apt. and cooked up some dinner (spaghetti with meat and tomatoes in olive oil, and peas on the side). For dessert: Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough. A day well spent with no money spent.

Total Damages:

0,00 EUR

A night on rue princesse and at Cab

2009-09-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I went out with Taylor and her friends from Trinity College. Everybody had a great time but of course I was the dorky one and most enjoyed the part of the evening when I got to pick up on French phrases from French people willing to amuse me for a couple of hours. They were really delighted that I was so interested and I ended up speaking the most French that I have spoken yet.

French phrases learned:

"Pétiller" as in, "les yeux pétille": the eyes sparkle, like when you're looking at a person you desire. The French man who taught me this one explained the phrase as, "it's like the bubbles in champagne are in her eyes."

"Il joue sur plusieurs tableaux": he's hitting on all the girls, he's playing the field. Let's just say French bars make for great people watching.

"Pichenette": A little flick made with the thumb and forfinger. The boys seemed to have a game where they would flick each other in the nose.

I must have heard meuf and mec/ type about a thousand times. And a bunch of other argot and verlan that I couldn't quite understand. I asked the guys about it and how often they use it. They told me that people only use it casually and rarely use more than a couple words. However, when I asked them how they felt about l'Acadamie Française, they all emphatically told me, "fuck l'Acadamie Française" and "we never speak the way they say we should … except when we need to get a job." I find it interesting that just a couple words can be seen as definant here, and a couple more can indicate one's social class and background.

All around Paris are reminders of the resistance in WWII and memorials to the French revolution, a time when the people were successful in changing the language, even if by just a few words. I wonder if these young men aren't just a greater part of that resistance mentality -- I wonder if maybe they secretly love l'Academie Français for giving them something to exercise that mentality on.

I think I'm done with the whole Paris party scene for now, but I'm glad I went because I got to use my French a lot. I actually enjoyed the first bar we went to (it helped that they were playing Michael Jackson). However, all of these dance clubs just seem a little too "exclusive," a quality which I have never adored about anything. When we went to Cab, it felt really cool to cut the line and get right in, but I couldn't help but think that this place was filled with more losers than at the bar. Everyone was so dressed up at Cab but the guys reeked of cologne, the girls couldn't dance, and no one was smiling. You couldn't hear yourself talk over the music (which was Amercian anyway), so no one communicated except through some vague interpretation of sign language. Don't get me wrong -- I like dancing -- but this place was full people who thought they were way too cool and I found myself missing that little pub on rue de princesse with the 3 guys who were just happy sitting around and talking to 4 American girls in French.

The Sketch Factor: La Drague

2009-09-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

I am, for the most part, completely tolerant of cat-calls and things of that sort -- Especially in Paris where the catcalls consist of "t'es belle!" instead of "hey baby, nice ass." However, I draw the line when they don't stop, and get increasingly invasive. In America, I know how to deal with these wont-take-no-for-an-answer guys pretty well, but in France I have no idea what to say to them. I don't want to be rude, but at the same time, I do want them to leave me alone like all the other men who say their 2 or 3 words and continue walking. I've been pretending that I don't speak French, smile, shake my head, and walk away, but I would prefer a nice one-liner like we have in the states. "I'm sorry, I'm engaged," "I have AIDS," or even a simple, "Not interested."

So today when I left for Montmartre in an outfit that I thought was pretty cute, I didn't know what to say to the man who thought that I was pretty cute. I looked around me and noticed that I didn't look much different than the other girls on the metro, except that I was wearing very very tall shoes. So tall that when I was walking to the metro a little boy asked his mother if he could wear shoes like mine so he could be tall, too. Still, I remember seeing tons of girls in my neighborhood wearing even taller shoes, shoes that were brightly colored and would attract much more attention than my black suede closed toe heels. Maybe there is some unwritten "no heels in Montmartre" rule that I haven't figured out yet, or maybe I just got unlucky and happened to cross the path of the one sketchy guy in Montmartre.

After a gorgeous trip up and down the stairs of Sacre Coeur, I went one metro stop down to the local TATI where, as Samantha and Christelle had informed me, the prices were much more reasonable. I saw things I could actually afford! I bought 2 wine glasses (we only had 1 in the apt.) and a little hanging thing for the shower (we're girls, and we have a lot of shower products). At Monoprix, the shower stuff started at 9 EUR, but I got a large container for only 3 EUR at TATI. The pair of wine glasses was less than 5 EUR.

I finished up the afternoon with a walking trip to Monoprix and ED (in jeans and my most mundane looking shoes, of course). I picked up a quick pain au chocolat at Monoprix where they cost only ,60 EUR but are not quite as yummy as the ones at my local boulangerie. When I stopped by ED, I just intended to look around as I had at Monoprix, but then I saw that I could buy a whole kilogram of pasta for ,91 EUR and then there was the bordeaux for only 3,09 and the tomatoes... well lets just say I caved but honestly not the worst place give into temptation (did I mention the bordeaux? That wine sells for 13 EUR/ glass in many cafés around here, not that I've been looking...). My total damages at ED came to 5,53.

When Taylor came back from her weekend trip, I decided to take her for a walk along the Seine so that she could scream like a little girl the way I did yesterday. We celebrated her homecoming with dinner at a cute café right along the Seine. A prix fixe meal (I chose frites, steak and salad, and a fruit tart) with an orangina, a view of the seine, and a place to rest our tired feet came at 14,00 EUR a piece, and we even got a compliment from the chef about our French. :)

Might go out dancing later :)

Total damages thus far:

Wine glasses: 4,99 EUR
Shower container: 2,99 EUR
Pain au chocolat: ,60 EUR
1 kg spaghetti: ,91 EUR
3 vine ripened tomatoes: ,60 EUR
1 package of chunks of meat (I swear it looks delicious): ,90 EUR
bordeaux: 3,09 EUR

Pictures

2009-09-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

For a collection of all of my pictures, please enjoy both

http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/Paris#
and
http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/ParisOnAStudentSBudget#

I'm trying not to duplicate the photos in both albums so please view both.
All photos were taken with my tiny point-and-shoot Canon, but hopefully I'll get some better DSLR pics up soon. :)