So the scoop- I love Paris more than I ever thought humanly possible. It's nice to be able to say that it's my city and that I live here now! The group of people on my trip are amazing and we've been having so much fun. Yesterday, in addition to a few hours of "orientation" each day, we took a tour on "Vedettes de Paris", a boat tour down the Seine of Paris. The weather was typical Paris winter, grey sky, a bit of rain and chilly but I still took some pictures, check them out.
Today, we had our orientation and went for crêpes and café- so delicious. My program director, Céline, is really nice and approachable. After we went to the crêperie (crêpe restaurant), we walked over to the Louvre, through the Jardins des Tuileries (Tuilerie Gardens, built by Catherine de Medicis when she was queen of France), through the Place de la Concorde, where there is a giant obelisk with a gold top that was stolen by Napoleon from Egypt and brought to the center of Paris, then down the Champs Elysées towards the Arc de Triomphe. It was really nice.
The sales going on in Paris are world famous and people from all over Europe flock- they are going on until the next week-- I'm sure I'll find something great to buy.
My room, (see posted pictures) is very.. bare. Cement floor (for which I need to buy a carpet), a low bed with a thin mattress, a table instead of a desk, and a closet with two shelves. And a shelf that is on two walls of my room- and a sink/mirror also. I'm coping, don't worry about me. Anytime I get annoyed with my room (seldom), I a. remember that I'm in Paris or b. look out my window onto the Parc Montsouris (Park of Mt. Mouse) and listen to the tramway rumble by. It's awesome.
I'm so incredibly happy here and have been living it up- going out to the bars is expensive, so usually we opt for the bottle of wine for 1,80 euros instead : )
I'll post again later, but enjoy the pictures. A camera could never come close to capturing the extreme beauty of this awe-inspiring city. It's truly unique.
PS. Today, at sunset, we stood at the Arc de Triomphe and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It's something that no video camera or digital camera could ever capture, but it is something that will forever be apart of my memory. Sorry no pictures can do it justice- you'll have to imagine.
Bisous!!
