Spring has arrived in Paris, France!

Before I forget, check out these pictures- I took them this weekend when I went to Champagne!

Ok, so just got back from class- it's finally beautiful out! Spring has sprung in Paris as the weather forecast (excepting tomorrow) is 16 (57F) and sunny! A great way to start April- for all those readers out there who know me (how pathetic- hi mom, that's about all of my readers - anyway :P) I did some spring cleaning today - hardly sufficient though. Laundry was CERTAINLY in order- that's in the machines now. New sheets, food shopping- cleaned my VERY mini-fridge and my "quarter bathroom" (only a sink- quarter or third?).

So I'm just realizing some frightening things: a. It's April (well, tomorrow)- and that means I'm so close to the end of this wonderfully amazingly ethereal euphoric (sephoric!) experience - which makes me very sad (though I am very happy to see my family and friends) - this friday morning, Jess and I are leaving Roissy (Charles de Gaulle airport, it's what "we" Parisians call it) for a stopover in Francfort (as it's spelled in French) and then landing in Istanbul, Turkey- to meet Meg! I can't wait! Unfortunately, the last weather forecast I checked said rain- but I'm keeping my fingers crossed- Istanbul is an incredibly beautiful and historicc city- and yes, don't worry Mom, Nan, etc. I went on the US State Dep't website and read all of the warnings about traveling in Turkey- and specifically Istanbul, I'm practically half way to a J.D. in Turkish law- so we'll be fine! Be right back, laundry! Not that you're going anywhere...

Never-mind, wasn't done yet. So yes Turkey, then the Ballet on the night of Fri, 11 April, then the next morning Jess and I are going to Vienna (to discover some of my heritage and origins.. ? ). The week after Mom, Dad and Brett are coming (can't wait!!) - then Italy for 11 days, then Valencia, Spain for 5 days - studying for finals and a week in June before I come home. That's fast! So we're not allowed to look forward to anything other than "le maintenant" (what's happening now- that's our rule so as not to help the time fly by faster)

and b. I have two-10 page papers due 16 April that I just got the topics for today- So this week is going to be, yeah (and next week too)- and God knows, with the way the internet works here- I might just commit su. (Now I'm in the laundry room- FYI** ["Eff you FYI, guests should never wear more jewelry than their hosts!" lol for those of you who get that Brenda Dickson reference]). One paper is for art history- it's on the shock of Impressionism at the time, it's immediate rejection and it's later adoration. My other paper is on the euro, the unification of Europe and the new European identity (since the 70's). Then in May I have a 10 minute presentation on the big literary movements of French literature (SEE! I actually do have work!!)

So needless to say, I'm going to get cracking on those. (Sorry for the long post, it's been a while, with 3 weeks of visitors- so I'm catching you up on my life!) This past Saturday, we took a day trip to the region of France called Champagne (2 hours east)- the only place in the world that Champagne is made- otherwise it's Sparkling Wine, Spumante, Shit, etc. We first went to the town of Reims (pronounced "Rahnns)- Oh boy these dryers better finish soon, I don't like a pile of wet laundry..... - Anyway, focus. So Reims is the town in France, capital of the region Champagne- with the largest, most beautiful gothic cathedral. It's like twice is big and decorated as Notre Dame de Paris. Due to the bombing during WW II, many of the beautiful stained glass windows (henceforth to be referred to as the French word "vitraux" because it's WAY shorter) were destroyed. So the famous artist Chagalle replaced a section of the vitraux and they're incredible. The rose windows (see pictures above) are nothing short of breathtaking. This cathedal (C. de Reims, I'll call it) is where the first (Catholic) king of France, Clovis, was baptized. In fact, since then- every King of France was crowned there. Down the street is the Basilica of St. Rémy, which is even older and dates back to the years 500- so it's way different looking- older, obviously, but Romanesque style- also quite impressive. St. Rémy is buried there.

We then had lunch on the main pedestrian street in Reims where they were having an outdoor fair (the weather was perfect) for the French organisation "SIDAction" (in French, AIDS is translated to SIDA)- so AIDS Action- concerts, etc. and we had lunch (with Céline and her daughter, Laetitia) at a sidewalk café - mind you all drinking beers together (not Laetitia, though it wouldn't shock me- she's 5). From there, we went to a town called Hautvillers (where all of the huge Champagne "houses" are - Moet, Taitigner, Mercier, etc. We went to this small church where Dom Perignon is buried - he was the monk that invented Champagne. The view from his church is spectacular- see pictures above. In that church are some ridiculously old relics- bones of Saints (that don't decay- since they're saints- so them Catholics say...) dating to the year 300! (In a gold/glass case- pretty cool - random people though, the mother of St. Rémy, etc.)

The views were great, but we had had enough of the educational part, we were ready to hit the Mercier Champagne cellars hard. We took this cool tour on a train through the cellars and learned about the history of Eugène Mercier, a real advertising genius- during the World's Fair of 1889 (the debut of the Eiffel Tower) the rival of visitors was Mercier's champagne and the Hot Air Balloon tours of Paris, while drinking Mercier. Cool.

The tour was great and all, but then we got a glass of champagne (only one! "Not nearly effective" {another great reference for those who get it}). But I bought a bottle to enjoy with my family when they come here- if I don't drink it before then. They're coming in 10 minutes.

What else? Then bus ride home.
Due to my S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder), I'm in a phenomenal mood- and will tentatively be for a while! Wonderful (as long as these papers and the lack of adequate internet don't make me hurt someone).

I miss you all very much and love to hear from you- so if you see I'm online, but not there- please leave me a message or send me a quick e-mail! I miss you guys so very much!

Here's a shoutout to KCavs and Kelly who I know always read my blog- my mom reads Meg and Laura's blogs all the time too.
Love Love Love
Bisous

Tchao!

Hey.



I guess the Fondation is like a hotel- Callie left, and now Isa and Laura are here with me for the week. It's SO nice having guests!! People should come more often. It's even nicer since, you know, we've already seen Paris before- we don't have to do cheesey tourist things. So we're enjoying our time (or at least I know I am...)

Classes are good and um - yeah- same old same old here in Paris. The weather has gotten a bit cold, and as QUITE unusual, we have snow predicted for later in this week- it NEVER snows in Paris! Global warming for you-

But we're still making the best of it, I don't mind the temperature, just as long as it doesn't rain!! It always rains in Paris in March, but thankfully, March will soon be over- and with April comes the nice flowers and sun!

That's all from Paris now- no news is good news.

Love you all very much
Bisous

Josh

Shoutout!

This short post is a shoutout for Kelly, sine I promised her one and didn't follow through!
It was great to see your daughter- and the rest of my friends too this weekend

I hope you and Wendy have a great trip to Italy!
Buon Viaggio!!

Bisous-
Josh

Visitors! Finally!

What an amazing weekend! Thursday night, I went down to Orly Airport, which only took 25 minutes (how convenient!) to pick up Alli and Meg- it was so nice to see them! Meg got her hair cut in Italy, and she looks so great! It's a bit shorter, but it frames her face and she looks so pretty! It was great to see the two of them- they strutted off the plane like two Italian models, dressed to the nines. We took the Orlybus back to Paris, and it was great, it took 15 minutes! They came back to my place, we hung out for a bit, then went to their hotel and stayed up talking.

The next morning, I had phonetics, but after class, I picked up some fresh pain au chocolate for Alli, Meg, Norah and Laura and we to go meet Laura and Norah at Denfert- Rochereau, where Orlybus drops off. We dropped their stuff off at the hotel and hit the town. We did major site seeing at the Pantheon, which was decorated in honor of Women's day. We checked out the necropolis (greek for "City of the Dead" - enjoy that Big Fat Greek Wedding reference, that's all you're getting Nan!) Seth, Norah's boyfriend (studying abroad in London), met us (after finishing up his spring break in Rome). We did tons of site-seeing from there. We went to Trocadéro, the Eiffel Tower in daylight, dusk and night- then headed over to Notre Dame to have dinner at Hippo- a great chain restaurant in France- with AMAZING sangria! We had a nice dinner, went for Gelato and Hot Chocolate, then headed back over to the Eiffel Tower, to see it again- and then head up to the Arc de Triomphe.

We were pretty beat after that, so we headed home. The next morning, I woke up, did some food shopping for my guests- then headed over to Charles de Gaulle- the largest, most confusing airport in Europe. I found Callie, which was so nice- even though her flight was a bit late. We came back, she freshened up and we hit the ground running, again. We went to meet everyone else at the Louvre and we walked down rue de Rivoli to see the Vendôme, Concorde and then a bit of the Champs Elysées, over the the Grand and Petit Palais, pont Alexandre III, the banks of the Seine, the Invalides, a cute garden- then took the metro up to Montmartre. We walked around admiring the artists paintings, then walked the corner to see the greatest views of Paris. We also enjoyed the beautiful Sacre Coeur basilica before going to a Fondu restaurant- where they pack you in like sardines (Brett would hate it- no leg room)- and drink wine out of a baby bottle. Of course, me like an idiot, never having gone there- dipped the raw beef in the cheese and continued to eat it until the guy who works there came over and called me an idiot (basically) and gave us oil to cook the beef in- oups. Luckily, I am salmonella free.

After that, we walked around Montmartre and had desserts and after-dinner drinks at this bar where they decided to play the Sax and piano extremely loud- nice. We left there. Walked around the Faubourg Pigalle (sex district) and saw Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergeres - before coming home wiped and tipsy.

The next morning, we woke up to go have these great pastries for breakfast, but the Patisserie was closed! Pas de soucis- we went to Crêpes à Gogo for the best French Onion soup in Paris (or as we call it - Onion soup)! Meg and Alli had to return to Italy so we said our "au revoirs". After, we headed over to the Impressionism museum - Musée d'Orsay (a former train station,n converted) for a few hours, before grabbing a quick lunch and sending Laura and Norah back to Spain. Seth later went back to London, around dinner time.

I was sure to stuff them with amazingly delicious Parisian food. I gave them quite the tour, spitting out endless facts about the sites. I really enjoyed being a tour guide of Paris! But even more so, being with my friends.

Now, I'm so lucky- I get one-on-one time with Callie for the REST OF THE WEEK! I'm so happy! Tonight I cooked us dinner, and we had tacos- yum!

Today, Callie and I did the Louvre in the morning. I hate the Louvre for so many reasons- mostly being the fact that it's always crowded and it's poorly organized (you always have to backtrack to get out! and it's impossible to find what you want to see too!). So after getting quite frustrated- but still seeing the sites like Napoleon III's apartment, the old fortress of the Louvre, the Jaconde (Monda Lisa), Coronation of Napoleon, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and the Cheater- I headed over for class- and Callie chilled out in Subway- right across the street (They have self-serve soda fountains- so I load up on ice, a luxury in France!). After class, and in between the bouts of rain, we checked out Notre Dame, which Callie really liked, the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the modern art museum of the Centre Georges Pompidou.

It's so nice having this company here! I missed her (and the rest of my friends) so much!
After Callie leaves, Laura and Isa will be visiting for a few days too- it should be great.

Anyway, Callie and I are going to go watch some Will & Grace.
Hope all is well with all of you- I'd love to hear from you!

Miss you!
Bisous
<3 Josh

Photos to accompany

Here are some new pictures- enjoy!

Fashion week!

Paris is amazing to begin with! Fashion week in Paris, or as we say in French, "Fashionweeeek"- is phenomenal!

Last night, we were on the VIP list at the most exclusive club in Paris, "Le Cab". It was amazing! Not only did we get in, for free (there's 20 € right there!) Drinks were 13 €, which roughly equals 20$- yikes- even worse, I had two- oh well. They were well mixed- if you know what I mean. With or without those drinks, the club was awesome- we had so much fun!

We were out quite late- so I slept late today, until around 12:30. Lauren and I went over to rue de Rivoli- the really ritzy street of Paris, that makes the Champs Elysée look like route 59, or a collection of Wal-Marts. We had lunch outside on the sidewalk dressed for the fashion show, divalicious, with our sunglasses (as it was so beautiful out!) lol!

After the worst server in all of France, we left. We walked across rue de Rivoli to the Tuileries Gardens- the gardens of Catherine de Medici, at the Louvre. There was an accessories show where we entered, but that's not what we wanted. We walked through the gardens to the other side, obviously enjoying our location "Le berceau de Paris" (the cradle of Paris). The Vendôme, the Concorde, the Champs Elysées, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower. We went to the Chloé Sevigny fashion show. Amazing.

There were so many models and rich élites- it was cool. As we were enjoying the beautiful weather and warming sun (after two days of grey, rain), the paparazzi began going crazy- no, not taking pictures of me- they did that when we walked in- but of who? Kanye West! Very cool. I kept my cool, I don't really get star struck, but gotta love Lauren, whipped out her camera to snap any possible picture- embarrassed, she explained to me, "I can't help it, I'm from Binghamton!" It was funny.

After all of the fashion show-ness, we walked down the Champs Elysées a bit to the metro and came back home. I consequently passed out on my bed for three hours. Great success.

Now, it's 22h19 (10:20PM my time, 4:20PM in NY) and I'm still debating going out again- though I probably will.
So at that, I'm going to go shower and get ready!
Check out fashion show pictures on my Facebook!

a+

Suburbs!!

Salut!

I'm glad to report that my cold is getting better! French medicine is very different, and SO effective!! I'm importing medications from now on. 

This weekend, my friend Jessica had friends (studying abroad in Rome) visit us. They were really, really cool and we had a lot of fun together! It makes me even more excited to go to Rome, we'll get to see them too! I went with them to see Versailles on Sunday. I decided that I'm never doing any tourist things on Sunday, ever again. I hate crowds! We waited 1 hour just to buy our tickets to get in. Then we waited another 30 minutes to get into the Chateau, which to be honest, I was disappointed with. The lack of information was disappointing me. There were hundreds of pieces of classical art with NO information about them! No artist, No title, No date, No nothing! It was frustrating. The chateau was nice, but to be honest, I thought that the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) of Paris was nicer! 

The gardens however, even though it's winter, are really spectacular. That was one thing I did enjoy- and I look forward to going back there when everything is in bloom. So that was our trip on Sunday to the "suburbs". Sometime this week, I'd like to go to this exposition at Porte de Versailles, it's basically a giant County Fair, except for all of France- and French. Inebriation and overeating, guaranteed. So sounds like fun.

Today, I went with my friend Lauren to another Parisian suburb, Neuilly-sur-Seine, to the American hospital. She tripped this weekend and hurt her foot badly. It was very swollen and bruised and she was afraid she broke it- so I went with her to the American hospital- they work the same way as in the US, thank God- we waited for 2 hours. Nice. But everything was OK, and we had a really pretty bus ride back to the city- we passed the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Invalides and the Luxembourg Gardens. Not a total bust- plus, she owes me now...

It's a bit grey out today, but it was GORGEOUS this weekend- 60+ degrees and sunny. Today, it's warm, but not so sunny. Rain tomorrow, then sun and warm for the rest of the week. Whoever told me to expect crappy weather every day until spring was either a liar, doesn't know shit, or both! It's been so nice- we couldn't be any luckier.

My friend Lauren told me today that our program is 1/4 over- that's extremely depressing. Paris is such an amazing city that takes a lifetime to know- and 5 months is hardly enough. I feel so at home here- I didn't experience an ounce of culture shock nor home sickness. I miss everyone from home, don't get me wrong- I miss my friends and family so much- but I found a solution- everybody will just move to Paris and then we can all be happy here- Give me your feedback on that thought lol!

I'll put pictures of Versailles up sometime, they're not that great- but there are a few great ones. Check back for those later!

Bisous-

<3>

PS- I'm so excited for the weekend of March 6 to 9- Callie, Megan, Alli, Laura and Norah are all going to be in Paris! Callie's going to be here until the 15th! And then Laura Donald and Isa are coming to Paris until the 23rd also! It's going to be fun!

Quoi de neuf?

So the European germs caught up to me- I've got a bit of a cold- the sniffles. But as I try to do with everything, I'm putting it in a positive light. As with my credit card, it's not that my bill is, say, exorbitant, I'm accumulating miles! And as for the cold, I'm not sick, I'm building an immunity!

Anyway, I booked a trip to Istanbul, I'm going there from 4-6 April (I don't know if I already told you). We're looking at booking our trips for our spring break in Italy (I'll be there from 25 April to 4 May), then our second spring break (gotta love the French!) from 8-12 May (before our final exams)- possibly going to Ibiza (Eivissa), or somewhere on the Costa del Sol (Spanish coast along the Mediterranean). 

All of the booking for the rest of the semester needs to get done now to avoid high costs.. So I'm working on that. Class is good, I like my professor a lot. He's cool, and tries to make it fun. What's even cooler is that I hear the bells of Notre- Dame toll when I sit in class- that's way cool.

I'm going out for coffee now with a friend and his French friends. I'll talk to you soon!

Bisous

Home!

This weekend, me and seven of my friends went to Amsterdam- the real sin city. It makes Las Vegas look like Sesame Place. While we were there, we went to the Anne Frank house, took a cruise on the canals, attempted to go to the "Heineken Experience" (basically the Hershey tour but for beer) but it was closed until the Summer [and ended up wasting 3 € on a disgusting and cheesey sex museum - in the Red Light District). The next day we went to the van Gogh museum in "Museumplein" and walked around the dutch version of "5th Avenue." 

Amsterdam was a cute, quaint "faux-tropolis." No big sites to go see, just enjoy the billions of bikes, narrow canals, narrow houses with detailed façades and hoisting beams. The canal cruise really highlighted that well. As for the night life.... The area called "Leidesplein" (Dutch is such a weird language!!!) is the going out area, with bars, clubs, restaurants and "Coffee Shops" (where they coincidentally don't sell coffee- you figure that out).

We had a nice weekend trip (our first independently organized one), but it was wonderful to be back home, for two reasons- first being, home, second being, Paris = home?! Ver nice.

There aren't really any stunning pictures, but here is the link anyway. The weather was sunny but freezing! Those crazy Dutch people- speaking English and eating Hamburgers and Hotdogs EVERYWHERE. They hardly have their own culture! (That's a lie, but really..)

Tonight, we cooked- rather, Lauren and I cooked. We had fresh salad with avocado and chopped peppers (thanks Lauren) and ravioli and tortelloni with red sauce and fresh baguettes and brie cheese. It was good- I did the cooking and Kim and Jessica did the cleaning- just how I like it- lol.

Anyway- it's wonderful to be back home in Paris, yes. Classes aren't bad- well, I only have one- grammar, every day from 14h to 16h (2pm to 4pm, for those of you who don't speak French). I have the 'director's course' on Monday and Wednesday from 9h to 10h30 (9am to 10:30am- again, translated) and that's taught by the program director, Céline, whose hair is shaped like France- after it's been properly blown out. When it's wet, not so much. Her class is basically "Contemporary France". 

My lectures, "conferences" as they're called, begin on 25 February. I'm taking a course on Paris, on Current Events in Europe/France and French Art History- they meet once a week for two hours. Every other week, I have phoenetics for the week, one hour per day (so one week on, one off-). Kind of confusing, but I'm getting into a rhythm which is good. I like that.

Can't think of anything else going on here- having a great time, I'm truly in love with this place!

Bisous!

Josh

First weekend trip!

So this weekend was "très bousculé!" (very hustle-and-bustle). We woke up SO early on Saturday morning to take a 7h15 bus to the town of Arromanches, to visit the D-Day Museum. It paid a great hommage to the so many soldiers who lost their lives liberating Europe. The French, no matter what my grandfather ever says, are so infinitely grateful for the British, Canadian and American efforts during the war, even 65 years later- it's really moving.

After the museum and some lunch in Arromanches, we boarded the bus again and headed to the American Cemetery at Omaha beach. The cemetery has over 9900 buried soldiers- with mostly crosses, but stars of David all over. It seems to continue forever. The soldiers graves face the direction of the United States, since they gave their lives fighting for their country. It's a beautiful place to "réposer" ("rest") for eternity- the grasses and trees are perfectly maintained, even in February!

The beach of Omaha (not its original name- its code name) is down a long, steep hill. The views from the top are spectacular. We descended to the beach after strolling through the cemetery, enjoying the absolutely perfect weather (see pictures..). The beach was perfectly calm- it's so bizarre to think that so many people lost their lives in the most famous and important battle in modern history- it was eerie and serene at the same time. We strolled around the beach, took some nice pictures and picked some stones to take back. 

After that (yes, all in one day!), we went to a small, very old fishing village called St. Malo. It's old city walls are still there and it's quite impressive. We stayed at this quaint hotel called "Hotel L'Univers." We had this amazing dinner, we drank Kirs to start off (Champagne and peach liqeur- traditional French celebratory drink) and enjoyed salads, amazingly fresh "Moules Provençales" (Provincial style Mussels) with french fries and then had some crème brûlée and "Fruits de Soleil" (Sun fruits- mango, pomegranate and passionfruit) flavored ice cream for like 23€  - great success, gypsie.

We hung out in the hotel that night and enjoyed watching TV after strolling around the small town (since there was basically no night life, unfortunately). The next morning (today) we woke up early, again- thanks Céline- and walked around the city walls and enjoyed the gorgeous views of the "Côte d'Emeraud" (Emerald coast)- the waters are really Emerald colored, it's breathtaking, especially at "l'aube" (dawn). We hoped on the bus and took our 1.5 hour trip to le Mt. St. Michel- this amazing abbey that was originally built in 708! Many additions were made to this abbey and it's really stupendous. It's enormous and can be seen from like 25 km away (we enjoyed it through sunset the night before on the autoroute). We climbed up to the top and again, enjoyed more views. 

The tides here (les marées) are extreme. They rise and fall a few meters, and they're even greater during the winter equinoxes. The gardens and architecture were "jolis" (I can't keep repeating beautiful, etc. in English- I'll just go with the French equivalents). After climbing so many stairs up and down, we went back down to the village area (the abbey is on the very top of the mountain island) for lunch. We had made a reservation at the world famous "La Mère Poulain" for a Mt. St. Michel style omelet- (they whip the batter so it's extremely fluffy), but after a long story, we realized the price of an omelet was 38€ (and that celebrities from Catherine DeNeuve to Eva Longoria to President Sarkozy) had eaten there and it was out of our price range. We went to the next restaurant down and had a three course meal that was just as great for 15€.

We then headed back to the bus for our 4.5 hour bus ride back to Paris. The total trip measured over 1000 km! The ride back home was basically a few naps, 100+ pages of classic French literature (Molière's play, "Le malade imaginaire" [The imaginary sick-person]) which I really enjoyed- and also playing games with Céline's 5-year-old daughter Laetitia, who came on the trip. We all enjoyed reading French children's books and playing with her- we never see kids!! It was a luxury too.

Finally, we arrived back in Paris- which seemed like a dirty, messy, urban jungle in comparison to the quaint, peaceful, simple countryside in lower Normandy and Brittany that we enjoyed this weekend. It was nice and relaxing, though it was so busy! The weather was perfect and it's going to continue to be for the next week- sunny and in the mid-50's (or lower teens lol)

Next weekend we are going to Amsterdam- I'm looking forward to that very much to. Soon, Callie will be visiting- and I'm even more excited for that too!

Check out the 100+ pictures in two photo albums on facebook. The captions are below most of them, explaining what they are. Amusez-vous!

Bisous à tous-

Album One

Album Two