The Alchemist and SO MUCH MORE!!

Bonjour!  It has definitely been a couple of days since I have updated, and I apologize for that...BUT it could be because I have some friends!!!  That's right folks!  After a week of solitude, I met a couple of girls who share my same sentiments on this crazy journey that we are on.  I know you are excited, and I will give you the details pertaining to how all of this came about in a little bit.

Before that, however, I wanted to discuss a little bit about the book that I just finished reading, The Alchemist.  Some of you may have heard of it before...apparently it is kind of a big deal?  Anyway, it is about a shepherd boy who has a recurring dream that his treasure is at the Great Pyramids, and he goes in search of it...all the while learning life lessons along the way.  I had heard of this book back in college (thanks Emilia!), but for one reason or another, had not actually gotten around to reading it.  One day while I was perusing Borders, I saw it on the shelf and decided there was no better time than the present, so I picked it up.  I carted it ALLLL the way to Paris and FINALLY started reading it.  The general theme is that when you are a child, you have  dreams of what you want to accomplish in life (the book refers to it as a "Personal Legend")...I vividly remember telling people when I was younger,  " I want to grow up to be a teacher, a painter, a librarian, a Subway sandwich artist, and an actress/singer --- all at the same time, of course!!  As we get older, however, reality sets in and many of us lose the courage and spontaneity that goes along with following your heart.  The reason why I bore y'all with this little tangent is that I can't help but think that maybe I have finally figured out my Personal Legend, and what I am supposed to do with my life.  My mind sometimes wanders back to when I was applying to grad school (x2), and it was such a headache because everything was a hassle.  Chasing down recommendations, meeting deadlines, rewriting 15 page research papers...it was like I was constantly having to fight the current swimming upstream only to get knocked back to the beginning.  And where did that get me?  A handful of rejections --- and my life was stagnant again...

This process, however, was an absolute DREAM compared to the nightmare described above.  One simple click of the mouse and an "Oh my gosh, Mom, I accidentally just hit the submit button on my application to Le Cordon Bleu..." later, and here I am.  Of course, there were some hiccups along the road (ie. trying to secure a place to live, etc), but even that wasn't too bad once we got it sorted out.  So my point to this very long story is that maybe after a couple of years of ups and downs, I am headed in the right direction.  The Alchemist says that the universe will help you out along the way once you are on the path to discovering your Personal Legend...so maybe that is why everything has been going swimmingly this time around (pun definitely intended!).

Now on to my friends.  Well, I had planned to time the walk from my apartment to school on Saturday when the shops were open, so I could see what it was like with everyone buzzing around...but, I ended up going to tour the l'Opera Garnier (see pics below!) and the 2 big department stores (Galeries Lafayette and Printemps ----- WAAAYYYY too overwhelming for my taste).  By the time I got home, I definitely did not feel like walking any more.  I ended up going on Sunday instead, and exactly 23 minutes and 45 seconds later, I was at the front door!  Now, if you recall from a previous post, I had mentioned that the school is in a residential area with no other shops around it, so you can understand my interest when I saw 2 girls standing out front.  It turns out they both spoke English, and we realized that all three of us were starting school on Monday!! The initial conversation went something like this...

Me:  Do y'all have plans for the rest of the day?  Will you be my friend?

Them:  Sure!

We ended up grabbing lunch and walking all over the city because one of the girls had just gotten here a couple of days ago, and it was her first time to Paris.  It was just really, really exciting to talk to two different girls from different parts of the world (one is from the States and the other is from India), and we all had the same kind of story.  We had worked at various jobs after college that we could not picture ourselves doing forever, and craved something more out of life. 

Here are some pictures to make this post a bit more visually appealing....

l'Opera Garnier

Failed attempt at trying to take a picture of myself with the Grand Staircase

By the way, this is the opera house that Phantom of the Opera is based on, so I totally listened to it on my iPod the ENTIRE time I was on the self-guided tour...huge nerd, I know.

The ceiling and Grand Chandelier in the auditorium

 

My post-Opera eclair!!! 

My new friends!!!

So, there you have it!!!  I have lots and lots of other things to tell you --- as soon as I find more time...ahh!!


- Next up: my first day at Le Cordon Bleu!

- à tout à l’heure!

I. Am. A. Francophile.

Well, it's official folks.  After 1 week of being in Paris, I am officially a Francophile.

Francophile (n): a person who has a strong positive predisposition or interest toward the government, culture, history, or people of France. This could include France itself and its history, the French language, French culture, literature, etc...thanks Wikipedia!

Reasons why:

1.  I am currently reading online about Marie Antoinette
2.  I spent a ridiculously long time at a French history museum today --- learning everything I wanted to know and more about La Révolution
3.  I eat at least one baguette a day (usually more!)
4.  I spend my nights listening to classical music and trying to interpret French TV (the 3 channels that I get)
5. I ordered my dinner in perfect broken French, and for the first time, I actually received what I was asking for!

Anyway, now that I got that off my chest...here is an update on my daily adventures from the past 2 days...

Wednesday:

I ventured over to Musee d'Orsay, and absolutely fell in love!!!  Unfortunately they are in the middle of extensive renovation, so a large part of the museum is closed, and I believe they are only exhibiting a fraction of their permanent collection, BUT either way, I loved it --- and all that means is that I will have to come back after March 2011 to see it in all of its glory!

You can't take pictures inside, so that's all you get...except the picture below that I "accidentally" took...

After lots of walking around, I grabbed a beer at their BEAUTIFUL and incredibly overpriced restaurant, but it was definitely worth it! Check it out...

Then, I walked home along the Seine

And because you haven't see her in a few days...

The rest of the night was pretty lame.  I was showered and was in my pj's by 19:30, piddled around on the internet until around 23:00, and in bed by midnight (still can't seem to get to sleep any earlier...).

Thursday:

I decided to explore the funky Marais district and do a little self guided walking tour because that was the one area that I hadn't seen yet.

And just so y'all know that the other day was not a one time thing, here I am -- no t-shirts or flip flops in sight!

I always have the earphones in because life is much better with a soundtrack.

So, I took public bus #69 over to Marais, and oh, the places I saw!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

My ride

A really small gas station...

The Bastille (no longer exists, obvi...)

One of those windows belongs to the apt where Jim Morrison died

A really beautiful and very quiet garden that used to be part of an old palace

Then I went over to a museum that explained (in paintings and my handy Rick Steves book) EVERYTHING and more about French History, but it was really interesting --- history nerd, I know ---  I'm glad that I went!

As I was walking around, my eye caught a cute little boutique, so I had to go in!  A couple of minutes and lots of broken French later, I came out with these!  I was really excited because they actually had a size big enough to fit my canoes! 

They definitely channel Gilligan, but I thought they were super cute, and they girl in the shop said that they were really comfortable once they were broken in (bring on more blisters, ah!!)

I had dinner at a perfect little cafe somewhere along the Seine, and it was DELICIOUS (aside from the couple right next to me who insisted on making out every couple of minutes...it was pretty awkward...).  I started out with a glass of rosé and fantastic gazpacho and LOTS of bread.  Then the main course came which was grilled chicken, potatoes au gratin, salad, and even MORE bread.  Right after the food came, however, it started to RAIN!  What was I to do??  As groups of people were moving inside, I pulled out my umbrella and kept on eatin'!  I wasn't about to let a little drizzle get in the way of my cheesy potatoes, but it was definitely a challenge...try cutting chicken while holding up an umbrella!

The waiter finally put up large umbrellas when I was almost done eating...

The walk back home was nice because it was drizzling and slightly cool, and I ended up slipping into Notre Dame right before they were closing to visitors.  Mass was going on inside which was interesting to watch.

Also, I made a little donation and lit a candle for David --- I figured he would get a kick out of that.  It is somewhere below hanging with the other candles...

As if I had not consumed enough calories, I ended the evening with a warm and gooey banana and Nutella crepe - MAGNIFIQUE!

So, there you have another ridiculously long post, but at this point, the blog is my only true communication with the outside world, SO until I start class (t-minus 2.5 days!!) and make friends (hopefully!!), then you all get to know EXACTLY what I am up to every day! :)

- à tout à l’heure! 

Around the World [Paris] in 80 Days (or 4) - Part 3

Day 4

The jet lag was really starting to catch up with us by the end of Mom's stay, so while we still did a lot, Day 4 was a little bit more mellow than the previous days.  (By the way --- in a couple of hours, I will have been here a week, and I am still not used to the stupid time change.)

We started off back at Champs Elysees so Mom could figure out where the bus was that would take her to Charles de Gaulle...

Then, we meandered over to Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame in search of a crepe!

Hotel de Ville

Yummy!!!! Nutella + bananas = HEAVEN

Next, we headed over to the St. Germain area to wander around...

I know it seems like we had just eaten the crepes, but we walked ALLLLL over St. Germain and the surrounding areas, and eventually it was dinner time!  We were reading in the guide book of good places to eat around that area, and we decided upon a restaurant called The Polidor.  We got lost a couple of times trying to find the place (our minds were just not working correctly with the lack of sleep and lots of walking!), yet somehow ended up locating it.  After standing outside for a couple of minutes waiting for it to open, I realized that the other groups of people waiting in front us all had different guide books in our hand, and they definitely did not speak a lick of French!  Oh well, I guess maybe they paid them off or something to give a good review, but let me tell you, The Polidor was delicious! (and I did not get anything for saying that!)

The food was incredible!!!

Mom's beef in a tomato sauce with MASHED POTATOES!!!

Yup, they are completely intact...

Off with their heads!!!

The restaurant has been around since the mid 1800's!  They have managed to keep it up to date with fancy touch screen computers and such, however, the bathroom is a different story...

Yes, that is quite literally a hole in the ground, complete with platforms to place your feet and a convenient bar to hold you up!  And that wooden thing hanging down?  That is what you pull to flush...it was definitely a first!!

I hope you enjoyed the recaps!!!  Mom and I had a really fantastic time running around the city trying to see as much as we possibly could in such a short amount of time.  Thanks mère!!

Also, I've created a Snapfish account where I have uploaded ALLLLLL of the pictures so far!  If you get super bored and the paint has already dried, then feel free to check it out!

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2530282020/a=163128318_163128318/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Please let me know if that link works or not, you may have to create a Snapfish account...but I can try and play around with it if necessary.

- à tout à l’heure! 

Around the World [Paris] in 80 Days (or 4) - Part 2

Day 3 (Also known as the "Day of 1,000 Lives")

We rode one of the hop on/hop off boats on the Seine to get over to Notre Dame (we went to the top which has been one of the highlights so far!!)  and then headed up to Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre

Mom on the boat!

The Center of Paris!  Right in front of Notre Dame

Waiting in line to go to the top of Notre Dame

At this point, we were kinda winging it on what our plans were...until 2 American girls waiting in line for Notre Dame in front of us were talking about how they went up to Montmartre the night before and had dinner at a really fun fondue restaurant that served wine in baby bottles.  I got really excited because Becky told me about that place, but she had no idea where it was!!! So, we changed whatever plans we had and decided we simply HAD to go there for dinner...more to come on that later!!  It was definitely an experience!! Now, back to Notre Dame....

View from the TOP!

Just hanging with the gargoyles...no sign of the Hunchback (lame, I know, but I'm sorry I had to!!)

The entrance to the bell tower

Then we went up even further to the very top...it was really tight quarters up there

So, after Notre Dame, we were on a mission ---
1. Sacre-Coeur
2. Montmartre walking tour
3. FIND THE PLACE WITH THE BABY BOTTLES!!!

In Montmartre before the trek up to Sacre-Coeur (but...we cheated and took the funicular)

1. Sacre Coeur
2. Montmartre walking tour

3. FIND THE PLACE WITH THE BABY BOTTLES!!!

The first bistro - EVER!

Clos Montmartre Vineyard - The only vineyard in Paris.  They produce only 300 liters and auction them off at an annual festival.

van Gogh's House!!!

Moulin de la Galette - The scene of Renoir's Bal du Moulin de la Galette, which I saw today in real life at Musee d'Orsay and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! (more on that later!)

Moulin Rouge!

1. Sacre Coeur
2. Montmartre walking tour
3. FIND THE PLACE WITH THE BABY BOTTLES!!!

We found it!!!!!  It is literally a hole in the wall...and you are packed in so tight that you have to step over the table in order to get to the bench.

"Why do they serve wine in baby bottles?" You ask?

I have no I idea!!!!  I didn't question it though...

And neither did Mom!

Yummmm!!!  Cheese and bread and steak, oh my!

So, 3 baby bottles a piece later, it was time to go on a night cruise on the Seine!

What a day!!!!!!!

Next up: Mom's last day :(