Last night was almost as close to a traditional french evening as we could get, being as tired as we were. I ate at a brasserie (like a café) on the Boulevard Saint-Michel called Le Luxembourg. It was at a traffic circle facing the edge of the Luxembourg Gardens. I drank a delicious glass of chardonnay and ate a light Caesar salad since lunch was so heavy. I am also rather embarassed to admit it, but the French version of a Caesar salad makes the American attempt look very pathetic. The parmesan cheese was in thin sheets instead of grated, the chicken was grilled but without the grilled taste, and the entire thing was just ever so slightly coated in dressing. It was divine.
This morning I woke up (after a lovely twelve hours of rest) and went to our first orientation meeting. We were told a few things about the program, the rules, the city, and our classes and given student ID cards and métro passes, then told to go out and enjoy ourselves.
My roommates and I got lunch and ate in Luxembourg Gardens once again. I can definitely see this becoming a wonderful habit.
After lunch we relaxed in our room for a bit then decided to go check out the Gay Pride Parade we'd heard was happening today on our boulevard. At first we just went up to the roof to look, but quickly decided it'd be better to experience at street level. The walk was amazing. It was full of colorful people, bright clothes, and loud European House music. I joined up with a group of other students in my program and we walked the length of the parade. It was so much fun. Literally a party in the streets of Paris' Latin Quarter.
Eventually the parade ended and we made the long trek back to our dorm. On the way three of us stopped to get crêpes (which taste even better with ham and mushrooms than fruit and whipped cream).
Finally back at the Foyer, I watched the sun set on Paris from the rooftop terrace with Kelcie and Elizabeth, two girls on my trip, then came back to my room to settle in for the night. Talk about a busy day.
I flew out of Dulles at 5pm yesterday. Given that it was my first time flying (I don't count a flight to LA when I was three) it was surprisingly easy. Security was a breeze, finding my gate wasn't any trouble, and boarding went totally fine. The flying itself was easy too, even with the turbulence. Of course, turbulence is nothing compared to some of the roller coasters I've ridden. My only real complaint was the food. Good god I wouldn't feed that stuff to someone I hated. I think prisons buy something higher quality than that! Apart from the food though, the flight was fine. I didn't get more than an hour or so of sleep so as I write this I can feel myself becoming increasingly tired.
When we arrived it was very cloudy over Paris and descending through the clouds was beautiful. It was bright and sunny on top then completely white in the middle and below that only a few translucent wispy clouds blocked the view of the patchwork countryside. It was definitely an interesting landing.
Going through customs and picking up luggage was simple and then my group all boarded a taxi-van that drove us to the place we're living. And I have to say, if I ever even remotely entertained the idea of driving in Paris, that ride got rid of it. There are motorcycles weaving through cars, near hits, slamming brakes, stop and go, honking horns, and parking lot highways. It was terrifying. I think I'll be sticking to mass transit for this trip.
Once we got into the city proper it was definitely a great experience though. We drove past dozens of bistros, fromagers, boutiques, and parks. We crossed the Seine behind Notre Dame and entered the Latin Quarter. On our way to the Foyer (that's where I'm staying) we passed the Panthéon and Luxembourg Gardens and finally arrived.
I'm currently unpacked and lying in bed wondering what to do. It's 12:30pm here so I feel like I should do something, but after all the travel I'm pretty exhausted. We have a meeting at 6pm tonight then I'm going to be calling it an early night. No doubt about it.
In sixteen days I'll be boarding a plane to Paris. Today, I'm still stateside and looking around my room I can already see signs of my impending trip. The giant duffel bag I'm taking is half-packed with bath products, school supplies, laundry detergent, and plenty of other items. My carry-on pile is still small, but starting to grow. I emptied my change jar and cashed it all in at the bank today. An adaptor/converter plug is sitting near my power strip. There's a giant list of things I want to do and see sitting on my Mac's desktop waiting to be completed and printed out for the trip.
It's incredible to think that in just over two weeks I'll be leaving the United States for the second time in my life and flying across the Atlantic. Let's hope these last few days fly by because I can't wait!
After lunch we relaxed in our room for a bit then decided to go check out the Gay Pride Parade we'd heard was happening today on our boulevard. At first we just went up to the roof to look, but quickly decided it'd be better to experience at street level. The walk was amazing. It was full of colorful people, bright clothes, and loud European House music. I joined up with a group of other students in my program and we walked the length of the parade. It was so much fun. Literally a party in the streets of Paris' Latin Quarter. 
