Bonjour Grenoble!
It’s been five and a half days since I arrived in Grenoble. However, it feels like I’ve been here for weeks! On Thursday afternoon we arrived at the train station, were handed our tram cards, and sent off with our new French families. My host mom, Liliane, was there to meet me and we walked to her apartment, where I met Simon. Simon had been renting a room (the one that I now occupy) from Liliane for the past three months for an internship in Grenoble. While he did laugh at my French quite a bit (and rightfully so) I found out really fast that he speaks virtually perfect English, which was a relief because my French mom speaks virtually no English.
Thursday the 21st was La Fête de la Musique which is a music festival that happens once a year in France. The festival is country wide and everyone celebrates it–from small children to teenagers to adults and senior citizens–everyone comes out for La Fête. My host mom was quite tired so after dinner I unpacked a few of my things and then Simon took me out for a night on the town. Most of the music was in English and the first band that we stopped at was playing Sandman by Metallica! The singer fudged a few words but for the most part it was really good.
My one and only picture of La Fête. Here is the band that Simon and I came upon first that played the Metallica song.
After getting to bed really late Thursday night I got up around 9am on Friday morning to meet up with my API group at 11. Liliane walked me to the Maison du Tourisme where we were all meeting up since it was so close. It was really cool to hear everyone’s stories about their first nights with their host families and living in the dorms. Our resident director in Grenoble, Anna, took us on a quick tour of Grenoble and then showed us how to get to campus and the API office, where we all asked a lot of questions about the strange new things in our host family’s houses. Afterwards I ventured to Casino (a large grocery store with both food and clothing and practically everything) with Claire, Paige, Augie, and Kelly. The majority of us bought shampoo and other necessities and then travelled back to campus to take tram B to our respective houses.
Sidenote for those that plan to come to Europe: shampoo and conditioner are not that expensive if you go to a big supermarket. However, sunscreen comes in really small bottles and is very expensive, so bring your own from home! Also, bring your own face wash if you can.
My stop is the furthest away from campus within the group that I went with, so everyone got off before me. Unfortunately, I got off two stops after where I was supposed to because I hadn’t realized that the train station from the day before was also the tram stop so…I got quite lost. The stop I got off of was on the other side of the train tracks and thus it was quite impossible to get back, even though I had a map. I don’t remember if I took the tram back or not, but it took me quite a while to even find my street on the map and then I couldn’t figure out where I was–turns out the streets I was on were so small that they weren’t on the map. Not helpful. I kept walking in the direction of the river because I knew I lived really, really close to the river (thanks go to Simon for that bit of knowledge) and eventually asked a French mom on a main street where I was. She was super nice and told me not to go back onto the little streets because I’d get lost…which was kind of funny because that was the reason why I was lost in the first place.
After at least an hour of walking around (possibly an hour and a half…) I found my stubborn way home. Why stubborn? Because I had a cell phone programmed with the numbers of my French mom and my resident directors who all would have been more than happy to help me. However, I didn’t call due to…well, because that’s how I am. Lesson learned though! I can now definitely get home. Also, I will never again complain about bad amounts of signage for directions in the U.S. The street signs here are posted on the sides of buildings and are often ridiculously hard to find, especially if the building is an odd shape.
An example of a street sign in Paris. These suckers are hard to spot sometimes!
Friday night I stayed in and Saturday morning I went for a run by l’Isère (the river Isère), where I knew I couldn’t get lost. It was absolutely gorgeous! I asked Liliane before I left if it was okay for me to eat breakfast after my run and she said that it was fine enthusiastically. However, I felt horrible when I returned from my run to find the hot chocolate we had talked about the night before at dinner waiting for me on the table–she must have made it before my run and covered it after I left.
When I got back from my run I found this waiting for me. While it had gone cold by that time, it was amazing and delicious after I added in a sugar cube (which is something you have to do when it’s made with milk and real chocolate powder) and the fact that it was cold worked perfectly to counteract my dripping sweat!
After lunch Liliane very kindly walked me to the tram station so I would a) know where it was to get to school and so that I could b) make the long journey to Paige’s house to swim in her host family’s pool. Paige met us at the tram stop at 2:30 so she could show us which bus to take and how to tell it when to stop where you want it to. It was a wonderfully lackadaisical afternoon lying in the sun, swimming, and napping while Joan played her ukulele for us. Paige’s host family designed and built their own house and it’s absolutely gorgeous!
From right to left: Claire, Paige, Rose, Sara, and Joan.
After fun times at the pool I returned home to find my host Mom waiting around for her daughter to arrive. Her daughter, Myramina, came down for a few days and left from Grenoble to travel to work and visit Australia for a year. After dinner we drove over to another town and into a little village to a hard rock concert that her ex-boyfriend (I think??) plays guitar for. Their band is called Whiskey of Blood and again, most of their lyrics were in English so it was pretty easy for me to understand. My host mom asked me to explain some of the lyrics but I a) didn’t know those words in French and b) didn’t really want to explain something that crude…but it was a really fun concert!
This is the band Whiskey of Blood that we went to see.
On Sunday Liliane and Myramina took my friend Augie and I up into the mountains right next to Grenoble and we hiked up to the Grand Chartreuse monastery. It was absolutely gorgeous! During the walk up to the monastery we passed a herd of cattle and we stopped and talked about the cattle and names of animals for a bit. Myramina (who speaks English) asked to clarify about how cattle is the plural of cows and Augie and I explained the difference to her quickly and then more extensively to Liliane, who doesn’t know much English at all. This conversation somehow got us around to how there are no “sheeps” but only sheep, and then I (bad idea) compared it to how there are also no “mooses” and only moose. However, neither of them had any idea what a moose was so Augie and I were left to try and explain what a moose is in French…it did not go very well. I eventually looked it up and told them (on Monday night) that a moose is an élan, and then all was clear.
Augie and I after hiking up to view the Monastery.
- These houses built into the hills with pumpkin patches in front of them reminded Augie and I of hobbit houses! This is my rendition of a hobbit pose.
The full view of the beautiful monastery and the mountains!
After the hike to the monastery, Augie and I went into the Museum of the Grand Chartreuse for a little while. Afterwards, we returned down the harrowing and winding mountain roads which the French drive far too fast on and eventually returned to my apartment.
Monday morning marked the first day of classes at CUEF (Centrale Universitaire d’Etudes Francaise). My host mom had been talking about the classes she took at CUEF to learn English and I thought she was just going to walk me to the bus stop/to the campus to make sure I got there but it turns out that she’s taking English classes at the same time as me! I feel a little juvenile but it’s really cool that we can now talk about how difficult it is to speak in another language when you’re tired. She now understands why I’m so tongue-tied at night after dinner and just laughs and tells me to go to bed. It’s pretty great!
Since then class and my days have been kind of a blur. Class is composed of the professor speaking only in French to us and getting us to do oral exercises and some written, but there isn’t a book for the course (yet) and the homework is very minimal, which is really nice! This first week is run by one professor who is simply assessing our levels in French and next week our real classes will begin and we will all be separated into different levels. I’m looking forward to next week because thus far I haven’t felt like I’ve learned much more than I do at home speaking with my host mom. Hopefully there will be more structure next week and more writing because I only seem to remember it if I see it written down/write it myself!
Class runs from 8:30 am to 12:30 so my afternoons are free. Monday afternoon I checked out the shops in the center of the city and bought a dress but mostly perused and pinpointed places I liked because today (Wednesday) marked the beginning of Les Soldes. Les Soldes (sales) happens twice a year in France and lasts for four weeks. It is mandatory that all of the stores in France put their merchandise on sale at this time, so it’s a pretty awesome shopping time!
Monday night I had dinner with Myramina, Liliane, and two of Liliane’s vietnamese friends who I believe she met at the Université. They were really nice and it was great to not be the person being asked all the questions at dinner for once! Also, they spoke French really well and their accents were easier to understand than Liliane’s and Myramina’s, which made things a lot easier for me!
Tuesday after class it took me forever to get home/run errands so even though I had an invite back to Paige’s pool, I opted out to sleep. And sleep I did! I napped for three hours, woke up, didn’t want to do anything, didn’t have to do anything, so I went back to bed and slept for another hour or so until Liliane woke me up when she got home. It was AMAZING. I love sleep!
Finally that brings us to today! After class today I went to the center of town with Joan and Rose to shop during Les Soldes but we quickly split up when we wanted to go to different stores. I shopped for a few hours and then headed home when I got tired of shopping in the almost 90 degree weather with humidity. So far I’ve had a nice quiet evening at home 🙂 Now it’s time to read my assigned French article and then more sleep for me!
À bientôt!
PS Sorry for the lack of pictures at the end, I haven’t really taken any since the day at the monastery!
Oh Paris, what you have taught me…
June 21st, 2012 (written on)
Last night was a night to remember, but not necessarily for the preferred reasons. Yesterday began with visiting the Notre Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle. After Saint Michel we split into smaller groups to find food and for free time. I went with Garth, Claire, Chris, and Eva to the gardens of the Louvre directly afterwards; we bought sandwiches from street vendors and ate them on the way there and bought ice cream in the gardens where we hung out and lounged for 2 hours. It was absolutely beautiful! Then we met up with everyone for a guided tour and afterwards split off again and I ended up returning to the hotel by myself due to some miscommunications, but I enjoyed the challenge! And I succeeded, so that was nice 🙂
All day long Claire had been saying to everyone to meet in the hotel lobby at 10pm so we could go to the Eiffel Tower to watch the light show at 11pm. There ended up being a group of nine of us and four of them spent 45 minutes picking out bottles of wine, didn’t meet in the lobby, and we had to go find them and help them get to the RER/Metro station. Then everyone walked slow and one girl yelled in English on the metro which literally screamed “Hi, I’m an obnoxious American!” and it was obvious the French were not pleased… this continues to be extremely annoying when they then go on to talk in loud English about how much they want to learn French. Well, attempting to speak it just might help my friends.
When we finally got to the Eiffel Tower it was almost 11 but people were walking slow and disagreeing about where to go and sit so we ended being directly underneath the Eiffel Tower when the light show started, which was extremely annoying. Then we went to walk across the bridge to sit by the Seine to view the light show because a local said it was the best place. Unfortunately, the light show only lasts for about 3 or 4 minutes, so halfway across the bridge it ended. Claire and I really wanted to see the whole light show so we agreed to wait until it began again at midnight. It was absolutely beautiful and definitely worth the wait! After the light show ended, a group of French men drove up in a car and tried to talk to us. I responded with “Quoi?” (what), thinking they were police before they pulled up further, but then realized they weren’t and ignored them. They ended up parking their car, turning up their music, and smoking marijuana right next to us while slowly edging closer. Eventually they stopped and left, but it was really obnoxious and slightly alarming when they kept moving closer.
After the light show I was ready to leave because I had originally wanted to be home before midnight to pack up and possibly get some sleep. However, no one wanted to leave. We had asked the police earlier and they told us the RER closes at midnight, the metro at 1am, and the buses run all night long. I wanted to take the metro back and Claire didn’t want to be out all night so we left the group that just wanted to get drunk at around 12:30am for the metro station. The closest connection to the metro station was an RER station and was therefore closed. By the time we figured out where the next closest metro station was, it was too late to make it there. Because of this, Claire and I ended up walking home to the hotel. It was 5.6 kilometers. In the dark. In a foreign country. We couldn’t figure out how to use the buses. The buses didn’t come very often, nor were all of the stops lit. The taxis were expensive. Therefore, we walked. In flip-flops and flats. The entire way. It took an hour and 15 minutes. It was miserable. However, we made it and we came home safe, even though several men cat called us and one mocked us and made like he was going to follow…we definitely ran when we crossed that street. Now we know who we are NOT going to hang out with at night in Paris.
What to do and what NOT to do in Paris:
- Do NOT smile at people on the metro when you are traveling alone.
People simply do not smile at one another on the metro. I was returning to the hotel from the Louvre–and due to some miscommunication and lack of cell phones for all party members–I ended up returning alone instead of with Garth, who had also stayed after the guided tour at the Louvre. In order to return to the hotel I had to take three different metro lines, which required two train changes. Unfortunately I knew I stood out as an American with my jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt, so I did everything else I could to blend in so I wouldn’t get haggled/pushed around for standing out like a tourist. I only spoke in French, I walked like a Parisienne (always quickly and with a purpose without pausing to look around), and planned my route before entering the metro so I didn’t have to take out my map of the metro. However, I automatically smiled at a man on the train when we made eye contact–another thing the French seem to avoid on the metro–and he did a double take and then kept looking at me sideways for the rest of the ride. I left quickly at my stop and even though he did not seem to be a threat, it was clear that was a bad idea. I’m glad I learned that lesson then rather than later that night.
- DO learn how to use more than one form of public transportation, preferably as soon as you get to a new city.
- DO know when each form of public transportation closes.
- DO always begin a conversation in French.
This shows that you are sincerely trying to speak the language and are not simply expecting everyone to speak English. I will debunk a myth right now: the French and the Parisiennes are NOT an intrinsically rude people. However, they are fed up with Americans and other English speaking civilians coming to their country and expecting everyone to speak English. Even though my French is broken I always started my conversations in French and the French have responded kindly and were usually amused and encouraging of my attempts. I myself became annoyed during the night when we were trying to ask for directions from couples at the bus stops and we would ask a question in French and the Americans would just shake their heads and say “English”, they didn’t even try and it was very disappointing. Bonjour, merci, s’il vous plait, and au revoir (Hello, thank you, please, and goodbye) go a very, VERY long way in Paris.
Green cross = pharmacy. If the cross is lit up, the pharmacy is open. There is always a pharmacy open. If the pharmacy you go to is closed, there will be a sign on the front door with the address of the pharmacy that is open during the hours that this one is closed. In France, you go to the pharmacy before the doctor. You tell the pharmacist what is wrong and how you feel and they will recommend medications to you and if their remedies don’t work, then you go to the doctor. Also, pharmacies are small and convenience stores so unless you have to, don’t but any sort of regular items there such as shampoo, soap, or beauty products. Instead go to the grocery store for those, they will be much much cheaper at the grocery stores.
That’s all that comes to mind at the moment…now onto Grenoble! I’ve been writing this while on the TGV bullet train to Grenoble; the mountains are appearing and they are sooooo pretty! I can’t wait!!
Le première jour á Paris
Written June 19th, 2012
This morning we left our room for breakfast at 8:00am. Downstairs Claire and I discovered a world of delicious croissants, coffee, tea, jam, and yogurt. We each ate 3 croissants and a yogurt which we mixed with the jam for the bread; I also mixed in honey once my jam ran out and that turned out to be an amazing combination. I plan to do the same tomorrow! We left the hotel at 8:45am and took the Metro to the RER (public transport to the banlieues (suburbs) de Paris ) to visit Versailles. Unfortunately we had to take a different train than we had planned and walk a little further to Versailles because there had been an “accident” with the train we were going to take. Someone in our group asked Marie what the accident had been and (apparently) the accident had been someone jumping in front of the train to commit suicide, which (again, apparently) happens a few times each week. I’m not sure if this is completely true but if so, it is very sad.
However, Versailles was very beautiful! Completely and utterly stuffed full of tourists which made it very claustrophobic and difficult to appreciate the art and the grandeur–if you were able to see it–but very beautiful nonetheless. We only had two hours to spend in Versailles but most of our group made it out in an hour because it is a very small portion of the castle which you can tour and the amount of people crammed into the small rooms made it very unpleasant. We did not have enough time to explore the gardens of Versailles, and that made me very sad. I hope to be able to return during a free weekend to explore just the gardens for a day! However, during our hour of wandering Claire and I were able to find an area with free wi-fi for Grenoble visitors and I was able to let people know I am alive, which was nice 🙂
After Versailles we took the RER back to the Metro and took the Metro to the Musée D’Orsay. Marie dropped us off at the Musée and we explored on our own and then split into smaller groups to explore Paris and navigate the Metro as we pleased. My group consisted of Claire, Garth, Paige, Chris, Eva, Kelly, Augie, and Sarah and we chose to go to the Sacre Coeur in Montmarte. The Sacre Coeur is a beautiful cathedral atop a hill and it was amazing to see the artwork inside. Afterwards we took a few minutes to explore a very French park and to sit on the grass hillside before returning to the hotel. At this point it was 6:30 and we had just enough time to sit down for a few minutes before going down to the lobby to meet up with Marie at 7:00pm for a quick group meeting and then a dinner paid for by our program, API. During the short time we had at the hotel before dinner the Wi-Fi miraculously and mysteriously worked for a few minutes and I was able to IM and make a Skype phone call using my phone but still no luck with my computer for some reason.
Dinner went until 10:00pm and was a very mixed bag for all of us. I ordered for the entrée a salad topped with goat cheese which was absolutely amazing, especially when spread upon bread. For my plat I ordered chicken with mashed potatoes and salad. However, when this arrived the chicken came in its own pot and was a very large portion which I had trouble finishing (in France you have to finish your plate to get the next course, otherwise it is considered very rude) but the mashed potatoes were absolutely delectable! We had also ordered a bottle of red wine to share at the table in small groups and both groups ordered the same pinot noir. As I had suspected, I am not a fan of red wine so next time I will be trying a white or a rose wine. For dessert I ordered an Irish Coffee as recommended by my friend Anastasia from work and a sort of apple pie tart. When they delivered the tart the waitress poured alcohol on the plate next to the tart and lit it on fire before I began eating. I was not overly impressed with the tart and was not able to finish it. However, Augie also sat at our table and had ordered a chocolate bar of deliciousness which she was unable to finish since she had eaten so much already, and she gladly handed the plate to me so she didn’t seem rude. It was amazing! As for my Irish Coffee, I’ve discovered that coffee in any flavor and combination–lest it be “fru-fru” coffee–is not for me. Also, when the drink is 50% whiskey, 40% of the darkest espresso I’ve ever tasted, and 10% cream, I should have known it wasn’t going to go well. So instead I shared with my entire table and found several people who thoroughly enjoyed it.
After dinner we returned to the hotel and then went in search of internet in small groups. I was able to find Wi-Fi at McDonald’s (MacDo en France) but could only use it for 20 minutes or so before they closed at midnight. Afterwards we returned (again) to the room to load pictures onto our computers and write our blog posts in Word, as I am doing now. However, it is now far too late (1:30am) and we have a big day tomorrow so I bid you all good night!
Happy Birthday Mom! (the original version)
June 18, 2012
This was supposed to be posted on the above date, which is when it was written. TLDNR for those that care but not that much :p (or are too busy).
As of right now, my birthday present to my mom is that I have arrived safe and sound in Paris! Before I dive into my first day à Paris, I’d like to recap the whirlwind of this past week:
Monday (June 11th): My day began with a chiropractor appointment to iron out all my out of place bones before leaving the country at 8:30 am. Afterwards I crammed for my first final until 12 noon when I took my final for Statistics 314, at which point I spent the next few hours doing Drill stuff and finishing up things before leaving the country. At 8 pm I began studying for Physics, which failed miserably, and stayed up doing other to do list items until 2:30 am.
Tuesday (June 12th): Physics final at 7:30am. Breakfast with my friend Brian while talking over the horrible final until 10am. Ran errands for Drill and France until 1:30pm, then cramming for math final. Math 306 final at 6pm (awful!), dinner at Flat Tail Brewing with my besties Caitlyn, Jenna (who surprised me), Brian, and Steven and my family Shady and Valerie. Then I stayed up all night packing for both Reno and France with Caitlyn, who dropped me off at the barn in the morning.
Wednesday (June 13th): Left the barn early in the morning for the Horse Center, met up with the horse hauler, and loaded up the horses and people in to the van. Drive to Reno, NV. Arrive and unload horses and people, checked into the hotel by 10pm, ate dinner and crashed.
Thursday (June 14th): Breakfast and fed horses in the morning, organized tack stalls, checked out the arena, and sunbathed at the hotel pool. Returned to the barn to feed and practice at 6:30pm.
Friday (June 15th): Up at 3:30am to curl hair, at the barn by 5am, running the first Drill, our Short Program, at 7:00am. Dismount, untack, eat breakfast, retack, run second Drill–our Freestyle–at 10:30am. Dismount, untack, re-tack, awards ceremony at 1pm. WE WON SECOND PLACE IN OUR DIVISION!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soooooo exciting!!! Watched the Reno Rodeo that night, returned to the hotel. If you would like to watch the two Drills which we ran for the competition, please follow the links below:
Short Program:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hPemWSF2E8&feature=youtu.be
Freestyle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2OpO5bnOzw&feature=youtu.be
Saturday (June 16th): Up at 4am to curl hair, at the barn by 6am, on horses and ready for the parade at 8:30am. Parade finished and all girls packed by 2pm, then we split to shop, eat, pack, and enjoy life. I packed for France and reorganized all of my things into piles for those that returned home to Corvallis, those that went with Smokey (my leased horse), and those that came with me to France.
Sunday (June 17th): The day of travelling. I got up (late) at 4:35am and quickly stuffed the rest of my morning toiletries and night clothes into their respective piles, dressed, and ran down to the shuttle to the airport. However, the shuttle wasn’t there and I somehow got confused and suckered into a taxi to the airport thinking it was the shuttle at first. Arrived with plenty of time and was able to print my boarding pass and eat breakfast before boarding the plane to Dallas. I slept through both takeoff and landing in the 2 hour and 45 minute flight to Dallas, only being awake for about 15 minutes in the middle to wake up and crave chocolate, which was somewhat strange. Then I spent 5 hours in the Dallas airport exchanging money, eating, calling family and friends, and then I boarded the plane to Paris.
That is my week before France in a nutshell. There was not a lot of down time in there and needless to say I was very thankful to be sleeping on the flights–even if they did result in horrible crinks in my neck.
Now, onto my time in Paris!
On the plane from Dallas, TX to Paris, FR I sat next to a quiet French man. We didn’t speak much because I didn’t really want to try out my French on the airplane and also because I slept for probably 5.5 hours of the 9 hour and 15 minute flight. He had taken a flight Saturday night from San Diego to Dallas, flown with me from Dallas to Paris, and still had to catch a plane to Bourdeaux to make it home. I felt really bad for the amount of time he still had to spend in an airplane. However, when we arrived at the aeroport, I felt like I was cheating on top of already avoiding French conversation. Apparently the official language of aviation is English, so all of the signs were printed in both English and French. It made things a lot easier but it still felt like I was cheating a little bit. I did have to ask directions to the cafe where I was to meet my Resident Director in French, so I guess that counts.
Once at the cafe I met Marie, my Resident Director for API in Paris. She is very nice and she gave me a welcome package with our Grenoble “Bible” in it. Then Simone, Paige, and Claire arrived at the cafe–Claire we ran into when we were leaving the cafe at 12:15 after the noon deadline since her flight had been delayed–and then we took a taxi to the hotel. Once here Marie assigned myself, Paige, Simone, and Claire to the same room and we dropped our things and headed to lunch at a cute little French Boulangerie kitty corner to the hotel. After eating I was finally able to take a shower and Claire was soon to follow after I explained how to turn on the shower head.
At 4:00 o’clock (7:00am Oregon time), we met Marie for a quick orientation, Piccell presentation (I got my Europe phone through them), and then we left for our hour-long tour of Paris on Les Vedettes (boats) which travel the Seine River. I got to see many amazing things sand famous things for the first time from the Seine, like le Tour Eiffel, The Notre Dame, le Louvre, et le Musée d’Orsée. This was very exciting!
After the tour we split up into separate groups and I ended up with my roommates at a little tourist trap café serving “Authentic French Cuisine”…which we don’t think it really was. We all had a good time realizing how timid we are with our French and realizing how much the French were babying us with it as well.
After paying for our food, we traversed the streets of Paris and found our way back home. Once back at the hotel I got to know my roommates (Simone, Claire, and Paige) better–perhaps a little too much. Below is a transcript of one of our conversations:
Simone: Hey guys I know I just met you, and this is crazy, but can I tell you something?
Aimee: …call me maybe?
All: laughter
Aimee: Yeah, so what did you want to say?
Simone: I think I might be pregnant.
All: awkward silence…
…and it was at that point that we realized there was a possibility that we didn’t know each other that well, however we did have a good laugh. To clarify: Simone is married and was therefore not as worried as we might have expected.
Now that we are done with our adventures, (at 10:15pm France, 3pm Oregon time), I am ready to call it a day. We have to be ready to leave the hotel at 8:45 am and it just now got dark out, what a change! Hope to talk to friends and family soon, love you all!!
TLDNR: Thus far today (Monday June 18th) in Paris, I have navigated the Charles de Gaul Aeroport, made it to my meeting with our resident director Marie at Café La Terrasse–which is a completely unmarked cafe and I had to ask for directions twice and even the people working in the airport didn’t know where it was–checked into the Hotel Claude Bernard, ate at a Boulangerie kitty corner from the hotel, figured out how to work the shower, sent an international text message with my new phone, took an hour long tour ride on Les Vedettes and saw Le Louvre, le Tour Eiffel, le Notre Dame, et le Musée D’Orsay for the first time. After the tour the group of 16 students split up and I went with my temporary roommates to find a restaurant for dinner, then we navigated home to the hotel which still has intermittent wi-fi.
Happy Birthday Mom!
As of right now, my birthday present to my mom is that I have arrived safe and sound in Paris! Unfortunately, I am about to run out of internet so I will have to finish updating my blog posts later. Also, I wrote this blog post yesterday (on my Mom’s birthday) so it would make much more sense then.
A plus tard,
Aimee
aimeeinfrance 