Day two-and-a-half en France
Aaand, we're back and cookin with electricity (see the story below)!
First, yesterday -- my first official day -- was gorgeous. As you can see in my pics of Notre Dame, it was positively beautiful (you can also tell I'm a bit obsessed with Notre Dame -- only slightly strange for a Unity gal). Today, definitely overcast and a bit chilly. I'm glad for my scarf (again) -- in fact, I now have a super soft 100% genuine knock off scarf :) Straight from the street vendors.
Apart from that, where do I even begin?? I'm sitting in cafe le moderne, an ultra-hip "Wistro" (Wi-Fi cafe), literally jamming in my seat to the techno being pumped into the speakers. The walls are exposed stone with faux flickering candlebras above. The Dutch couple that just sat next to me had to revert to English to understand the French waiter :) The woman at the table outside is so posh, I'm afraid to set her loose on the sidewalks (her lips have definitely had help, to start, and her glasses are Mother of Pearl. No, seriously, they are).
A few blocks away is Place de la Bastille (pic). This weekend is Bastille Day, which is expected to bring quite a crowd around our neighborhood (le Marais). It's reminds me of the huge British or New York-ian Places with a dozen off shoots all shopping and eating.
Ugh, the shopping! I've already told them, but Stacey and Eboni would positively die here. They'd already have made the choice of new clothes every 10 min and never eating again... food isn't that important right? First, the stuff that people put out on the streets as "bargain" is better fodder than I've found in Kansas City in a while, if ever. And let me specifically point out 2 things: they are not afraid of color (pic) and they are serious about shoes (pic)! I've bought a pair of shoes and I'm eyeing another. I've possibly doubled my packed wardrobe (mom, before you faint, remember I only packed like 5 outfits, knowing I'd be buying most of my clothes here). Stacey, I look fabulous daily thanks to our under-the-wire pack job. I look positively french!
Of course, I open my mouth and there's no question I'm not a local. Turns out my french is a bit more than rusty. There are entire sets of words that have simply disappeared from my memory. but everyone is patient and I always continue in french even when they start speaking to me in english. Mostly people will helpfully suggest/correct the words I'm using. A few more weeks of this and I'll be back on track with my near 8 years of study in french? (yeesh, all that studying, gone so fast!) I'm making friends all over the place. The concierges at the hostel are all very friendly, but Olivier was the lucky one to be on duty when I was hopelessly struggling to figure out the "free WiFi" in the hostel lobby *eyeroll* Let's put it this way: there's not really free WiFi, it's the city's WiFi and it's only available at one exact spot in the lobby area and only during business hours. *sigh* We live, we learn, we laugh our butts off at my mistakes! Olivier and I are now BFF (by American and French standards, which are very different) and he even offered to lend me his old cell phone to load up with pre-paid minutes instead of buying a phone.
On that note, it turns out I'm not going to get one. In another insanely bold (i.e. out-of-character) move on my part, I've decided not to get a cell. I realized I won't be able to get calls from mom and dad, I can call them via "cabines" (phone booths, which do still exist here), and I can call Elodie using phone cards for $.20/min. What I was really getting it for was in case someone needed me in an emergency. Well, I said to myself, Self, that's silly. What will you do about an emergency from France? Rien (nothing), I answered myself. Ta da: 100 euros saved. (more for shopping! Seriously, it's bad... I don't remember being 'shopaholic' in the States...??)
Back to the touristy stuff: Yesterday, being beautiful, I walked... a LOT. Ended up shopping along the different streets I've never seen before (ie., they're not on the way from Notre Dame to La Tour Eiffel): The entire neighborhood near La Sorbonne (a sort of "institute" of the French language) is chock full of vetements et ensembles pour la femme (clothes for gals). I also have been extra-treating myself with meals. My "errand o' the day" yesterday was to buy my train ticket to Rennes for Sunday. Turns out Jardins du Luxembourg is "on the way" if you're at Notre Dame and the Rive Gauche (Left bank) area. I didn't intend on walking the whole way, but I kept finding more chapels to photograph and stores to stop in. I ended up having lunch at Le Luxembourg, (pic) looking across at the entrace to the gardens. By the way, for our horticultural friends, the "gardens" of Luxemburg aren't very garden-y. It's more a park/place to read/meet (pic). Very little plumage, as it were.
Last night, I went to a Rick Steves recommended Italian restaurant a mere 4 blocks from the hostel, l'Enoteca. I asked one of my hostel-roommates,Sue, to join me, and we sat down to eat at 9:20p like real french ladies. Even more like french ladies, we didn't leave until 11:30! It was positively delicious, though quite the splurge. I have to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying splurging. Everyone should do it. (Insert disclaimer: I've saved for five years for this!)
Today's assignment was to get a 3-prong converter for my laptop power cord. Turns out my converter-set for all its pieces couldn't accomodate! So, to the "good will" it goes. My whopping 9 Euro universal converter is one small piece and I can pretty much plug anything into it and it comes out french on the other side! Assignment, complete. I also set about my "homework" this afternoon while I had the hostel room to myself for a rare moment (the two remaining roommates both checked out today; new roommate checked in today). I fired up my iPod to the "Jazz to Study" playlist (150 songs+!) and started typing up lyrics and listening for nuances in the different musicians' versions.
Now I'm probably overstaying my welcome at the Wistro (it's just such a fun word to say! go on, give it a try...), so I'm going to wrap it up. Plus, this is about as much as one post can handle. Check out the whole "roll" of pics from yesterday/today's excursions on my Flickr Page or of course on Facebook.
Tomorrow: no clue! And that's awesome.
First, yesterday -- my first official day -- was gorgeous. As you can see in my pics of Notre Dame, it was positively beautiful (you can also tell I'm a bit obsessed with Notre Dame -- only slightly strange for a Unity gal). Today, definitely overcast and a bit chilly. I'm glad for my scarf (again) -- in fact, I now have a super soft 100% genuine knock off scarf :) Straight from the street vendors.
Apart from that, where do I even begin?? I'm sitting in cafe le moderne, an ultra-hip "Wistro" (Wi-Fi cafe), literally jamming in my seat to the techno being pumped into the speakers. The walls are exposed stone with faux flickering candlebras above. The Dutch couple that just sat next to me had to revert to English to understand the French waiter :) The woman at the table outside is so posh, I'm afraid to set her loose on the sidewalks (her lips have definitely had help, to start, and her glasses are Mother of Pearl. No, seriously, they are).
A few blocks away is Place de la Bastille (pic). This weekend is Bastille Day, which is expected to bring quite a crowd around our neighborhood (le Marais). It's reminds me of the huge British or New York-ian Places with a dozen off shoots all shopping and eating.
Ugh, the shopping! I've already told them, but Stacey and Eboni would positively die here. They'd already have made the choice of new clothes every 10 min and never eating again... food isn't that important right? First, the stuff that people put out on the streets as "bargain" is better fodder than I've found in Kansas City in a while, if ever. And let me specifically point out 2 things: they are not afraid of color (pic) and they are serious about shoes (pic)! I've bought a pair of shoes and I'm eyeing another. I've possibly doubled my packed wardrobe (mom, before you faint, remember I only packed like 5 outfits, knowing I'd be buying most of my clothes here). Stacey, I look fabulous daily thanks to our under-the-wire pack job. I look positively french!
Of course, I open my mouth and there's no question I'm not a local. Turns out my french is a bit more than rusty. There are entire sets of words that have simply disappeared from my memory. but everyone is patient and I always continue in french even when they start speaking to me in english. Mostly people will helpfully suggest/correct the words I'm using. A few more weeks of this and I'll be back on track with my near 8 years of study in french? (yeesh, all that studying, gone so fast!) I'm making friends all over the place. The concierges at the hostel are all very friendly, but Olivier was the lucky one to be on duty when I was hopelessly struggling to figure out the "free WiFi" in the hostel lobby *eyeroll* Let's put it this way: there's not really free WiFi, it's the city's WiFi and it's only available at one exact spot in the lobby area and only during business hours. *sigh* We live, we learn, we laugh our butts off at my mistakes! Olivier and I are now BFF (by American and French standards, which are very different) and he even offered to lend me his old cell phone to load up with pre-paid minutes instead of buying a phone.
On that note, it turns out I'm not going to get one. In another insanely bold (i.e. out-of-character) move on my part, I've decided not to get a cell. I realized I won't be able to get calls from mom and dad, I can call them via "cabines" (phone booths, which do still exist here), and I can call Elodie using phone cards for $.20/min. What I was really getting it for was in case someone needed me in an emergency. Well, I said to myself, Self, that's silly. What will you do about an emergency from France? Rien (nothing), I answered myself. Ta da: 100 euros saved. (more for shopping! Seriously, it's bad... I don't remember being 'shopaholic' in the States...??)
Back to the touristy stuff: Yesterday, being beautiful, I walked... a LOT. Ended up shopping along the different streets I've never seen before (ie., they're not on the way from Notre Dame to La Tour Eiffel): The entire neighborhood near La Sorbonne (a sort of "institute" of the French language) is chock full of vetements et ensembles pour la femme (clothes for gals). I also have been extra-treating myself with meals. My "errand o' the day" yesterday was to buy my train ticket to Rennes for Sunday. Turns out Jardins du Luxembourg is "on the way" if you're at Notre Dame and the Rive Gauche (Left bank) area. I didn't intend on walking the whole way, but I kept finding more chapels to photograph and stores to stop in. I ended up having lunch at Le Luxembourg, (pic) looking across at the entrace to the gardens. By the way, for our horticultural friends, the "gardens" of Luxemburg aren't very garden-y. It's more a park/place to read/meet (pic). Very little plumage, as it were.
Last night, I went to a Rick Steves recommended Italian restaurant a mere 4 blocks from the hostel, l'Enoteca. I asked one of my hostel-roommates,Sue, to join me, and we sat down to eat at 9:20p like real french ladies. Even more like french ladies, we didn't leave until 11:30! It was positively delicious, though quite the splurge. I have to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying splurging. Everyone should do it. (Insert disclaimer: I've saved for five years for this!)
Today's assignment was to get a 3-prong converter for my laptop power cord. Turns out my converter-set for all its pieces couldn't accomodate! So, to the "good will" it goes. My whopping 9 Euro universal converter is one small piece and I can pretty much plug anything into it and it comes out french on the other side! Assignment, complete. I also set about my "homework" this afternoon while I had the hostel room to myself for a rare moment (the two remaining roommates both checked out today; new roommate checked in today). I fired up my iPod to the "Jazz to Study" playlist (150 songs+!) and started typing up lyrics and listening for nuances in the different musicians' versions.
Now I'm probably overstaying my welcome at the Wistro (it's just such a fun word to say! go on, give it a try...), so I'm going to wrap it up. Plus, this is about as much as one post can handle. Check out the whole "roll" of pics from yesterday/today's excursions on my Flickr Page or of course on Facebook.
Tomorrow: no clue! And that's awesome.
posted by Jess at 9:02 AM
3 Comments:
Le Boul'Miche. Vous l'avez decouvert!
Love, hate, love, hate . . . I'm struggling with my emotions here! I'm glad you're living it up. Your pics are making me miss Paris SO MUCH! Kiss it for me. :)
Oh, no worries, roomie, I'm making sure Paris feels our love!
Dave, j'aime vous voir ici! J'espere que vous continuez lire. :)
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