A Wonderful Lazy Sunday

After waking up at noon today, I decided today would be a lazy day, and lazy it was indeed. After evading the heat outside by staying in the house all afternoon, lounging around in my jammies (which I did freely today because my host family left for the weekend, shhh), I decided my day would have been completely worthless if I did not leave the house at all. Thus, I made up my mind to meet my friend for crêpes at Breizh Café, which had come highly recommended to me by an American girl who had spent an entire year abroad in Paris. Pictured are two of the 4 crêpeswe ordered - pear, chocolate, caramelized almonds, and vanilla bean ice cream (mine, all mine) and smoked salmon with...little flags...and some other deliciousness (Nico's). Presentation, fab. Taste, parf (our abrev forparfait, or perfect, in French - very witty I know). Cost, pas mal, pas mal du tout!

After my fabulous late-afternoon snack, I came home to find my host family and a new hosted student (from Australia) at home, getting ready for dinner! More delicious food, including gazpacho (very French, no?) and of course, bread and cheese. Mmm simple French cuisine. I left stuffed.

Finally, I left the house for the Montparnasse Tower to see the Paris skyline by night - gorgeous. Parisians say the view from Montparnasse is the best in town, for two reasons: 1) You can see the Eiffel Tower; and 2) You can't see the Montparnasse Tower. A glass and metal skyscraper towering at 60 stories tall above all of charming jolie Paris, it makes sense that the Parisians hate this building. Enough to pass a law forbidding all skyscrapers within the city center, just after completion of Tour Montparnasse. Nonetheless, the view is breathtaking, and yes, I did get some nice shots of the Eiffel Tower, even with my crappy camera.

And finally, my friend (Jimmy) and I stopped at St. Michel for a final, late-night crepe (I know what you're thinking - AGAIN??? But I had to - it was sugar, butter, and lemon juice!) and while walking back to the metro, we saw these two adorable kittens playing in a balcony in the Latin Quarter. So cute. So perfect. The perfect cuddly end to a wonderfully lazy day.

Tomorrow morning I think I may go back to Sacré-Coeur for a little more introspection - that or I'll head back to the Musée D'Orsay to finish viewing the Monets and Millets and Renoirs that I didn't get to see. Either way I hope to squeeze something in before class in the afternoon - time is running out and there is still so much so much to do!!

I have lots more photos to put up and tell you about, but its late and I want to be productive tomorrow, so alas, I will leave the rest for tomorrow night. Till then, bon soir!

Ah Paris, que tu es belle!

I've just arrived in Paris today - quite proud of myself as I managed to find my way from the airport to my homestay without much problem, except that it took me a bit to find the house number because, voilà, I didn't look high enough on the building to notice the sign. Luckily two very polite French children let me in and showed me how to use the intercom to phone my family. Mishap numéro 1. We'll count how many more I make before my month here is up :)

First thoughts upon descending into Charles de Gaulle airport this morning: "Man, this land is FLAT." Far different from the hills and valleys (and water) of the Bay Area, the areas surrounding the city are flat and mostly covered in farmland - adorable patches of land laid out like a patchwork quilt with little clusters of houses sprinkled here and there at the intersections of its seams. Caught my first glimpse of the Seine curving through the city as well - can't wait until Sunday's bateau mouche cruise on the Seine with the other SBC students.

One site that doesn't change from country to country that I've visited - the suburbs. In China, in the U.S., and as I saw today, in France too, suburbia looks much the same - manicured, planned, curving streets and cookie-cutter houses - and I get the same Truman Show/Stepford Wives feeling everytime I see these communities from above. It's very interesting the way people spread out from cities into the suburbs in similar ways all over the world, it seems.

No pictures yet today - I was too jetlagged to do any sightseeing save for the 20 minute walk over from the shuttle bus stop to la maison, but tomorrow, armed with just my camera and a map of Paris, I plan to venture out into the city without any agenda at all but to see Paris. First stop - likely the Galeries Lafayette, birthplace of the modern shopping mall (haha, yes i know), which is just a couple minutes' walk from my place.

My homestay family, the Charoys, are very nice people, and I adore the father, Bruno, already. Today, after my nap, I woke up to find him getting ready to bake chocolate cake. He let me pour the sugar, butter the pan, and lick the spatula. Wonderful man :) He has a French cooking degree too - I hope by the end of this month I'll have picked up enough French cooking skills to keep myself fed when I get back to Berkeley this fall.

I feel my French improving already - Bruno and the rest of the family are incredibly patient with my choppy French and don't hesitate to correct my conjugations and agreements, etc. We talk about politics and world news a great deal - the French keep very well informed, and apparently they are big Obama fans. I'm going to learn so much this month - keep you posted!

A bientôt!