I'll see you soon

"Do not anticipate the happiness of tomorrow, discover it today" Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Yesterday was definitely an adventure-flled day. In the morning Gabi and I met up with Addison so we could explore the largest covered market in Paris. The foodie in me was on overload--the cheese, and vegetables, and fruit, and meat, and wine!! Then we took the Metro to Montmartre in hopes of finding the vintage stores there. Well, we didn't find them...apparently we took the wrong way off the metro and should have descended down from Abessess instead of up (we would have much preferred to stay at the bottom, I think we climbed a million stairs). We ate a terrible and overpriced crepe in Montmartre and explored some of the artsy/touristy shops near Sacre-Couer.

We were looking at earrings in this jewelry store that had different jewelry based on what region/city of the world it would have come from. And I was particularly drawn to this one pair, and I kept coming back to it, and finally decided to pick them up and buy them. When I picked them up I noticed the particular rack I was looking at were earrings based off of cities in Spain, and the particular earrings I wanted were from Salamanca!! It's strange how sometimes you just gravitate toward something that comforts you. And while I definitely miss home, home a lot here...I find myself missing Spain significantly more here than back in the States. I think it might be because there are so many little things that are more similar but just a little off.

It's really the little things that remind me. It's drinking out of little cups that you constantly have to refill at dinner, it's the detachable shower head (that doesn't have the ability to attach to anything), it's the coffee, it's the more relaxed pace, it's eating dinner late. And I'm having so many of the same feelings as I had in Spain...I wander around in a constant state of awe of all the things around me, just trying to take it all in. As I meet all these new people here I find myself constantly thinking of Katie, Dana, and Alex. There's an old sign hanging in our kitchen that says "My Goodness, My Guinness!" and every morning it always makes me think of O'Harra's in Salamanca. It just makes me appreciate that much more how much of a unique experience Spain was, and how much potential Paris has as well.

Yesterday afternoon we went to Musee D'Orsay, which is an impressionist museum in an old train station in the heart of Paris. We took a guided tour (probably one of the best I've ever taken) and saw works from Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, and so many others. Well I definitely don't count myself as a particularly artistic person, I do love wandering around museums. I have the upmost respect for people who can think up these things and actually create something tangible like that out of their ideas.

Last night Mme Dugan definitely made up for the previous meal of tongues and nuts. We had crepes "typiquement de Brettagne" aka crepes with ham, eggs, and goat cheese. So simple, but so delicious. And we had an endive salad on the side...I'd never tried endives before but I was very pleased, I liked them a lot.

After dinner we met up with Addison again, we sipped on some belgian beer we had bought earlier that day while sitting in a park discussing literature, cinema, this experience, Paris, everything! Kelly would have been proud :) It was such stimulating conversation and so typically french drinking wine and beer in a park. Then we moved on to a cafe/bar called Hotel du Nord (THE cafe in Marcel Parne's Hotel du Nord). And we actually met french people! And we actually spoke french!! It was a great time. Then we moved out to a few more bars and finished the night with a nighttime stroll through the rain (parce que bien-sur nous sommes a Paris!).

Today we're doing some shopping Aux Grands Magasins (La Galerie Lafayette, Printemps, etc), I'm getting a french phone! And we're going to the Louvre at night, because we get FREE admission to the Louvre for a year!! Now we can take it exposition by exposition and not feel rushed. I'm so excited. So tonight should be another fabulous night...Paris je t'aime! ...But don't worry I still miss everyone a ton :)