Hold this feeling like a newborn

"I guess I wanted to leave America for a little while. It wasn't that I wanted to become an expatriate or just never come back, I needed some breathing room. I'd been to Paris once before and liked it very much, and so I just went." -Paul Auster

So far it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made :) Not that I didn't think it would be, it's actually been one of the few constants in my life since I started college. Even when looking for schools, I knew I wanted to study abroad. During my Freshman year I didn't think I would ever be able to muster enough courage to actually leave home. Sophomore year I got restless, decided to learn a different language and jumpstart the process. After Spain, I knew studying in France was something I needed to do. It's not at all what I expected it would be, although I'm not quite sure what I expected exactly.

The one thing I did expect it to be was a whirlwind. I'm already in a slight panic over how much time has passed and how much I still want to do. To experience all of Paris would take years, and even then I'm still not sure it would be possible to see it all. I've started a running list in my moleskin journal (I feel quite literary whenever I write in it) of all the things I want to get done before I leave and I'm making it my mission to check at least one thing off every day. So far, it's been pretty successful.

Last weekend was a blur. After visiting a museum in Caen, the American gravesite, Omaha Beach, Pointe Hoc, the city of Caen, an apple orchard, le Mont St. Michel, and rather interesting gas station, we were exhausted. So Monday was a day of rest. Tuesday was beautiful outside so Gabi, Tommy, and I trekked to the best bakery in the 10th arrondissement for some fresh baguettes. We stopped off at Franprix for a bottle of red wine and some camembert cheese. We planted ourselves along the canal and watched the world go by. Good food, good people, and a good setting does wonders for the soul. It's so simple but so refreshing.

Wednesday we went to Le Salon D'Agriculture. It's one of those words that gets lost in translation because this place is anything but a salon of agriculture. It's sort of like a state fair on steroids. A state fair with gourmet food--wine, cheese, bread, wine, chocolate, cured meats, ciders, honey, wine, jam, mustard, beer, candies--oh yes and did I mention the wine? It's basically everything you could ever love about France under one roof. And for 6 euros you get to try it all. One of the main Pavillons is divided by region, so in essence you can take a culinary tour of France without ever leaving Paris. I bought mustard from Dijon, red wine from Bordeuax, sparkling wine from Champagne, olives from the Mediterranean, and truffle oil from somewhere. We left the Salon/Fair/Exposition (there really is no English word for this place) a little tipsier, stomachs a little fuller, wallets a little emptier, but a whole lot happier.

Thursday we went to L'Opera Garnier--as in the Opera from Phantom of the Opera--to see a ballet. We saw La Dame aux Camelias which was in a word, beautiful. A live orchestra played music by Chopin and the story followed that of La Traviata. So as if the ballet itself wasn't incredible enough, the setting was absolutely amazing. Anyone who has ever been inside (or even seen the outside for that matter) of L'Opera Garnier knows exactly what I'm talking about. It is grandeur at it's finest.

Friday was a welcome start to the weekend. Last week was the first week of my phonetics classes which are incredibly interesting but I could do without the 8:30am start time. 8:30 means I leave the apartment by 7:50 so I can make my metro trek to the Latin Quarter. This means waking up before 7 which is something I haven't had to do consistently since my mornings at Panera and it's not an hour of the day I'm looking forward to getting to know again. But the classes themselves are very engaging, much better than the 2 hour long lectures. For a half an hour the professor lectures about the rules of French pronunciation. For the second half hour we sit in a lab, divided into individual cubicles armed with headsets which will hopefully help us to better speak the french language. So far it's been very useful.

Friday night we attempted to go to a fondue restaurant in Montmartre only to find we needed reservations. So we wandered for a bit in hopes of finding a decently inexpensive restaurant that would seat 9 of us. Not an easy feat on a Friday night in Paris. We walked into a few different places, each time looking at a server and apprehensively mouthing "Nous sommes neuf." Literally, we are nine. Normally this was met with a shake of the head and a "C'est pas possible." That's not possible. Finally we found a place that looked as though it served food and enthusiastically told us 9 people was not a problem. We eagerly took the table without a look at a menu or a second glance at our surroundings. Much to our surprise it was a bustling bistro with a live band and a fun atmosphere. The food wasn't half bad either. Sometimes the best nights are the ones you don't plan for.

Saturday consisted of a trip to the Catacombs (an underground tomb more or less), a creepy experience but an experience nonetheless. We followed that with another trip to the Salon D'Agriculture seeing as it was one of the last days that we could take advantage of it. We rested for a bit, then ventured out to Bastille for a night of dancing. It was a ton of fun and the night ended very well :)

Today we did as the Parisians do. We took advantage of the sunshine, braved the wind, and wandered aimlessly while chatting away for a few hours. Carolin, Gabi, and I grabbed a cup of coffee in the sunlight to warm up a bit before we bought some bread and cheese and had a picnic by Les Halles. Some sort of Parisian perfect.