Last Minute Things

Since I didn't have the time to blog at the end of last last week, this will be a quick catch up post without any pictures before my post about my French Riviera/Ibiza trip!

At the end of last last week, I finally moved into my studio! It is tiny but will suffice. It's completely brand new so that is a bonus. There are a few things I would definitely change if I could though... Number one being the shower. It is an Italian-style shower, so the shower is in the middle of my bathroom, basically between my sink and toilet, with no basin. The water just splashes directly onto my bathroom floor, with nothing but a retractable shower curtain blocking the spray of the water. Needless to say, my bathroom gets pretty much flooded every time I take a shower. My dad was smart and decided to buy me a small mop which I have to use to mop up any remaining water. I've started to get the hang of it though, but it is still a pain in the behind. Next, my walls are made of some sort of prickly stucco coating. Being the clumsy person I am, I always manage to hurt/scratch myself on it. Not cool! Lastly, my kitchen is right next to my bed so every time I cook, my whole room smells of whatever I just made. It's not like I can open my windows either, because if I do, all the bugs from outside will fly in as there is no screen to separate the window and outside. Oh, and I forgot to add. My building is set up so that you must walk outside to access the other buildings and each building is separated by various doors. Well I live right next to a door that leads to outside so every time I come home/open the door, I have to make sure none of the 10 billion bugs that are hanging around in the hallway enter my room. It is such a hassle! I really should go buy some bug repellent and spray it all around my door. 

Last last week we also went to buy any last minute items for our rooms such as food (I have a whole shelf of instant noodles. Can you say Asian?), dish detergent, and duvet covers. Trying to figure out what a duvet cover was in French had to be the biggest feat of that day for me. I ended up asking a nearby security guard for help, but he spoke absolutely no English, so I had to try to use my broken French and hand motions to show him what I was looking for. In the end I did manage to buy the right thing so I guess it worked out.

On my last day in Paris with my dad, we went to pick up some last minute souvenirs for my sister/family and we went to Champs Elysées as well as the area near the Louvre with a whole street of souvenir shops. After we headed back to the Latin Quarter (our fave place!) for some dinner and picked up some chocolates from Maison Georges Larnicol which were deeelicious. 

The next day, I dropped my dad off at the airport and that's when it really hit me that I won't be seeing my family for 4 months (unless my mom decides to come visit!), and that I'm actually in Paris on my own (along with a few of my friends who are also here of course). It has been amazing thus far!

Fit for a king

On the itinerary for today was the Château de Versailles. We made the hour long trip to Versailles to see the gorgeous palace. We only bought a ticket to see only the palace and not the gardens, but we plan to return later in our four months here to see it via renting a golf cart (yes you can do that!). The outside of the palace was extraordinary, especially the gold trimming on the buildings and intricate detailing in the stone. There were also many little statues of heads and people along the palace exterior.  

Inside, we ventured through all the rooms in the palace, including Marie Antoinette's bedroom and the Chapel of Versailles. All of the rooms had detailed murals on the ceilings and long floor-to-ceiling windows. 

Inside Marie Antoinette's chambers

Marie Antoinette's helicopter..?

After seeing everything inside the palace, we headed back outside to take a break on the steps and take a few more photos. 

So tiny compared to the massive palace

Next, we took the train back to central Paris and stopped for a bit to peruse at a mall, and then decided to practice our future daily walk to school. I think we've gotten a pretty solid route down, but I'm not too excited to walk 20 minutes to school everyday. The longest I've spent walking to school was 8 minutes from my apartment to campus in second year, so I'm definitely not going to be used to a walk that is double that amount. I know I shouldn't be complaining because most students at other universities usually have a 15-20 minute walk to school, but still... I'm lazy! 

For dinner we headed to a place called Buffalo Grill in the 17th arrondissement. It is an American saloon themed restaurant which gave us a little taste of home. It was different from all the French meals we've been having and gave me a break from the culture shock that I've been experiencing. Paris is amazing and all, but being thrust into a city where everything is in French and I barely understand anything, with buildings that are all old looking (but gorgeous), where meals involve 3 courses, and taxis are Mercedes and Audis (still blows my mind), it is a little confusing and at times I find myself missing the comfort of all the English at home and the people there. 

Typical assortment of baked goods at McDonald's

Coke in a glass bottle

Overall today was a pretty chill day compared to our other daily trips here, but there was still a ton of walking and I am completely exhausted!

I've noticed I've been using "gorgeous" and "amazing" way too much in my posts, but to be honest, I don't know what else to use. Everything I've seen in the past week has been exactly that.

Officially in love with Paris!

Our day began with the Eiffel Tower. We waited an hour in line to get tickets to get to the top, but it was all worth it (Tip: Buy your tickets online before heading over! It is much faster). Although it was quite gloomy today, the view over Paris was still breathtaking.

I'm so tiny!

View from the top

We then headed over to the Seine River to find a boat cruise to board, when suddenly a woman comes up to me and offers me her two passes for the rest of the day as she and her husband had to leave to head back home to Germany. Such a nice gesture! It was a BatoBus pass, which allowed us to hop on and hop off the boat at major attractions. Thus we got to ride the boat for free, and we got off at Notre Dame. Inside the cathedral, it is very dark but definitely sets a mood. It amazes me how people could build and design such a gorgeous building even back in the day.

Notre Dame

Inside the cathedral

We then stopped for a quick snack at a cute café called Le Quasimodo Notre Dame for some crêpes and espresso, and then went off to explore the Latin Quarter. This is what made me really fall in love with Paris.... from the cute cafés at every corner and the cobblestone paths, I finally realized that I am actually going to be spending the next 4 months in the City of Lights. We passed by this one restaurant where a waiter started talking to me and told me how the man sitting at the table in front of us was a "Canadian artist" and I should meet him. Ironically enough, I don't even think he knew that I myself was from Canada.

Crêpe au chocolat, Crêpe au coco, & cafe espresso

French Vivian strikes again

Latin Quarter

After a little exploring, we found ourselves heading to the Jardin du Luxembourg. I would say it is like the Parisian version of Central Park. There were joggers everywhere and groups of people sprawled out on the grass or just taking a stroll. Definitely a relaxing place to sit down and read a book.

Being silly and imitating the statue

For dinner, we headed back to the Latin Quarter and ate at a restaurant called Ostellerie de L'Oie Qui Fume. They had 3 course meal options from 12€,  16€, and 22€. I ordered a glass of Chardonnay, chose escargot to start (quickly becoming my favourite appetizer!), a cheese fondue with an assortment of meats and potatoes, and a vanilla cream puff for dessert. It was a delicious meal and I definitely recommend this place! We also met a nice middle-aged couple from Vermont and bonded over our mutual dislike for the couple smoking next to us, since the outside tables at this restaurant are literally 2 inches from each other. We had a great conversation about France after seeing their TD Visa card and figuring out they were also from North America.

Fondue

Latin Quarter at night

When we got home, I had a slice of Viennetta which we had picked up from the grocery store earlier today. I can't believe I actually found this! They no longer make this in North America so of course I was ecstatic when I saw it in the Franprix earlier this week. Eating this takes me back to my childhood days when my mom would pick up a box and use it as a birthday cake whenever it was someone in my family's birthday.

Museums & La Tour Eiffel

Today was a pretty jam packed day. Museums are free the first Sunday of every month, so we started with the Musée D'Orsay. Of all the pieces and exhibits, I would have to say my favourite was the Salle des Fêtes. To say it was gorgeous is an understatement. The walls and ceilings were decorated with gold trimming, mirrors, chandeliers, and paintings. Just amazing.

Inside Musée D'Orsay

Salle des Fêtes

We then passed by the Jardin des Tuleries which was really pretty, and a perfect spot to have a daytime picnic. We didn't really have time to stop and explore as next up on our itinerary was the infamous Louvre. Unfortunately we did not get to explore the outside of the building and take photos of/with the Louvre Pyramid, but we did get a few pictures of us inside it. We got to see the Mona Lisa, as well as many other pieces by Italian painters and various statues along the way. After we took a short break at a Starbucks, and proceeded to go down a street filled with little souvenir shops to pick up a few items. I will definitely be taking advantage of the free Sundays thing and will head back to the museum to further explore it! There are also multiple other tourist attractions which are free on the first Sunday of every month such as the towers of Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe.

Jardin des Tuleries

Inside the Louvre Pyramid

The barista spelled my name with an extra E!

For dinner, we ate at Bouillon Chartier in Montmartre, and they had the best escargots! I ordered the salmon, which I usually do not like but managed to finish all of it because it was just that good.

We then headed over to see the Eiffel Tower (finally!!), just in time to see it light up. It was so cute, with couples everywhere (some making out which was a little too much PDA... but hey, I guess it is Paris). Can't wait to head back during the day to see it in its full glory!

Wake me up when September ends

...just kidding. Wouldn't trade this next month for the world. I can't believe I've only been in Paris for 3 days... it feels more like 3 months! Maybe it's all the ground we've covered in such a short period of time.

Today was an interesting day. There were definitely many struggles with the French language and today was the first day I really got to experience how difficult the language barrier would prove to be. There were various occasions where I had to use my broken french to try to ask people for something or even to pay the bill at a restaurant. Guess my french speaking skills are a little more below par than I thought. However this makes me all the more excited to take French classes throughout this coming semester to improve my french and hopefully become a little more fluent by the end of it all. I've started to begin saying "merci" instead of "thank you", "pardon" instead of "sorry", and "excusez-moi" instead of "excuse me"; all a pretty tough habit to break.

Yesterday we went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the stairs to the top (super tiring might I add) which provided us with a breathtaking view over Paris, and after got to see a little bit of some sort of ceremony going on under the Arc.

Standing in the middle of traffic like the rebel I am

One of the views from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

We then went to Ladurée in Champs Élysées and got some much awaited macarons! They are 10x better than the ones in Toronto. Will definitely be making many many more trips to the store.

So many delicious goodies

Salted caramel is my favourite!

Today, we got ourselves French bank accounts and tried getting phone plans for our Blackberries but that didn't exactly work out, so it's going to be a while until I will have a working phone. Surprisingly, I don't mind not being connected to the outside world 24/7. We then went to Printemps where we had lunch at their terrace restaurant. It also had the most amazing view of Paris! At this time the weather began to really warm up so that was an added bonus.

View from the Printemps rooftop terrace café

We browsed the 8 floors of the department store and later went to the Galeries Lafayette where we saw Camille Lacourt (the French Olympic swimmer) doing a signing for his new modelling gig for HOM.

Inside the Galeries Lafayette

Camille Lacourt signing in the Men's Department

After, we did Happy Hour at a little seafood bar (yuck) in the department store. We then went to see the exterior of the Palais Garnier which houses the Paris Opera.

Oysters, shrimps, and a glass of wine for 10 euros (2 orders pictured here)

Outside of the Opera House

For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant called Il Naturale where they had a delicious smoked salmon pizza!

On a side note, earlier we had gone into a McDonald's to use their bathrooms as we could only find "Luxury Bathrooms" in Le Printemps which required you to pay to use their facilities... completely absurd if you ask me. Anyway, in the McDonald's, we noticed there were self-service machines where you could punch in your order yourself and pay without having to wait in line to order at the counter. They should definitely adopt these in Canada!

I'm really starting to love Paris... especially all the well-dressed people (ahem a myriad of men in suits... need I say more?) and the gorgeous architecture of the old buildings, but minus the fact that everyone does indeed smoke, and the fact that french women have proven to be rude (well to me at least).

Bonjour Paris!

Today was the big day! Arrived in Paris safe and sound. Didn't really get to sleep on the plane so I am currently dying having pulled an all nighter since it is currently 4:30pm here, which means 10:30am in Toronto. Once we landed, we dropped off our luggage and went to buy metro/train passes and explore the city a little. Being completely exhausted, we ended up returning to our hotel after a few hours. I've decided I'm probably going to take a nap soon, or watch last night's episode of White Collar. Tomorrow we'll be doing all the tourist-y things -- Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées... I can't wait!

Keep calm

This is what helped me survive studying for all of my final exams. And now that they're over, there's only 14 days left  until I fly out to Paris! Is this real life?