Day Deux

I'm gonna keep this short because even after my nap I am still super tired and am gonna hit the hay here soon.

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Got up at quarter to 7, went to my French class again, that was fine. Killed my two hour break by having chicken kebabs at a sushi place nearby for 10 euros. (I still need to actually try the sushi in Paris...) Then found my Fashion in France class. There's only 8 of us, but Paige and Megan, also from ISA are in in, so that's cool. Had my question of what on earth we were going to do in class for 4 hours for a semester answered: half lecture with slideshow, half field trip. In fact, we had our first one today, after 2 hours of slideshow. (Though, it was just to a museum to look at paintings of women and men and to identify the time period by how they were dressed..) I thought this class would be far more intriguing and engaging considering it's size and, of course, the topic (who doesn't want to learn about fashion in France??). I guess it was interesting enough, though. And it's my only English class, which is kinda nice. And maybe things will get more interesting once we get into current fashion and designers.

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I was finally done at 6 and got home by 6:30. There was no question of me taking a nap. Boom, out. Woke up about 2 hours later, Skyped with Papa for a bit, showered and here I am.

I'm happy my 3rd class of the week isn't until 2 tomorrow, (Culture and Gastronomy of France...basically about food, so stoked!! ) but I think I'm meeting Theo tomorrow beforehand so I can finally get a phone. After 3 weeks of being phoneless, I am very much looking forward to that :))

Well, TTFN

Rachael

First day of class!

So got up at 6:30 today. Actually, scratch that, I woke up up 2 paranoid that I'd missed my alarm, and then again at 5:30. When I woke up the third time and heard the market setting up outside, I knew I'd finally gotent it right.

I gave myself some buffer time, just in case, and I'm glad I did. After my breakfast and coffee, I left at 8:15. It only took me about half an hour on the busy metro this time, but when I got to campus at quarter to, I couldn't figure out which building I was supposed to go to. I asked two people, including a secretary (who seemed way too dim-witted to hold the position, sadly, I'm not joking). I finally figured it out and arrived right at 9.

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About my class; it's definitely an interesting one. There are only 12 students, myself included, and half are over the 25, and about 4 of them, WELL over 25. We have a diplomat from South Africa who fluently speaks 6 languages and is learning his 7th, French, a priest-in-training, and a nun. There's one other American girl from Texas, 2 older people who I forget where they're from, a girl from India, 3 from Vietnam, (one of them is the nun) and 2 girls from Japan, one of which shares the same birthday as me. Can you believe this? Another person to add to the growing list...

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My teacher's name is Carole and she seems very friendly. And she speaks clearly! I can actually understand just about everything she said, which brings me to my next point. I may move up a level because I found out that I'm currenly in Elementary 2. And judging by the amount of French spoken by the other students, I feel I may be a little more advanced that them. That being said, I hope that if I do transfer that I'm not then overwhelmed by the other class. But a girl from our ISA group, Anna, is taking Elementary 3 at the same time and days I am, so if I were to switch, I wouldn't have to change my entire schedule, just go to a different class. So I'm going to e-mail ISA soon and hope this all works out.

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After class got out after 3 hours (it went fairly quick! I hope it's like that all the time..) a big group of us found each other in the courtyard and had lunch together. I stuck around for a while even though I was done for the day because after being a bit of a recluse for the weekend and only getting to see a couple people briefly, it was nice to hang out again.

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Eventually I went home and took a short nap. Yes, a short nap! This one somehow mangaged to only be an hour. Mysterious. I still had a quite a bit of the day left after waking and I didn't want to waste it so I went to the nearest Monoprix ( a more moderate-sized grocery store) and bought a few things. I couldn't find any shrimp or crab there, but I'm going to hit up the local poissonerie (fish shop) and see if they do. Strangely enough though, I saw flour tortillas! :)

Even after groceries it was still gorgeous so I grabbed my camera and went for a stroll through my new running path. I ended up just skipping my run altogether today, but at least I got to sit in lovely, beautiful, precious GREEN GRASS. It was heaven. And I got some great shots, including the one of this building with the statues coming out that I've been wanting to photograph for a while, isn't it neat?? PLUS, I can't remember if I mentioned before, but I ran into the first (kinda) Mexican restaurant in Paris. It's Tex-Mex but eh, close enough. Here are the pics!

Sometimes you just gotta stop and smell the flowers...

This pigeon was very curious..

I was craving a carne asada after seeing this place like you wouldn't believe..

Well, sat at a bench for a while enjoying the end of the day before finally heading back. Had some soup and Skyped with Papa, but I'm gonna call it a night here soon because I have class tomorrow from 9-6, with only that 2 hour break in between.

I hope I survive.

Whoah, this was last day of summer?

Bonjour tout le monde!

I'm going to try and keep this short as I have my first class tomorrow bright and early at 9am :) (I put a smiley icon there now, but later I'm sure I'm going to be hating that early class..)

There was no market today, so no noise at 7am= me getting to keep sleeping soundly for longer than usual. At noon, I left to meet a new friend of mine, Hadley, at a cafe near our school. We ended up getting notebooks and planners at a store nearby, but my planner ended up costing me 10 euros! Sheesh and all for such a small thing? Whatevs, I needed one.

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Afterwards, Hadley steered us to the H&M and while she left soon after that for her class, I stayed and found a couple of good coats that I hope will be worth the money. We shall see..

Once I'd gotten my things, I made yet another trip to La Defense and finally picked up my checkbook and card. Here's a picture of them, along with my pricey planner and notebook:

French cards are a little different in that they have chips embedded on the front. Here's a closeup:

Well, this meant that if I wanted to, I could've gone and gotten a phone as well. BUT did I want to chance going, trying to communicate my wants and need for a telephone, and get screwed over? No. I didn't have a native Parisian with me today, so unless I can get someone from ISA to help me out, it'll have to wait until Thursday when Theo may be able to accompany me. So close! It's painful..because if I'd had a phone earlier this afternoon, I would've been able to find new friend Rebecca at our meeting place instead of having to just head back home because I couldn't call her. *Sigh*

But I got some salami today after trying some at the picnic I ended up having with one of the families I met. Here's a picture:

I'm not sure what it is that it smells like, only that it smells familiar, and it smells GOOD. Though I have to admit that it tastes better. Mmm :)

Well, went for my run again today, it's getting a little easier again, hurrah.

Well folks, I'm off to bed here soon. I think I'm just going to get up early to do a little French review. I'm still kind of nervous as I'm not sure what French class level I was put in, and don't know how much I'll understand. But I'm happy we'll be allowed to switch within the first two weeks..

Wish me luck!

Rachael

French women must have feet of steel

Almost forget a pic of the new carpet. Pretty isn't it?

Throughout the next week or so, I'm hoping to make this place a little more homey and me. Maybe I should check out those flea markets...

Also, I wanted to point out an observation based on painful, first-hand experience.

You see tons of women with cute and fashionable shoes, and more than half the time, they're heels. I'm trying to keep up, and my feet are definitely feeling it. Here's pic of what my feet like look right now. I put some thick 'second skin' bandages (which cost me about 10 euros for a package!) on this morning, and then a band-aid just now when I peeled off one piece of said second skin and unintentionally popped a blister:

I figure in a couple more weeks, my entire feet should be calloused entirely and I guess it won't be much of a problem then. Voila!

Velib adventures and a job on the horizon :)

I finally received my financial aid money two days ago. Not all of it, but we're getting that worked out soon, hopefully..

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But this meant that I was able to tentatively, at least, go out and buy what I needed the most. A few days earlier I'd gotten a catalog for a store nearby in the mail, and because it was also a nice day, I decided to get two birds with one stone; the other bird was riding a Velib bike. I think I mentioned in an earlier post, but there are Velib stations all over the city, including one around the corner from my building. You see then everywhere and being ridden by everyone. Men and women in suits--with heels--riding to work. Parents. Grandparents. Really hip and stylish-looking people. And tourists of course.

The little computer at the station wouldn't read my card, so I bought a one-day pass online for less than 2 euros, got a code, and was then able to get a bike. It took a couple tries of properly getting it out it's lock, but I finally did and was off to the Giga Store.

Only, upon my arrival at the store about 5 minutes later, I realized that I couldn't figure out how to use the curly wire chain thing attached to the bike. Was I supposed to have brought my own lock?? I wasn't sure, and I certainly wasn't leaving the bike anywhere unlocked (when you rent one, they automatically reserve 150 euros from your account in the event that the bike is not returned. Yikes). So I ended up just returning it to the nearest station.

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But while I was there, a young couple arrived, getting their bikes, and looked like they knew what they were doing. So I asked the girl, trying to remember the word for 'lock'. Thankfully, I didn't have to, as she was American (from what I could tell from her lack of accent) and so she showed me the little hidden lock incorporated into the bike, along with the key that pops out when you put in the end of the curly chain. Ah-ha! Though I feel like it should've said this somewhere on the bike or at the station...

I was able to go inside, buy my things, and go back and take another bike. I'd actually gotten a toaster oven, the biggest of that day's purchases, and it only barely fit the basket on the bike. But it did, even if it was a comical and somewhat dangerous experience. (Winding in and out between cars in traffic? Quite nerve-wracking, believe it or not. Oh, and sans helmet too.) But it made it easier to get the box back to my place. Yet unfortunately, once I opened it up AFTER I lugged it up the 5 flights of stairs, I saw just how tiny it really was and decided it wouldn't work for me. So I went back and exchanged it for a nice large carpet they had on sale.

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That model was the only toaster ovens they had, so I'm going tomorrow to the local Darty (electronics store) to get one, if for a bit more. But first! Gotta head back to La Defense to pick up my card and checkbook at the bank there and hopefully finally get a phone. Then I can be welcomed back into the world of texting and always knowing where I'm at :D

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Also, over the last few days, I've met with three different families about babysitting jobs. I don't want to get too into detail because I just sent Mom a book about it through e-mail, but it looks like I may be sitting (well, picking up from school and tutoring English) to a very blonde 8-year-old boy. It'll only 8 hours a week, but managable. And it'll be a regular basis, which means a steady income, exactly what I need in such an expensive city!

Well, more later, because I'm pooped.

Love you all,

Rachael

Sorry, no Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card here!

Tuesday:

Well second day of orientation was shorter, though mine was the group that had to show up earlier, for those of us in apartments. Basically had a 45 minute slideshow on how to clean our apartments, what products to look for and what exactly they cleaned, a few silly rules on having friends over in the apartment etc (reminded me on why I was glad I had my own place, woohoo!)After that was our lunch break where we wandered near the Seine River and found a cafe. We'd originally only planned on coffees but ordered omelets as well.

And oh. my. god. Best omelet ever! As in, my LIFE. No joke. Everyone else agreed, and while we happily ate, we mused about what exactly it was that made them just so darn delicious. Did they add butter? Or was it just the grease from the ham, and that was what was adding the real flavor? Who knows. But I'm determined to go back there sometime soon and have another.

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When we got back to the ISA office, we had a presentation by the Vice Consul of the US Embassy. I thought this would be a rather boring, if necessary, part of the orientation, but it was actually the funniest. The man was just so personable, it was hard to believe that he was supposed to be a pretty important diplomat. There was a lady with him that I guess had a very similar position to his, and she was also really friendly, but it was the man (it's a shame that I forget his name!) was the hysterical one. Among many things, here are a couple we learned from him concerning being a US citizen in France.

-If we get arrested, they can't and won't bail us out. They may receive a little phone call, and they'll make a note of it, but that's about it on their part.

-Even pregnant women (in one case) have been known to participate in property theft by distracting you on the metro while one or more accomplices swipes your money/cards/passport.

-Passports run about $16,000-$18,000 on the black market. Whoa.

-Don't sit/stand next to the metro doors with your nice phone out. A thief can snatch it just as the doors are closing, jump off the train, and make off with your phone before you can do anything and the train pulls away. (In one story, he said that it was reported that a thief did just that, then gave a little wave with the stolen phone from the platform.)

He did let us know about the American Hospital (or alternatively, the British Hospital) where we could go to in case of an emergency and we need to make sure our health problem is conveyed. We could flag down a taxi and they would know where to go. So that was comforting to know.

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Well, once that presentation was over, I left the ISA office and headed back to the Dumas house. I picked up my last little suitcase and left some sopa de col in the fridge that I had made previously. So I made the trek back home. I'm glad I left the smallest suitcase for last because going up my 5 flights of stairs with the other two..oh man.

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Yesterday:

I was informed that because of the error on the written part of the placement test, I would be re-doing it that day. I tried to review a bit, but I'd gotten lazy over the summer, so there was only so much I could do. To make myself feel better, I did get a cappuccino from a vending machine in the school cafeteria for 50 cents AND IT WAS SO YUMMY. What is it with food being so much better over here??? A little later, a few of us were ushered into a room and given about 40 minutes to complete it our written test. After that, my class schedule was finalized. Here it is!:

Monday: No class, yessss (3-day weekends! :) )

Tuesday: French class, 9-12

Wednesday: French class, 9-12 then 2 hour break, then Fashion in France, 2-6. gjkngljhiuhlfbgs. I'm gonna need to find somewhere to nap for those 2 hours..0_o

Thursday: Culture and Gastronomy, 2-5 (I'm really excited for this one!)

Friday: French class, 9-12. (Early start to my great weekends, double bonus :) )

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Once all the testing was done, we were led to the Crous, a student cafeteria. But we more or less got left before at the metro, and while a few of us finally caught up with them, the line for the food was absolutely ridiculous. Instead we found a little lunch cafe and ate a good meal there, if for a bit more. I left our little group shortly after, and went back home.

Today:

We had the option of going to Versailles today, but I've already been there, and I figure I'll go again anyways when Papa, or maybe Mom come visit. Plus, Theo and his roommate moved into their new place yesterday, so today invited me over for lunch. I took the wrong street exit getting off from the RER (the metro that goes out of city limits, where they now live) but I was able to call Theo from a nice shoemaker's cell phone and I was found and led back to their place. Which is very, very nice and much too spacious for two guys who don't own a whole lot. I thought it funny though that one of the first things I saw walking in was one of those montrous Alien computers. Another geek. No wonder they're living together. ..:p

But they also have a washing machine. They have a dishwasher. They have an oven. (I've been missing one recently because it means that I can't bake all the delicious things I've gotten recipes for..) So I was just a tiny, tiny bit jealous.

But the burgers were good and for dessert I had the idea of cutting up one of the bananas they had, and heating it with Nutella. Mmmm..;)

A little later, they headed to Ikea, but gave me a short ride back to the station. Came home, tidied up a bit, went for my run, and then had my dinner.

So that's been the last couple of days...right now I'm anxiously awaiting the disbursement of my financial aid money. I know I'll get it either today or tomorrow, but I'm still nervous that for whatever reason it won't be the amount I'm expecting/really REALLY need. We'll just see tomorrow I guess. In the meantime, I'm going to try and entertain myself with making lists of the things I want for my apartment. Right now a blender is at the top of my list...

Bon nuit :)

Rachael

I can spell properly, I swear

Hi all,

So I noticed it from my beginning posts, but for some reason, Blogger--the platform from which this blog is operated on--has been incredibly finicky of late, and along with making posting pictures and doing simple things like switching font size difficult, refuses to let me edit my posts. Instead, after I publish an entry and find an incorrection, I'm forced to wallow and mentally twitch in my OCDish puddle of perfectionism until I can be distracted by the time-consuming process of writing another entry. (And thus continues the viscious circle...)

Annnd, a deep breath.

Moving on!

Can't quite recall if I mentioned it or not, but today was to be the day that I finally had my ISA orientation at my school. Had trouble getting to sleep though last night, even after my stomach ache finally settled down. When I finally did manage to drift off, I woke up a few times super paranoid that my alarm clock wouldn't go off and that I would end up late...call it foreshadowing.

Well the third time I woke up was close enough to my actual alarm, so I showered, made a quick breakfast, checked my Facebook and e-mail, and was out the door. And all by 8:15. Like a boss.

I was feeling pretty good about myself because I'd decided to get there a little early (the meeting was to start at 9) and I wasn't worried because I'd found the school and courtyard where we were to meet the other day, taking the guesswork out of this morning.

So imagine my surprise when I get to Chatelet and find that as I'm down onto the platform, the train that was there wa being just completely packed with people. I wear sardines have more elbow room that these people did. N0t only that, but even after those had got on and that train had pulled away, there were still crowds of people waiting for the next one. I joined their masses, and when the next train came, tried to get on, with no success there either.

I was becoming a little ansy about the time, and decided then and there, that if I wanted to learn how to live like a real Parisienne I had to pull the gloves off, so to speak. So when the third train came after my arrival, I pushed my way to the front of the crowd, and let myself be packed in.

It was like this until just before my stop, and thankfully by the time I got off, I knew I had just enough time to walk to my school and show up with minutes to spare.

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I walked into the courtyard from a few days before and found that a sizable crowd had already gathered. Though I thought it was very interesting that I was hearing so much Spanish from a couple tables of girls, and a few soft-spoken Japanese words coming from another group of girls. I didn't think much of it because shortly after 9, a man opened up the building doors and ushered us inside. We lined up and waited at a table where I could see a few people taking our names, passports, and letters. But wait...letters? After looking closely at one from the girl next to me, I recognized the pre-registration letter that I'd been sent. But they hadn't told us to bring them, had they?? I tried to keep cool and managed to do so by consoling myself that I at least had my passport and they would probably find me on their list.

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When I was finally at the front, I told the man that I was sorry that I had forgotten my letter. He found my name so it was no big deal and I was sent upstairs to take look at the course offerings. Nothing had gone terribly wrong, but I was feeling a little abandoned by my ISA group..where were all the other Americans?

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Once in the room with course descriptions, we were then imformed that when we were ready, we would be taken into the next room and interviewed for our oral placement exam.

Had I mentioned keeping my cool earlier? Definitely wasn't now.

Because now this was unfair. I know it had specifically said on the schedule ISA had e-mailed us that our oral exams weren't to take place until Wednesday. Mercredi. Sure, I'd been having to use my French everyday, but in broken, haphazard bits. I'd been studying a little the last couple of nights, but I still wasn't prepared for the test!

Well, with a sinking feeling, I bit the bullet when they called me and sat me down in the room next door. The questions I was asked were fairly conversational, but I was being graded the entire time, which made it incredibly nerve-wracking and I fumbled through it. And I know that I accidently mixed my Spanish in there a few times. But in the end, it was merely a placement test, and I suppose it more or less served it's purpose. Right after the lady finished with her questions, she pulled out a packet and sheet and we began choosing the courses that would best suit me. There was a little confusion on how many hours a week I was supposed to take, because they told me I needed 15 to be considered full time, yet on my pre-registration, I only had 12. I tried to explain that I had really only followed ISA'a instructions, so whatever I had there is supposed to be what they wanted.

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By this time I was becoming more and more confused, so I went ahead and just signed up for the 15 hours. I was then sent downstairs to finalize my schedule, but when they pulled me up on the screen, they were again confused. Arghhh, where was ISA when I needed them? Why weren't they explaining this to them? After a few more minutes of fumbling with a lady who barley spoke English, I was passed along to another woman who did. I explained what I knew, and that I was a little confused that ISA wasn't helping me with this. She was too, so she called them up, and after a minute and a few looks of surprise on her part, she hung up and told me that I hadn't been due to take the exam until Wednesday (I knew it!!) and that my ISA program had met in the other courtyard and were in their orientation right now.

!!!!

Of all my luck! So she grabbed her coat, told me to follow her, and kindly led me to another part of the school I hadn't seen, with a bigger and prettier courtyard, and showed me through a door labeled 'ISA Paris Orientation' on it. Figures. We were greeted with a few people speaking at the front, and rows of American-looking students seated at desks. I would've been more embarassed if I hadn't been just so relieved that I was definitely in the right place now. One of the directors, Annamaria, seemed happy that they had finally gotten their missing student and let me take a seat, though I didn't do this until thanking the lady who'd lead me there profusely.

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Once I was seated, I was thankfully able to blend into the rest of the students and sat there for the rest of the orientation. I ended up whispering a few words of my situation to the girl next to me, and when they gave us a lunch break, I ended up tagging along with her and a couple other girls, one of who was from Auburn, so just north of Seattle. We went down to the school cafeteria and got lunch, where we were then joined by a couple more people. We ate and talked, and the entire time, I could feel some kind of giddyness, probably from finally get to speak with fellow Americans, especially after my ordeal in the morning.

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When we'd finished eating, we still had some time to kill, so we went out and explored a little, eventually finding an H&M nearby. Up until today, I'd restrained myself from buying anything other than food until I received my money from school, but I decided buying the knit wrap was fine after it'd gotten a bit cold in my apartment the night before. It's 70% acrylic, but the rest is wool and mohair, which is enough to keep me warm inside. There were many other cute things I would've liked to have gotten as well, especially when I saw the other girls going to town with their shopping, but I've been able to really work on my self-discipline of late. So yay for me!

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We met back at the school, where those who'd decided on the pre-paid phone option before lunch were now getting their phones. It was very tempting to just go with one as well, but the phones looked older than the ones I'd had in middle school, and with the possibility of getting a smartphone, if for a bit more, was worth trying for.

After that was more orientation, mainly tips on shopping, commuting, and traveling. We ended up getting our Carte Lourve Jeunes, a free anytime pass into the Lourve. And Friday nights, we can even guest in a friend for free :)) Actually, we got quite a few cards, here's a picture of my new little collection, clockwise from the top:

Navigo card (a re-loadble metro pass), my Lourve card, re-loadable Crous card, which is supposedly a place just for students where we can get full meals for under 4 euros, my ISA emergency contact card, and my student I.D.

The orientation went on until 5 (9-5, pretty much an entire workday!) and then we were finally let go. Even with lunch I was starved, so I rushed home, boiled cabbage and brocoli, grilled the last of my marinated chicken, and, after thinking about it, ate that with peanut butter. Phad Thai minus the noodles and bean sprouts! I will be a proper chef yet, aha.

Well now, after this hectic day, I'm off to bed, meeting at 10:30 in the morning!

Love,

Rachael

Hotel de Ville & Hotel de Lauzun pics

Well here are the photos from this weekend as promised, enjoy! :)

View of the Seine River and the spires of Notre Dame Cathedral at 9:30 in the morning:

Inner courtyard of the Hotel de Lauzun:

Pretty snazzy, huh?

This was once a music room:

They planned out the perpective from this angle so that it looks like the rooms continue to go on forever:

Hotel de Ville

City Counsil meeting room, still used today:

My dream come true! Though not quite a big as the library that I saw in a picture (further down):

Papa, I know you would have really loved this clock...you can't see from the picture, but it's structure underneath was about 3 feet tall..

This lady was also a licensed watchmatcher and demonstrated her work on a few pieces:

You can't tell that well, but this is a picture I took of a large picture of a library...HUGE!

Annnnd I managed to get a man who spoke no English to take this photo of me in the Salle de Fetes..just wish he'd waited until I actually smiled, but alas.

I don't think I'll ever get over how beatiful these places are...I'm jealous of the people who get to work here!

One last shot of the Hotel de Ville:

Well, that's all for now, but I'm about to get started on my next entry for the day and it's shenanigans. Stay tuned :)

Journées du Patrimoine

So this weekend was the Journees du Patrimoine, or in English, Heritage Days. It's the one weekend a year that places not normally open to the public are, and when museums that normally charge a fee, don't. (Though I hear there were a few exceptions.)

Yesterday

I've come to realize that while it's nice to have a market just outside almost everyday, the marketmen are very noisy when they begin setting up. Usually, their noise doesn't wake me until around 8am, but yesterday, for some irritating reason that was beyond me, they were hollering about like hyenas as they arrived--at 6:30 in the morning. Well, whatever, I was more or less able to sleep for another hour or so.

Later, I went to said market and bought a head of cabbage--there were so many people! Though it makes sense to be the busiest on a Saturday and Sunday. I brought my cabbage back to my apartment and made Sopa de Col. This time I was able to find roma tomatoes, and after boiling them, had an easier time mashing them (instead of using a blender which I still need to aquire). The soup didn't turn out exactly perfect, but close. I think it's because I hadn't bought any bacon, so I ended up using ham instead. But oh well, next time :)

I looked up some of the highlights for Heritage Days, and decided to check out Hotel de Ville. It's actually not a hotel, but Paris's City Hall. It is the seat of local democracy, and the city council meets there regularly, though it does sometimes welcome distinguished foreign visitors to it's ornate and prestigious reception rooms.

I got there around mid-day, and while there was a pretty long line, it moved along quickly and I was able to get in within half an hour. My goodness! How beautiful it was! I was in there for almost 2 hours, I believe. It was also interesting because I was expecting a lot of the visitors to be foreigners, but actually, a lot of them were French. I suppose that tourist season is now wrapping up.. But I will have to post most of the pictures in the entry after this because it'll be bit difficult to put so many in here when I'll already be writing a lot. I'll also put in some pictures from today's visit to Hotel Lauzun (also not really a hotel), which I'll write about in a bit. In the meantime, here's one angle of the Hotel de Ville from the outside:

By the time I got back home, it was about time for my dinner, which was lemon and pepper chicken, marinated, with olive oil, garlic, and onion. Eh, not as tasty as my ginger chicken from the other day, but still pretty good, especially with my sopa de col and green beans. I gave my stomach a while to digest, and then I went on my second run. Last time, I'd turned around just before the third bridge, but this time went over and stopped dead in my tracks (quite literally! haha) when I discovered that on the other side of the curved bridge was a good sized grass clearning. Green grass! Precious, healthy, grass....I vowed to sit and have lunch there sometime soon.

I went over the bridge and I found the end of the path (one end, at least). I also found a public gym, though it was more just a basketball court and rockwall from what I could see through the windows. Still something to keep in mind. And then I even saw a Tex-Mex restaurant across the street. The first Mexican place I've seen here! I will have to check it out, especially if it means they have beans and tortillas, mmm...

When I got back from my run, I went on Craigslist and posted a babysitting ad. I've actually gotten quite a few replies, but now I regret my lack of forsight because I'm not sure I can say yes to any of them due to the fact that they have specific times they want me to pick up their kids from school and I don't even know my own schedule yet. I could end up having class til 5:30 or later; I hear it's fairly common. So I will have to figure out how to let kindly let them all know about this, but at the very least it's comforting to know that finding a nannying job won't be terribly difficult. I'll need the extra money to help offset the cost of groceries, a phone, and rent etc.. The less debt I'm in, the better.

Today

I knew there was going to be a line for the other place I wanted to visit, Hotel de Lauzun, so I made it a point to arrive there early. Woke up at 8, had a bowl of my soup, and was on my way. It was nice being out and about so early, but even though the sun was already partially out, I could now feel the autumn chill slowly creeping in on us. Even here in my place, it's definitely a little cooler than it was when I moved in just a few days ago. I thought back to my last visit here in Paris, remembering how I was bundled up like a puff pastry from so many layers, and decided that I don't want it to be like that again this year. All of the Parisians keep warm stylishly and without looking like marshmellows, and I am determined to blend in as well. If it means having to save up and splurge on a good coat or two, so be it. It's better to spend a bit of money on a coat that will last me a while, than keep buying ones that will only last me a few months.

Anyways, I arrived at Hotel de Lauzun at 9:30, at it's opening time, and there was already a hefty line. It wasn't as long as the one from yesterday at the Hotel de Ville, and it moved a good chunk in the first 10 minutes, but I ended up having to wait for more than an hour, over twice as long as I waited yesterday.

Well, I finally made it in, and while the place was impressive, the entire tour only took about 2o minutes, so not sure if it was really worth the wait. But still, I got to see it. Again, more pictures in my next post, but here's one for now:

On my way back home, I passed the Velib station that I always do. I don't think I've explained what these are, so allow me to do so right now. Velibs are actually the name for the city bikes that Paris has that you can rent for certain periods of time. You see Velib stations quite a bit, and even more people riding them the bikes. I've wanted to rent one for a few days now, but was intimidated when I saw Parisians wind in and out of fast traffic. I figured though that as long as I took non-busy streets, I could take one for a ride. And because you can rent one for just a day for under 2 euros, I figured I would try it. Unfortunarely, when I went to the station to get one, I was informed that in addition to the rental fee, there is also a 150 euro deposit that is withdrawn from your bank account (you have to pay with a card) in case the bike isn't returned. As I currenly don't have that much in my account, it was a no-go. But sometime soon! In the meantime, here's a picture of a typical Velib station. Sturdy-looking bikes, aren't they?

Well, this has gotten quite long, so I better start wrapping up. Good news: I finally have my ISA orientation tomorrow at my school, bright and early at 9am. I'll finally get to meet the other students from the US who I'll be spending the fall with, a few even the entire year. The semi-bad news: I developed a stomach ache shortly after beginning this entry. I was a little worried that it would be a problem for tomorrow, but my suspicions told me it was from too much acid (I've been drinking all of my water with lemon as it masks the weird taste here, AND I had two cups of black coffee a few hours ago) so I had a few spoonsfuls of creme fraiche (as I currently don't have regular yogurt or milk). I'm feeling a bit better, so I think I'll be ok once I head to bed. Anywho! That's all for today, I'll you guys know how tomorrow goes :)

Bon nuit! (Good night!)

Rachael