Le chocolat

 

Well it’s a good thing that I will be running the Paris Marathon in April because three of the things that I consume the most of in France are Nutella crêpes, hot chocolate, and fresh bread. I have never been a coffee person. Back at BC I usually eat a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and then head to class without the coffee cup which can be seen in the typical American college student’s hand. Here in Paris, coffee is enjoyed. I rarely see people drinking their coffee in a disposable cup while on the go. Paris is known for the corner cafés where people sit, sip slowly on warm beverages, and people watch. When you are a customer in a French café, the server never rushes you. In fact, they usually don’t bring the bill until you ask for it. Often, my friends and I will grab a table at one of the many cafés along the streets and sit for over an hour while we use the free Wi-Fi, discuss travel plans, and share stories of our experiences so far. Since I have never liked coffee (I drank it once when I accidentally took night-time cough medicine and I almost went to the infirmary because I thought I had a caffeine overdose) I prefer to drink chocolat chaud. Often I splurge for the chocolat viennois, which is hot chocolate with whip cream. 

 

 

So far my favorite hot chocolate spot is Angelina’s. However, the price of the hot chocolate at this luxurious tearoom is over 8 euros! Therefore I must settle for the less expensive yet still delicious cafés and patisseries throughout Paris.

Not only do I love liquid hot chocolate, but I also think that the chocolate pastries in Paris are to live for. My absolute favorite treat is a big chocolate macaroon. My host mother is an excellent baker and often makes chocolate macaroons with ganache filling and raspberry macaroons with homemade raspberry jam. They are tricky to make but I hope to learn how to bake these before I return home! 

 

The other day, I walked past the local bakery on my way home from class and I treated my self to a chocolate meringue. (Mom- you would have loved every bite!)

 

I am also a HUGE fan of the Nutella crepes. There are many stands on the streets where I can buy a Nutella crepe on the go. The Nutella is so warm and I am always sad when I get to the last bite. Here is a picture of me and my friend Sabrina with our crepes after we ate a delicious lunch of escargots and ham sandwiches. 

 

 

 

The cheapest snack to have in Paris is a baguette! I often go to la boulangerie and pick up half of a baguette for .50 centimes. Thank you Coco for the beautiful sac that I use to carry my bread! 

 

Tonight I am going to dinner in Le Marais with an old friend named Johanna. It is a trendy district with lots of bars, good restaurants and fashionable stores. Get ready for some more food pictures next week! 

P.S. Peanut butter is very expensive here- 9.50 for one jar! This is unfortunate for a pb&j lover like me. 

Une semaine de bien manger

Coucou! I will start this post off with a picture of the pastries at the local boulangerie/patisserie where the family buys their daily baguettes. La boulangerie is called Gosselin and I am also a daily customer. Usually I stop by for a .50 cent warm baguette after a run, or a sandwich with chicken, cheese, salad and walnuts around lunchtime, or a delicious chocolate macaroon after a long day in the city. It is one of my favorite places in Paris! 

 

Little India is also an amazing food destination. Peter (the other BC student studying at Dauphine) and I stopped for lunch at one of the many Indian restaurants lining the streets. I couldn’t tell you the name of anything on the plate (except for the naan bread and rice) but it was absolutely delicious and very filling! 

 

On Friday, the BC students in Paris assembled for a brief tour of the Louvre. The tour was given to us in French and I learned a lot about the history of the building itself and the painting style of Léonard de Vinci. 

 

After our Louvre visit, my I treated myself to a tasty hot chocolate with my BC friend named Jess. We drank famous (and expensive- one serving costs 8.20 euros!) hot chocolate at Angelina’s on Rue de Rivoli. There is always a line to get in the tearoom but it is worth it! The hot chocolate is extremely rich and delicious. The whipped cream is natural with no added sugars like in America. Jess and I each got a pastry to share and they were to live for. I took pictures of the pastry menu because I am a baking maniac and I hope to take a class while I am here so that I can make authentic French cuisine when I am home! 

 

Later that night I treated myself to another delicious meal and I ate with my friend Maddie! We went to the same high school in Wisconsin and were in the same French class every year. She studies at Boston University and now we are both so fortunate to be in Paris! 

The next day (Saturday), I went to La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre with Peter. On our walk up the hill towards the big white church we passed a dollhouse store and I was ecstatic to go in! Peter was making fun of me but I didn’t care because I enjoyed looking at the beautifully decorated (and expensive) French dollhouse items. I bought a miniature white mannequin for the sewing corner in the nursery of my dollhouse and had Peter take this nice picture of me outside of the store. 

 

 

Peter and I then went inside to see the church and walked around the art area for a bit before meeting up with BC friends at Notre-Dame. Together, us BC students then walked along the Seine, admired all of the book vendors, took lots of pictures, and entered a magnificently smelling flower shop. 

The next day was Sunday and most places are closed in Paris. So, during my run, I ran by the Eiffel tower since it is usually a populated area and I found a boulangerie that was open so that I could buy a baguette for lunch. I ate the baguette back in my room and alternated spreading jelly or nutella on the pieces of bread. Then, I walked along Champs-Elysées with the German student named Lena who is also living with my family! She is very nice and she will be here for 3 months while working for an international telecommunications company. We met up with my BC crew under the Arc de Triomphe and then we all climbed the winding stairs to the top together! Here is a picture of Lena and me with the city of Paris as a backdrop! 

On Monday I finally started classes! (I bet you’re happy to read that Dad!) I had a class on Monday called Collective Decision Making. It is a class taught in English that counts as an elective for my Economics major at BC. The first day was very interesting- we talked about indifference curves, Pareto efficiency among consumers and competitive market equilibrium requirements. 

After class on Monday I went to Aunt Connie and Uncle Natale’s flat in Paris. We drank tea with cousin Elisa and then headed to the Bonnimond’s place for dinner! The dinner was absolutely amazing and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with family in Paris. We ate foie gras with bread and I really enjoyed it! Then we ate broccoli, mashed potatoes, and pork! For dessert we ate 2 galettes du roi. It is a tradition in France to eat les galettes during the month of January. Whoever finds the little prize baked into their piece is the king and gets to choose their queen! Aunt Connie and Louise were both happy to be the queens! 

It is getting late here and I must head to bed but I will update everyone later about my first week of classes! Currently I am enrolled in two economic classes in English (Collective Decision Making and Europe: Today’s Challenges) and three French classes (Cinéma et société, histoire de l’art francais, and cours general). Classes here are held once a week so they are all three hours long which is very tiring for me! (Usually because I get hungry if I have to sit for three hours without eating.) 

 

Bonne nuit tout le monde!

Hannah 

 

 

Les photo parisiennes

Bonjour mes amis! Hello my friends! All is going well in Paris! I do not start classes until Monday January 20^th so I have enjoyed the down time frolicking in the beautiful city! Unfortunately I got very sick this past weekend so I spent a lot of time in bed and did not go out but I am happy to be healthy again!

Earlier this week I went to an outlet center in the outskirts of Paris with my BC friends Olivia and Ryan. It was crazy to see the amount of international people out shopping because it is les soldes period in France. There were a lot of designer stores (a far step up from my sporty American style) but I did purchase a beautiful inexpensive shirt made by a brand called maje. C’est très chic!

On Monday night my host parents had a dinner to attend with their book club so it was just Gaelle, my 12 year old sister, and me for dinner that evening. We had delicious chicken with cream, pesto, and pasta. Then for dessert we ate a left over meringue cake! After cleaning the kitchen, the two of us walked the dog named Virgule and then we went to bed. I absolutely love hanging out with Gaelle. I am very fortunate to have a younger sibling in my host family. She told me all about how much she loves American Apparel. It is a very expensive brand so unfortunately she only owns two hats (which we are wearing in the picture below) but she loves to look at the clothing items online. 

 

 

On Tuesday I had the entire day free! I met up with my BC friend Sabrina, who is studying at Institut Catholique de Paris and we walked over two miles in the city. We took lots of pictures, we never got lost, and we stopped at Ladurée for some delicious macaroons! 

 

 

 

 

After having a mini photo shoot in front of la tour Eiffel, we sat down in a nearby café for a little hot chocolate, met up with Peter, and then walked along the Champs-Elysées! I saw the Arc de Triomphe and the magnificent Louis Vuitton store.

Then I returned home to have dinner with my host family. My host mother is a delicious cook and she teaches lessons to the wives of ambassadors who come to Paris! I am very lucky! She surprised us all with macaroons that she made for dessert. I was exceedingly happy. The chocolate and raspberry macaroons that she made were absolutely delicious and I hope to learn how to make them one day.

This morning I woke up early and went to the Dauphine campus for international orientation. There is a group of about 100 students who will be international students like me at Dauphine this semester. The international office and current students talked to us about sports, student clubs, the library, French language courses, computer access, etc. Everyone that I met was so nice and I am really looking forward to getting to know a wide variety of students this semester. After the orientation let out, a group of about 15 of us went to a café across the street and sat for drinks. I had a hot chocolate again since I am not a fan of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, or any drink with caffeine. 

On my walk from the Musée d’Orsay Metro stop to the apartment, I stopped at la boulangerie and I was very lucky because the bread had just come out of the oven. I spent 0.50 euro on a half baguette and I could not have been happier to eat that warm French bread when I returned home. For dinner we had apple salad, meatloaf, and puff pastries with goat cheese. C’était délicieux!

Tomorrow I think I will wake up and run before meeting up with the BC group for a walking tour of Little India. It should be very interesting!

A Bientôt,

Hannah 

 

A Dauphine

Bonjour tout le monde! Hello everyone! Unfortunately we lost the Packer game but I had fun staying up late to watch it. The next morning, I got up early and walked to ICP to meet with my program coordinator at the Boston College in Paris office. There, Ophélie gave me my Navigo pass and walked me to the Métro stop to show me how to renew it for the month. I am now an official looking Parisienne with my very own Navigo pass! After this, I took the RER C to Université Paris Dauphie with Ophélie and Peter, another BC student who will be studying at the same school as me and who is with me in the picture below. When we arrived we were shown the International Students Office and then we took a French Placement Test. 

 

The test lasted for about an hour and a half and I was STARVING afterwards because I had a bowl of honey cereal at 7 in the morning. Peter and I took the train back into the city, stopped at a café for sandwiches, and then met the other BC students at ICP for orientation. Ophélie gave us huge folders with multiple maps of Paris, guide books, and a schedule of activities that she has planned for our stay (one of which is a walking tour of Saint-Germain-des-Prés – a neighborhood very close to mine).

After the orientation I returned home and conversed with Gaelle, my little host sister. She showed me pictures of her family on the computer and talked about her love of horse back riding in the country. Then we played Just Dance on the Wii and she won every song! For dinner we had chicken with vegetables and dessert was delicious goat cheese and clementines. After dinner I met some of my BC friends at les Tuileries (We still don’t have phones – Mom don’t forget to Skype me so we can figure this out soon!) 

 

This morning I slept in, ate a bowl of cereal, showered with my magnificently smelling French soap, and then walked to a local café to grab a sandwich before heading to school. The métro stop that I use to get to school is right by the Musée d’Orsay (one of my favorites when I visited Paris during my senior year of high school)! I participated in an intensive French class today from 2-6. The test determined that I am in the third group of French language learners (there are 5). I will be in this class every day for the next 5 days. It was a good class because I understood everything that the professor said but boy was I tired after!

On my way home the train stopped for 20 minutes which was annoying. They announced the reason for the delay on the speakers but they said it too fast and I didn’t understand! On my walk home from the train I stopped at la patisserie and bought une grille aux pommes (an apple pastry). Then I relaxed in my room, set the table and had dinner with the family! We had delicious homemade quiche and salad for dinner. For dessert we had crêpes with honey, jelly, and sugar. The family thought I was bizarre for putting every topping on my crêpe but I wanted to try it all!

Tonight I am going to bed early so that tomorrow I can wake up early and run. Les soldes start tomorrow (French sales that occur during January)! So before class tomorrow I am also going to try and go shopping for a new school bag. My North Face backpack is very American and I am so embarrassed. All of the chic students in Paris have shoulder bags and purses. I have seen no backpacks- even on boys! I am learning a lot and I will update everyone again soon!

Bonne nuit,

Hannah

 

(on my way to school!) 

Les premiers jours

It has been a whirlwind couple of days but I have loved every minute! After cramming everything I could into my suitcases while miraculously keeping the weight under 50 pounds, I made it to the Chicago airport around 3pm on Thursday afternoon. My flight was scheduled to take off at 5pm so I stopped at the airport bookstore and picked up 3 new books to read on the plane and when I have downtime in Paris. However, I had plenty of time to read in the airport because thanks to the snow, my flight was delayed and did not take off until 11:20 pm!
I landed at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris around 2:00pm on January 3rd (A lot later than my expected arrival time of 8:25 am). Then, I took a cab into the city of Paris with Camila, the girl I sat next to on the plane. Camila is from Florida and is also studying at a University in Paris this semester.
When I arrived at 15 Rue Saint Dominique I was very excited to finally meet my French host family. I have a 12 year old sister named Gaelle and a 25 year old brother named Alban who are living with me. Marguerite and Pierre, the mother and father, are very nice and have made me feel at home these first few days.
On my first night in Paris, Gaelle took me for a walk around the local neighborhood and showed me la boulangerie/ la patisserie (the bakery where we buy baguettes every day), la super marché, and l’eglise (the church where she goes every Sunday with her parents). Then I had dinner with Marguerite, Alban and Gaelle because the father was out hunting. We had delicious pasta and salad. For dessert we had fruit and I was thrilled because you know how much I love fruit!

The next day I woke up late because of the jet lag and I needed rest after speaking all of that French the night before! For breakfast I had some chocolate cereal but I had trouble reading the cartons in the fridge so I’m pretty sure I put half and half in my cereal but that didn’t bother me because it was delicious! Then I got dressed in jeans and my navy European-looking raincoat and walked to ICP (Institut Catholique de Paris) because it is where I will meet my BC program coordinator early Monday morning.
I spent the rest of the day wandering Paris and trying not to get lost (I was successful in this endeavor)! I spent a long time in la Pharmacie trying to read the bottles in order to determine which one was conditioner. I bought something called après-shampooing but I think it might be a hair mask. Oh well- at least it keeps the knots in my hair easy to deal with when I brush it after the shower!
During the afternoon I went to la super marché and I bought shrimp, jelly, and nutella. Then I stopped at the local boulangerie on the way home and picked up a whole baguette. I think it’s clear that my first homemade lunch in France was delicious!!
For dinner, I ate a deliciously warm nutella crêpe while I sat by the carousel near the Eiffel tower and waited for my BC friends to meet me. None of us have French phones yet so it has been somewhat of a game trying to figure out how and where to meet up. Charlie, Peter and I bought des bouteilles de vin (wine- I’m finally not too young and I am legal here!) and drank them while sitting along the Seine and watching the Eiffel tower light up on the hour.
Since I stayed up late with my friends last night, I slept in this morning and then went for a run in the city. It was a magnificent run because I ran in Les Tuileries Jardins. Gaelle laughed at me when I came back because for lunch I ate an entire baguette with nutella and I loved every single bite!
Now it is starting to get dark here so I am going to sign off and meet up with my BC friends again! We are going to attempt to find an American sports bar where we can watch the play off games! (Don’t worry Mom and Dad- I’ll hide my Packers sweatshirt under my coat so that it’s not obvious I’m an American when I’m walking alone at night.) GO PACK GO!!