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
La vie de "French Hannah" 
Hannah, your blog is mouth-watering!