Bonjour mes amis! I am so sorry that I have not ben keeping up with the blog- I knew that would happen eventually. You should not be worried though because that only means that I am constantly taking advantage of all that Paris has to offer!
Two weeks ago I took the train to visit my friend Lila in Rennes, which is north of Paris. I met Lila when I came to France with my high school French class in 2011. I spent a week with her family during the summer vacation and we have kept in touch via Facebook and Skype. It was such a treat to be able to reconnect this year!
I had a lot of fun with her during the weekend- we went to a delicious crêperie, we got a drink with her friends, and we went to the cinema. We also spent one night at her father’s house in Vannes. It was absolutely beautiful there. The weather was gorgeous and he lives in a tropically decorated house near the water! Her dad is a character and on Saturday night he treated us to a night of dancing at a salsa club. He lives with his girlfriend Martine and she is an extremely kind and generous woman. They will marry each other in May and then they are moving to Tahiti together this summer! Hopefully Lila and I can visit them in Tahiti together!
I really enjoyed the weekend that I spent with Lila but when I got back boy was I tired after speaking only French for three days.
The next weekend, I ran the Paris Marathon! It was challenging to train for a marathon while studying abroad but I did it! My time was almost half an hour more than the PR I set during the Philadelphia Marathon in November but I am not worried because I know that I did not stick to my training schedule while in Paris. C’est la vie!
The race started at 8:45 am on Sunday April 6th on the Champs Élysées. Then we ran down Rue de Rivoli, past Bastille and around Chateau de Vincennes. As I was running along the Seine close to Musée d’Orsay, I saw my host family! I was very excited to see them on the course and they showered me with affection (even though I was very sweaty). I also saw my Boston College friends who were watching the race near the Eiffel Tower!
My BC friends studying in Paris were very excited to come support me during the race because to us, Marathon Monday is an extremely important day of the year during which we rally together, drink, and cheer on all of the people who have worked so hard to run the marathon.
When I got to the finish line, I received my medal, heat sheet, and shirt and then called my friends immediately. They were all waiting for me and surprised me with a champagne shower!
Although I was hesitant to commit to running a marathon while studying abroad, I am glad that I did so because I can check “Run a marathon in Europe” off my bucket list! Even though my time was slow (I need a 3:35 to qualify for Boston yikes!) I am still proud that I trained for and finished my third marathon this year!
I was also lucky to have my host family out on the course to support me since my real family could not be there but don’t worry because Mom and Dad are here now! They arrived this morning and will stay until April 17th when we leave for Venice together. I am very excited to show them the city that I have come to love and know so well.
La vie de "French Hannah" 