Bonjour mes amis! Hello my friends! All is going well in Paris! I do not start classes until Monday January 20th 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