A great weekend in Paris!

A few fun things that we've done this weekend:

-Got a picnic lunch at the Grand Epicerie, walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and picnic-ed

-Climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle

-Went to Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre

-Had a successful dinner with my host family

-Went to the Louvre

-Walked around Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter, saw my classroom

My friend Kim and I at Sacre-Couer.

The view when you walked just outside of our hotel.

The Eiffel Tower sparkling at night, seen from the Arc de Triomphe.

I've been letting the visitors take the bulk of the pictures so here is the only proof that they are actually here!

Tonight: Easter dinner at a restaurant called Chez Francoise, and heading off to Brussels tomorrow morning!

PS: On the metro there are some seats that are on a hinge/spring so that when you stand up, they fold up to make more room for people who are standing.  Yesterday my Dad stood up to get something out of his bag, didn't realize that the seat had folded up, and sat back down again!  He was practically on the floor by the time he realized his mistake...it was hilarious!

What I've been up to...

I saw the "Great World of Andy Warhol" exhibit at the Grand Palais.

It was fabulous and fun!  I forgot that I was in Paris for a while since it's so quintessentially American.  My favorites were works featuring Jackie O, Truman Capote, and Carolina Herrera. 

I went to a huge outdoor market and had a picnic at Parc Buttes-Chaumont on Sunday. Morbid, but the park used to be Montfaucon, a big hill where public hangings took place.

I studied in the Luxembourg gardens yesterday.

Today I am preparing for my lovely visitors, as well as for my own spring break travels which are rapidly approaching (T minus 3 days!).  Also I had a meeting with my academic advisor here just so she could make sure everything was going well with my classes-- all is well, in case you were wondering!  

Tomorrow morning at 6am I register for my classes for next semester!  If all goes well, I'll be taking Public Communication Research, Media Relations, Visual Strategies in Public Relations, Politics in the T.V. Age, Volleyball, and Yoga.  I'll have Tuesdays and Fridays totally free so I'm sure that this summer I can track down an internship that'll keep me busy on those days!

A Monumental Occasion

Today, I did something I never thought I'd find myself doing in Paris: I went to Starbucks!

  I don't think Betsy could have handled another day without some American-style coffee so before heading out to Pere Lachaise I had my perfect mixture of Parisian/American breakfast: Starbucks and a croissant.

 Then we checked out Jim Morrison's grave.  There were way more flowers this time around, but we were pretty bummed that we couldn't spot the security guard!

Next we went to Saint Sulpice, a great big church with three famous Delacroix murals inside.  Not my favorite work of his, that's for sure!  No picture because it is under renovation and covered in scaffolding.  However, for those of you who are Da Vinci Code nerds (like me,) this is the church from the movie/book that has the stained glass window that says "P.S.", which they interpret as Priory of Sion.  The church has posted a sign saying that they are unrelated...I'm not so sure!

We wrapped things up at the Luxembourg Gardens where a former French queen, Marie de Medicis, built a palace when she was widowed in the 17th century.  Now the grounds are a public park but you are not allowed to walk on the grass.

Then we grabbed some lunch and I headed home so the travelers could get some work done.  It was great to see a familiar face, thanks for everything Betsy!  Tonight I grabbed dinner & gelato with friends and now I'm ready to rest up for another busy week.