So officially three weeks have passed since I arrived in Paris. I can't even believe it. We spent last weekend in Nice, which is by far my favorite place in the world. We took a 5 1/2 hour train ride there on Friday, my first time on a train, and I of course slept the entire time. When we got there we spent a few hours on the beautiful beach, which is covered in black stones, so it is not exactly comfortable to lay on. But Saturday 4 of us woke up early to have breakfast paid for by the program and head up the mountain to check out the Chagall and Matisse museums. It took us a good 45 minute or so to make it up the mountain by bus, after finally figuring out which bus to take. We spent about 30 minutes in each museum. When we turned around to leave at about 3 we took a while to find a bus stop, where we waited for 30 minutes to finally be told in broken english by an elderly French woman that the busses would be on strike for the next couple of hours, just our luck. So we started our very long trek downhill in the heat, looking for a cafe to stop at one the way to have a beer, but everything was closed. Finally after an hour we found a cafe and had a few beers, when we saw that the busses had started up again, when we only had a 15 minute walk left. Despite that little excursion, I have decided that Nice is my next destination. This weekend was our second weekend in Paris. Saturday we visited an antique market and had a picnic in the park, which was wonderful. Sunday, one of the bartenders from the Fiap brought us to the biggest flea market in Paris. It was amazing. Tons of vintage clothes from the 1920s, antique furniture and clocks, along with the usual knock-off brand clothes. Sunday was also the fet de la musique, basically the French Mardi Gras. Everyone gathers in the streets to listen to various musicians parked along each and every corner. Majority of the musicians sucked, but the atmosphere was chaotic and so incredibly festive. Never do you see the Parisians smiling and dancing, and most of all you never see them drunk. Off to class now, pictures to come soon. 

xxoo

Sadly the past few days have been a complete down pour of rain, keeping us cooped up in the FIAP [our hotel] most of the time. I still have managed to keep my wine tour going though, the rain coincidentally stops once all the tourist attractions are closed down and the bars begin to open up. The other night, as I was buying another glass of wine at the bar I slurred "bonjourrrrr" as the bartender handed me my drink, immediately he began laughing hysterically and corrected me in impeccable English. Luckily my language barrier didn't make me a complete failure, as the owner insisted on meeting me after he heard the story and a free flow of french fries and sugary marshmallows followed. Later in the night as the bar was starting to close down the owner asked if my friends and I would like to try some authentic French food and we agreed. A few moments later out came several pieces of what looked to be lemon pie. Immediately we all dug our forks in for the biggest bite of what turned out to be warm mash potato pie sprinkled with ground beef. surprise surprise. [I'm sure this sounds delicious to you dad.] Today we visited some castles, which were beautiful but the rain kinda ruined the atmosphere. Tomorrow I plan on going to the Andy Warhol exhibit. Wish me luck on the rain situation. Here are some pictures from Monet's garden: 

xxoo

So it took me a week to get this blog up and running, but can you blame me? I'm in Paris and checking my email and surfing the web hasn't exactly been my primary priority. Today officially marks my week stay in Paris and I have already decided I do not want to leave! Don't get me wrong, I would miss you all terribly but there is just so much to do here. The first few days I found myself to be a bit antsy, feeling like I always had to be doing something. But I have begun to adapt to this slow Parisian lifestyle. We celebrated our first night in Paris with wine and cheese at the Eiffel Tower [pictures to come once I figure it out]. And tonight we plan on celebrating our week here in the same fashion. Sitting in the park watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle every hour is kind of mesmerizing. The weather here however, is almost as unpredictable as in Louisiana. The first few days started off with chilly mornings and it would reach around 85 in the afternoon and cool down again in the evening, mind you the sun stays out until 10pm. However, the past few days have been very cold and my two cardigans just don't seem to be doing the job. As most of you warned, things are quite expensive here, but I'm learning my way around, finding cheaper places to eat and of course drink, and we have even become regulars at a few spots. I'm already known as the clumsy one, after running face first into a light post the other night, unfortunately while sober, but luckily my face remains unbruised. Well I hope to keep y'all updated on this wonderful Parisian summer I've had the opportunity to experience. 

xxoo