Haven’t posted in a while…the past few days have been quite busy! On Thursday night, as I had mentioned before, Madame’s former lodger, Robert, came to dinner with two friends. It was really funny because at dinner, we all spoke French together, even when Madame left the room (they are all American college students, at UC Davis, UCSB and UC Irvine). They were really nice kids, and Robert is now spending a semester in Bordeaux to study viniculture. He said that I was welcome to come visit with friends anytime! I appreciate that, because I really want to make the effort to visit cities and regions within France…we’ll hopefully be able to plan a visit down there at some point!

Friday afternoon was one of the most beautiful days I’ve ever seen! Perhaps I also appreciate blue skies and perfect fluffy white clouds now, as it has been fairly gray since we arrived. We had an orientation meeting about travelling at ACCENT, and then a few of us went to Montmartre to visit Sacre Coeur since it was such a beautiful day. From the top of the towers (over 300 stairs up, might I add!) was the most miraculous and piercing blue sky, with an incredible 360 degree view of all of Paris. We spent quite a while up there, taking photos and listening to traces of music wafting up from Montmartre. After we descended, we went in search of the music we had heard, and found an adorable Italian guy playing guitar on the steps in front of the cathedral. When we sat down to watch, he asked where we were from, and after telling him California, he played us “Hotel California”! The sun was shining so brightly, and we even took off our jackets because it was warm enough…That was the happiest moment I’ve had here so far.

We continued to walk around Montmartre, and then took the Metro to Montparnasse, where we had coffee and hot chocolate at one of the older and most famous cafes, La Rotonde. It had very classic French decor. After we left, I decided to walk home, and passed through Invalides, which is so imposing yet very peaceful. It is neat to see the soldiers still walking around the grounds (although in a slightly more relaxed for m than in the Napoleonic Regime, I imagine). It is amazing how much Bonaparte had built in Paris during his relatively short stint as leader of the Empire…

Friday night, we went to see a French film called “L.O.L.—Laughing Out Loud” at Champs Elysees. It was a modern day interpretation of the older film “La Boum” which probably came out in the 70s or 80s; in “LOL” Sophie Marceau played the mother of a teenage girl going through her ‘coming-of-age’ transitions. The film was quite amusing, and I really enjoyed picking up on the younger French generations’ diction and lingo. I think it was REALLY good practice for us, and it was such a cute movie! If it comes out in the States, it’s a must-see for learning more about the true French culture.

This Saturday (yesterday) we had a day-trip to Chartres, outside of Paris, to see the famous Cathedral and town. We took a bus there, and upon arrival, were lucky enough to receive a tour from Malcolm Miller, the famous historian who has been giving tours at Chartres and giving talks around the world for 51 years! It was a fascinating church…it is the most intact and consistent of practically all gothic churches, and the best example of the gothic period and its architecture. While I don’t personally find the gothic structures the most aesthetically pleasing, the cathedral was amazingly constructed and even an hour and a half there didn’t seem like enough to just visit. There is a story in each and every one of the thousand panes of glass, and thousands of sculptures outside the church. Amazing! And it was so lucky that we were able to meet with Malcolm Miller, who is so passionate about what he does.

After we visited the cathedral, we all had lunch at a restaurant down the street, which was delicious and quite nice on such a cold day—it was snowing! We walked around the town a bit after, and then took the bus home.

Last night, we went to the Latin Quarter, which was of course a little nerve-wracking because you have to be careful around so many rambunctious crowds, but also very fun because the streets are so filled with life! We met some interesting characters (and when I say met, I mean we were approached by and promptly removed ourselves from), including a clichéd, long-haired French Artiste, who insisted that we take a

photo of the moon because it was so full and enshrined by clouds, and because “C’est la meme lune dans tous les pays” … I think you can figure out the translation of that one. And then he insisted that we fit “the moon and the building and all the passers-by in the same frame,” etcetera. It was an interesting night, concluded with a nice bag of frites from one of the Latin-Quarter Greek restaurants!

Today I went to lunch with cousin Stephen in the Marais, and had a delicious Tartare de boeuf…I’m a fan. I’m so excited to have family here in Paris! Afterwards we met my friends with whom I was going to study with at a café, and Stephen left and then we did reading for a few hours. It was a relaxed day. I like that here, even if you don’t fit in a sightseeing activity, or do a lot, you still feel productive just going outside and walking around, because one never sits around in one’s room all day here.

I’ve uploaded a lot of new photos from my day in Montmartre, at Chartres, and from other various activities, so feel free to check out my photo albums, to the right!