Hello, I live in Paris.

Taken this past summer on a Seine boat-ride

Last night, at exactly 9:00 pm, I was on the 10^th floor of my foyer in my friend Daniel’s North-facing room, wearing a plaid scarf, eating a Madeline, watching the view of the glittering Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur in the distance.  I was thinking how absolutely stunning it is to be able to watch the Eiffel Tower out the window, right here, right now. And then it dawned on me: I could watch it every night if I wanted to!

You’d think it was hardly possible to forget you’re in Paris with a giant glittering Eiffel Tower within sight pretty much always!  At least, I always knew that wouldn’t really be the case before coming here, but somehow I thought it would be pretty hard to forgot that I live in the City of Light, the former home of famous artists and writers, and what some consider most romantic city in the world.

But on the contrary, after being here for almost two weeks, I realize that for the most part I’m just going about living my life here, sitting in class for long hours every day, making friends with other students and interns, and yes, even doing homework. And I love it here. But when I’m not going around doing touristy things, the changes I’ve made to my life, both big and small, seem like everyday things. Eating a baguette sandwich was a huge novelty the first time, and still is a novelty, but let’s just say I’ve started to feel that it’s entirely normal to see a man walking down the street with 5 baguettes tucked under his arm. Sometimes I sort of forget I’m actually, well, dare I say it? Parisian. I live in Paris!

One thing I’ve discovered about Paris is that you’ve gotta be brave enough to walk proudly down the street not caring what others think about you, even when you’re carrying 12 rolls of bright pink toilet paper.

I had a very touristy weekend, savoring the tastes, sights, smells and sounds of the city. My friends Sydney, Christy and I stopped at a boulangerie for breakfast, which for me was pain au chocolat.  One of my weaknesses is definitely that waft of freshly baked bread and pastries that fills the air the moment you open the door of the boulangerie.

Next stop was La Cimitère du Père Lachaise, which is only a few blocks away from where I live. It is a magnificently beautiful, peaceful cemetery, and the resting place of Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Edith Piaf, among many others.  I thought it may have been eerie, walking along cobblestone pathways past graves from the early 1800s, but I found it quite peaceful.

Memorial for Auschwitz.

Rough translation: Here lies an unknown prisoner, victim of the acts of treachery and barbary of the Nazis

Edith Piaf's grave

We did see Oscar Wilde's grave, but I opted not to kiss it.

Enfin, we did a self-guided tour of the Opéra de Paris, where we saw rooms of gold, stunning views from the balcony of the street below, and Chagall’s painted ceiling with its centerpiece, the famous chandelier from Phantom of the Opera. It was a particularly special sight to see after having just seen Phantom on Broadway over winter break.

This was a breaktaking view

Me, Sydney (who's in the same program as me), Christy

The perfect morning was topped off with a stop at a local café for lunch, which for me was a very elegant Italian salad with slices of smoked ham, lettuce, and olives, a mozzarella, tomato and basil salad, roasted asparagus, and slices of bread with goat cheese and herbs. After a week of definitely not eating enough vegetables, it was exactly what I was looking for. I admit I felt a little guilty slicing of bites of asparagus in January after having just read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a book that talks about eating local, in-season foods, but it doesn’t happen every day that I have an intense craving for fresh, green veggies, so I just went with it.


À tout à l’heure!

Carin