The One-Month Mark.

A cute sign I saw in Belleville

Today is February 13th, 2011, the day before a very important holiday: the one-month anniversary of my arrival in Paris!

First of all, my apologies for the long delay in posting. Since a lot of things have happened since then, this post will be 80% pictures and 20% words, to commemorate some of the milestones that have taken place during my first month of studying abroad!

I honestly am having trouble coming to terms with how fast time is flying by here. I know that's what I was warned of ahead of time, but the reality is when you're trying to cram in so much fun in such a short time, you forget how many days are passing by!

So without further ado, some of the highlights and milestones that have taken place since my plane landed on January 14th:

Coffee with all the W&M girls studying abroad in Paris this semester: Cathy, me, Taylor, Diana, & Alexandra

My very first macaroon!

On Saturday, Feb. 5th, I went with Jen and Sydney to a matinee on Paris' Broadway equivalent.

Mamma Mia! at the Theatre Mogador

Me, Jen, et Sydney in front of the Mamma Mia poster

I also visited the Eiffel Tower....

And tried on a beret....

One day Cathy and I decided to try kebabs, which was a first for both of us -- They're something the real Parisians would snub, but this cheap, delicious, and I'm sure terribly unhealthy street food is a must-try:

I rode the metro far too many times...and one day, at the St. Michel metro stop, I saw a crowd that could have easily have been a large enough for a real concert, clapping and cheering, sounding around a guy singing at a microphone. He was actually not bad, and was signing such classics as "Hey, Jude!" You never know what you'll see in Paris.

After too many trips on the metro, one can be rather exhausted.

A guy singing at the metro station, surrounded by a huge crowd.

Sydney and I visited the open air market in our neighborhood, which takes place every Saturday and Wednesday morning, and were absolutely ravie [delighted] to see all of the gorgeous produce, flowers, bright colors, and the busy crowds.

Just this past week, in the neighborhood called Belleville (more stories to come later, but it turns out, the neighborhood wasn't as belle as we were hoping). Nonetheless, we did stop in an award-winning boulangerie  to try their baguette, which in 2009 was declared the best in all of Paris! It was quite good. Though if I do say so myself, I prefer the boulangerie two blocks away that I frequent, where the lady that works there recognizes me now!

The boulangerie in Belleville with the award-winning baguettes

Their brownies (first time I'd seen them in Paris!) admittedly looked quite good.