Le Louvre et Le Musée d'Orsay

GUESS WHERE I AM?! I spent all day Saturday at the Louvre with my friends! This place is absolutely massive! From seeing pictures I had no concept of just how huge it really was. This was a last minute trip so we really did not have any plan when entering the museum about where we were going to go. Instead, we kind of just wandered. I saw a lot of really awesome sculptures, as well as full rooms of decoration that were stunning. It was hard to limit myself on how many pictures to post here, so I tried to pick my favorites!

I'd say this photo is ALMOST a success. My OCD really kicks in when I zoom in and see that my finger isn't on the tippy-top. I figured this was close enough, though. The weather looks gloomy but it was actually quite nice out this day! I got to wear one of the 13 scarves i brought here (that's right, 13!!!), and didn't need a jacket. I had a hard time narrowing down the scarf collection for Paris. Hopefully I'll wear them each at least once!

 This is the first weekend brunch I cooked and ate before the Louvre! I am really enjoying being able to cook and am already dreading going back to living without a real kitchen at school :( ALSO, I FOUND TOFU! There is a health food store right outside the back entrance of our courtyard with a whole row of REFRIGERATED tofu products! I mention the "refrigerated" part because I have only found brownish-yellow tofu on a shelf by itself in a store. It really weirded me out, so I'm SO happy to have found a better option! I've noticed that a lot of things here are not often refrigerated, such as eggs and some butter. Not really sure what that is about; it's just something to get used to.

The first room we entered in the Louvre! I loved how much light was in this room. It was so grand and beautiful. I like how the people in this picture look so small compared to the scale of everything else. For example, take a look at the woman in the white shirt toward the right, and compare her to the statue slightly in front of her! So crazy!

This is just a dog that I really liked on one of the statues (:

I found myself looking at this piece for a while.  I loved the detailing of all of the bones and muscles. It was one of my favorites!

To be honest, I can't really remember the significance of this room. We walked through many additional rooms decorated like this (kind of like an apartment set up). There was so much detail that I found it hard to know what to look at. It was actually very overwhelming, but quite awe-inspiring. I wish I had gotten a good picture of the ceiling because it was so intricate.

Nike of Samothrace. I think I was playing with the settings on my camera when I took this picture, but I actually really love the way it turned out. This was definitely one of the highlights of the day!

Candid shot of my friends enjoying the ceiling art!

...And a selfie with the Mona Lisa, just because. We snuck in to see her right before the museum closed and there was very few people in the room, which was nice! We were checking things off the bucket list, left and right! My first visit to the Louvre was such a great experience. I have four months to go back as many times as I want to explore, and I am so excited because of that! I love this place!

 After the Louvre closed we headed over to the Chantes Elysée to explore. This area is filled with very, very, very high end stores, some of which I'd be way to intimated to even enter. It was definitely fun to walk around and window shop though. I didn't get a picture of the Arc de Triumph because it started pouring right when we exited the metro! We decided to find shelter at a cafe, and ended up getting dinner on a side street instead. It was delicious! A noteworthy part of this dinner was learning how to ask for tap water instead of being charged for bottled water at every restaurant: "une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît."  I have learned that this is a very important thing to know when eating out! By the way, the food was delicious!

 On the Chantes Elysee is a very famous macaron shop called Ladurée. There was a short line to get inside, but since it was on our bucket list, we had to stop. 

One of the cute boxes - reminded me of a perfume box. Adorable!

The shop was very fancy, and there were so many bright colors, as well as unique flavors! I found it entertaining to watch these people find a slightly broken or non-perfect macaron and simply throw it in the trash. It made me so sad. I would have eaten them!

Pretty colors! The flavors I had were: orange blossom, Venezuelan chocolate, and coconut!

 Sunday Adventure! Bella and I went to the Musée d'Orsay. It is right across the Seine from the Louvre, and has lots of impressionist artwork. I really liked this museum because a lot of the art I studied in my modern art class at UCLA was here!  I got butterflies of excitement in my stomach anytime I saw I piece I studied or wrote about in class! We ended up coming here as a last minute trip, as well, so we only got to spend about an hour and a half in the museum. We saw a lot of Monet, Manet, Pissarro, Rodin, and some Gauguin and Picasso while we were there.

First Paris rainy day! We unfortunately had to wait in a long line to get in to the museum. To pass the time Bella and I examined of lot of girls outfits to find coats we liked. We sneakily took some pictures of the ones we really liked!

 We weren't aloud to take pictures of the art, but I was able to take one of this cool clock with a view out over the Seine and across to the Louvre!

So I did take a few pictures inside (I was sneaky). I thought this open layout was so awesome. There seemed to be so many layers and floors of art that I was a little turned around. I will most definitely being going back here very soon! I saw a few pieces that are on my "Paris Art" check list, but I think I may have missed a few. I will be going back soon on a more planned out visit.

 Crossing the river to get to a more direct Metro stop by the Lourve! The Musée d'Orsay is shown above.

It finally stopped raining! Yay!

I think I've been putting off this blog post because I had so much to share and I knew it would take a while! I wish I had time to post every picture and many more details! It's so hard to sum up this experience even in a long blog post like this. I'm trying to hit the main points. OH! One very exciting discovery from this weekend: I get into both the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay for free!!! Because I am under 26 and I am a student in Paris, I'm given discounts and free admission to places all over Paris. My school actually made us little "student passes" that we can show the people at the entrance to legitimize our status as students in France. I am hoping the pass will work at other museums, as well!

Living here really is a dream.

La Tour Eiffel

Bonjour! I have been so busy these past few days that I haven't had any time to write. I have so many new updates and exciting things that I will probably be posting 2 or 3 blog posts today! This first one I am devoting to an entire day spent at the Eiffel Tower with new friends. It was absolutely surreal to finally see this huge landmark in real life. A small group of us brought along some wine, cheese, chocolate, and fresh baguettes, as shown in this very staged photo below. The weather was SO perfect, and I was able to wear my dress without a jacket until 12:00 at night when we left.

Everything just tastes better here. The bread is soft and fresh, the cheese are all unique and so organic, and even the chocolate is more unique. My favorite that I tasted that day with the chocolate with speculoos pieces in it. I hadn't had much speculoos before coming here. Basically it is sweet and tastes sort of like gingerbread but less intense. The pieces in the chocolate were crunchy and delicious! I even bought some speculoos cookies for my apartment after trying this chocolate!

The tower is so much bigger than I had imagined. We didn't go to the top on this visit, but it is definitely on my Paris bucketlist. Actually, Bella and I just recently created a bucket list complete with places to visit, and a specific "food" section as well. If you have any places I must see or food I must eat please let me know! This was our view the entire afternoon. We had a large blanket and just talked and got to know each other in this beautiful place. The only slightly annoying part were the people who would come up and try to sell us things. I was really aware of pick pockets here and basically sat on my purse the whole time. A guy came up to us at one point later in the night and actually tried to run off with my friend's bag. Luckily my friend had attached it to his belt look with a carabiner and so the man didn't make it far. I try not to let these people take away from my experience. I just know I have to be extra careful here. Luckily, I am always in a big group of people and my slight paranoia about being stolen from keeps my stuff safe.

On a lighter note, we couldn't leave the Eiffel Tower with out a "wave" picture. Incase you don't know, this is the sign for our sorority, Delta Gamma. To be honest, I am not 100% why or how this came to be. The best explanation I've heard is that making this shape looks like the shape of a gamma ( Γ ). If you've seen any of my other photos you have problem seen me doing this about a million times. Anyway, get ready for an obnoxious amount of wave pictures in the next few months :)

Bella with Nina and Brynn, two new friends!

This is Jen! We were actually on both of the same flights to Paris with me, but we didn't find out until we got here. She is also from San Francisco!

New friends watching the sparkly tower! I didn't get a good photo of the Eiffel Tower light show otherwise I would have posted it. It was so unbelievably beautiful! This day flew by and we ended up staying there for around 7 hours. Also, by the end of the night, our group had grown from 4 to about 25. So many other students form our program were at the Eiffel Tower for the day, too, and came and joined our picnic. I most definitely plan to spend a lot more time down by the tower because the area is SO pretty!

I have already been here for a whole week! I am adjusting really well and I think my sleeping pattern is where it needs to be. I just bought a much more comfortable blanket for my bed, which has made a huge difference. I also need some new sheets (the ones they gave us are like sandpaper). I love being able to cook, even though we don't have an oven or many other tools. I've been making a lot of vegetables, polenta, fruit, pasta, oatmeal, etc. I tried un café with some friends the other day and was not a big fan. The servings are so small, but are SO strong. Plus, I don't really like the extra ccaffine. I think I am going to stick with water and un pain au chocolat for now!

 I will be posting another blog post soon with my photos and stories from the weekend.

Exploring the Neighborhood, and Things I've Learned!

I'm just barely wrapping up day three and I already feel like I've been here for a while! The past few days have flown by! They have been filled with lots of exploring, orientation meetings, and getting to know new friends. We got our schedules today, and I am very excited about the classes I will be taking this semester, which are French Art, Media in France & the EU, and beginning French. I got all of my top choices! I explored our neihborhood and part of the Latin Quarter yesterday with some new friends.

This is Gare de Lyon, the train station that is two blocks from my residence. I was so excited to finally see it up close because I had only seen it from a distance when walking around at first. This picture really does not show just how massive this building is. It is a very busy street and area, as there is also a major Metro stop underneath the train station. A tour guide explained that trains leave this station everyday and travel not only to places around France, but to Amsterdam, and Switzerland as well! I am hoping I will get a chance to take a train ride from here during this quarter!

As we walked further down the Seine and across a bridge, we decided to stop by Notre Dame to take a quick peak. The line to go inside was much too long, but I am so happy I was able to see this place on such a beautiful day! After learning so much about this building in my Communication of Architecture class at UCLA, it was unreal to actually be standing right in front of it. 

Here is a closer look at the front of the cathedral. So breathtaking!

And I of course couldn't resist taking a touristy photo in front of Notre Dame. We only stayed for about 15 minutes, so more pictures will come when I am able to spend a longer time at the amazing place!

This lock bridge is right next to Notre Dame. I loved reading all the little messages written on these locks of love! 

After Notre Dame, we took a walk through more of the Latin Quarter and I really fell in love with it. I thought the buildings here were especially beautiful, and the lively crowd of people made this such a fun place to be! We ate at a restaurant and sat outside on the street, where I bought my first legal drink, champagne. I enjoyed a swiss cheese sandwich and had a great time people watching on this sunny and warm day! The day turned slightly sour and EXTREMELY embarrassing when I collapsed at the check out counter of Orange, a local phone store. I think either I needed protein or had low blood sugar. Everything went black and next thing I knew I was on the ground sweating profusely, as the woman who was helping me yelled "She is not well, she is not well!" I was fortunate to have friends there to help, get me food, and take a cab back to my room with me. The employees also brought me water and some sugar cubes, which was very nice of them. Needless to say, I will not be going back into that store any time soon. Embarrassed doesn't begin to explain how I felt.

After a nice night of rest a few girls and I met up and visited the farmers market around the corner from our residence. It is open 6 days a week and has tables and tables of the most beautiful and juicy looking fruit and colorful vegetables. The most exciting part of this adventure was finding out that everything at the market is quite cheap! I bought a ton of vegetables and fruit (to last me almost a week) for under 5 euro! Score! We also got lots and lots of samples! Being here, however, also made me realize just how badly I need to learn some French. I cannot wait to begin my intensive language program because I feel terrible that I can barely utter numbers and "thank you." 

So delicious! 

We stopped at a pâtisserie after the farmers market, where I got a baguette and an almond pastry for breakfast (yum!). This picture is actually of a different pâtisserie that I visited later with a friend, because I didn't take a picture of the one I went to in the morning. The two places look very similar with these vibrant sweets in the window and loafs and loafs of bread in the back. These desserts honestly look even more perfect in person than they do in the picture, if you can even believe that. The best part about this specific place is that it is literally a 45 second walk from my school. I cannot wait to try out all of these throughout the next few months :)

THINGS I'VE LEARNED:
1. The "walk" signals on the crosswalk turn from green to red instantaneously, giving you no warning that you only have a few more seconds to get across the street.
2. Smiling at someone is like giving them a gift, and smiling at people on the streets can definitely give off the wrong impression. The social cues are much different here. I really need to work on my RBF.
3. The tap water is, in fact, safe to drink! Yay!
4. Hearing little kids speak French is one of the cutest things I have ever heard.
5. You are not expected to tip at restaurants.
6. Doctors often make house visits, and when you go see a doctor, it is usually in his house or apartment! (I haven't experienced this, but I learned this today and thought it was so interesting!) 
7. Everything is really small here.
8. Tofu is impossible to find - still looking, though!

Bonjour Paris!

I have arrived! I landed at Charles de Gaul airport this morning around 7:30 a.m. after traveling for 17+ hours. The trip actually was not as bad as I thought it would be, and I was able to sleep about 6 hours total on my planes. Landing in Paris and taking the taxi to our program location was so surreal. Bella and I were some of the first to arrive, as well as a fellow UCSB student who we met at the airport. We attempted to speak French to our taxi driver, who was very nice about our mistakes. Here is a picture of the sunrise outside the window of the plane as we arrived into Paris. It was so fun to look down at all the little towns scattered around France.

After arriving at the abroad center, we dragged our luggage down to our residence. We took a few wrong turns and the 5 minute walked turned into a 20 minute walk. Finally, we found the building and walked up to our room. We have been settling in all day and trying to get things organized.

This is the view of the courtyard from our room. We are surrounded by many other apartments and residences of French families. The neighborhood is very cute with cafes on literally every corner. I will post more pictures of the neighborhood as I explore more. I have to refrain from pulling out my camera and taking pictures of the buildings on every street because they are all so pretty! 

Our room is a VERY small apartment, more like a dorm, but it has plenty of space for us. We have started to organize our stuff, but we need to do some shopping for more comfortable blanket, pillows, some containers, and other small things. I have lots of pictures I plan to hang out next to my bed, as well. I am the on the bottom bunk with the pile of stuff sitting on it.

We have a desk, a small table for eating and some storage space to the left, as well as a closet that cannot be seen in the photo to the right, and a bathroom.

Our "kitchen" is across form the closet and contains a microwave, hot plates, a small refrigerator and storage space. It's not much, but we don't really need much more. I am so excited to go to the local market just down the street for fruits and veggies, and of course to the boulangerie for fresh baked goods! Oh, and I didn't post a picture of the bathroom just because it is boring and hard to photograph. All I can say is I have NEVER seen a shower so small.

I am excited to have my first day of orientation tomorrow and have many of my questions answered. I still do not even know which classes I will be taking! There will be multiple weekend excursions planned by the program which we will find out about tomorrow. Bella and I are not sure about the water here yet. We are told that many Parisians drink bottled water, but we aren't sure if that is because they are simply particular about their water or if there is something we should know about what's coming out of the tap. Like I said, I have many questions.

Even though my trip has just started, I already feel like I don't have enough time to explore this amazing city. I know the next few months will be some of the best of my life and I don't want to take for granted one minute of my time here! I hope this blog will grow and become filled with memories and my many experiences here in Paris, as well as all around Europe! I cannot believe I am living here until December. There is SO SO SO much to look forward to!

Much more to come - this is only my first day, after all!

Au revoir!

Countdown

5 days and counting! :)