Over a month, now

It’s funny to think that I’ve been in France for over a month now. Give me another week or two and it’ll be the longest consecutive period of time I’ve been out of the US. And it really doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. Maybe that’s because I haven’t been in one place this whole time. I’ll let you know when I’ve been in Paris a month and tell you how that feels.

There’s still this weird feeling that I’m on a hiatus from real life, and soon enough, I will be going back to Georgetown and everything will pick up where it left off. Maybe that feeling will go away when my classes start next week.

Speaking of classes, the French educational bureaucratic system sucks. They’re the most disorganized people I’ve ever encountered. Just, FYI.

But let’s return to the interesting stuff about my life, n’est-ce pas?

Saturday night, we went to this bar over behind the Pantheon, called Le Piano-Vache. Which translates to ‘The Piano Cow.’ Don’t ask me. ;-) But it was a very cool bar.

Speaking of bars, I’m in the process of trying to find bars that will show American sports. Specifically, baseball. Of course. I’ve found a few that show football regularly, but I’m like, no! Who cares about football? I want my baseball! Especially now the the A’s have clinched and are going to the postseason! :-D Sorry, couldn’t resist the shameless plug. But yes, Jake and I are continuing our hunt for a sports bar that will show baseball, and fingers crossed, we’ve found one. We’ll find out soon enough.

The other day, I had nothing to do, so I walked from my apartment to the Palais Royal and that area. It was a nice walk, and the Palais Royal gardens and galleries are beautiful. On my way, I found one of the covered galleries that I’ve heard about for years but never actually seen. It wasn’t big, but it was so beautiful and quaint. If my camera hadn’t been dead, I would have taken a picture for you guys. No doubt I’ll go back sometime soon. Or find another one. Selene joined me and we resolved to dress up sometime and go back to the cute tea house we found there.

We also spent a while at the Palais Royal, sitting in the gardens. There’s this amazing salon there – and salon here does not mean a hair place – that’s been around forever and mostly does lunch, and they talked about it in my book. It’s called Le Grand Véfour, and there’s is nothing on the menu under 70 euros, except the desserts, which are 30 euros. Someday, when I’m very wealthy, I will go there. I also found this amazing, amazing dress shop there, called Le Petit Robe Noir, which just means The Little Black Dress. I could never afford anything there, but they had some of the most amazing little black dresses I’ve ever seen. Selene and I started through the window for a while before forcing ourselves to move on, before we felt any worse about our monetary situations. I’m telling myself that maybe if I save a lot, I can buy the cheapest dress there before I leave…

We’ve also come to the realization that we have a month off in January/February. Paris IV is somehow just different from the other universities. Which means that we have inordinate amounts of free time. So, Selene and I are planning a 10-day trip to Greece and Turkey in late January. Any suggestions, places we have to go, connections with people who will put us up for free?

One last thing before I go:

If you want a postcard, send me your address! And it would be awesome if you would send me mail/postcards/care packages in return. :-D But not necessary. Just let me know if you want a postcard.

Bisous!