• Hearing French spoken all around me. It truly is a beautiful language, and seems to flow into one’s ears like a melody.
• The endless possibilities of events and activities. Throughout my five-month stay, I did not once find myself with a lack of things to do.  In fact, there was too much to do, and I was not able to even come close to accomplishing all of the things on my to-do list.  There is always some new place to explore, some new pâtisserie to try, some new park to discover.
• Coffee vending machines.  Sciences Po has these scattered throughout its campus, and OH MY GOSH, you can get an amazing little hazelnut cappuccino for a mere 50 centimes!  This may or may not be the only positive memory I have of Sciences Po…
• Bread. I’m pretty sure the expression “bread of life” must have originated in Paris; baguette after baguette blew my mind.  And taste buds.  I see why it is such a pivotal part of life in Paris.
• Pastries. True works of art.  And delicious to boot.  I shall miss my mini-macarons and mille feuilles.
• The architecture.  How is it possible for every single building to be so incredibly beautiful?  Okay, except the Centre Pompidou…if I were to allow that edifice to slide, I believe I would have thousands of Parisians swimming the Atlantic in order to find me, strangle me, revive me, and then strangle me again for saying such a blasphemous thing.
• The central location. I would venture to guess that most major airlines and train companies travel to and from Paris, which made my European excursions significantly easier.
• Art. The Louvre.  Musée d’Orsay.  Musée de l’Orangerie.  All of these, among others.  Scattered on every corner of the city.  There is always more beautiful art to be seen, and I’m going to miss having such easy access to it.
• The speed of the metro.  It is so FAST!  Especially in comparison to Boston’s version, called the T, which moves through the city at a snail’s pace.  I suppose it’s good that the metro flies, however, because I don’t know how long I could stand to be surrounded by so many scowling Parisians.
• The myriad of parks scattered throughout the city. They’re all great, but Jardin du Luxembourg will always feel like home to me.
• The open-air markets.  They’re great!  Fresh produce, friendly vendors, and overall fun experiences.  Who doesn’t love to be cooed at and given free nuts and figs?
• The man who plays bass on the bridge by Notre Dame.  He brought a smile to my face each and every time I passed him by.
• Cheap wine…that actually tastes good. I don’t know if it is possible to find in America, but I doubt it’s possible to find $7 bottles of wine that are both drinkable and tasty.

Chrissy, Kelsey and I decided to explore Canal Saint Martin, which we had heard was beautiful and very Venice-like.  Armed with our cameras, we emerged from the metro station, ready to roll.  We didn’t see anything particularly beautiful at first, and in fact had to walk for about 10 minutes to get out of the seedy area we found ourselves in.  Eventually, we discovered the beauty everyone had been raving about.  Dozens of groups of dozens of people were lining the canal with sandwiches, baguettes, wine and cheese to enjoy the late afternoon sun.  Others were frolicking in the nearyby park, and still more were sitting outside of cafés and brasseries, enjoying a drink and a smoke.  We walked down the length of the canal, eventually making our way to Place de la Republique.  We found a cute little café, sat outside, and had a drink as the sun set.

Kelsey ended up heading home, but Chrissy and I wanted to continue our quest to obtain free couscous!  We had to walk through another slightly seedy area to get to our intended location.  Once we got to the bar, we snagged a table in the corner and ordered a couple of Coronas.  While waiting for our drinks, we looked around, and noticed there was no couscous on any of the tables.  I was starting to get a bit concerned…oh no, did I drag us through this awful area just for a couple of cheap drinks? Chrissy told me not to worry, that she had a feeling our couscous was on the way.  Sure enough, about half an hour later, a man came out with oodles of napkins, forks and knives, which could only mean one thing: COUSCOUS!  Chrissy referred to it as a “parade of couscous,” and within minutes we had steaming hot plates of flavorful couscous, chicken, and some spring vegetables sitting in front of us.  All for the mere price of a drink, which was an incredibly low 2.50 euro.  We enjoyed our food with a couple of drinks, and were eventually invited by a few friendly Frenchmen and Italians to play a drinking game with them.  It was so much fun, and such a great way to practice French in a stress-free, casual environment.  We spent a few hours at the bar, and we’re definitely planning on going back sooner than later!

On another note, I cannot believe that this crazy volcanic eruption is still interfering with travel plans everywhere!  I’m starting to realize how lucky I am being stuck in my own apartment in Paris, rather than in a hostel in another country.  I have a couple of friends stranded in Italy, I have a friend stranded alone in London, and I know countless people who are stuck in other countries and can’t finish the rest of the travels they had planned for their spring break.  As this one man puts it, I hate Iceland!  Except, I don’t really.  I just think the video is really amusing (thanks for sending it to me, Nadia).  I just hope that everything is cleared up by the time I’m scheduled to leave for Italy on Friday!

Anyway, today was quite an eventful day.  I edited and uploaded some more photos to Facebook…in the process of catching up!

After sitting inside all morning, I decided I needed to get out.  After looking through the list of things I want to do in Paris before I leave, I decided on Cimitière du Père Lachaise.  Since it was such a nice day out, I decided to walk there.  I put on my comfy Keds and set out with my camera.  After a solid 1 hour and 45 minutes of walking, I arrived at the cemetery.  I grabbed a map, and began circling all of the graves I wanted to see: Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust, Edith Piaf, Chopin, and Oscar Wilde were among the more popular ones I wanted to visit.  I began to walk up and down the cobblestone footpaths, taking in both the beauty and the unsettling feelings that are inherent in all cemeteries.

I found Jim Morrison’s grave okay, but struggled with nearly all of the others.  Glancing around me, I noticed that everyone else was armed with huge, color-coded maps that had clearly labeled grave locations.  I looked back at my dinky piece of cr- I mean, paper, and scowled: it was about one-fifth the size, and very poorly labeled.  I might have been able to just make out the names with a magnifying glass, but I think an electron microscope might have suited me better.  Frustrated, slightly cranky, and exhausted, I continued to stumble blindly around the gigantic cemetery to find the other graves I wanted to see.

It was pretty cool to see Edith Piaf’s grave, as I learned about her life in the movie La Vie en Rose, which I recommend.  I also loved Oscar Wilde’s grave; it was covered with lipstick kisses and fan messages.  Someone had even written je t’aime, Oscar.  I don’t know much about his life, but I do know I really enjoyed reading The Picture of Dorian Gray.

After several hours of walking, I gratefully sank into one of the metro seats for the journey home.  As soon as I got home, I collapsed into my bed and took a power nap…and here I am, recharged and ready to roll.  I think Simone, Kelsey & I are going down to Pub O’Prince for a couple of drinks before calling it a night…off I go!

I think we’re going to find out.  Today was my third visit to Breakfast In America, which I have blogged about in the past.  It’s a fantastic American diner that serves all-American food…perfect for a study abroad student who is craving a (literal) taste of home.  I had a delicious vanilla milkshake, a ginormous cheeseburger with fries…and a pancake with dark chocolate chips and raspberries…decadent, and oh-so-unhealthy.

It’s okay though, because I decided to walk it off afterward.  Caitlin left to explore the Louvre, Lindsey went to meet up with Chris and the others, and I decided to explore Île Saint Louis, which is one of the two islands in the middle of the Seine.  Notre Dame is located on Île de la Cité, so I have been there several times.  Île Saint Louis was exciting though, partly because of its size, and partly because it’s much quieter than the rest of the city.  There is no public transportation running on the little island as far as I know (maybe a few bus lines, but I didn’t see any), and so almost everyone who was there arrived on foot.  I walked in and out of stores filled with adorable and interesting knick knacks, and eventually sat myself down on a little ledge overlooking the river.  I sat there, people watching and soaking up the Parisian sunshine. After about half an hour, I started walking back to the apartment.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention my second visit to Marché aux Fleurs, which is a beautiful market filled with flowers, plants, and unique garden decorations.  They had a lot of other stores with even more trinkets and souvenirs, so I really enjoyed checking everything out.

After a couple of hours at the apartment, Caitlin returned and we got ready to meet up with the others at Sacré Coeur; we were planning on watching the sun set over Paris (my favorite thing in all the land).  We were running a little bit late, but we met up with Chrissy and the others shortly after 8 and snagged some spots on the steps in front of the beautiful basilica.  There must’ve been about 15 BC kids and Chrissy, our adopted BC buddy.  We had a lovely assortment of wine, and were sipping it in quite a classy manner as the sun attempted to set in the hazy Parisian sky.  Although the sunset was less than spectacular, it was still so nice to be in such good company.  A few people were playing guitar and singing in front of us for a while, which was great.  A guy came along a bit later with a speaker, and began to beat box…most unfortunate.  I think he and an Algerian man were pretty close to getting in a fist fight, but for some reason the fight was avoided when the beat boxer gave the mic to the Algerian to do his Algerian pride chant…?

After a couple hours at Sacré Coeur, we left to go to the Moose, which is the Canadian bar just around the corner from my house.  Chrissy and I were ecstatic to learn that they had bottles of Bulmer’s, and thus had a lovely evening reminiscing about Ireland and sipping on our bottles of Bulmer’s.

All in all, an excellent night.

I still cannot believe that yet another one of my best friends has turned 21.  I feel like it was just yesterday when my friends and I were 12 and encountering pimples for the first time; 14 and entering high school; 16 and getting our driver’s permits; 17 and getting dressed for Junior prom; 18 and receiving our high school diplomas, only to enter college a couple of months later.  And now here we are, 21.

There is no doubt in my mind now: le temps passe trop vite (time passes too quickly).

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was lugging my two gigantic 49.999-pound suitcases up our ridiculously uneven and crooked staircase for the first time, and yet it has been almost three whole months that I have been here in Paris.

Upon this realization, I scrambled to make a list (after all, list-making is one of my favorite hobbies…those of you who know me can attest).  This list was titled, “Things to Do in Paris Before I Leave.”  It was incredibly long, taking up more than a page in Microsoft Word.  Had I really been in Paris for almost three months, and not accomplished any of these things? Feeling pretty bummed, I set out to cheer myself up by making another list, which I titled “Things I Have Already Accomplished in Paris.”  Much to my surprise, this list was nearly as long as the list of things I have yet to do!  I smiled contentedly, as I had learned my lesson: there is simply an INCREDIBLE wealth of things to do in Paris, and it cannot all be accomplished within a three-month time-span.

I gazed at my list while my professor rambled on about prairie dogs – or was it hamsters in the Pyrenees? – and a feeling of determination settled down in my gut: I was going to accomplish every single thing on my list, no matter what.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was that.

Chrissy and I went to Mass at Notre Dame today, which was an incredible experience.  We went to the 8:30am seating, so it was crowded but not overwhelmingly so.

Afterwards, we stopped at the 8 à Huit (surprised that something was open on a Sunday?  An Easter Sunday, at that?  We were, too.) to pick up some food for our planned Easter Brunch.  Chrissy, Kelsey and I thus had a delightful feast of scrambled eggs, a baguette, a fruit salad, and some beautifully sparkling mimosas.

Stuffed to the brim, Chrissy and I headed back out to the Marais.  We were both craving some of the famed falafel from L’As du Falafel, but were disappointed to find the little establishment closed for Passover.  Ready to despair, we walked around the corner and discovered another falafel place called Chez Marianne.  We waited for half an hour and were rewarded with a steaming pita, overflowing with falafel and other goodies.  We both agreed that it was only alright, and decided to return once L’As was open.

We made two other excellent discoveries on the way home.  First, we found Mariage Frères, the famous tea shop in Paris.  I have never SEEN such an expansive collection of tea!  Canisters upon canisters lined the walls, and impeccably dressed men in suits were playing keepers of the tea.  Although I didn’t buy anything today, I’m going to have to go back and pick out a few different kinds to try.  Our second discovery was a cute little bakery named Boulangerie Malineau.  What drew us in were the cute little raspberry sablé.  They were cute little double-layered cookies with a raspberry filling, and on top there were little heart-shaped cutouts to let the raspberry filling show through.  Not only were they cute, but delicious, too!

Bellies full once again, we began the half-hour trek home, stopping to enjoy the melodies strummed and sang by the musician on the bridge by Notre Dame.  He is truly a joy to listen to; his deep, soothing voice belts out American classics, and his fingers effortlessly strum his bass strings as he sways back and forth in the Parisian sunlight, surrounded by tourists and locals alike.

It’s moments like this that I will forever cherish.

I was sitting on the big, comfy couch today, watching our femme de ménage (maid) vacuum the floors, scrub the bathroom, and clean the kitchen.  Then I proceeded to look around at my actual apartment, in all of its splendor and Parisian (and Buddhist?) beauty.  And then I got to thinking about the fact that I’m living in Paris, one of the greatest cities in the world, and it’s amazing that I have the ability to travel to so many different cities, and to see and do so many amazing things that most people don’t get the chance to do.

So, here comes the realization.

There is little to no way that I’m going to be able to live like this again until I’m an old, wrinkly, and hopefully well-off retired person.  I’m not going to be able to justify paying for a maid until I’m much older (if ever).  I’m not going to be able to live in an apartment this big, nice, or well-located until I’m most likely middle-aged.  I’m also probably not going to have the ability to be this carefree ever again, because once I graduate college…hello, real world.

Wow, so that was kind of depressing…?

But on a lighter note!  A few more BC girls are staying with us this weekend!  Dani (who I will be running Relay For Life with next year), Cecily (who I know from several International Studies classes), and Katie (who I just met) got here earlier today, and then set out to see Notre Dame and Montmartre.  I actually sent them to the fondue place I went to with Nadia and the girls last weekend, so I think they’ll have a good time there.

I think we’re all going to go to Footsie tonight, which is known as the stock market bar.  I’ll tell you allll about it tomorrow…let’s just hope they have Bulmer’s, and that it’s looow on the market.

Jeff and his three friends Jeff, Erik and Matt arrived shortly after we three girls woke up.  They were raring to go, so I gave them some directions to go see the major touristy things: the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and so on.  Within 30 minutes, they were on their way.  Next, I gave some directions to Nadia and the girls, so they went to the Musée d’Orsay (my favorite!) while I ran some errands and did a bit of homework.

In a few hours, I met up with them to walk down Champs Elysées, to go to Ladurée, and to climb the Arc de Triomphe.  Despite the bitter cold, it was really fun and we got some great pictures of all of us.  After seeing the Arc, they went to do the Eiffel Tower, so I came back to the apartment to let the boys in and to figure out our plans for the evening.

We all decided to stay local and go to the Latin Quarter.  We found a restaurant called La Harpe, which was offering a prix-fixe menu of 10 euro for 3 courses plus a glass of wine.  Since we were all hungry and impatient, we went in and had a nice little dinner.  I got some French onion soup, beef bourguignon, and raspberry tarte (or was it apple? I forget).  It was decent, but you could definitely tell that it was a 10 euro meal unfortunately.  Our extremely friendly waiter made up for sub-par food however, as he was so fun and friendly, and spent the entire meal joking around with us.

After dinner, we were exhausted again.  The girls and I just came back to the apartment, while the boys went to the Bastille to explore that neighborhood.  I felt bad that I didn’t go with them, but I was honestly so tired that I fell asleep sitting upright on the couch (the tagged photos of me on Facebook are proof, although by that point I was kind of on my side, curled up in fetal position).

These fabulous visitors of mine are running me ragged!

We woke up around 9, had a bite of breakfast, and set out for Notre Dame.  It was a quick 10 minute walk from my apartment, and although I’ve seen the outside and taken many pictures, I hadn’t been inside until this morning.  It was really beautiful, and I love the candles and candle racks they have.  As beautiful as it was, I still think I prefer Sacré Coeur; the blue and gold leafing on the ceiling in Sacré Coeur is breathtaking, and I wish they allowed pictures inside the basilica.

After seeing Notre Dame, we began our walk to the Louvre.  Can you believe that I’ve been here for almost two months, and did not set foot in the Louvre until this morning?  I can’t, and to be honest, it’s a bit disgraceful.  Anyways, so we split a couple of baguettes and ate them by the pyramid before going inside.  We managed to get in for free with our student IDs and visas, which was a plus.  We walked around and saw most of the big-ticket items, such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory.  I also attempted to re-enact my last experience at the Louvre, where I fell asleep in the room of Roman statues and got yelled at by a crazy security guard (embarrassing, I know).  It was great, and I can’t wait to spend some more time there as the semester goes on.

After the Louvre, we went to Montmartre.  We emerged from the subway right in front of the Moulin Rouge!  It was actually my first time seeing it, so we took some pics of it and then decided to swing by our restaurant of choice to make reservations.  After doing this, we stopped in a wine store, picked up a nice bottle of red and some plastic cups, and then made our way to Sacré Coeur.  We saw the church, checked out the nearby Place du Tertre, which is a little square with a bunch of artists painting.  As the sun began to set, we made our way back to the steps of Sacré Coeur to open our bottle of wine.

I can honestly say that it was one of the most amazing experiences I have had in Paris thus far.  So many people were sitting on the steps with their friends, sharing the beautiful view and wine or beer.  There were performers and live music, and the city was beginning to twinkle in the background…I should just stop, because words can’t even really do the whole thing justice.

After the sun set, we went to Refuge des Fondues!  I have been hearing all about this place since before I even arrived in Paris because it serves wine in baby bottles…crazy right?  I thought it would be really cool and fun, but to be perfectly honest, it really creeped me out.  The bottle smelled so rubbery, and just…yikes.  I am now firmly of the opinion that wine should be served in glasses, or in its original bottle (but only on New Year’s Eve).  The actual restaurant itself was really fun, though.  There are two long tables on either side of the little place, and to get to the wall side seating, the waiter has to help you climb over the table.  After you sit down, they bring little appetizers to nibble on.  It’s at about that point where you start to look around the place at the hundreds of signatures on the wall.  We actually ended up finding another BC signature from 2008 on the other side.  We added our own signature (reading: Eagles on the warpath, ooh (la la) ah!) on the wall right behind Kelly and I, so we felt preeetty cool.  The fondue itself was great, too…I can’t believe how much cheese we ingested between the four of us.  Kelly and I totally outdid Alissa and Nadia in terms of bread though…three baskets to their two and a quarter.

We kind of waddled back home, grabbing a jar of Nutella along the way (I hate them for doing this to me) and realized we were too tired to go out again.  Instead, we grabbed some spoons and dug in…the jar was empty the next day.

So I got back Sunday night from Belgium and wasn’t feeling 100%, but figured a good night’s sleep would fix everything.  I woke up late Monday morning feeling okay, but shortly after lunch things started going downhill.  I was trying to work on my French paper and my oral presentation, both of which were due today.  However, I was having trouble concentrating as the nausea began to set in.

Almost without warning, I sat straight up, ran down our creaking spiral staircase (which is no easy feat, might I add), and ‘tossed my cookies’ in our beautifully decorated bathroom.  This was only the first of eleven times.

For the rest of the day, I tried finishing my assignments, but to no avail; I was growing achier, more tired, and more nauseous by the minute.  By the time 10:30pm rolled around, I knew there was no way I was going to be able to go to class, let alone give an oral presentation.  Between my typical nervousness of speaking in front of people, plus the fact that it would be in French, in addition to the fact that I was throwing up every 45 minutes…well, let’s just say these conditions wouldn’t have been the most conducive to giving a solid presentation.

I slept on the couch for several reasons: I would be closer to the bathroom, I wouldn’t contaminate mine and Kelsey’s room, and simply because my body was not capable of walking up the stairs anymore.  I had a fitful sleep (if it can even be classified as a sleep), and still felt awful this morning.

Simone and Kelsey are amazing roommates.  Simone ran out last night to pick up a loaf of bread and some bananas for me to eat today, and Kelsey has been waiting on me hand and foot, making sure I have fresh water and enough to eat.  I don’t know what I’d do without them!

Anyways, so I was going to call a doctor to come check me out, but my program coordinator suggested I just go to the pharmacy first to see if they could prescribe me anything that would help.  I stumbled my way around the corner to the nearest one, and the doctor/pharmacist (because they are both capable of prescribing medicine, from what I understand) gave me some miracle pills that are actually meant for motion sickness…but for some reason, cured me.  Between that and the Advil, I have once more entered the world of the living.

Now, on to the oodles and oodles of reading, of which I’ve already fallen behind…

Keyboards: All the letters are in different places.  You have to press shift to type numbers.  And the period.  COME ON, it is used so commonly it should NOT be a shift-key button.  And the @ sign is pretty much impossible…it took me 10 minutes to figure it out.

Printing at Sciences Po: THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD.  Takes at least 25 minutes to snag a computer (because I mean, 20 computers are sufficient to serve 9,000 students who need to print things), and then once you actually figure out how to print, you have to wait in line at the printer while 3 people ahead of you each print 400-page articles.  It only takes a few years.

Lack of Marsala Wine: All I wanted was a little bit of Marsala dressing.  I just wanna cook me some chicken Marsala.  THEY DO NOT HAVE IT IN PARIS.  I mean I know it’s Italian wine (from Sicily, I believe!), but seriously…?

Inefficiency: Administrators say their office hours are, for example, from 9-12 and 2-4.  They leave at 12…and sometimes just don’t return.  No big.