A Whole New World

Paris, Paris, where do I even continue?

If you haven’t already been informed, I should tell you that my computer broke a short time into my month abroad. One cup of piping hot Parisian coffee was all it took to murder the poor innocent laptop. With that being said, my posts are spead out and my posts are short, simply because typing on an iPad is just as difficult as it sounds.

Last weekend, we took a trip to Amsterdam – the most beautiful place I have ever been. Below are just a few moments that I captured from the weekend. The trip was short and sadly there were not many times I stopped to take a photograph simply because it was so beautiful so I marveled at the sights and forgot to capture them.

 

 

July 14 was also Bastille Day, the French Independence Day. Our group enjoyed a lovely picnic in the Jardin Du Luxenbourg and that night was the fireworks near the beautiful Eiffel Tower.

As you can see, we have a lot of catching up to do. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare and Company, Musée de Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Montmartre all in a short time. 

Shakespeare and Company is one of the coolest places I got to visit. It used to be a gathering place for famous writers such as Hemingway and James Joyce, and now sells numerous works by these authors and others.

 

The Louvre- home of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the coolest basement you’ll ever see.

And, last but not least, Montmartre… Here lies Sacre Couer and the largest mount in Paris. It’s a town full of character, street art, and years upon years of history waiting to be unveiled.

You can see pictures from the visits to other locations shortly… (I promise it won’t take me this long!). This is all for now simply because blogging has become more difficult than ever imagined. I cannot wait to be back and able to type on a keyboard made of keys.

Au revoir! 

Paris is the Best Idea

This week I traveled to the land of crepes, no conditioner, and more types of cheese than I was ever taught to count. I have trouble putting into words what I’m doing in Paris, but I can say one thing- J’adore Paris.

Paris is historical, cultural, and chic all wrapped up in 20 arrondissements full of pastry shops on every corner. What I have found most recently is the endless amount of possibilities for absolutely anything. In America we are so closed off and we have a set routine to our lives. We go to the same restaurants, talk to the same people, avoid the same places, and do the same thing every.single.day. Aren’t you over it yet?

I’m currently taking intensive French classes 21 hours a week in a classroom with people from all over the world at the Institute Catholique, or the Catholic Institute of Paris.

(A photo of ICP from across the street)

It is located near the Jardin du Luxenbourg where we can spend our lunch breaks eating sandwiches the size of our heads like the one below.

My favorite part of the trip so far is my selfies with landmarks as I caption them with #selfie. While I’ve only been here for a short time my collection includes places like Notre Dame, the Eiffle Tower, the Olympia Theatre, and the Arc de Triomphe.

Then, the next day, two other girls from my program and I met up with my little sister from my sorority at FSU, Tori, and we went and saw Jack Johnson at the coolest theatre in Paris, Olympia.

 (#selfie with Olympia Theatre)

Friday night, to celebrate the 4th of July, we went on a river cruise down the Seine River. Here we were able to see the Louvre, the Eiffle Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and numerous other sights while enjoying our ~free~ and never ending glasses of wine.

(here is a #selfie with the Louvre!)

 

Last but not least, yesterday we spent our Saturday exploring the city and shopping at the Champs Elysees and at night we saw the Eiffle Tower do its hourly light show from some of the best seats in the city.

Also, on the Champs you can rent cars…. sport cars for one flat inexpensive rate. In Paris with a significant other and don’t have a nice car to pick her up in? No problem.

There is a  lot more to come and more frequently, I promise! The first week was a whirlwind of new learning experiences and Paris is more phenomenal that I could have imagined. Au revoir mes amis.