May 2012
28 posts
“America is my country and Paris is my hometown.”
– Gertrude Stein
Closing Post
I know it’s already been three days that I’ve been home, completely weirded out both by the fact that everything is so familiar but so foreign and that I feel like a slightly different person trying to fit back into the same environment.
The last nine months have felt like a dream that I’ve just woken up from. I cannot believe that I can arrive back into such normalcy after I...
The Last Day
I had two more major projects and a last class before the end of my last day in Paris. I had about an hour and half’s worth of sleep to start off my day. Needless to say, I was exhausted, but it did mean that when I woke up, I had my bags packed, my presentation done, and a paper 2/3 finished, so I was very happy I did that.
I ran out to the boulangerie and picked up a last pain au chocolat...
What a Wednesday
Not thinking about how many days I have left in Paris. Not happening. Whoops, just lost the game.
This morning, I went to pick up pain au chocolat for breakfast, because that’s something I can still do. What happened, you ask? Apparently the pains au chocolat were a little underdone (the way I like them anyway) so I got a second one FOR FREE! Oh Paris, how did you know I needed that second...
Another Amazing Day (avoiding thinking about...
I met up with Emily at Rose Bakery for a delicious lunch (well, brunch for me since I didn’t have time to get breakfast). We got to pick what we wanted from the window, goods made from the freshest ingredients, and smelled the incredible fresh baked goods coming out of the oven. Very yummy. And reasonably priced too!
We were right down the street from Kooka Boora, so Em and I headed over...
IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Holy crap, I don’t have much time left in France, so this blog is mostly going to be me freaking out from now on about how little time I have left abroad. While I am really looking forward to being home and seeing everyone I love and being back in a country where everyone speaks English to you, I cannot bear the thought of being away from this amazing country and all the amazing friends...
Actual events that happened this week
I just realized that the last event update I posted was from Sunday, so I thought I would do a hits and highlights of the week!
Monday: I went to Caféothèque with Emily and we hung out there like real Parisians in a café, drinking coffee and doing some homework.
We then went to pick up some pains au nutella, but it turns out it was not as good as just your good ole pain au chocolat.
We took...
Paris in Perspective
So in my Myth of Paris class we’ve been discussing the difference between the layout of Paris and New York. We’ve talked about how the main difference is that while New York is focused on the skyline and the height, Paris is focused on perspective: being able to see those gorgeous views down the long avenues. I took a very long walk yesterday and tried to capture some of the best views...
What I now spend my money on
Yesterday in terms of spending:
2 euros on the best pasteis outside of Portugal (Comme à Lisbonne)
3 euros on the best coffee in the city of Paris (Caféothèque)
5.5 euros on the best fallafel in the world (L’As du Fallafel)
2.5 euros on the best ice cream in the world (Berthillon)
5 euros on a 5 pieces of amazing chocolate (Fouquet)
7.5 euros on 4 fantastic macarons...
An Ode to the 4ème Arrondissement
I’ve decided this is my favorite arrondissement. Except for the fact that it’s a little hard to get to from my house, it’s conveniently located right around a lot of my favorite parts of Paris.
There are places like these: (Hôtel de Ville)
(Place des Vosges)
(Oldest house in Paris)
There are views like these: (rue des Rosiers)
(St. Paul)
(Toward the Bastille)
...
No More Lazy Sundays.
No time for lazy Sundays when I only have 12 days left abroad!
Today, I got up and got out to the 6th arrondissement where I met up with Margaret, Louisa, and Lexy for brunch at Eggs & Co. It was lovely and the eggs were really good! It was fun to get an omelette, but I kinda wish I had gotten one of the eggs “cocotte” like Louisa got because it just looked so cute! We were...
Catching up on my crazy week
Well after my insanity that was last week, I did kind of deserve what naturally follows lack of sleep and random eating: sickness. I spent the night of Tuesday and all of Wednesday inside fighting it off, hoping it wouldn’t slow me down too much, whatever it turned into. Luckily for me, it’s just a bit of a sniffle and a throat tickle now so it’s not slowing me down (good thing...
Anonymous asked: Just wanted to tell you how very much I'm enjoying your oh-so-interesting blog. Since I've never gone to France, I'm enjoying the wonderful photos and descriptions of your travels - almost as much fun for me as being there. However, I always run to the refrigerator after I turn off my computer and hope the drool hasn't compromised the electronics - after viewing the food...
Anonymous asked: Rebecca, I'm not sure if it still is January 8th in France, but i want to wish you a very happy 21st birthday! Love, Maria
Anonymous asked: Hi Rebecca,I just had to tell you that I finally got to read some of your blog and was LOL? Could we be blood relations, genetically connected? If I did a word count for Macarons I'm sure the number would exceed any other words used in your 6 pages of posts! Room in the luggage? LaDuree and others welcome! So glad you're having an amazing time. Vicariously enjoying your every move!Be...
Anonymous asked: Your blog is super awesome! I wish I was illiterate enough to read it all but there are so many words I must admit that I only look at the title and photos of each post. Oopsies. Even so, I still love it and it makes me want to got to france sooososososo badly!!!!! Maybe I'll go next time there's a volcano in Iceland. That usually seems like a good idea. je t'aime :)
Versailles Round Two: This time with the Host...
Wow, I feel like my year has now officially come full circle. One of my first weekends in France in August a group of us went out to Versailles and spent the day there, soaking in the luxury and admiring the “Shiny-ass gold”. We had lunch in garden and a paddle boat adventure and took pictures of ourselves in the Hall of Mirrors. It was a great day then.
And it was a great day...
Weekend continues to be awesome
So I know I already gave a preview for what my weekend could be like, but what’s great is that while the plans did change a bit, it was still very awesome!
I had my test for Cinema and History, and it went really ok! Plus I got my paper back at the end I got a good grade on it, so I’m really all set with this class (WOOHOO)!!
Then I met up with most of the Mighty Five (missing Gini)...
Back in Paris and doing it proud :)
I’ve just felt so completely happy these past couple of days. Despite the massive amount of work I’ve had to do, I’ve still managed to see of Paris that I haven’t seen yet.
I was actually trying to describe the complete happiness I’m feeling right now to my sister last night. I’m in a really great place: I’m comfortable where I am, I have a routine I...
Day 14: Andréa, Gaudi, and Luck (last day of...
Simone and I got up relatively early to meet up with Andréa again at the Sagrada Familia, this time with the intention of going inside. We had wanted to go in at 11am so that there would be a guided tour, but the huge line outside had other plans. We waited for about 45 minutes in a fast moving line that went around the whole building before getting to the front, at which point we thought we were...
Day 13: Lazy Sunday
“Lazy Sunday, wake up in the late afternoon. Call Becca Lev just to see what she’s doin’.”
“Hello.”
“Whattup Bec.”
“Yo Simba, what’s crackin’?”
“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”
“BARCELONE.”
“Then it’s happenin’.”
We woke up at 1:30pm dragging our tired...
Day 12: The Longest Day
The next morning we got up early to eat breakfast with Jane and Molly ( a very hipster set up with cartons of milk, cereal, oj, and margarine hanging out on the table and you had to go look for bowls and spoons yourself and wash them when you were done, very do it yourself) before sending them on their way back home to Aix.
Simone and I packed up ourselves and put on some of our best clothes to...
Day 11: Palm Trees, Good Friends, and a Hipster...
I wanted to make sure there was NO possible way I would miss my flight (since I had cut it so close going to Amsterdam) so I caught the flight no problem. A few short hours later I arrived in Barcelona and after only a few minutes wandering lost down the Rambla, I found our very hipster hostel. (Explanation: It was located on half a floor of an office building, none of the rooms were locked, there...
April 2012
30 posts
Day 10: Revisiting Old Favorites
After our last breakfast at the hostel, we headed out to finally go on an actual boat tour because our Heineken boat definitely didn’t count. It was really good, like the bateaux mouches of Paris! The architecture is just as beautiful from the water as it is on land, and we had people talking at us in both English and French describing what we were seeing! So beautiful.
After the tour, I...
Day 9: A Day of Wandering
Alex convinced me to get up early again (8am) and we headed out (after a surprisingly good hostel breakfast) for the Anne Frank House (which we were told was less crowded either in the morning or at the end of the day).
The museum while disappointing looking on the outside, was actually quite great. They have modernized the front, so instead of feeling like you’re reliving the past, it just...
Day 8: Spontenaity Paying Off
THREE DAYS IN AMSTERDAM!
I had to wake up at an ungodly hour (again) to catch the 7h25am train, but unfortunately because of my sluggishness from lack of sleep, I was running INCREDIBLY LATE! As in for most of the time I was on the metro, I swore I was going to miss the train. Luckily, however, by running everywhere and knowing exactly what platform I was on, I was able to get onto a train by...
Day 7: Just for clarity
This was my one day back in Paris to sleep, repack, and get set for the rest of my break.
I slept in and didn’t leave the house until late in the day. I went to Reid Hall to print out some boarding passes and pick up a sweatshirt I had left there (which someone has taken… hopefully they read the note I left and have kept it safe for me…), and I ended up running into Alex, my...
Day 6: A Day as Queens (Chateaux Hopping in the...
Simone and I ran out of my host family’s house at an ungodly hour (6:30am) and made our way to right by the Citadines. It was so early, we had to wait for the first boulangeries to open before we could get breakfast. We ate warm croissants and pain au chocolat along the Seine before getting on a minibus headed for the Loire Valley.
After a 2 hour drive (during which I slept through most...
Day 5: "Is that a grain of mustard in your hair?"
Another morning, another Les Halles. Simone and I wandered from stall to stall collecting delicious food from various stands. Fruit filled yogurt for breakfast, a loaf of bread, two types of cheese, jambon, sliced carrots, and of course little jars of mustard.
Unfortunately, it was kind of chilly outside, so while we wanted to continue eating our goodies outside in a lovely garden, we could...
Day 4: One Halles to Another
We checked out of our hotel and headed to one of the most famous parts of Lyon, their covered market (Les Halles).
Having been to a lot of covered markets in my life, I have to say that this might have been the most beautiful one I’ve ever been to. Not only was each stall gorgeous with delicious gourmet offerings, but there were very high quality restaurant stalls to sit in and much on...
Day 3: The Start of the Tour de France
Woke up very early, hugged my lovely hostesses, and met up with the wonderful Simone to start the trek out to Lyon!
After maneuvering the metro system and successfully locating our hotel, we headed out to a recommended place for lunch, Café de la Cloche, just off this beautiful park. Delicious.
And of course when we finished it looked like rain, so we hurried off as fast as we could to the...
Day 2: Just Like Last Semester
I slept in after saying bye to my hostesses who had left very early that morning. I went to the open air market, said hi to the honey woman, and picked up a chocolat chaud from the Brûlerie. I met up with Debbie and we went to Le Four Sous les Platanes for lunch. We ate, drank, and caught up on each other;s lives. It was so awesome. I wish I could have spent more time with her last year, I miss...
Springtime Adventures! Day 1: Back Home in Aix
It was a very strange sensation being back in Aix, because while it felt like so much had changed, it seemed like almost no time had passed. I still knew where everything was, I still ran into people I knew on the street, and it was still just as sunny and beautiful as it always is :)
I came from rainy Paris
to sunny Provence
and was immediately greeted by Kirstin and Simone (hostess and...
More adventures!
Last day by myself in Paris, and I tried to do as well as yesterday with my adventuring. However, the book I’m using to get everywhere is unfortunately a bit outdated, so instead of yesterday where I had 1 failure and 1 surprise success, today I had 3 failures, 1 no thank you, and 1 surprise. It was still a good day, but it was a different good.
I got started earlier, and I decided to...
Afternoon Adventures in Paris
A lot of what I’ve been doing this week (besides running back and forth to the préfecture or going to class) is trying to take advantage of the free time I have during the day: the afternoon! I love that time of day, when all the shops are still open and everyone’s out walking and it’s still bright out and usually warm… Basically it’s just awesome.
One week ago, I...
SO MANY GOOD THINGS HAPPENED TODAY
Ok first thing’s first: I FINALLY GOT A RECIPISSE THAT LETS ME STAY LEGALLY IN FRANCE FOR THE REST OF THE SEMESTER!!
Then I GOT A HAIRCUT FINALLY!
After that I ACCEPTED A PAID INTERNSHIP AT HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING FOR THE SUMMER IN LEARNING SERVICES!!
And finally I BOOKED MY SPRING BREAK TRIP WITH SIMONE FOR AIX->LYON->DIJON->LOIRE VALLEY (3...
