MIA - I'm back!

Well, I have been MIA for about a week, no?

It was my last week of final exams, papers, and the such. I was very stressed, had NO exercise at all, ate TONS of chocolate, tons of food in general, and probably gained like a million pounds. BUT, I'm finally done.

This week has been interesting, to say the least...

- I've slept on average 5 hours a night
- I think I might be getting sick (or it might be something about the water here that's giving me a funny feeling in my throat... Regardless, I need to buy echinacea)
- Getting soaked completely and singing in the rain in the streets of Paris pretty much can't be topped by anything
- After living at Starbucks for the past three days to finish all my work, I think they probably think I'm homeless or something.
- Actually, it can - Going out after the theater, pre-gaming, and finding an AWESOME discotheque
- Today, after a slight hangover (which a little coconut water could definitely cure), the group is going out for BRUNCH, which just so happens to be my favorite meal in the entire universe... And a brunch consisting of sweet breads, baguettes & whole grain boules, an assortment of jams, juice, fruit, coffee, and the such - I think I couldn't ask for more.
- Madeline (my very good friend from Barnard from the group, we couldn't have any more things in common if we tried) and I talk in Italian so people never understand what we're saying. It's secretive, and it allows us to practice our weakening skills on the language.
-- To the group, I'm known as the girl with endless energy (must be all those shots of espresso that I've finally given in to), silly faces, and the cute haircut - Jumping around in the streets of paris in a a-line skirt, I've been told I have a slight resemblance to a little fluttering fairy - Tinkerbell, perhaps

- Paris can be described with a combination of the following words

 -- Romantic
-- Fattening
-- Adventurous
-- Educative
-- Risky
-- Indulging
-- Immense
-- Touristy
-- Chic
-- Lovely

I have to shower, slightly read over my final paper, and get ready for shopping today! Yes, finally - In my list of things to buy
-- Rose perfumer by Roger-Gallet
-- Champs-Élysées perfume by Guerlain
-- Flats - given that my other flats are smelly, completely destroyed by the rain, and are giving me blisters
-- An assortment of fashionable, reasonably priced clothes
-- Whatever else decided to catch my eye

I'm happy to be going to Aix on Monday, but I think a little part of me is definitely going to miss Paris. It was my first introduction to France and all its glamour, beauty, opportunities, and entertainment... It'll be a little said to say goodbye, but the chance to a smaller town in the south of France will definitely be welcomed.

*Pictures will soon be coming on Facebook, I promise!

I will this entry with a quote from the movie "Paris, Je t'aime" (2006)

"Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me." 

Days 12, 13, 14

So, Wednesday, of course, because I had only slept 5 hours the night before, I was tired beyond exhaustion all day. Getting through the first two classes was very hard, and after the group meeting with Mme. Masson, I decided to take a nap before my class at 4:45 - Well, I ended up waking up at 5:15... I was terrorized my tyrannical prof would yell at me, but she simple just said hello when I came in - phew!

Just after class, the group took a little trip to the Theatre de la Huchette to see two plays by Eugene Eunesco - The bald singer and The Lesson. It was a very small venue, and I was sitting right on the third row - these two plays were very enjoyable! After the play, we all headed out to have dinner at this very mediocre diner-like restaurant. I was highly dissatisfied with my measly iceberg lettuce salad that I had, but, oh well... there was bread, at least. Of course, to make up for a bad dinner, I decided to have speculos and raspberry gelato from Amorino - I love this gelatteria so much!

Thursday was our visit to the Rive Droite - All the expensive shops, restaurants, and the such, were to be seen around this area - Chanel, Christian Dior, Cartier, Tiffany - you know, things I buy quite frequently (hahaha, right!) We had lunch at this little brasserie right after seeing the Tuileries - Again, another salad for me, but this time, it was absolutely delicious - Tons of veggies and the such, with the exception of the hard boiled eggs (I don't eat eggs, although now I am eating them in foods like bread and pastries). After that, we decided to get dessert at Ladurée - MACAROONS! - These are the most delicate and decadent macaroons in all of Paris,  France, and probably the world - Rose petal, caramel, and coconut macaroons... I have to say that caramel and coconut were my favorites. After that delicious treat, we headed out to do a little shopping - first, Primptemps, where Madeline the shampoo she had been looking for. This store is something in between Barney's and Saks, so we didn't really get anything here. We went to H&M right after, and of course I went crazy here. I only got a white t-shirt and a headband, though, because the other polka dot shirt I had wanted was out in my size (apparently, I'm a 36 because of my broad shoulders). Madeline and I left right after that, because we were going to cut our hair. We briefly returned to the Citadines, and right after that, at around 4, we headed to Boulevard Saint-Michel to find Franck Provost, which I thought to be # 28 on that street. Well, it was actually # 48, but not knowing that, we thought it was maybe that I had misread the map and that it was actually Place Saint-Michel... or was it Rue Saint-Michel. Really? Why did you name all those roads with the same saint? So, yeah, frustrated, tired, and a little upset, we returned to the Citadines. Madeline took a nap, and I came back to my room to get changed and go for a run with Harry along the Jardin de Luxembourg. Let me tell you, running to the park through Saint-Michel is basically impossible - it was the first day of school for most kids, and all the roads were PACKED. Once at the park, however, it was fabulous! It was nice to run along with someone, which I often never do.

I stayed in for dinner, and after packing a bit for Saint-Malo and doing a little homework, I went to bed at around 11:30.

I woke up without my alarm at 6:56 today (I'm going back to my old habits of sleeplessness, nooooo!) I did a little research for my civilization paper to have on the bus, since it is a 4-hour ride, and then headed out to class. I really like literature, I'm realizing, and it's been a long time since I last took a literature course - I really should take one this fall. Stylistics is always a good class too, especially if you consider that my professor has an air to Johnny Depp. Smart, typically French-looking, skinny, and attractive - yep, that's a plus.

I'm gonna get ready for the trip, since we're leaving at 2:00 - Saint-Malo and Caen on the coast of Normandy all this weekend!