So many visitors, oh my!

It's been a whirlwind of activity here lately because I had some visitors :) Quinn was the first, followed soon by Chloe and Liz. Chlo, who is studying in Bilbau, Spain for the semester (in the Basque region) came to Paris for the weekend with some friends from her program. Luckily, we were able to spend all Saturday together! In the morning I did some thigns around the foyer and went to the open-air market that is held every Saturday and Wednesday morning right by my foyer. Em got a bunch of veggies and fruits because she wants to start cooking food more often. After we got back, we headed over to the 10th near Chloe's hotel and we had time to peek into a huge church near Gare du Nord. I don't remember the name but it was big and kind of dark and somber. I'm not an art history major, but the architecture and art inside appeared almost medievel. There were fez windows and the entire ceiling was painted--lots of dark wood and ornate gold detailing. It was really cool to be in a church that is completely different from the styles I've seen so far, though the style was not my favorite. I ,uch prefer lots of light and light colors and simple, classical architecture. My new "thing" is wanting to explore churches and cathedrals and there are so many here, there's no excuse not to. There is an incredible one near the Louvre that I think will be my next destination.

I met Chloe at her hotel after! It was so great to see her; seeing Goucher people in a place that is not only NOT Goucher but so different from Goucher is kind of funny. But it was great to be with someone you know from home, especially since she is not on a Goucher program. I took her to the Luxembourg Gardens though it was a cold and semi-rainy day so not too good to sit and really enjoy it. However, there was a significant lack of tourists! We got pasta in a box for lunch and she loved it :) Due to the weather, we naturally thought it best to go shopping. Chloe had been at Le Musée d'Orsay all morning so she didn't want to go to another museum and i didn't really blame her. Luckily, we were able to find her exactly what she needed to buy. And now she can say she went shopping in Paris. We saw the Eiffel Tower lit up at night and it was more special than usual because it was all munticolored. It's the 140th anniversary of the tower this year I think so they've been doing a lot of cool thigns for it. Seeing it glitter is also gorgeous. You can't come to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower in some way! We finished off the night with dinner in a café and crepes from Bastille, the best in the city. It was a short but sweet visit. :)

Liz arrived Monday morning! I picked her up from the train station after my internship. It's Wednesday now and she leaves tomorrow morning, but it has been wonderful to have her here, too. I play the part of the norodic/frantic hostess that asks every 10 seconds if she is having a good time, and she says, "RELAX, SAM. STOP" haha. She is very self-sufficient and has impressed me by galavanting around the city alone (armed with my wonderful plan de paris), taking the subway by herself...I'm a proud mama. I have to go to my internship and classes every day, but she swears she does't mind and is still able to see the city. I brought her to a mandatory conference on racism and discrimination Monday night which could not have been the most riviting thing (for either of us, to be honest. The woman spoke too fast!). But last night we went to a great couscous place that I'd been to before a couple weeks ago and Liz LOVED the food! I was so happy :) I could eat there once a week, every week. We met Natalia and Emily at a poetry slam after and it was really cool, though we didn't stay too long because it started at 10:30. It didn't matter that I couldn't understand everything that was said; it's more about the performance aspect. It really makes me miss the poetry open mics and slams at Goucher, and I can't wait to get back to them.


Internship has been GREAT. New article online!: http://www.parutions.com/index.php?pid=1&rid=1&srid=121&ida=11572 (Sorry, Will Self, I did not give you a very good review)

More to come, too. I had my evaluation and it went really well, so I am proud of that :)

I officially planned my trips to London/Oxford and Greece...! Maybe one more, too...

Bisous, mes chéries!