Day 1- Wednesday
It was a leisurely morning. I got up, made myself some breakfast and tea, (which I was partial to already, but being in Britain has just reinforced the tea drinking habit) finished packing, double checked that I had everything, and made my way to the train station. I got on the tube at the tail end of rush hour and despite the train getting stuck at one of the stations on the way (because let's face it I am bit neurotic about being on time (Thanks Dad for always being late) and left way before I needed to) I got to King's Cross/ St. Pancras with no problems. Checked in to Eurostar (the French controls on leaving/entering the country are FAR less strict than Britain's) and had a bit of a wait because the train was delayed then boarded and was on my way to Paris.
After an uneventful journey (except the French family that glared at me when I made them move out of my window seat. I booked that seat for a reason people!) I got off the train and followed my nice hand-drawn map out of Gare du Nord and easily to OJ's house, a mere 3 minute walk from the station. She buzzed me in and because the elevator looked a bit unstable and I didn't know what floor, I decided to walk up the stairs. Mistake. They live on the 5th floor (that is the 6th floor in America) and because the spiral staircase that the elevator goes up the middle of, OJ could see me and told me I was crazy (entirely possible) but by then I was on the 4th floor so I figured I might as well walk the rest.
OJ's living situation is far different from mine. I live in a dorm apartment with 5 other freshers and she lives with a lovely French family in their home in the 10th Arrondissement. (Her elevator is also reliable, unlike the one here that breaks at least twice a week) Her family was nice enough to invite me to stay in their home so that I could visit OJ and Paris. Thank you again Patricia and Huber!
I ended up in Taylor's room, the other American study abroad student staying with Patricia and Huber who was visiting Italy while I was there. (Fortuitous circumstances!) This was by far preferable to sleeping on the hard wood floor in OJ's room. She also lent me her Metro pass. Thank you!
After resting for a bit we headed out towards the Eiffel Tower. It's the most famous thing about Paris and probably France, so we figured visiting it on a Wednesday afternoon would be far less crowded, and it was an easy thing to do before dinner. As we got off the Metro the sun was going down over the Seine. It was beautiful. Then the tower came into view with the pretty fall leaves. It is rather spectacular.
As the sun was going down we decided that we were starving. And by we, we mean me. So we walked across the bridge and got a sandwich from a vendor, neatly avoiding the many Eiffel Tower replica salesmen and the poorly-padded rollerblading children. (While then missed us, the potholes on the steep hill posed a far larger challenge) We headed back to the tower as it was beginning to get dark and the streetlamps and the tower itself were illuminating.
We decided that instead of a photo-op, it would be a far better idea to go to the grassy field to the side and throw a frisbee. A small boy on a bicycle watched us the entire time. Amazingly, neither one of us got pictures of us throwing the disc (because obviously holding a camera, taking a picture in the semi-dark, while catching and throwing proves to be difficult even for the most coordinated of people) but this is where we were throwing.
Then we went for the photo-op while the tower decided to do a bit of a cracked-out light show. We tried to get some American girls to take the picture but they failed miserably, and then OJ started talking to this couple in French to get them to take a picture of us. They didn't speak French or English, but they did speak Spanish! Yay for multiple language skills! We got our picture taken after I talked to him, and then we headed out of the Jardin to a small cafe and then back home.
Cafes, boulangeries, and patissieries are literally everywhere in Paris. It is hard to find a street that doesn't have at least one. OJ and I commented on how amazing it is that they all manage to stay in business. They all have regulars and their own vibe. I still don't think I quite understand, but Parisian people will spend hours sitting outside under the heated (and sometimes unheated) awnings, drinking espresso and smoking cigarettes just gossiping away. I tried an espresso. Thank goodness they had sugar. I don't think I am ever going to be a coffee person.
At home Patricia had cooked a lovely meal. Lasagna! I know this is not French food, but you can't go wrong with home cooked lasagna. It was delicious.
SIDETRACK: Language Barriers
OJ is living with a host family in part because it is far easier than getting an apartment, but mostly because her family forces her to speak French and helps her learn the language faster. Patricia, Huber and their son Eric all speak English, with different levels of proficiency, so I could speak English and they would understand me and could communicate back pretty effectively. But they all prefer to speak French and can obviously express themselves better in French. Thankfully, after having lived with Rex for a year and being able to speak Spanish, I could get probably 60-70% of what was being talked about in French. However, because I could usually understand what was going on, they would forget and ask me questions in French. I would then freeze, either not knowing what exactly they asked me or immediately wanting to spit out spanish, neither of which helped. Then the awkward translation process, responding in English etc. I am so thankful that I could grasp what was going on, because being left in the dark, especially at a family dinner, is absolutely no fun.
Back to dinner. We had lasagna, salad and the bottle of wine I brought as a thank you. Then they had a cheese and yogurt course, I of course devoured the cheese with delicious fresh bread. And then dessert, which was a spiced applesauce with ginger cookies. Yummy.
Then off to bed, another big day tomorrow.
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