Bienvenue a Paris!

Bonjour tout le monde! (Hello everybody!)

I arrived in Paris on Monday and moved into my apartment.  My apartment is located in the 11th arrondisment which I mentioned in the first post.  The neighborhood is mostly residential and very charming--quiet too.  There are  many tiny restaurants, as well as a local supermarket.  The actual apartment complex is called Chevrefeuille(Chev-rey-foy). In my room, I can hear school children, since you can see a l'ecole (school) with cartoons posted on the windows, as well as small multi-colored chairs.  Right now, I think it is their recess time--it's pretty loud.

Speaking of views, I can see the Eiffel Tower from my bedroom window, and the two other balconies we have.  Also, I can see the Montparnasse(the only skyscaper in Paris), as well as the magnificent Sacre Coeur from our kitchen window.  Tough life, I know.

Besides the postcard worthy views, I have a really nice shower, a walk in closet, a cute kitchen(equipped with a great fridge, microwave, dishwasher, oven, stove, blue tile counters and a foldout breakfast table) and a living room suitable for entertaining. The living room has a grand secretary, sheer tangerine colored curtains and two big futons and a couple of tables(perfect for beer pong..Naj & Bill you are probably mortified I just wrote that).

Enough talk about my apartment...

Let's discuss the activities and food I've comes across in Paris so far.

For breakfast on Tuesday I had a pain au chocolate(chocolate croissant). It was flaky, buttery and had just the right amount of chocolate.  I also had coffee which was incredibly strong.  For lunch I had THE best sandwich(which I pretty much never eat). It was on a footlong thin baguette with tiny rounds of goat cheese, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, mesculin greens and cucumbers. It was to die for. I also had a apple tartin..amazing again. Pour le diner, I had a tatin of vegetables that were carmelized and sauteed in balsamic vinegar. It had a tiny disk of puff pastry--the whole meal was incredible. Later that night at a bar on Rue de Lappe, I had a glass of the Chablis..crisp and refreshing.

Tonight since it is my 20th birthday, we are going out for sushi and sake. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to go to Paris..there is a Japanese, Chinese, Thai or Korean restaurant everywhere..it's exactly like Manhattan.


Onto school...

Orientation has been great so far.  Everybody is incredibly nice--there are so many different places that people come from. My roommates are from Seattle and Denver..we already have become so close, I got so lucky.  The three of us made good friends with two guys on our trip, one being from New Jersey.  Another girl I met today is from Short Hills...small world!  The teachers are very nice and are willing to assist you with anything.  The location of the school is in the tres chic Marais--great shops and restaurants.

So--all in all, Paris has been absolutely amazing in every aspect. I hope you enjoyed the first of many blog posts to come!  Here are the PHOTOS! PHOTOS!
xx,
Meg