It's been an interesting weekend and it's only Saturday evening. We started out Thursday night (and as anyone in college knows, your weekend starts on Thursday night) to an apartment on the other side of the city where we met up with exchange students from Wisconsin. We hung out there for a little and then took the metro to a disco where we got in free because it was international night! We had a blast singing and dancing and meeting other international students from all over.
Then we woke up the next morning and headed to the Louvre. It was impossible to make it through the whole thing in one day. Well maybe not impossible but if you were planning on it you need to eat a really hearty breakfast and put on some serious walking shoes. The Louvre is segmented into 3 parts, Sully, Denon, and Richelieu and within each section, there are 4 floors. In about 3 and 1/2 hours, we made it through 2 floors in Sully. There's a lot more that we need to see. So before we left, we went through the museum to see a couple of the main attractions. Now, before I went to the Louvre, everyone told me that the Mona Lisa was extremely small, far away, and hidden behind pains of glass. I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the famous painting that is was much larger than I expected! It was then that I had to remind myself, I'm in Paris, at the Louvre, looking at the famous Mona Lisa painting. It was quite a feeling. Then we went and found the giant statue of Ramses II, saw a real 1000s of years old mummy, and ended with the Venus de Milo. It was amazing. The building of the Louvre itself is amazing! The architecture, walls, columns, and archways are exquisite. Many of the ceilings had grand paintings on them complete with golden details around their edges. It was absolutely beautiful. Needless to say, we are going back a few more times to make sure we see everything.
Friday night we stayed in and watched Harry Potter, ate pizza, and each had an ice cream bar. We had a little taste of home and took the night off knowing that we'd be out the next day as well. So Saturday, today, we woke up and headed out for our dangerous voyage beneath the city...Les Catacombs. After walking through the entrance, you descend down 132 stairs in a twisting spiral staircase. The entrance made it very clear that this journey was not for the faint-hearted, and for good reason. They even had a defibrillator next to the entrance just in case! Very comforting. When we got to the bottom, we first read about when it was made by the romans, how it was used during the Revolution as a secret meeting place, and how it is the resting place of hundreds of thousands of bodies. We walked through many very tight, narrow, and low walkways that twisted and turned, 10 stories beneath the bustling city. If you are at all claustrophobic, I do not recommend going down. About halfway through, we came to an opening with an inscription that had been etched into the rock wall that read, "Stop! Here is the empire of death." If that didn't stop you, the sight certainly would. Bones upon bones were piled high on both sides, creating a clear walkway through the tunnel. Skulls were strategically placed within the piles of legs and arms to create patterns of crosses or arches. It literally took your breath away but in a creepy way. The most incredible aspect of the catacombs was how vast it was. The tunnels stretched on and on in different directions, filled with bones in areas blocked off to visitors. When we finally ascended the stairs back to the busy streets of Paris, I was incredibly thankful for the sunlight and the fresh air. We headed home a little later and we're about to make dinner now and then head out on our first real Parisian bar-crawl. It's funny to think that hours ago, I was inches from millions of bones. I'll be happy to think about my cooking pasta instead.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The one with my First Week of Class
Based on what I heard from friends who have studied at ESCP in the past, I expected my classes to be easy and potentially boring. What I didn't expect was that I'd love them. My first class each week is Tuesday mornings for 3 hours: strategic marketing. At first, I felt like I was right back in Badm 320 listening to Oatmeal talk about branding. But then the class changed; we were put into groups of 5 and were given a semester long assignment. Now, I usually try not to be too competitive but this class is going to bring that side out of me for sure. Our semester long project is a marketing simulation where each team works for a separate company and uses the simulation to boost their product sales against their competitors. My group is awesome and half of our class time each week will be spent in groups. Bring it on.
Then Tuesday afternoon I have positional bargaining. Ok, so this is the class I heard was a joke. To be honest, it's a joke in terms of how we're graded but it actually might turn out to be one of the most beneficial classes I ever take. What do we do in class? Argue. Alright, we do a little more than that. First we were given an acquisition case and then the class was split up into 2 groups and we planned out our strategies of how we will approach the other side in next week's class. The best part ESCP is that there are students from all over the world in each of my classes. In this class, even on the first day, it was interesting to see how each person approached the issues and what kind of result they each wanted. For example, the Americans talked too much, the Russians thought no one could compromise and wouldn't agree with anyone, the Polish hardly talked, and the Spaniard always played devil's advocate. Now, I'm not trying to stereotype because this was only one class but it was certainly interesting.
Then Wednesday afternoon I had Consumer Behavior: again, just like badm 320. Our professor is from the states and he's very interesting. His entire lecture was filled with interesting facts and statistics. The only problem was that it really was just that, a lecture for 3 hours. If it wasn't for the 15 minute break that we get in the middle of each class, there is no way I'd be able to pay attention for that long. Oh, and he actually has the most ridiculous comb over; it's impressive. If you have some coffee and are really awake for this class, it's got a lot of potential to be great.
Thursday morning's class was my favorite by far. Even though we went out Wednesday night and I was tired for class, I was blown away by our professor. The class is "Does the European Construction lead to a European Model?" Before going to class I was hoping the answer was just going to be "Yes" and that's all I needed to know. But the class is primarily on the European Union and our teacher just knows his stuff. This class is a mix of history, politics, economics, government, and culture. It's awesome. Even though I was hoping for very easy classes this semester, I'm actually really looking forward to being challenged in a different way by these classes that really give you an international perspective on life. Really, that's what Dean Hedeman believes studying abroad is all about. He told me a long time ago that I'd come back a new person. I'm only about 2 weeks in and I don't know if I'll come back a new person but I think I will definitely have a new perspective.
Then Tuesday afternoon I have positional bargaining. Ok, so this is the class I heard was a joke. To be honest, it's a joke in terms of how we're graded but it actually might turn out to be one of the most beneficial classes I ever take. What do we do in class? Argue. Alright, we do a little more than that. First we were given an acquisition case and then the class was split up into 2 groups and we planned out our strategies of how we will approach the other side in next week's class. The best part ESCP is that there are students from all over the world in each of my classes. In this class, even on the first day, it was interesting to see how each person approached the issues and what kind of result they each wanted. For example, the Americans talked too much, the Russians thought no one could compromise and wouldn't agree with anyone, the Polish hardly talked, and the Spaniard always played devil's advocate. Now, I'm not trying to stereotype because this was only one class but it was certainly interesting.
Then Wednesday afternoon I had Consumer Behavior: again, just like badm 320. Our professor is from the states and he's very interesting. His entire lecture was filled with interesting facts and statistics. The only problem was that it really was just that, a lecture for 3 hours. If it wasn't for the 15 minute break that we get in the middle of each class, there is no way I'd be able to pay attention for that long. Oh, and he actually has the most ridiculous comb over; it's impressive. If you have some coffee and are really awake for this class, it's got a lot of potential to be great.
Thursday morning's class was my favorite by far. Even though we went out Wednesday night and I was tired for class, I was blown away by our professor. The class is "Does the European Construction lead to a European Model?" Before going to class I was hoping the answer was just going to be "Yes" and that's all I needed to know. But the class is primarily on the European Union and our teacher just knows his stuff. This class is a mix of history, politics, economics, government, and culture. It's awesome. Even though I was hoping for very easy classes this semester, I'm actually really looking forward to being challenged in a different way by these classes that really give you an international perspective on life. Really, that's what Dean Hedeman believes studying abroad is all about. He told me a long time ago that I'd come back a new person. I'm only about 2 weeks in and I don't know if I'll come back a new person but I think I will definitely have a new perspective.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The one where we ate Waffles, Fries, and Chocolate
Our first trip out of Paris was definitely eventful. We took the metro to Paris Nord station to take an express train to Brussels. The station was huge and had a massive departures board which mechanically rotated every minute or so. We were so intrigued by it we all took pictures :) When we finally boarded the train, we were all tired from the night before and slept the entire way there. When we arrived in Brussels, we realized that our hostel was on the opposite side of the city, so we left the station and ventured towards the heart of the city to see what Brussels was all about, luggage and all. Luckily we traveled light! We were almost to the Grand Place when we noticed a small little store to our left. It was a minute before we realized it was a chocolate museum! Sign me up. So we went in, paid a few euros to walk around the museum, see how chocolate is made, listen to a chocolatier explain how he makes chocolate, and enjoy the FREE SAMPLES! Didn't they realize American girls can't say no to chocolate? Or is that just women in general? Anyway, we had our fill of chocolate before we left and certainly got our money's worth.
When we left the chocolate museum, it was only a few seconds before we were in the Grand Place. The architecture was beautiful but didn't match the rest of the city at all. It was very old and even a bit dark. We took some pictures in the square but then we noticed a lot of people walking around with fries. Without any shame, Torey immediately walked up to a couple and practically demanded, "Where did you get those?" They pointed us down the street away from the square and we began our quest. After all the chocolate, it was time for a salty Belgium specialty: frites special, or french fries with ketchup, grilled onions, and lots of mayonnaise. It's basically a heart attack in a bowl, but again, totally worth it. Here's a picture of me faking a heart attack before even eating them:
So after yummy, yummy fries, we went to see the Manneken Pis: a small fountain of a little boy peeing. It was supposed to be Brussels' equivalent to Paris' Eiffel Tower... huge disappointment. But it was still funny to see all the tourist attractions centered around a peeing boy. You can buy peeing boy bottle openers, figurines, chocolate statues, t-shirts, you name it. After seeing the Manneken Pis, we headed to our hostel. We took a quick nap when we got there any then got ready to go out. First, we headed back to the square to eat sandwiches and waffles before trying to find the Delirium Pub. If you haven't heard of Delirium, let me fill you in: it's a bar that serves over 2004 different beers! I loved every minute of it. The atmosphere was exciting and although it was filled with a cloud of smoke, we enjoyed the Michael Jackson tribute that played all night long. We made friends with a bunch of Spaniards and we enjoyed many different types of Belgian beer. Overall, it was a great night.
The next morning, Courtney and I got up and went to mass at a giant cathedral down the street. For such a large church, it was odd to see only 38 people total at mass... it didn't really seem like Brussels had a very religious community. Anyway, after church we headed to the train station to take a 50 minute train to Brugge. We were told it was beautiful so we went to check it out for the day. What we had heard was correct: it was everything you'd imagine a small European town to look like. It was very quaint and intriguing with a small river running through it and little squares throughout the small city. The most interesting thing about Brugge was that it had more chocolate shops than Wheaton, Illinois has churches which is saying something. Everywhere you looked there was a sign that read, "Belgium's Finest Chocolate." We didn't know who to believe! Who's was really the best? So after walking around for an hour or so, we went with the only sign that read, "The best hot chocolate you will ever have." And they weren't kidding. The hot chocolate was amazing. They give you a large cup of steaming milk and then a chocolate cup filled with chocolate chips which you add to the milk yourself to give it as much chocolate as you desire. Bon Appetite!
After a little more window shopping and walking around Brugge, we headed back to Brussels to make it to the American sports bar, Fat Boys, to catch the Bears Game. While we were there we ate true American food: cheese fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and burgers. What a treat! Although the result of the game didn't turn out at all how we had hoped, we still had a great time amongst the lively atmosphere or Bears and Packers fans. Soon after the game ended, we headed back to the hostel for some shuteye.
The next day was one of those awkward days where you have enough time to do something small but not enough time to do anything significant before heading home. I hate traveling in the mid-afternoon. I really prefer traveling in the morning so I can get to my destination and move on from there. But since we had some time, we walked to the Palais Royal and took some pictures of the grand building. Then we headed back to the square to grab some lunch. We basically cafe hopped on our way back to the train station. We headed home the same way we came and made it back to Paris in time to do grocery shopping and laundry before our first real day of class. I had no idea then what my classes would be like but I was in for a real surprise the next morning.
Monday, January 24, 2011
The one with the Week Long Seminar
With a lot of class and a lot of getting acclimated to life in Paris, there are only a few key highlights from this week before my trip to Belgium. So Monday was technically orientation but we basically sat around, filled out paperwork and had a mingling luncheon to meet other international students. The luncheon was nice but there wasn't nearly enough food and when it ended, we were all more than happy to head home and get a real lunch. The next few days were filled with classes where we sat and listened to lectures by different professors to help us understand Paris, France, and the European Union. We covered various topics including the history and culture of Paris, French historic figures, the European Union, and the French language. Each day after class we filled our evenings with either shopping at the trendy yet inexpensive H&M, planning trips to other countries, or making awesome dinners in our apartment. Ok, so our typical dinners so far have consisted of spaghetti and tomato sauce or the other half of the sandwich we didn't eat at lunch.
Thursday was different though. We finished our last lecture at about 5, went to the grocery store and decided it was going to be a Mexican night! So Courtney, Torey, Monica, Jamie and I headed back to mine and Courtney's apartment and made homemade guacamole and chicken and onion quesidillas topped off with magnum ice cream bars and a glass of wine. We even met our neighbors that night who are from Wisconsin and they joined us for a night on the town. The only down side to this stellar night was the fact that we went to bed at about 4 and were on a train back to school by 9 to go take a test over what we learned that week. It was worth it though!
After the test, Courtney and I went home and each took a 4 hour nap. Even more worth it. When we got up, our friend Maureen had made it to Paris from London so we grabbed a quick dinner, got ready and headed out to an international apartment party on the North side of the city. We had a great time meeting people from all over the world who go to our school, ESCP Europe. It was another great night and we headed home to grab a few hours sleep before leaving for Belgium the next morning.
Thursday was different though. We finished our last lecture at about 5, went to the grocery store and decided it was going to be a Mexican night! So Courtney, Torey, Monica, Jamie and I headed back to mine and Courtney's apartment and made homemade guacamole and chicken and onion quesidillas topped off with magnum ice cream bars and a glass of wine. We even met our neighbors that night who are from Wisconsin and they joined us for a night on the town. The only down side to this stellar night was the fact that we went to bed at about 4 and were on a train back to school by 9 to go take a test over what we learned that week. It was worth it though!
After the test, Courtney and I went home and each took a 4 hour nap. Even more worth it. When we got up, our friend Maureen had made it to Paris from London so we grabbed a quick dinner, got ready and headed out to an international apartment party on the North side of the city. We had a great time meeting people from all over the world who go to our school, ESCP Europe. It was another great night and we headed home to grab a few hours sleep before leaving for Belgium the next morning.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The One with the Perfect Sunday
After snoozing for at least a half hour, we got up and quickly got ready to head to mass at Notre-Dame. Really, mass at Notre-Dame. But we had one quick stop we had to make first. Behind our apartment building there is a tiny bakery I'd been dying to try. On our bucket list, number one is to find a bakery and make it our own, you know, the kind where you walk in and know the owner by name and she even knows your favorite type of croissant or baguette. Well today we found the bakery! The people were so friendly and very cheery. Now we just have to make it our own.
Once we each got a buttered or chocolate croissant we started off towards Notre-Dame. We walked along the Seine river the entire way there and the scenery was beautiful. There was a perfectly blue sky without any clouds, the river twinkled, and we could see the giant church in the distance. The old buildings make you feel like you are in a movie. We got to the bridge and crossed onto L'ile de la cite, the island of the city. Like walking into any other church at home, you simply entered the doors and took your seat for mass. Except it isn't like any other church: it was glorious, artistic, Notre-Dame! The strange part was that while mass was going on in the center of the church, visitors, tourists, and non-catholics walked around the outskirts taking pictures and admiring the architecture. We waited until after mass to take pictures ourselves but it really was an amazing experience.
After mass we crossed onto the smaller island to find the most amazing ice cream shop in Paris, Maison Berthillion. We each tried a different flavor and loved it. Then we wandered the tiny streets and wondered into a bright colored candy shop, when out of no where, who would walk in but moviestar Emma Thompson! We said hello and told her how much we each love the movie "Love Actually" and she asked us about school and finding french boyfriends. She was as sweet as can be to our group of loud American girls. We explored the tiny shops down that street a little longer and then sat along the river to do some people watching before heading home. We walked slowly, laughed often, and soaked in the sun in this warm Paris January. So far, it's been a perfect Sunday.
Once we each got a buttered or chocolate croissant we started off towards Notre-Dame. We walked along the Seine river the entire way there and the scenery was beautiful. There was a perfectly blue sky without any clouds, the river twinkled, and we could see the giant church in the distance. The old buildings make you feel like you are in a movie. We got to the bridge and crossed onto L'ile de la cite, the island of the city. Like walking into any other church at home, you simply entered the doors and took your seat for mass. Except it isn't like any other church: it was glorious, artistic, Notre-Dame! The strange part was that while mass was going on in the center of the church, visitors, tourists, and non-catholics walked around the outskirts taking pictures and admiring the architecture. We waited until after mass to take pictures ourselves but it really was an amazing experience.
After mass we crossed onto the smaller island to find the most amazing ice cream shop in Paris, Maison Berthillion. We each tried a different flavor and loved it. Then we wandered the tiny streets and wondered into a bright colored candy shop, when out of no where, who would walk in but moviestar Emma Thompson! We said hello and told her how much we each love the movie "Love Actually" and she asked us about school and finding french boyfriends. She was as sweet as can be to our group of loud American girls. We explored the tiny shops down that street a little longer and then sat along the river to do some people watching before heading home. We walked slowly, laughed often, and soaked in the sun in this warm Paris January. So far, it's been a perfect Sunday.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The One with La Tour Eiffel
I didn't set an alarm before I went to bed last night... I woke up on my own at 12:30 and it felt amazing. I'm actually working off that jetlag! Last night was a lot of fun; it was basically a girl's night where we went to the street with all the bars and tried out a few places. They were all pretty expensive but we had a good time looking around. The best part of the night was probably around 2:00 AM when we went to the crepe stand. For anyone who visits Paris and wants a little taste of heaven at 2:00 AM, this is the place to go! It was definitely worth the 3 euros.
Today we ventured toward the highlight and symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. Again, we took the metro and got across the city pretty quickly. Though I've seen dozens of pictures of the Eiffel Tower, none of them really do it justice. We came out of the underground metro station, turned left, and there in the distance, towering over a sea of people was the Eiffel Tower. After taking a plethora of ridiculous pictures together, Courtney, Jamie, Torey, Monica and I decided to explore that part of the city.
We saw a huge golden dome in the distance and decided to find out what it was. It turned out to be Le Musee d'Armee, or army museum, and had a giant statue of Napolean. The architecture was incredibly ornate and we read about a few of the other war heros featured inside. Unfortunately we didn't go in because it closed in the next 15 minutes so after taking a look around outside, we popped into a neaby cafe for a cup of hot chocolate. When it was dark enough, we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up against the night sky. We all looked like kids in a candy store and we were completely taken by surprise when at 7:00 PM on the dot, the entire stucture began to twinkle with flashing lights for 5 minutes. It was mesmurizing. We headed home soon after, went out for bowls of french onion soup, made a bucket list of all the things we have to do in Paris and also Europe, and we're about to head out for night 2 on the town. It's fair to say that we'll pay another visit to the crepe stand in just a few hours...
Today we ventured toward the highlight and symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. Again, we took the metro and got across the city pretty quickly. Though I've seen dozens of pictures of the Eiffel Tower, none of them really do it justice. We came out of the underground metro station, turned left, and there in the distance, towering over a sea of people was the Eiffel Tower. After taking a plethora of ridiculous pictures together, Courtney, Jamie, Torey, Monica and I decided to explore that part of the city.
We saw a huge golden dome in the distance and decided to find out what it was. It turned out to be Le Musee d'Armee, or army museum, and had a giant statue of Napolean. The architecture was incredibly ornate and we read about a few of the other war heros featured inside. Unfortunately we didn't go in because it closed in the next 15 minutes so after taking a look around outside, we popped into a neaby cafe for a cup of hot chocolate. When it was dark enough, we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up against the night sky. We all looked like kids in a candy store and we were completely taken by surprise when at 7:00 PM on the dot, the entire stucture began to twinkle with flashing lights for 5 minutes. It was mesmurizing. We headed home soon after, went out for bowls of french onion soup, made a bucket list of all the things we have to do in Paris and also Europe, and we're about to head out for night 2 on the town. It's fair to say that we'll pay another visit to the crepe stand in just a few hours...
Friday, January 14, 2011
The One with Crazy Jetlag
My trip to Paris started out simply: said a final goodbye to my mom at security, got scanned all over by the extremely friendly TSA people, and then ate some McDonald's fries to get one last taste of pure America before boarding the plane. I was so anxious I couldn't wait to get on the plane! After what seemed like ages, we finally boarded the plane and took off. I slept like a baby during the first 2 hours with terrible turbulence and then post-it-ed an entire Paris travel book (that one's for you mom :) Before I knew it, we were in Paris! By that time, it was 9:40 AM Paris time and we had an entire day to stay awake and work through the jetlag.
After getting to our apartment, we went on a guided tour of the area and then had a quick orientation meeting at ACCENT, the company who set up our housing. They are seriously a godsend; the nicest and most helpful people! We did a little grocery shopping and then went to Monoprix, which is the equivalent of Target at home. Monoprix is already my favorite store. So after unpacking and setting up our entire apartment, I couldn't take the jetlag anymore. I was so excited to be in Paris but couldn't really appreicate it because I was exhausted and still felt a little sick from all the traveling. Solution? Sleep and get up early to get the most out of the next day and appreciate Paris for what it is. And that is exactly what I did.
The next day, we got up and went to an actual orientation meeting at ACCENT where they explained how to use the metro, buy a cell phone, and then a bunch of other important stuff like "don't pay attention to boys that hit on you, they aren't the ones you want to talk to." Very helpful information. Really though, I did get a lot of information from the meeting today. So the first item on the agenda after the meeting was buying a phone. Out of the 13 students from U of I, I'm the only one that speaks any french... it definitely made getting phones a fun experience. Half the group looked around the store like deer in the headlights before realizing we needed appointments to get a phone. Somehow, we all walked out of the store with exactly what we wanted and way to communicate. Then we got lunch and the food was amazing! Who knew that when you ordered a ham and cheese sandwhich that they'd give you an entire baguette with ham and cheese on it?
We walked around our area a little bit, saw the Bastille, and then went on our biggest excursion yet: take the Metro to buy a longchamps bag on the other side of the city. We didn't get lost, we didn't get pickpocketed, and we found the store 10 minutes before it closed! Luckily we all knew exactly what we wanted and had made our purchases in no time. After buying our bags, for at least $50 cheaper than you can get them in the US, we went to Printemps. Printemps is like Nordstrom on steroids. Every designer you can think of had a huge section in the store. It was glamorous. 6 floors of pure fashion; clothes, jewelry, and most importantly shoes. I fell in love with the shoe section. One day I really will buy myself a pair of Jimmy Choos. Unfortunately today was not that day. But I had my Longchamps so I was still thrilled!
We took the metro back and Courtney, Torey, Monica and I met up with Jamie for dinner. We went to a nice restaurant down the street from our apartment building and had our first official dinner in Paris, complete with a glass of wine. It was scrumptous, the service was wonderful, and we laughed about our "homestyles" as Torey calls them, or hometowns, and finished dinner around 9:30 like true Parisiennes. And now, it's time for our first real night on the town. Wish me luck!
After getting to our apartment, we went on a guided tour of the area and then had a quick orientation meeting at ACCENT, the company who set up our housing. They are seriously a godsend; the nicest and most helpful people! We did a little grocery shopping and then went to Monoprix, which is the equivalent of Target at home. Monoprix is already my favorite store. So after unpacking and setting up our entire apartment, I couldn't take the jetlag anymore. I was so excited to be in Paris but couldn't really appreicate it because I was exhausted and still felt a little sick from all the traveling. Solution? Sleep and get up early to get the most out of the next day and appreciate Paris for what it is. And that is exactly what I did.
The next day, we got up and went to an actual orientation meeting at ACCENT where they explained how to use the metro, buy a cell phone, and then a bunch of other important stuff like "don't pay attention to boys that hit on you, they aren't the ones you want to talk to." Very helpful information. Really though, I did get a lot of information from the meeting today. So the first item on the agenda after the meeting was buying a phone. Out of the 13 students from U of I, I'm the only one that speaks any french... it definitely made getting phones a fun experience. Half the group looked around the store like deer in the headlights before realizing we needed appointments to get a phone. Somehow, we all walked out of the store with exactly what we wanted and way to communicate. Then we got lunch and the food was amazing! Who knew that when you ordered a ham and cheese sandwhich that they'd give you an entire baguette with ham and cheese on it?
We walked around our area a little bit, saw the Bastille, and then went on our biggest excursion yet: take the Metro to buy a longchamps bag on the other side of the city. We didn't get lost, we didn't get pickpocketed, and we found the store 10 minutes before it closed! Luckily we all knew exactly what we wanted and had made our purchases in no time. After buying our bags, for at least $50 cheaper than you can get them in the US, we went to Printemps. Printemps is like Nordstrom on steroids. Every designer you can think of had a huge section in the store. It was glamorous. 6 floors of pure fashion; clothes, jewelry, and most importantly shoes. I fell in love with the shoe section. One day I really will buy myself a pair of Jimmy Choos. Unfortunately today was not that day. But I had my Longchamps so I was still thrilled!
We took the metro back and Courtney, Torey, Monica and I met up with Jamie for dinner. We went to a nice restaurant down the street from our apartment building and had our first official dinner in Paris, complete with a glass of wine. It was scrumptous, the service was wonderful, and we laughed about our "homestyles" as Torey calls them, or hometowns, and finished dinner around 9:30 like true Parisiennes. And now, it's time for our first real night on the town. Wish me luck!
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