The architecture's not too shabby...

So it's been a while since I've written, mostly because of wireless issues...France is not as obsessed with this whole internet idea as the US is, so finding really good wireless has been an issue. For example, in my new host family's apartment, I don't get wireless in my bedroom, but I get it in the kitchen. That's right - I moved! Here's my new home and the view from my room.  

My host family is an older couple with two kids, one of who

m is moved out. Their daughter is 24 and lives at home, but I barely see her. I really onl

y see them when I'm scheduled to have dinner with them 2-3 times a week because our schedules are so different, which is nice because I have some autonomy. I'm right near the Trocadero metro stop and the Eiffel Tower is basically on the end of my block - not too shabby.

Last weekend, the program took us on a day trip to Reims, where there's a really famous cathedral.  It was where the kings of France used to be crowned and was built in the 13th century.  A lot of the sculpture in this cathedral is really important, and I remember studying some of the sculptures at the entrance in an art history class at school. Reims is in the Champagne region of France, so we went to the Pommery champagne caves in the afternoon. The caves are about 100m underground, and inside is also a modern art exhibit. We also did a champagne tasting of some of their different wines which were both delicious.

Jessalyn came to visit this past weekend which was so much fun!  It meant that I got to do a lot of the touristy things with her that I hadn't had a chance to do yet. The first day she was here, we walked from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre (long walk, but along the Seine so it was worth it).  She got to see the Mona Lisa, which we both agreed was somewhat of a let down (it's the smallest painting in that museum!) Then I took her to my favorite restaurant in Paris. It's right near the Sorbonne and really french. I had been there the night before and the waitress recognized me and was like again? really? But the food was really good, and it's the one place I've found that isn't swarmed with tourists and americans. The second day she was here, I showed her my program center and we went to a little outdoor food market. Then we went to the Orangerie museum, a smaller museum where Monet's nymphéas series is.  It's a series of paintings of water lillies that wraps around the entire room.  We then went to Café Angélina, where they serve famous hot chocolat à l'africain and mont blancs - chestnut and whipped cream pastries. Today we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral and ate lunch in a cafe near the Sorbonne.

Classes don't start for another week and a half, so there's no news on that front, except that my grammar teacher has made it her personal mission to eradicate my French Canadian accent. I'm looking forward to classes starting so that I actually start to feel like a real person again.

Stephanie