I've been in Paris for over a month now so Dad reminds me that I ought to send an update. I'm about to start my last week of class here but I realize I haven't sent anything since before classes even began. Suffice it to say this is pretty much the best summer I've ever had, and I'm fully on-board with loving Paris.
Classes have been interesting, but we have class only from 9AM-1PM every day, so we have a lot of time to explore the city. I walk to and from school, and I decided not to get a monthly Metro card, so I end up walking around the city quite a bit. So, unlike a lot of people with monthly Metro cards, have at least a cursory understanding of how this city fits together now. I like to do a loop from my apartment in the Quartier Latin over to near Place de la Concorde and then come back.
The program's about 20% French students this year (which is apparently a record-high) and they've been fortunately really nice in inviting us temporary foreign visitors into their French world. I went to a fun party at my friend Pierre's (French name: check) and met some nice people. Then, a couple weeks ago, my friend Eléonore invited us to her family's insanely huge estate in Normandie. The main house dated from the 17th-century and sits on a big apple orchard from which a local place brews hard cider. We had Friday and Monday off that weekend, so we stayed at Eléonore's Thursday and Friday night and then made it back to Paris for Bastille Day that Saturday. I went to a Fireman's Ball (Bal des Pompiers) with my friend Simone, and then we watched the-best-fireworks-display-I've-ever-seen-and-I-grew-up-in-DC at the Eiffel Tower. Then Sunday I went to see Bon Iver, an indie-folk guy I really like. A very packed weekend, in part because it had 2 extra days.
Simone's mother was part of a group called Tour de Taxa that biked from Denmark to Paris and arrived on the Champs-Élysées on Friday. Super impressive feat, especially given that her mom pretty much hadn't done any exercise in years until she decided to start training for the race.
Then today was the granddaddy of bike-races, Le Tour de France. I got to the Rue de Rivoli a few hours early and watched the guys go by for most of their 8 laps in Paris. Very cool to finally see Le Tour in person.
Pictures follow. (Some fairly poor quality, but they give you an idea of what's going on.)
Right after picking up my books on day 1 of orientation. (Picture courtesy of Simone Ritter.)
Riding on a Bateaux-Mouche with friends Francisco and Toni.
Eléonore's "house" in Normandie.
One of Eléonore's gardens in Normandie.
The boys' house at Eléonore's in Normandie.
César pops a bottle of cider from apples grown in Eléonore's orchard.
Dinner the first night at Eléonore's.
Barrels at the old cider mill at Eléonore's.
Bal des Pompiers near Saint-Sulpice.
Bastille Day fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. (Picture courtesy of Simone.)
Outside L'Olympia (near Opéra) to see Bon Iver.
Lunch in Le Jardin du Luxembourg. (Utterly spoiled to have this down the street from school.)
Outside the chapel at La Sorbonne.
Simone awaiting her mom's arrival en velo at the Place de la Concorde.
Bradley Wiggins (in the yellow jersey) pops up at Le Tour de France.
More Bradley (in the yellow jersey) at Le Tour de France.
Team Sky at Le Tour de France.
Mark Cavendish at Le Tour de France.