Paris is (Spring)ing into action.

Life is wonderful.

That is really the only way to describe things at the current moment.

My days in Paris have slowed down a bit, in the sense that I am getting used to my course schedule and the pace of Parisian living.

Everyday, excluding Monday, I get out of school at 13:00, so I like to spend my afternoons walking to new parts of the city, reading a book/studying or, my all time favorite at the moment, get a seat in the Luxembourg gardens and soak in the sun for an hour or two, ice cold coke in my hand and headphones in my ears. Now that the sun has come out in Paris, public gardens are constantly being swarmed to. I cannot wait to see how much more lively this city gets when it is consistently warm enough to go without a jacket.

Spring is coming!

Last Friday I went with my friend Johannah up to Montmarte to soak in the amazing view once again, and to spend a relaxing afternoon outside. We ended up on the steps overlooking the city, which is a popular spot for performers to take the stage in front of the crowds. An Italian singer performed for a good 30-40 minutes, doing covers of Beatles, Maroon 5, and more. It was a great way to relax and have a great conversation with a good friend of mine.

Sidesteps for going to Sacre Coeur.

Steps from the backside of Montmarte.

Human!

Man performing for a big crowd!

This past week my parents visited, and it was so amazing to see their faces! I am used to not seeing them for months at a time because of college life, but after having gone through so much change culturally, it was great to get face-to-face time with them. We had some amazing food and great talks, and I was sad to see them go so soon!

My amazing parents!

Some the awesome food we had! (Came with A+ couscous)

Thanks to my program (ISA), I have the amazing opportunity to be able to go to several events for free with my other program-mates. Some of these events include: A new French film in the cinema, special expositions at museums, a French play, and much more. Three days ago, I participated in a visit to the catacombs of Paris. I had never really learned much about the catacombs, or took interest in visiting them, but it was such a great opportunity to broaden my horizons of the city!

We arrived at the designated location, and all trekked down a winding spiral staircase into the catacombs. There we were informed about how many people are kept there, (over 6 million bodies!!) and several creepy stories about people getting lost and dying in the labrynth-ish halls of the site. Because of the “no flash” rule, it was very difficult to get a great shot of the somber surroundings that I found myself in.

Stairs leading even deeper into the catacombs.

As we were walking through the catacombs, I passed by a woman who looked really familiar, and then realized why I felt I knew her. It was Katie Couric! As soon as I told other classmates, we felt it was our task to figure out if it was really her or not. As soon as my friends heard her laugh, we were all sure it was! After walking most of the tour, one of the girls in our group finally introduced herself, and a small conversation ensued. She said she was just visiting, and that her and her friends were going to Sacre Coeur after her visit to the catacombs. Of course I had to jump at the chance to talk to her, so I gave her some restaurant advice about where to eat up at Sacre Coeur. She kindly accepted my suggestion, and at the end of the tour she posed with all of us for a group picture.

Katie Couric! (Click on it to see it bigger if you don't believe me!)

Of course I still tried to focus on the event at hand, but seeing Kati Couric was definitely a highlight in such a gloomy place! All in all, the visit to the catacombs was memorable, and such a crazy line of events.

On Thursday, my friends Johannah and Amanda and I went walking along the Seine and ended up walking into Notre Dame. Every Friday during lent, the relics of the Church are brought out for people to see. The relics at Notre Dame are a nail that nailed Jesus into the cross, a shard of the cross itself, and a part of the crown of thorns. Of course I was eager to see these relics, as were swarms of other people! Although it was really crowded, I still got to see the relics when they brought them out for people to go on their knees and genuflect in front of the crown. The relic itself was encased in a crown of thorns made of gold or something of that nature, and adorned with either jewels or something that made it shine (I couldn't tell from where I was). Either way, it was really cool to see!

Love in Paris?!

No, no. Just friends!

The priest holding the crown of thorns relic.

Today I planned and booked most of my trip to Ireland in April. For my semester, we have a two-week spring break the last two weeks of April, and I am trying to take full advantage of it! The first 6 days will be a trip with ISA to Morocco! I cannot tell you how excited I am for this trip. A big highlight of that excursion is that I don’t have to plan it at all! My directors have already booked and planned everything to the t. After Morocco, I come home to Paris for a day, and then the following night I leave for Ireland, where my three friends and I will spend 5 days in the great green land! That will definitely make for one great blog entry! Until then!

Oh, and I also have been doing lots of schoolwork. Don’t you worry, Mom and Dad!

Affectuesement,

George