This past Tuesday, we started classes at ESCP. If we thought the 75 minute "power-lectures" at Madison were long, it's nothing compared to the 3 hour classes here. Luckily I know a few people in each class, so I can talk to them during our (much need) breaks. We will have much less work for these classes, which is a refreshing change of pace from last semester!
On Thursday, we went to Club Mix, one of the nicest nightclub in Paris. The doormen are very selective about who is let into the club, so you have to be young and dressed up. The club is huge, and exactly what one would expect when picturing a European rave: lights flashing everywhere, bars, loud techno music, and everyone dancing. The best part is this club is free on Thursday nights for international students, so we didn't have to pay anything to have an amazing night! We will definitely be back soon..
None of my roommates nor I have classes on Fridays, so a few of us went inside Notre Dame.. the last time I went there was with my Aunt Jane, so re-visiting it brought back a lot of fun memories. We then met up with Greg and Natalie for coffee/hot chocolate and walked over to Ile Saint-Louis, one of two islands in the middle of the Seine river. This area is so cute, and for numerous reasons. First of all, very few tourists know about the island's charm, and there are no busses or metro stops. The best part of Ile Saint-Louis, however, is all the tiny specialty shops. We searched for an ice cream shop recommended by travel guru Rick Steves, and instead found tiny shops that only sell chocolate, toy puppets, scarves, stationary, and candy. It seemed like the closest one could get to shopping down Harry Potter's Diagon Alley. Natalie asked if we could just eat our way down the street; every shop sold delicious food. We then headed over to the Odeon area in the 6th arrondissement to an Italian restaurant also recommended by Rick Steve's, and then across the street to an American bar, The Frog and Princess. That really is the bar's name..
Saturday, we met some friends in the Latin Quarter and walked through the Luxembourg Gardens to Luxembourg Palace.. it was gorgeous even with the fountains iced over, but I can't even imagine how beautiful it will be in a few months when it is warmer and the flowers start blooming. We then headed towards the Eiffel Tower and ate lunch at the cutest bakery/cafe with a mural painted on the ceiling. Our next stop was the Hotel des Invalides and the Army Museum, where we saw Napoleon's tomb. I have seen his tomb before, but I had forgotten how beautiful the whole building is. Napoleon's tomb is basically a 2-story high wooden coffin, and there are apparently 5 coffins inside it.
It was warm and sunny on Sunday, so I walked along the Seine for a good two hours.. it was so relaxing! I then went to le Musee d'Orsay, a museum that was closed due to a worker's strike the last time we were in Paris. I had been wanting to visit this museum for weeks, and finally decided to go by myself as my friends were busy. Personally, I liked this museum better than the Louvre, simply because it houses the impressionist pieces (my favorite type of art). I spent 2 hours walking around viewing art by Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, and sculptures by Rodin (one of my favorite sculptors). My roommate Jen turned 21 the next day, so we all went out for dinner, dessert, and then to a karaoke bar next to Notre Dame (until 4am). All in all, a very fun day and night!
On Monday, (Jen's birthday) everyone else had class, so the two of us wandered to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. We followed Rick Steve's detailed walking tour and spent a good hour finding the graves of Jim Morrison, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and Gertrude Stein. It was a very tranquil walk, and many of the cemetery's graves are more like tiny chapels dedicated to a single family. Visiting the cemetery isn't a must-see for visitors, but it's an interesting place for someone living in Paris for 5 months (aka me).
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