First Days--Premiers Jours

I have been BUSY so far!!  We've had some orientation activities already, and I already feel quite at home in the city (thanks in large part to the Metro), so my friend Alex (also from Bard) and I have been out exploring a bit.  Friday evening, we had a picnic of Camembert, baguette, and un petit peu du vin, in the park behind Notre Dame (4th arrondissement), and then we walked to the Louvre (1st arrondissement), which neither of us had ever been to before.  It's open late Friday nights, and it's not as crowded then, so it was perfect.  We were rather tired after dinner and all that walking, though, so we just saw the essentials: Mona Lisa (La Joconde, en Français) and Venus de Milo (same name in French).  I'm sure I'll go back again and see more as it's free for us, because we're officially enrolled at the Sorbonne as art history students.

outside the Louvre

It was hard to take a good photo without a flash, but Alex and I thought she was smiling.

She's taller in person...

This afternoon (Saturday), Alex and I met up for some shopping and walked all over creation!  Well, mostly just around the Seine, in the same areas as last night, but with different objectives.  First, we went to an H&M on the rue de Rivoli that we spotted last night on our way to the Louvre.  (I didn't end up buying anything.)  Right across the street, at number 59, there was a building advertising 30 artists' ateliers open to the public for free, so we went in and saw them all, and we saw a lot of very strange art there as well.  It was interesting to see some contemporary work, although I don't think it's the kind of stuff I'd want in my home (but then, neither are the Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo).  Next, we decided to walk towards the Sorbonne, become a bit more familiar with the area, and we stopped at a patisserie along the way, where I got a delicious pain au chocolat for not too much.  We walked along the Seine quite a bit, as during the day there are used book stalls all along both banks.  We had a lot of fun looking at the books and posters!  Eventually, we crossed the river on the Pont Neuf, looked at more book stalls, and headed towards the Sorbonne.  About a block from the river, (5th arrondissement) we were snagged by a very-discount book store, where both of us were sucked into buying a few books.  I mostly bought French translations of some of my favorite children's books, although I did buy one French children's book, which I've started reading and am enjoying so far.  When we finally pulled ourselves away from that librarie (French for book store, not library, which is bibliothèque), we went and read in the Jardin du Luxembourg (6th arrondissement) for a while, before wandering back towards the Metro we wanted.  Along the way, we stopped for some delicious looking ice cream, which we shared--we had black currant flavored, and it was very good, with an interesting kick to it, and thicker and creamier in texture than the ice cream in the States.  And I had a crepe au fromage after, for dinner.  It was quite an eventful day, but a lot of fun!  Tomorrow I hope to check out the Canal Saint Martin, which is near my house, as well as some local parks, before Monday, when some of my classes start and when I have some more orientation activities with AYA.

pain au chocolat... yum!

statue of Henri IV, on the Pont Neuf

black currant ice cream... yum!

All in all, I've been having a blast so far!!!